What a founder owes a team during a bad quarter
A genuinely bad quarter tests founder communication more than any other stretch of company life. What gets said, and left unsaid, tends to matter enormously.
Hiring the first ten employees changes the company forever
The first ten hires set norms that persist long after those specific people have moved on, whether or not founders are deliberate about shaping them.
The pivot that looks like failure from the outside
A well-timed pivot often gets read publicly as a company admitting defeat. Internally, it frequently looks like the opposite: a team finally facing reality.
Talking to users before you have anything to show them
Founders often wait for a prototype before talking to potential users. Some of the most useful conversations happen earlier, with nothing to show at all.
Hiring the first ten employees changes the company forever
The first ten hires set norms that persist long after those specific people have moved on, whether or not founders are deliberate about shaping them.
The pivot that looks like failure from the outside
A well-timed pivot often gets read publicly as a company admitting defeat. Internally, it frequently looks like the opposite: a team finally facing reality.