Operating6 min readThe no that saved the quarter
Four of the last ten founders who came to us wanted to buy something they weren’t ready to use. Here’s how we decide when to refuse the work.
Insights · 6 pieces
What we’ve learned, written down.
The refusals, the scores, the raises that went sideways. Everything here comes out of engagements we actually ran. No gated PDFs, no newsletter wall.
Operating6 min read
The score8 min readWhat a Startup Operating Score actually measures
Six pillars, five minutes, no card. What each one is looking for, why founders consistently mis-score themselves on two of them, and what the report is for.
The method5 min readWhy ninety days, and not six months
A quarter is long enough to build something real and short enough that nobody can hide in it. What we learned trying both.
Operating6 min readThe four-vendor problem
A brand agency, a dev shop, a growth consultant and a lawyer. Each one competent, none of them in the same room. Why that arrangement fails so reliably.
Technology7 min readShipping an MVP you don’t rebuild in year two
Most MVPs get thrown away, not because they were built badly, but because they answered the wrong question. The four decisions that decide which kind you get.
Funding7 min readFundraising is a metrics problem before it’s a story problem
Founders rewrite the deck when the numbers are what’s failing. What investors actually check, and the order they check it in.