Operating Principles

November 11, 2024

Team

  • Team will remain a small group of driven, A+ hard-working people with a bias on action.
  • Focus on quality output generated (not inputs like number of hours worked).
  • Daily internal check-ins and weekly public check-ins to keep everyone accountable.
  • Proritize the most important and difficult problem. Let everything else go.
  • Celebrate success. Even then little wins.
  • Everyone in the team must talk to the user. They might not be right about what they want but they're always right about the problem they have.
  • No unnecessary meetings.
  • In-person > remote work.
  • No communication failures: he did this so I was blocked, I was waiting for him, it was an issue on his end, I don’t know why this happened (I didn’t work on it) etc.
  • Company rituals are paramount. It preserves our culture.

Product

  • Outcomes of the future remain indeterminate so focus on processes, systems and remain open to experimentation.
  • The world of software (and generally) is changing quickly. Building and testing products should be fast, shipped within strict deadlines (eg: 3mo). This requires efficient and repetititve process to for building and testing an idea.
  • UX does matter and more often than not, is a moat. This is why, taste matters, authenticity matters, experience matters.
  • Little details make all the difference.
  • Build internal tooling to remove inefficiencies, it pays dividends in the long-term.
  • Collect and hypertrack all kinds of data-points.
  • Accelerate fast, there will always be technical debt.
  • Late decisions are often more damaging than wrong ones.
  • Every announcement is a big deal. Find ways to create a big splash: make a trailer, bold graphic, ask your friends or investors to share.

Sales

  • Sell to smaller companies first when starting out, it's easier and helps refine the pitch and product.
  • Build a relationship, keep it informal and not transactional.
  • Keep cold messages short and to the point.
  • Keep sales cycles short. For the person/business, it should be an objective yes/no.
  • Follow-up often, you just never know. Keep conversations warm.
  • They'll be nice to you. Get them to pay.

Brand & Marketing

  • Stay as visible, alive and relevant online. Storytelling is the best way to do that.
  • X and Warpcast work best for top of funnel distribution.
  • Interact with accounts that are high-quality or have an audience you'd like to engage with.
  • Be authentic.
  • Important announcements on Tuesday, Wednesday (avoid Friday evenings).
  • Create and stick to a routine for posting content.