Insights / Business
Business
On building and funding startups: fundraising mechanics, pitch decks, go-to-market, and the operating decisions that compound.
14 essays
-
The Entrepreneur Extinction Event (And How to Be the Asteroid)
The entrepreneur extinction event: GPU scarcity isn't killing startups, it's rewriting the rules so solo founders outbuild teams with 50x their res…
-
Are We Heading Off Of A Cliff?
From Microsoft Azure to AWS to Climate Corp: why infrastructure automation keeps going obsolete, and why infrastructure as code won't save us.
-
There Has To Be A Different Way
We saved millions automating cloud infrastructure, then watched the gains regress in weeks. Why I founded Magalix to rethink DevOps with AI.
-
Looking Ahead – Episode #1 With Timothy Chen
My conversation with Essence VC's Timothy Chen on cloud complexity, Kubernetes, and whether AI can take infrastructure operations to the next wave.
-
Prioritize Impact and Maximize Energy
Stop optimizing your to-do list. Use the 5-WHYs to find the one milestone that matters, then build an environment that makes you work on it daily.
-
The Impact of Economic Cycles on Venture Funding
The impact of economic cycles on venture funding: how expansions inflate startup valuations, downturns reset them, and what investors should ask at…
-
The Impact of the Credit Cycles on Venture Funding
The impact of the credit cycles on venture funding: how tightening ripples from LPs to VC funds to startups — less liquidity, harder fundraising.
-
The Role of Market Cyclicality in Venture Capital Investments
The role of market cyclicality in venture capital investments: funding swings between greed and fear, and reading the cycle makes VCs better risk m…
-
Unravel Industry, Competition & Target Users Using AI
How I use ChatGPT to compress weeks of market research into hours: building mental models of your industry, competitors, and target users.
-
The TOP 3 REASONS Why VCs Aren’t Funding You
VCs aren’t funding you for one of three reasons: no market validation, pitching too early, or falling outside their thesis. Fix these first.
-
Unlock the Secrets of Attracting Investors: Learn What Elements You Need in Your Problem Slide
The problem slide shapes how investors see your startup's core value. What to include: user pain, quantified scenarios, and market-level trends.
-
Drive Broad Conversations. Zoom on Strong Signals
In customer interviews, stay broad until you hit a strong signal — like a KPI they're measured on — then dig in. Don't drown in trivial details.
-
The Art of Asking for a Customer Meeting
How to ask for discovery meetings that get a yes: frame the problem, set expectations, show the gap in your knowledge, and actually ask for help.
-
Without a Clear ASK Slide, Your Pitch Deck is Useless
The Ask slide is the climax of your pitch. What VCs read into it: your goals, expectations, stage, and fit with their investment thesis and models.