Articles
Read on for what one founder called “the best startup content on the planet.” Or, sign up to get an article in your inbox each week as a part of the No Whisper Ideas newsletter.
What's a Whisper Idea? More on that here.
FILTER BY:
Tag
- "Sell the Position"
- Anti-Marketing
- CEO Tasks
- Cold Emails
- Cold Outreach
- Company Examples
- Concierge MVPs
- Copywriting
- Decision-making
- Fast Company
- Favorite
- Feedback Loops
- First Customers
- Founder Discipline
- Good Questions
- Happiness
- Imposter Syndrome
- Jobs To Be Done
- Long Form
- Media
- North Star
- Organic Growth
- Picking a Customer
- Pricing
- Problems and Opportunities
- Productivity
- Quotes
- Readwise
- Risk
- Startup Wedge
- Stories
- Tactics
- Three Questions
- Uncomfortable Stuff
- Weekly Report
- Weekly System
- Writing a Book
- culture
The Fastest Way to Grow
The real unlock for early growth isn’t ads or hacks — it’s solving one specific pain better than anyone else.
85% of the Way
Why shipping something at 85% done often beats waiting for perfection — and how that unlocks real progress.
Three Hard Questions
Three pointed questions to stress-test your startup idea before investing more time or money.
Only Speak to People Who Already Get The Joke
Don’t waste time convincing skeptics. Build for the believers and watch your momentum multiply.
A Jobs Reminder
A vacation-inspired reminder that customers “hire” products to do emotional jobs — not just logical ones.
The Psychology of Daily Routine
Why structuring your days — especially as a founder — reduces mental load and unlocks better decision-making.
Cold Email Breakdown Using Thrust + Drag
Deconstructing a cold email with a startup lens: what moves a reader forward, and what slows them down.
The Clouds and Dirt of Risk
A framework for managing risk in a startup: keep your head in the vision and your hands in the messy details.
The Commonplace Book
How collecting thoughts in one place can spark big breakthroughs. Plus, a few selections to help you start…
The Best 17 Minutes You’ll Spend Today
A short but powerful podcast episode that will shift how you think about risk, urgency, and motivation as a founder.
Knowing Incentives
Customers don’t act out of logic — they act out of incentive. Here’s how to uncover and align with what really drives them.
Time Tracking
Why the best founders track how they spend their time — and how that habit reveals exactly what to fix next.
An Uncomfy Story
A quick story about how picking “uncomfy” things to pursue can pay off if you prioritize them.
On Being a Happy Entrepreneur
It’s possible to build ambitiously and stay sane — here’s a case for optimizing for happiness early on.
Some Reminders
A grab bag of founder mindset gems to help you stay grounded, brave, and motivated on rough days.
An Extra Circle
A metaphor for going deeper than surface-level startup thinking — especially when your first solution stalls.
Backwards Walk
A fast and flexible way to plan: visualize where you want to be, then walk it backwards to find the next step.
How to Stay Irresistible
The secret to staying top-of-mind with customers? Relentlessly solving one clear, emotional pain point.
Speed and Conviction
A call to move faster and trust your instincts, with examples of how speed creates leverage in early startups.