Founders Finding Leverage

I’m on a mission to help early-stage founders find leverage with their most scarce resource: their time.

Over the years, I provided leverage to founders and thought leaders by acting as a thought partner and writing to give them greater impact and reach.  

The idea for Founder Ghostwriting started when I was helping the CEO of a seed-stage startup.

“We need someone to drive the go-to-market strategy to acquire our first X customers.”

But what does that mean? Especially for a seed-stage company with a product that’s not perfect (yet).

They were nowhere near finding product-market fit. The ideal customer profile wasn’t defined. They had more questions than answers. 

The solution is simple: Founder-led marketing. 

It’s act of writing online is simple yet time-consuming. The ROI is large when done right. 

It allows the founder to be authentic and build trust. They can explore new problems and solutions with important people in their space. 

It provides a platform for the founder to be known as a thought leader.

Just one post can result in a direct conversation with numerous (potential) customers. That’s leverage! Especially for an early-stage founder. 

For the founders who are insight-rich and time-poor, that’s where Founder Ghostwriting comes in. 

I help founders translate what they often say out loud into written words that are easy to understand and fun to read.

Let me obsess over the words while you obsess over your customer. 

(I’ve compiled a list of advice I’ve shared over the years. It’s for B2B SaaS founders who want to build an audience on LinkedIn.

I plan to expand on many of these in future posts. Let me know what you think!)

Founder-Led means Founder-First.

• Own your story.

• Only you can tell it. 

• Let writing be your superpower. 

• Give the people what they want–to engage with someone who deeply understands them and their problems.

• Don’t let others pitch your product. They’ll get it wrong.

Know thy problem. [1]

It’s one of these three.

• Known Problem with High Existing Demand: Your solution has to be the best.

• Known Problem with Zero Demand: Wake people up! Show them why your solution is better.

• Unknown Problem with Zero Demand: Get ready for a long road. You’re a visionary creating a new category. 

[1] Sequoia has a great framework to think about this. https://www.sequoiacap.com/article/pmf-framework/

Know thy self.

• Know where your time is best spent. Do more there.

• Know where you get your energy from. Do more there.

• For everything else, drop things that are not important.
  Delegate things that are.

Writing as a form of leverage.

• Scale yourself through writing.

• Build an audience and educate them on the problem you’re solving.

• Start a conversation with people who have that problem today. 

• Find those that don't. Start a conversation with them. Learn from them. 

What the kids are saying.

• Writing is relational and writing through conversation is all the rage.

• The principle is simple: write like you talk.

• Get out and try it. Take out your phone, go for a walk, and talk it out. 

• Record yourself. Then, translate the recording into a piece of writing.

• A buddy can help.

Use the Buddy System.

• Find a friend who knows you.

• Find a coworker who knows your company.

• Find a ghostwriter who knows the industry you’re in.

• Find someone you enjoy talking to.

• Have that person build on your ideas with deep research.

• Make sure that person tells you when you have a good idea 

• And challenge you when you don’t.

• Find someone who can combine your ideas with something new to create something even more unique.

• Watch out for The Curse of Knowledge.

The Poker’s Patsy and The Curse of Knowledge.

• “As they say in poker, ‘If you’ve been in the game 30 minutes and don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.'” (Warren Buffet) 

• Don’t worry; I’m not calling you a patsy. 

• But you probably suffer from a similar lack of awareness—the Curse of Knowledge.

• If you suffer from The Curse, your audience doesn’t understand you.

• Words come out, but your message doesn’t land.

• To fix, ask for feedback and help. Speak plainly.

Don’t get fancy, and be specific.

• We’re not trying to impress anyone. 

• Big words and jargon don’t belong. 

• Pack as much as you can in as few words as possible.

Craft over Kraft.

• Go for the homemade, nutrient-rich stuff. Not the mass-produced sh*%. 

• Keep your writing clear and concise.

• Write with life. Reality has a surprising amount of details.

• No AI-generated content here.

• People want to hear from you.

• Let those details come to life.

Long-term Game with Compounding Returns.

• There are no shortcuts.

• Start with the basics.

• Optimize your profile. Use a good pic. Improve your bio.

• Show how you can help others.

• Reach out and connect to people. Think big. Find the people who already talk to your audience. 

• Engage with them regularly. 

• Post original content.

• Give before you ask.

Buying Snake Oil.

• Nobody can promise virality (and virality isn’t always what you need).

• Don’t listen to someone solely focused on likes, reshares, and comments.

• A lot of value is created outside of social metrics.

• If one post results in a DM from someone in your target audience, that’s a success.

• We can’t forget about depth.

The First One, Ten, Hundred, and Thousand Customers.

• You’ll do different things once you find product market fit. 

• You’ll do different things when you raise a Series A or B.

• We’re not worried about that now. 

• We want to lay the foundation that enables you to find your first customer.

• Then your first ten, hundred, and thousand.