Does your startup need a manifesto?
Manifesto punching above its weight class
Manifesto misconceptions
When you think of a manifesto, what comes to mind? Something big and influential? Perhaps the Declaration of Independence (Thomas Jefferson and others) or the Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels)?
The reality is that most manifestos don’t attempt to change the course of history. Most are still important but have more narrow ambitions.
It's not about how many people you move; it’s about moving those who otherwise wouldn’t have.
Manifest as a verb means ‘to make clear or evident’.1 Manifesto, the noun, is “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.”2
A more modern interpretation of a manifesto is a written vision of the future that’s clear and empowering; it helps customers, investors, and employees understand the future you’re building and invites them to build it with you.
Take two small but mighty examples:
Foster, a writing community, published a 617-word manifesto3 arguing the future of writing doesn’t need to be a solitary practice. The idea of escaping life for a week, month, or year to write in a cabin doesn’t work. For Foster, real writing happens when people work together to support each other. To them: “Exceptional writing is collaborative.”
Rostra, a marketing agency that helps startup founders “go direct” with their communications, published an 857-word manifesto4 arguing that “Traditional PR is dead” and “Communication is the founder’s job.” The manifesto, published in March 2024, quickly found its audience and attracted traditional media's attention.5
These are great examples of well-written manifestos that aren’t big and grand. Yet, they are incredibly effective at getting people to join forces and build the future they describe.
Manifesto magic
Startup founders have a tough job. There are many reasons why, but it all comes down to one thing: Founders have a lot to do and very little time to do it.
Aside from saying ‘no’ more, founders have one viable option: spend more time engaging in high-leverage activities.
Writing a manifesto is one of those activities. It’s the ultimate form of leverage a founder can have. It can raise capital, recruit employees, and attract customers–all at the same time.
A well-written manifesto is short and full of insights; every sentence is important. It’s generally no more than 1,500 words and offers a window into the founder's mind, their personality, and the problem they're obsessed with.
Great manifestos evoke an emotional response from the reader.
They key is to extend beyond thinking and to connect with the reader on a deeper level. Manifestos should make the reader feel inspired, terrified, or enraged—any emotion, really.
Foster makes writers in their community feel connected, grateful, and confident through collaborative writing. Rostra makes founders feel empowered and liberated by not relying on traditional media to tell their stories.
When a startup needs a manifesto
A good litmus test centers around the outcomes founders promise.
If the founder promises better-than-average outcomes and has different-than-average beliefs, they need a manifesto.6
If the founder is creating a ‘new category,’ as they say in Silicon Valley, they need a manifesto.
Writing a manifesto is not for everyone, nor the faint of heart.
Publishing a manifesto is a vulnerable act; it opens the founder up to critique and criticism. The manifesto must be strong enough to stand alone, naked to the world. There is nothing to hide—just clear viewpoints in raw form.
At the same time, it can be a magnet to help attract the true fans. It enables the founder to bring the right people into their life at the right time.
When done right, the manifesto punches above its weight class.
Ghostwriting a Manifesto
My job as a ghostwriter is not that different from my previous role as a Chief of Staff for startup executives. At its core, I work with startup founders and executives to 1) bring out their best ideas and 2) find the best way to communicate them.
This post was inspired by my recent work writing a manifesto for a founder. It was a fun and collaborative experience. The first-time founder had big expectations for their manifesto, and we gave it the time and attention it deserved, seven drafts over several weeks.
Challenges founders have in communicating their vision.
For the majority of founders, speaking is easier (and faster) than writing. They don’t have the time or desire to go through multiple rounds of edits to ensure their work is crafted in the best way possible. This is where I come in.
I also help founders overcome the Curse of Knowledge, a common and often unconscious bias. Founders assume readers have the same background knowledge as they do. They use jargon and obscure terminology, esoteric concepts, or hard-to-understand abstractions, which prevents readers from understanding their writing. Ultimately, it’s a failure to empathize with the reader fully.
It’s my job to know who the audience is, what they know, and how best to communicate with them.
Founders bring the ideas; I make sure they are understood.
Ready to write a manifesto?
If you muster up the courage to write one on your own, here are a few tips to get you started.
Do what you think is right, and don’t hold back. There are no rules. Just be authentic.
Manifestos have a unique relationship with time. No other document simultaneously defines the present, states the ideal future, and provides a way to measure how much has changed (as time passes). Be sure to take this into account when writing one.
Don’t try to sell anything. They are used to energize and galvanize people around a specific problem and vision for the future.
Don’t rush it. It will serve you throughout the life of your company. Take time to refine and structure your ideas.
Voice is important. Make sure your unique style and personality come through.
Usually written from a first-person perspective. The use of ‘I’ and ‘we’ is encouraged. Just make sure you’re clear on who ‘we’ is. The use of the second-person perspective is OK, too. The ‘you’ helps draw the reader in, like you were talking to them at a coffee shop.
Make it fun to read. They should ‘POP’7 and be personal, observational, and playful.
Looking for more help?
If you’re a founder and want to learn how a manifesto could benefit you and your company, reach out to me. I love talking about this stuff and there is no cost and no obligation to work together.
For inspiration, here is a link to 30+ other manifestos I studied. My top three are:
https://github.com/Bloomberg-Beta/Manual/blob/main/1%20-%20Manual.md (a manifesto and more)
Acknowledgments
Thank you very much to Michael Dean, Charlie Becker, and Lyle McKeany for providing excellent feedback on earlier drafts of this essay.
1 https://www.dictionary.com/browse/manifest
2 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifesto
3 https://app.foster.co/manifesto
5 https://www.prweek.com/article/1865810/ex-activision-blizzard-cco-lulu-cheng-meservey-launches-agency and https://www.axios.com/2024/03/19/activision-blizzard-meservey-rostra-communications-firm
6 Idea of ‘different-than-average beliefs’ came from an earlier version of https://helpthisbook.com/robfitz/outcome-oriented-communities
7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haTMaxlDgVk (POP Writing from David Perell and Ellen Fishbein)