Author: Kevin Tao
-
Young Presidents Organisation: An Insider’s Guide for 2026
You’re probably here because someone said YPO in that quiet, loaded way people say things when they want you to know they’re in a different league. You know the moment. You’re at a founder dinner, a conference hallway, or a “casual” networking event that somehow feels like a job interview with cocktails. Someone mentions the…
Written by
-
Mastering Process Improvements in Manufacturing
Your first real production run doesn’t feel like success. It feels like getting tackled by your own business. One vendor says the labels arrived late. Another says your packaging spec changed. A customer emails a photo of a defect you somehow missed. You’re staring at a spreadsheet, a text thread, and three open browser tabs,…
Written by
-
10 Best Shipping Fulfillment Companies for 2026
Your latest launch pops, then Thursday turns into a mess. Orders are stacked on the kitchen counter, one SKU is already oversold, and a late package lands in a customer support inbox before dinner. That is usually the point when fulfillment stops feeling like ops admin and starts affecting cash flow, repeat purchase rate, and…
Written by
-
Multichannel Inventory Management: Your Founder’s Guide
You know the moment. It’s late. You finally sit down, open your laptop, and feel good for about six seconds because sales are coming in. Then you see it. One order hit your Shopify store. Another hit Etsy. Same SKU. One unit left. Your stomach drops. Now you’re not celebrating demand. You’re deciding who gets…
Written by
-
Prep Center FBA: Your Guide to Scaling on Amazon
Your business probably didn’t start in a warehouse. It started on a laptop, a folding table, or a corner of your apartment. Then sales came in. Good problem. Then the boxes came. Less good. At first, packing your own inventory feels scrappy and noble. After a while, it becomes a trap. You’re not building a…
Written by
-
How to Find a Mentor for Your Startup in 2026
Most advice on how to find a mentor for your startup is bad. It tells you to “network harder,” “ask successful people for coffee,” or send a bunch of chirpy LinkedIn messages and hope one lands. That advice creates a pile of shallow conversations with people who like talking about startups more than helping founders…
Written by
-
How to Turn an Idea Into a Product: A Founder’s Guide
You’ve probably got it sitting somewhere already. A note on your phone. A sketch on a napkin. A half-baked Figma file. A weird little folder on your laptop named “big idea” or “startup stuff” or “don’t steal this.” I know that moment. You can see the finished product in your head. You can feel customers…
Written by
-
Find Factories in Chicago IL: The Founder’s Playbook
You’ve got a prototype on your kitchen table, a rough cost sheet in Google Docs, and ten browser tabs open for factories in chicago il. Every tab feels the same. A giant industrial company with no pricing, no clue if they take small runs, and a contact form that looks like it goes straight into…
Written by
-
Contrarian Thinking Reviews: A Founder’s Honest Take
You’re probably seeing Contrarian Thinking everywhere right now. A short clip about buying a laundromat. A tweet about skipping startups and buying cash flow instead. A polished pitch that says you do not need to invent the next big thing. You just need to buy something boring that already works. I get why that message…
Written by
-
10 PPC Advertising Strategies for Founder-Led Brands in 2026
I get it. You're building a brand from scratch, maybe here in Chicago like the founders I work with, and every dollar feels precious. You hear 'PPC' and you think 'money pit.' It can feel like a casino where the house always wins. But what if I told you PPC is more like a well-stocked…
Written by
