Tag: founder playbook

  • Early Stage Companies: Master Metrics & Traction in 2026

    Most advice about early stage companies is built for a tiny slice of founders. It assumes you're raising VC, building software, and chasing the same milestones as everyone on startup Twitter. That's bad advice for many founders. If you're building a product brand, an ecommerce business, or a practical service company in Chicago or the…

  • How to Create a Referral Program That Attracts Givers

    Most advice on how to create a referral program is built for brands that sell socks, software, or meal kits. It tells you to slap a discount on a page, send a blast, and wait for “growth.” I think that advice is wrong for community-first founders. If you’re building around trust, taste, and actual relationships,…