Thread by @YehongZhu

As a venture-backed founder, I frequently get asked what I actually do on a day-to-day basis.

In case you were wondering, here's a day in the life of a startup founder in Silicon Valley.

A thread 👇

1.

Our beta for @ZetteMedia is launching soon, and engineering needs final approval from product.

I pore over the Figma mocks, greenlighting the ones I want to use for our upcoming beta launch.

Wow, our designer is so talented. I like the subtle use of newsprint gray.

2.

I get an email that our Zette water bottles are ready for pickup. We've been ordering a lot of swag lately for conferences.

Unfortunately, they're nowhere to be found. Maybe the package room needs a day to process the shipment?

I decide this is the most logical conclusion.

3.

I go to pick up my new business cards instead. They are slightly ruined by the printers, and our brand color is an off-green instead of highlighter yellow.

Ugh, okay. Not ideal. I ping my Chief of Staff about getting a refund. He’ll have to sort this out later.

4.

Marketing asks when I have time to go over our Tik Tok strategy. I Slack them some times.

I've never posted on Tik Tok, but I’m committed to becoming an #influencer for Zette.

I only have 2 followers right now, but hey, everyone starts somewhere.

tiktok.com/@yehong.zhu

5.

My director of ops has a draft of conference materials to review.

She cleverly created fliers that looked like newspapers. Very on brand!

After a few rounds of edits, it is beginning to look more and more like the front page of a newspaper. I promise her final edits by EOD.

6.

Next up, building relationships with journalists.

I send a couple of emails about our upcoming launch at TechCrunch Disrupt. I start to miss my own days in the newsroom.

A TechCrunch journalist is asking questions about our product. Wait—I can totally send our media kit...

7.

I update our media kit in @DocSend with our recent press hits, and read it again before sending: zette.docsend.com/view/7xc9x2bg4…

Wow! We’ve come a long way since 2020. Feels good.

Also, we've gotten a ton of press. Shoutout to @joshuaqyang & @arielkk3 for being media savants 🙏

8.

I open my inbox, and a bunch of investors have emailed me again asking about our round.

Yikes. The deck's not ready. How do I defer without being rude?

I snooze all their emails. I make a mental note to respond next week. Yes, we'll open our raise. Right after Disrupt...

9.

I open up Figma again and finally face my demons.

3 separate versions of investor decks. All completely different.

How am I supposed to reconcile so many pitch decks!

How do I overcome my pitch deck paralysis?!

I stare in agony at the slides. Agony...

10.

For mental relief, I check my schedule for tomorrow. @mercury's inviting me to a private fundraising event.

The itinerary looks packed. And there's a tea bar! Just what I needed.

I introduce myself to the other founders on Slack. A few of them sign up for Zette's waitlist.

11.

My mother pings me on WeChat.

'You said you were top 5 in something? Can you send the article to me?'

Yes, mom, I’m one of the top 5 startups to watch by @BuiltInLA: builtinla.com/2022/09/28/los…

I’m so proud of you, she says. I tear up a little bit.

12.

I open up @Twitter to procrastinate on my deck.

I wonder if other people would be interested in my life?

What does a founder do, anyway?

Does my team know? Does anybody know?

It suddenly feels really important to tweet this. I open a new Google doc and start to type.

13.

I look up in shock that the sun is setting.

Jesus, how is it already 6:37 PM? I feel like I haven't even started the work I needed to do today!

I open up BeReal to post the pretty sunset.

Wow, their product is so good. I am envious that they have 53M installs.

14.

One day Zette will get there, too.

But only if I get back to work.

*Tweet all.*

/end

If you liked this thread, follow me for more early-stage startup content!

I can't wait to Tweet (and Tik Tok) my way into your heart 🫶

If you're interested in our product—which lets you unlock articles behind paywalls—sign up for our waitlist at ✨ zette.com ✨