Ten Rules for Web Startups by @ev (2005)
1: Be Narrow
2: Be Different
3: Be Casual
4: Be Picky
5: Be User-Centric
6: Be Self-Centered
7: Be Greedy
8: Be Tiny
9: Be Agile
10: Be Balanced
11 (bonus!): Be Wary
Founders worry about technical debt. But clarity debt is more dangerous. Unclear decisions compound faster than unclear code.
Technical debt can slow a team down, but it’s visible. You know when the system is creaking under its weight. Clarity debt is silent and insidious. It happens when decisions are made without clear goals, communication lacks precision, or alignment is assumed rather than verified.
Over time, this debt erodes trust and efficiency. Teams waste hours reinterpreting vague directives, rehashing decisions, or resolving misunderstandings. Decisions that should take days stretch into weeks as people try to decipher intent or context that wasn’t explicitly shared.
Early stage VC backed SaaS companies have to get to larger and larger customers faster then ever before in order to grow into their recent valuations. This opens up opportunities for pre-seed and seed stage companies to double down on freemium while maintaining a low burn rate.
If you’re early with low burn, I would recommend figuring out if you have a viable freemium strategy. A free forever product that can have high retention is what you’re aiming for.
Better yet, if you’re self-funded then this is your time to shine. Do what well-funded competitors with large teams cannot easily do. What was a healthy burn rate a year ago is considered baggage now.
"80% of professional baseball players by the age of 40 are either broke and/or divorced." @Brett_Phillips8 on the need to invest in your future as an athlete. #xPunks2022
I commissioned 1:1 derivatives of several NFTs that I’m planning on holding. I wanted to support these artists and also own a collection frozen in time that represents these early days of jpeg ownership.
First up, my Lazy Lion profile pic was made into 3d by @Futuredesigns01
I really love the 3d style that @Futuredesigns01 creates for different collections. Here’s another one I commissioned of my favorite Cool Cat.