Linda Z Profile picture
PM turned solopreneur. Built products at Faire, patience at Snapchat, spreadsheets & storytelling at Bain. Recovering TikTok addict.
May 21, 2021 6 tweets 2 min read
I didn't understand how stock options work - it cost me $300K

Read this if you're at a startup or planning to join one: Image Well-known:
• Startup requires taking salary cut
• Deal is sweetened with equity — might mint millions!

Less known:
• You need cash to redeem your stock options
• You don’t OWN shares, you own the right to BUY them

Sometimes it's trivial to buy...
Feb 28, 2021 5 tweets 2 min read
You wouldn’t marry someone after the first date, why would you join a company you barely know?

Revealing qs:
• What were the last few things you launched? How did you decide them?
• What have you learned about your customers? How did you learn it?
👇 • What separates those who thrive vs. flounder? Can you share examples?
• What types of people have you fired in this role vs. left voluntarily?

Many capable people are organ rejected by companies

Better to know upfront than be caught blindsided on the job
Feb 23, 2021 13 tweets 4 min read
12 months ago: started writing in private to "find my voice"

10 months ago: realized best way to improve is to publish

Today: crossed 5000 subs!

Let's talk:
- Overcoming cold start: 0 readers
- Finding your red pill
- Best-performing subject lines
- Resources to help you Image # subs is a vanity metric without digging deeper:

- Open rates vary from 33%-50% (more on this later), never done a scrub of inactives but probably should
- Unsub rate <0.5% (think this is healthy?)
- Countless new friends! 🥰
- Infinite joy♾️
Feb 15, 2021 10 tweets 2 min read
What makes a hit blog post?

I've written close to 50 posts. They vary from <200 views to 19K+

Learnings from reverse-engineering hits and misses 👇 Does this post have a distinct category?

Popular posts are relatively easy to categorize. They clearly stand for something, whether it's career strategy, a step-by-step framework, or a "how I did it" story

They fit into people's lives, and are more likely to be shared
Jan 12, 2021 11 tweets 5 min read
Launched preorders over the weekend, and crossed $10K in sales so far!

First foray into selling on the internet so I had no idea what to expect, but this has definitely exceeded what I could imagine even a few weeks ago.

Learnings & mistakes below 👇 ImageImage Dynamic, FOMO pricing works.

Example: X seats available at $Y. Price will go up for broader release.

1. Gives people a reason to buy now vs. wait and forget.
2. Rewards early supporters with a better deal before reviews serve as credibility signal