Field notes
Writing for founders in the unglamorous middle. You launched. It works. The line is flat. This is the part nobody screenshots, and the work that actually moves it.
July 3, 2026 · 5 min read
Marketing for founders who hate marketing
If marketing makes you cringe, you are probably reacting to the performative version: the hype, the hustle, the growth-hacking. The real work is closer to engineering than to selling. Here is how to do it without becoming someone you are not.
Read →June 29, 2026 · 5 min read
How much traffic do you need before marketing starts working?
Founders with low traffic often feel disqualified from marketing, like they need a crowd before anything counts. The opposite is true. Here is why traffic is a multiplier, not a prerequisite, and what to do with the little you have.
Read →June 26, 2026 · 6 min read
Is a marketing consultant worth it for an early-stage startup?
If you tried a consultant once and got vague advice, or you feel too small to be worth one, this is for you. Here is why most early-stage consulting fails, and the one thing that is actually worth paying for.
Read →June 22, 2026 · 5 min read
Why do marketing strategies that work for everyone else fail for you?
You read the playbook, ran it exactly, and got nothing. The strategy was not wrong. It was borrowed from someone with a different buyer. Here is why copied tactics fail and what makes them work.
Read →June 19, 2026 · 5 min read
Do you need to spend money on ads to market your startup?
The fear that real marketing requires an ad budget you do not have keeps a lot of founders stuck. Here is the truth about what ads actually do, why running them too early burns money, and what comes first and costs nothing.
Read →June 15, 2026 · 6 min read
What product-market fit actually is, and how to know if you have it
Most founders treat product-market fit like a lightning strike they are waiting for. It is not. Here is what it actually feels like, why asking "do I have it" usually means you do not yet, and why that is fine.
Read →June 12, 2026 · 5 min read
Why your first 10 customers matter more than your first 100
Chasing your first 100 customers is a vanity goal that skips the step that actually builds a business. Here is why the first 10, the ones you can talk to, are the real instrument, and what to do with them.
Read →June 8, 2026 · 6 min read
They say they like your product. They still do not buy. Why?
The most dangerous feedback a founder gets is "this is great." It feels like progress and tells you almost nothing. Here is why praise and purchase are different signals, and how to read past one to find the other.
Read →June 5, 2026 · 6 min read
You launched. Nobody is buying. What the silence actually means.
Launching to silence feels like a verdict on your product. It almost never is. Here is what "nobody is buying" actually hides, and the one thing that turns the silence back into information.
Read →June 2, 2026 · 6 min read
You think you know what to do. So why does the "how" feel impossible?
Most founders who launch and stall say "I know what to do, I just don't know how." The truth is usually the opposite. Here is why the how feels impossible, and what actually unlocks it.
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