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A Founder's Journey

Founder's Journey — Random musings navigating the exciting chaos of early-stage tech startups.

Keywords#startuplife48#entrepreneurship41#innovation24#startupjourney22#startups19#leadership16#startupgrowth16#startupsuccess14#retailtech12#entrepreneur11#decisionmaking11#adaptability11#retailanalytics11#startuplessons11#startupchallenges11#customerexperience10#businessstrategy10#productdevelopment10#retailinnovation10#businessgrowth10#teambuilding9#startupculture9
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309 articles

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Finding the Problem & Validating the Idea54
“We Don’t Have Time”: Strategy vs. Urgency at the Kitchen Table6 Apr 2026PART 2: The Edge Case, Part 2 — How AI Helps You Actually Listen (And Why Humans Still Matter)29 Jan 2026The Edge Case: What My Daughter's Rant Taught Me About Missing Signals - Part 127 Jan 2026The Hardest Question: Why Are You Building This?24 Oct 2025The Napkin Test: The Ultimate Gauge of Simplicity in the 0-to-1 Journey16 Oct 2025Planting Your Flag: The Choice between Rabbits and Whales - Understanding the Territory (Part 1)14 Oct 2025Idea Velocity: When Vibe Coding Turns Pivots into Blinks23 Jul 2025Deja Vu: When a Problem Just Won't Die9 Jul 2025Where's the Gold Mine? Tuning Your Focus in the Startup Landscape13 May 2025The Whack-a-Mole Trap: Avoiding Fragmented Efforts in a Target-Rich Environment29 Apr 2025Beyond the Fragment: Constructing a Clear Problem Mosaic15 Apr 2025Unfinished Business: The Founder's Itch19 Feb 2025The Toy Story of Value Proposition: Why Understanding Your Audience is Key4 Feb 2025Beyond Logic: Understanding the Psychology of Customer Decisions28 Jan 2025Faith to Fact: Validating Your Hypothesis in the Real World21 Jan 2025The Nuanced World of the Venture Studio17 Jan 2025Inspired by the Dreamers22 Nov 2024Same but Different : Navigating the Southeast Asian Landscape22 Oct 2024The Art of Price Discovery: Lessons from the Grocery Aisle13 Aug 2024Breaking Free from Loyalty Chains: A Consumer's Viewpoint8 Aug 2024Taming the Context Switching Chameleon1 Aug 2024Unearthing Your Unfair Advantage19 Jul 2024Is My Problem Problematic? A Startup's Guide to Avoiding Solution Pollution11 Jul 2024Learning to Jump in Puddles (Sometimes)2 Jul 2024The PMF Pendulum: When You're Ahead of the Curve (and Maybe a Little Delusional)4 Jun 2024The "I Don't Know Sh*t" Epiphany: A Founder's Rite of Passage21 May 2024The Allure of the TAM Monster: Why Early-Stage Startups Should Embrace the Niche16 May 2024The Human Paradox: Owning Our Quirks and Conquering Kryptonite14 May 2024From Feature Frenzy to Finding the "Hair on Fire" Problem: A Lesson in MVO7 May 2024Setting (and Keeping) the Record Straight in the Whirlwind2 May 2024Shut Up and Listen: The Power of Deep Discovery30 Apr 2024Taking Off Blindfolded - Why Metrics Matter (and Why Experience Helps Too)14 Apr 2024Charting Your Course - Finding Your "Why" in the Startup Maze22 Mar 2024Escaping the Startup Labyrinth - You Know the Traps, Now Avoid Them18 Mar 2024Hiring Creative Problem Solvers - The Key to Startup Success11 Mar 2024Taming the Context Switching Chameleon - Managing the Early-Stage Founder's Brain27 Feb 2024From Yawns to Wows, Mastering your Sales Pitch.7 Feb 2024Why Execution Trumps Imagination (Unless You're Dilbert)5 Feb 2024Validating Your Startup Idea Like a Boss (Without Breaking the Bank)1 Feb 2024Building Empires, One "Sell" at a Time25 Jan 2024Chasing Smoke Signals and Dancing with Downdrafts11 Jan 2024Understanding the True Problem in Your Startup Journey10 Jan 2024Finding My Beachhead11 Dec 2023Capturing the Hidden Goldmine of Brick-and-Mortar Data7 Dec 2023From Itches to Broken Legs, Identifying Real Problems Worth Solving5 Dec 2023Unlocking Tomorrow's Potential (Our Journey with Gen AI)2 Nov 2023The Great Coffee Shop Race at the SWITCH Conference1 Nov 2023Navigating the High Seas of Tomorrow's Retail12 Sep 2023Building Towards Hyper-Personalisation - Crafting the Phygital Shopper Experience16 Aug 2023The Power of Asking "Why" and First Principles Thinking14 Jul 2023Balancing Lessons Learned (by others) and Personal Experience22 Jun 2023Should you "startup"​?15 Jan 2020The importance of Personas, and why you should use them.4 Dec 2019Understanding the fence around your customers15 Oct 2019
Building the Product & the Team85
Someday Musings: The Ferrari Paradox, or How to Build a Hyde to Save Jekyll29 May 2026Lost in Translation: Why Building a Business is Really Just a Conversation with the Market25 Feb 2026The Warm-Up Rep: Parallels Between My 4-Year-Old’s School Video and Building in the Real World10 Feb 2026The Startup Factory: What Teaching My Kid to Swim Taught Me About Venture Studios22 Jan 2026The Unicorn Bottle and the Squirrel: A Family Lesson in Planning Horizons15 Jan 2026Balancing the Algorithm: Why Speed and Empathy Must Coexist in AI-Driven Product Leadership29 Aug 2025From Pixels to Products: My Furniture Odyssey and the Art of the "Slow" Fix10 Jun 2025Building the Engine of Tomorrow: Structuring a Corporate Venture Unit for Sustained Growth6 May 2025Charting the Unknown: A Strategic Framework for Identifying, Sizing, and Prioritizing New Ventures1 May 2025The Founder's Edge: Sharpening Your Unfair Advantage10 Apr 2025The Rise of the AI Agent23 Jan 2025Second Time Around: Lessons from Parenthood and Entrepreneurship13 Sep 2024Ditch the Beer Goggles : A Guide to being Practical6 Aug 2024Seeing Around the Bend30 Jul 2024Turning LinkedIn Connections into Meaningful Conversations23 Jul 2024Do We Need a Framework for Disruptive Technologies?9 Jul 2024Building Your Own Startup - The Ultimate Product Management Bootcamp6 Jun 2024Building Bridges Across the Distance - The Art of Remote Teams25 Apr 2024Building Your Startup Within a Corporate Giant9 Apr 2024Why "Good Enough" Data is the Fuel of Startup Success (and Why It's Enough to Take That Leap)4 Apr 2024Hooked on a Feeling, My Continuing Quest for PMF3 Apr 2024From Beer Preferences to Building a Better Business2 Apr 2024Building Your Dream Team - Beyond Resumes and Skills26 Mar 2024Building with Blocks - Why Generalists Rule the Early Sandbox21 Mar 2024Navigating the Startup Scrummage - Getting Your Team Back on Track26 Feb 2024From Solo Mission to Shared Vision - Forging the Perfect Co-Foundry in the Tech Startup Crucible16 Feb 2024Disrupting the Shelf with AI, One Insightful Step at a Time (Statistically Speaking)2 Feb 2024Building a Dream Team of Superstars (Who SHOULD Be Smarter Than You)24 Jan 2024From Bespoke to Scalable - The Service Springboard to Product Powerhouse22 Jan 2024Conquering the Crucible - Where Ideas Find Their True Form in the Fires of Reality15 Jan 2024The Power of Unexpected Conversations in Shaping Vision13 Dec 2023A Chorus of Chaos and Camaraderie12 Dec 2023Navigating the Unexpected as an Early-Stage Founder1 Dec 2023Navigating the Labyrinth of Traditional Retail30 Nov 2023Navigating the "Blah Hours"29 Nov 2023Navigating the Chaos of Prioritization in the Quest for Product-Market Fit27 Nov 2023The 7-Day Work Week Fantasy17 Nov 2023Adapt like water16 Nov 2023Stretching Every Buck as an Early-Stage Founder15 Nov 2023The "Build It and They Will Come" Paradox9 Nov 2023Finding Gold in Unexpected Places7 Nov 2023Putting Yourself Out There6 Nov 2023The Multifaceted (and mostly chaotic) Role of an Early-Stage Startup Founder3 Nov 2023The Joys of Potty Training and Letting Go30 Oct 2023Nurturing Technical Maturity - From Inception to Enterprise Ready27 Oct 2023From Nervous Nails to Victory Toasts in Contract Limbo26 Oct 2023Building a Startup with geographically distributed Founders16 Oct 2023The Importance of Finding Founder-Market Fit11 Oct 2023The Startup scaling conundrum10 Oct 2023Navigating Common Pitfalls of Product Roadmapping4 Oct 2023Decoding the Dollars and Cents of Data-Driven Success (ROI)3 Oct 2023Building a Data and Insights SaaS Company29 Sep 2023A Staged AI and ML Approach to Revolutionizing Retail25 Sep 2023Building High-Performing Product Teams and Nurturing Success from 0-1, 1-10, and Beyond21 Sep 2023The Evolution of Retail Analytics19 Sep 2023Lessons from the Apple and Android Ecosystems18 Sep 2023From F1 to Startups17 Sep 2023To Moat or Not to Moat, thats the question! (for an early stage startup)13 Sep 2023Teaming Up with MNOs for Retail Transformation8 Sep 2023In-Flight Wi-Fi a lesson in Feature Prioritization and understanding your ICP.7 Sep 2023The Wisdom of Others5 Sep 2023Embracing the SaaS Ecosystem, Building Faster, Building Better4 Sep 2023AI's Role in Retail Analytics for Value Creation25 Aug 2023Navigating the Data Deluge to Deliver Insights that Matter23 Aug 2023Navigating Ethical Use of Retail Data in the Landscape of Retail Analytics22 Aug 2023Navigating a Distributed Team Strategy15 Aug 2023Navigating UX and Product Design in Startup Waters11 Aug 2023S#%^ that keeps me up at night10 Aug 2023Navigating Customer-Centric Product Development in the 0-1 Stage9 Aug 2023Prioritizing Pillars for Startup Success during your 0-1 phase.8 Aug 2023Reflections on Cross-Functional Collaboration in the 0-1 Stage4 Aug 2023Navigating the Retail Tech Maze to build a viable SaaS business.31 Jul 2023The Hilarious Circus Inside My Mind26 Jul 2023Leveraging Data Insights for Effective Product Decisions13 Jul 2023The Power of Actionable Data Insights7 Jul 2023The Remarkable Impact of Interns27 Jun 2023Balancing Growth and Letting Go22 Jun 2023Building a team in your 0-1 journey22 Jun 2023Embrace Imperfection: The Power of Shipping and Iterating22 Jun 2023Navigating the Product Maze in the 0-1 Stage22 Jun 2023Building and Growing Product Teams19 Mar 2020What kind of partnership should you be looking for?26 Nov 2019Traits of a great partnership5 Nov 2019Guerilla Tactics - When you need to find an edge29 Oct 2019Lessons learned from packing and shipping furniture9 Oct 2019
Go-to-Market, Pricing & Revenue48
The Unplanned Swerve: Why Second-Time Founders Crash Less12 Dec 2025Planting Your Flag: The Choice between Rabbits and Whales - Making Your Strategic Commitment (Part 2)14 Oct 2025A Tale of Two Birthday Parties: The Customer-Consumer Paradox9 Sep 2025The Dream is Closer Than You Think: Gen AI's Democratization of Creation3 Apr 2025The Parallels Between Parenting and Early-Stage Sales1 Oct 2024The Gen AI Revolution: Beyond the Buzzwords and the Gold Rush Mentality25 Jun 2024Why Stepping Outside Your Lane is the Key to Growth (For Startups and Fussy Toddlers)30 May 2024The road to "hell" is paved with good intentions (yep, another PMF story)23 Apr 2024Demystifying the B2B Buyer - Mapping Your Ideal Customer4 Mar 2024Creative Dealmaking in the Face of the Unknown15 Feb 2024Beyond the Buzzwords, Decoding What Truly Matters to Your Customers14 Feb 2024From Planting Seeds of Sales Success to Nurturing a Sequoia of Dealmakers17 Jan 2024Navigating the RFI/RFP/RFQ Labyrinth for Early-Stage Startups16 Jan 2024Wishing for Distribution Superpowers.12 Jan 2024How Tech Alliances Fuel Startup Growth7 Jan 2024Finding the Chord that Captures Customer Hearts (and Wallets)4 Jan 2024Building in the Face of Doubt4 Dec 2023Bridging Gaps for a Shopper-First Future26 Nov 2023The Iceberg Analogy in Solution Framing23 Nov 2023Finding B2B Product-Market Fit Amidst Prolonged Sales Cycles18 Nov 2023Navigating ACV in the Retail Analytics Space10 Nov 2023Cracking your First Ten Clients18 Oct 2023The Power of Strategic Partnerships in Enterprise Sales at the 0-1 Stage13 Oct 2023Deciphering the Rubik's cube of SaaS pricing for your early stage startup28 Sep 2023Navigating the Self-Service Sales Funnel26 Sep 2023Startup Insights from a Longtime Apple Customer.16 Sep 2023Charting your SaaS Go-to-Market Strategy15 Sep 2023Maximizing the impact of your Conference Booth11 Sep 2023The Power of Saying 'No' to SOME potential Clients6 Sep 2023Unleashing the Power of Digital Assistants to Transform Retail Checkout31 Aug 2023When Demos Speak Louder than Slides29 Aug 2023Crafting Your 'Startup on a Hill' Vision Over Weekends26 Aug 2023The Importance of finding the Right First Clients24 Aug 2023Navigating Go-to-Market choices through the 0-1 Stage of your startup18 Aug 2023Unlocking more value through integrating existing Retail Technology Solutions17 Aug 2023The Value of a Strategic Partnership14 Aug 2023Unlocking Brick-and-Mortar Retail's Potential7 Aug 2023Strategies to reduce risks for your next potential B2B customer3 Aug 2023The Art of Storytelling - Crafting and Refining Your Narrative28 Jul 2023Pleasant Side Effects of Building a Strong Foundation21 Jul 2023Prepping for Your Next Customer Meeting17 Jul 2023The Art of getting a "YES" from your customers4 Jul 2023Unraveling the Pricing Puzzle23 Jun 2023Lessons Learned in Go-to-Market Strategy22 Jun 2023The quest (stress?) for ARR22 Jun 2023How B2C tech experiences are changing the way traditional B2B operates.30 Mar 2020Which revenue model is right for your business?11 Dec 2019The slippery slope of critical customer feedback for early stage startups.3 Oct 2019
Fundraising & Investors15
Leadership, Team & Culture28
"Do You Still Love Me?" – The Art of Disappointed Leadership7 Jan 2026Choosing Your AI Model: It's Like Interviewing a Babysitter19 Aug 2025Decision Making in the Fog6 Nov 2024Building a Startup: The Importance of Setting Guardrails13 Jun 2024The Symphony of Startup Success (and Why You Need Every Instrument Playing)5 Apr 2024The Stakeholder Symphony - Conducting a Chorus of Expectations27 Mar 2024The Art of the Hard Conversation - Why Honesty is Your Co-founding Currency13 Mar 2024When the Devil Wears Bifocals - Creating Your Own Option2 Mar 2024Walking the Tightrope - Balancing Forthrightness with Vision1 Mar 2024Brewing in Stealth - Unveiling the "Strategies" Behind Enigmatic Profiles22 Feb 2024Mastering Decisions Through Strategic Playtesting13 Feb 2024The Mallmorphosis, From Data Desert to Shopper Oasis?6 Feb 2024Beyond Feedback – Building a Fortress of Traction for Seed Funding23 Jan 2024The "Art" of Conflict Management19 Jan 2024Navigating Workforce Reductions with Compassion and Respect8 Jan 2024Your Guide to Product Advisory Councils6 Jan 2024Early Strategic Decisions for Long-Term Success22 Nov 2023Show and Tell Tactics14 Nov 2023Unburdening the Past20 Oct 2023The Startup Shirt Saga27 Sep 2023Transforming Board Meetings From Bored to Empowered22 Sep 2023Navigating the App Conundrum (To Build or Not to Build)20 Sep 2023Nurturing a Data-Driven Culture14 Sep 2023A Founder's Guide to Taking Time Off1 Sep 2023The Tight rope walk of balancing pressure as an Early Stage Founder30 Aug 2023Navigating the Sea of Stakeholder Management21 Aug 2023The Importance of Town Halls10 Jul 2023"Mastering" the Art of Structured Meetings22 Jun 2023
The Founder's Mindset & Resilience79
Someday Musings: The Pram-Bike-Gadget and the Return of the Adult Dreamer13 May 2026Someday Musings: "I'll Know It When I See It" (And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves)14 Apr 2026Someday Musings: "In Its Own Time" (Or, The 17-Month Wait)31 Mar 2026Tell Me More: The Three Most Powerful Words in Any Conversation23 Mar 2026Who's Actually Measuring the Risk? (Ask the 18-Month-Old)19 Mar 2026When the Plan Meets Reality4 Mar 2026Monday Musings: Scribbles, Safe Zones, and the Art of the Organizational Off-Ramp16 Feb 2026Someday Musings: The Cinnamon Scrub Compromise7 Feb 2026The Unfiltered Founder, Week 2: Stop Coding, Start Talking7 Nov 2025The Unfiltered Founder: Real Questions Every Early-Stage Startup Faces31 Oct 2025The Universal Truth of Failure: Lessons from Meta's Demo "Disaster"23 Sep 2025From Hand-Built Guardrails to a Standardized Toolkit: My Experiences in Building Reliable AI28 Aug 2025When Agentic AI Acts Like a Toddler18 Aug 2025The Horner Pivot: When the Context Shifts Around You9 Jul 2025The Art of Inquiry: Navigating the Unknown with the Right Questions20 May 2025The "Better Mousetrap" Mirage: Why Your Gut Isn't Always on Fire25 Apr 2025The Art of the Course Correction: A Founder's Guide to Pivoting Without Panic23 Apr 2025Navigating the Labyrinth of a Large Organization (and its Inertia)8 Apr 2025Choosing Your Breaching Position25 Feb 2025Building a Startup with a "Memento" Mindset12 Feb 2025Muscle Memory and the Startup Grind: Rediscovering Lost Skills11 Feb 2025The Outfit Effect15 Jan 2025Plant Your Tree Today, Break the Cycle of Inaction1 Jan 2025Finding Common Ground29 Oct 2024Patience and Persistence: The Balancing Act of Entrepreneurship10 Oct 2024The Fine Line Between Resilience and Folly20 Sep 2024Building your Sandbox : Lessons from the Home Bar27 Aug 2024Choosing Your Hard Path20 Aug 2024Embrace Imperfection: Lessons from a Tiny Artist25 Jul 2024Lessons Learned Behind the Bar: How Bartending Skills Translate to Startups21 Jul 2024Beyond the Madness: A Networker's Guide to Finding Your Groove16 Jul 2024Reboot, Refresh, Rethink: Escape the Startup Stress Trap by Breaking Free of Old Solutions5 Jul 2024Lessons Learned From Leaping First and Asking Questions Later27 Jun 2024Michael Scott's Guide to Crushing It (or Not) in the Startup World20 Jun 2024"Raising" the Next Generation17 Jun 2024The Allure of the Startup: Why the Dream Outshines the Grind11 Jun 2024The Joy of Building for Others28 May 2024Lessons Learned from Launching a Gin Brand for the Startup Game23 May 2024Double Down or Depart: A Founder's Odyssey Through the Startup Cosmos9 May 2024Dancing with Death (and Somehow Still Standing)2 May 2024The Founder Mindset - It's Not Just a Title, It's a Way of Being18 Apr 2024Random Musings: Is There a "Perfect" Travel Planning Platform on the Horizon?16 Apr 2024Building Scar Tissue11 Apr 2024Confronting Doubt as an Entrepreneur29 Mar 2024When is the Right Time to Launch Your Startup?25 Mar 2024The One-Slice-of-Pizza Premonition - Why Ignoring Warning Signs Can Derail Your Startup.20 Mar 2024How my Two-Year-Old is Teaching Me to Pause Before Reacting19 Mar 2024How Passion Can (Sometimes) Become Your Prison14 Mar 2024Embracing the "Maybe It Sucks" Mentality28 Feb 2024Braving the Blank Page - When My Mind Went AWOL26 Jan 2024Navigating the Wilderness of Building Your Dream18 Jan 2024Why Failure Isn't the End of the Ride16 Dec 2023Running on Fumes14 Dec 2023The Founder's Journey: A Love Affair with the Unknown8 Dec 2023Tackling Retail's Common Challenges6 Dec 2023A Founder's "Unfiltered" Journey : The Harsh Realities of Entrepreneurship28 Nov 2023Flying a Rocket You've Never Piloted Before21 Nov 2023Navigating the Stress Storm8 Nov 2023Finding your "Tone" on Linkedin5 Nov 2023Nurturing the Snowball: A Founder's Journey of Building and Scaling a Startup Without It Becoming Roadkill25 Oct 2023Navigating Cashflow Stress While Fostering Growth24 Oct 2023Are Conferences worth the Hype or Just Hype?19 Oct 2023The Frustrations of the Early-Stage Startup Odyssey12 Oct 2023The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men.......9 Oct 2023Lessons from Failing Forward2 Oct 2023Navigating the Terrible Twos of Parenthood and Startups24 Sep 2023A Quest for Consistency22 Sep 2023Musing from a Beach, Navigating the Startup 0-1 Phase Through Tides of Risk.3 Sep 2023Startup lessons from a Sleepless Night with my Toddler28 Aug 2023The Power of Taking a Breather Amid the Startup Hustle19 Aug 2023Reflections from the Sprint18 Aug 2023Lessons in Resilience and Persistence5 Jul 2023Reflecting on the roads not taken26 Jun 2023The Pendulum: Balancing the Swings of Startup Growth22 Jun 2023Coping with a lockdown24 Mar 2020Business reactions during a pandemic18 Mar 2020Consumer Insights from behind the bar.7 Feb 2020How do you define success?12 Nov 2019Lessons from a "failed"​ Kitchen22 Oct 2019