PPPPosting from Paradise (Four Ps #235)
Getting Unfu*ked, 0 to 1 SaaS Startup Lessons, Newsletters Triage & French Toast
It’s me, your Paradise Prophet for the week, sending this post from an undisclosed location halfway between the pool and a beach abutting the Caribbean Sea.
I'll admit that one of these Four Ps was written on the flight down while my wife and kids watched movies, while the others are directly inspired by "Vacation Brain," typed up on my phone just this morning.
Despite all the advancements in tech, hardware, and software, writing on a phone isn't a great experience, especially with fast fingers and fat thumbs. This might be the only time all week I miss my typical three-screen and laptop setup.
Fortunately, my new bestie Claude served as my proofreader and found some typos that I missed.
Besides the obvious R&R of time away, three of my favorite vacation-specific activities: disconnect from devices, read books, reflect, and meet new people.
So just like I've been doing at the resort's dinner buffet, let’s dig in:
PRACTICAL: How Newsletterss helps triage the content barrage
PERSONAL: each Reading and Reach Reading: “How to Unfu*k Yourself”
PROFESSIONAL: 10 Lessons Learned Building "0 to 1" SaaS Startups
PRACTICAL: How to Triage the Content Barrage
Perhaps the only downside to being mostly offline for a "digital detox" this week: Content FOMO.
Or, more accurately, FOMN: the “Fear of Missing Newsletters.” I currently subscribe to about 30 different email newsletters. Some are weekly. More are daily.
Of course, you're wondering... why only 30?
Well, I am super critical of each subscription. It has become my replacement for curated content since I almost entirely quit Twitter last year. Each one offers something unique and informs my position on key topics and also triggers thoughts that appear in my content here.
I receive about 150 new newsletter emails per week, each filled with links, news, tools, articles, and more content than I can consume. I only get through about 2/3 of them each day, saving the long reads for the weekends or early mornings.
Topics range across all of my interests, but most focus on marketing, creativity, innovation, sports, 'generational' culture, and consumer data trends.
Some are from Substack, some from Beehive, some even from Medium and LinkedIn. Others are from publications and independent journalists. I'm not particular. It's a considerable amount to manage.
Some of my favorites: CEO Report | PenPivot | Deep View | After School
My strategy for managing consumption is: Instead of flooding my inbox with this abundance of content, I found a great tool that keeps me (mostly) sane that I cannot recommend strongly enough. The "Newsletterss" app gives you a separate email address just for the subs.
My strategy for creation and curation is: Using Evernote to keep notes and jot down random thoughts as I read each post, separating out utilities, content, and other tidbits to hand on to.
Try it out and let me know what you think.
PERSONAL: Beach Reading & Reach Reading
Speaking of reading, vacations are the biggest opportunity for me to read books, and on this trip, I've brought three.
Three days in, I've already finished one (non-fiction), started another (a biography of Vincent Van Gogh), and have a third waiting in my bag (fiction).
Because it's fresh, and timely, here's a quick summary of the first... called Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop.
I like to write notes on one tiny post-in, as small as possible, and while anyone watching me from afar may think I'm a psychopath, it makes it easier to share with you all here:
Bishop actually delivers a no-nonsense approach. not quite beachy reading, but aims to empower us by reshaping how we converse with ourselves. After all, we are our most frequent interlocutor, and often, you're not whispering sweet nothings to yourself.
Embrace the Power of Choice:
Assertion: "I am willing."
Reality check: If you're enduring less-than-ideal circumstances, it's time to stop. That dead-end job or underwhelming relationship? You're choosing them every day.
Strategy: Embrace willingness to change. Start by declaring, "I am willing" to ditch complacency. Flip the script—focus not on the daunting changes but on what you're unwilling to tolerate.
Change the Game to Win:
Assertion: "I am wired to win!"
Realization: You’re always winning—the question is, at what? If your life feels off-track, it’s likely you’re proving negative beliefs about yourself.
Strategy: Identify and reverse those self-defeating prophecies. Recognize the areas where you feel stuck and actively change the narrative. Replace "I can't" with detailed strategies and visualizations of success.
Cultivate a Resilient Mindset:
Assertion: "I got this."
Acknowledge: Life will throw curveballs—heartbreak, loss, or financial strain.
Strategy: Instead of succumbing to a spiral of despair, remind yourself of past triumphs over adversity. Use perspective to strengthen your resolve, affirming "I got this" to face current challenges.
Make Uncertainty Your Friend:
Assertion: "I embrace the uncertainty."
Insight: Certainty is an illusion. Clinging to predictability stifles growth and innovation.
Strategy: Accept that life's essence is uncertain. Embrace it to foster opportunities and adventures. Remember, the most rewarding experiences often come from the least expected sources.
Focus on Actions, Not Thoughts:
Assertion: “I am not my thoughts. I am what I do."
Truth: Thoughts can be misleading and self-sabotaging. It’s your actions that define you.
Strategy: Ignore unhelpful thoughts and focus on actions. Acting confidently can transform self-doubt into self-assurance. Engage in positive behaviors regardless of inner criticisms to build a stronger, action-oriented self-identity.
In essence, unfu*king yourself involves a bold recalibration of self-talk and a robust commitment to action over rumination.
The advice is clear: stop the internal dialogue that holds you back, and start affirming your power to act. Embrace change, challenge your limiting beliefs, and remember, the biggest barriers to the life you want are often self-erected. Turn those barriers into stepping stones with a proactive, positive mindset.
PROFESSIONAL: My 10 Lessons Building "0 to 1" Startups
All of which leads me to some self-reflection. The pause. The reset. Whatever you want to call the clarity that happens from starting at the ocean.
While waiting on line for breakfast yesterday morning, I struck up a conversation with a fellow vacationer, an entrepreneur in the health tech space on vacation with his family. Turns out they live just a few towns over from where I live in New York.
Building a business from scratch takes short-term courage and long-term patience. Most people aren't cut out for it. Many of the most impressive executives honored on lists for working at big companies have never tried it. Most won't.
We swapped a few war stories, gave each other our elevator pitches, grabbed our coffees, then fanned out on separate sides of the pool to stake out short row of open lounge chairs along with a few other dads in the early crowd, putting books, towels, and other personal items down to reserve a home base for the day.
Four years and two rounds raised later, his constant mantra and reminder to himself: "Stop worrying about this quarter and start planning for the next 18 months."
What was mine? Good question. First, create a mantra. But I've been thinking... Do I need a mantra? Instead, I came up with 10 takeaways that I wish I knew from the start when building multiple "0 to 1" marketing technology startups since mid-pandemic:
Don't always believe people who tell you they're interested in your product, but then don't return emails or calls - even if they're a former colleague or friend. Vaporous interest is worse than no interest at all. Focus your time and energy on qualified, engaged prospects.
Always remember that you answer to the Board and investors, in addition to clients, customers, partners, and employees. Balancing the needs of all stakeholders is a constant challenge, but keeping them aligned and satisfied is critical.
You don't have to figure out Product Market Fit or Ideal Customer Profiles on Day One, but you do have to figure them out eventually. Be prepared to pivot and iterate until you nail that sweet spot.
Cash is king. Runway, runway, runway. Don't be afraid to spend money. But don't be afraid to say no, either. Fundraising takes way longer than you think. Profitability isn't even something to worry about for the first few years. Optimize every dollar and get creative with partnerships, barter, and deferred compensation.
Hiring is hard, and firing is harder. Take your time, ask great questions, check references thoroughly. And don't be afraid to make tough personnel decisions when needed.
As a founder, delegate, empower, and trust your team. You can't do it all, and you shouldn't try. Build a strong, aligned leadership group and give them the autonomy to execute.
Embrace the grind. Startup life is a slog. Long hours, relentless challenges, and seemingly endless setbacks. Tenacity and resilience are must-have traits.
Focus on the critical 20% that drives 80% of the results. Ruthlessly prioritize and ruthlessly eliminate distractions. Pareto's Principle is your friend.
Sales is nothing without good marketing: Create your Mission, Objective, Strategies, Tactics (M.O.S.T.). Define the A-B-C (Audience, Benefits, Connections). Positioning, messaging, demand generation, customer experience... no acronyms for those. But get these right and growth will follow. Skimp on marketing at your own peril.
Have fun and take care of yourself. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Make time for family, friends, hobbies, and self-care. And vacations! Burnout is a real risk, so be proactive about your mental health.
The startup journey is full of ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies. But with the right mindset, skills, and team, you can build something amazing from nothing. Learn from my mistakes and lessons learned - it just might give you the edge you need.
POLITICAL: Social Media is Killing French Culture
We also met a family down here all the way from French Canada. The dad, who I'll call Luc (because that's his name), talked my ear off about two things: America's selfishness in ignoring climate change, and the liberation of Quebec.
As another Earth Day comes to a close, the existential threats posed by climate change and our ongoing failure to take planetary health more seriously are hastening its deterioration. Bigger storms are causing greater damage, yet the severity of that damage is not enough to change the way most of us live, act, or think.
The erosion of culture works the same way. It often happens so slowly that we don't take action before it's too late.
Luc also spoke passionately about the movement started earlier this month by French Minister of Culture Gabriel Attal, at least with respect to the French language and culture.
In an era where "LOL" and "OMG" threaten to become the lingua franca of social media, Attal is stepping up with a rallying cry that could have come from the lips of Napoleon himself—only this time, it's a battle for the digital territory of the French language.
During a visit to Quebec City last week, Monsieur Attal made a passionate plea for francophone countries to band together as defenders of the French-speaking world to fight the threat of tweets and TikToks.
Their mission? To ensure that the French language does not quietly retire into the night, overshadowed by the bright lights of social media platforms and technology solutions that are prioritizing English in the algorithm, thus risking the slow death of the French language.
During his chivalrous speech in Canada—where he was hailed as a hero in a province fiercely protective of its French identity—Attal proposed not just a dialogue, but a full-blown alliance with legislative shields raised.
From Europe to Africa, he envisions a united front, lobbying against the digital Goliaths and maybe, just maybe, tweaking those algorithms to favor Camus over Kardashians.
The initiatives don’t stop there. In a move that could make even the staunchest Netflix addict pause their binge-watching, he's pushing for a joint-financing venture to boost French-language content in collaboration with English-speaking content and production companies. Oui!
Think of it as a cinematic "French New Wave," but this time tailored for the digital age, complete with likes, shares, and streaming.
So, as the world turns increasingly digital, Attal's message is clear: French won't just survive, it'll thrive, s'il vous plaît! And if social media giants start serving up more Balzac than Becky G, remember—it’s all in the name of preserving culture, one hashtag at a time.
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PROMOTIONAL: Carving Out Time for a Brand Rethink
Ever since launching my part-time, fractional, advisory-centric consultancy, PointSymmetry, back in 2008, I've had the pleasure of working with over 20 companies at various stages of their growth and development.
With a focus on brand development -- or redevelopment -- with an infusion of operational framework-building, PointSymmetry has been at the center of some of my most productive, successful, and fun collaborations.
Over these past 16 years, I've held a few different positions with a few different companies, including a few that incubated out of PointSymmetry projects. But for the first time, I'm doing the reverse:
This Four P's Newsletter is now a communications subsidiary of Point Symmetry.
The Snarketing Podcast is now the official podcast of Point Symmetry. Check out our latest episode with marketing maven Lou Paskalis:
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