• Articles
  • Curated Reads
  • Paths to PMF
  • Newsletter
  • Podcast
  • Sign In
  • Articles
  • Curated Reads
  • Paths to PMF
  • Newsletter
  • Podcast
  • Sign In
All Product Fundraising Starting Up Management Engineering PR & Marketing Must-reads People & Culture Design Sales
Our 6 Must Reads to Build a Brand That Breaks Through the Noise
PR & Marketing

Our 6 Must Reads to Build a Brand That Breaks Through the Noise

Building a brand is vital for startups, as they challenge incumbents in an existing industry or attempt to define a new one. Getting the right branding formula can feel more like an act of sorcery than strategy. This roundup provides some practical tips and process.
The Three Secrets to Executive Recruiting I Learned at Apple, Yahoo and More
People & Culture

The Three Secrets to Executive Recruiting I Learned at Apple, Yahoo and More

Jennifer Rettig brings her recruiting expertise from Target, Apple, Yahoo, and — most recently — Looker, to share the tactics that will find your company the best executives.
Our 6 Must Reads for First-Time Managers to Hit the Ground Running
Management

Our 6 Must Reads for First-Time Managers to Hit the Ground Running

Becoming a manager is like no other professional experience. It requires gaining a whole new skillset incredibly fast. This list will help you nail that transition.
Veteran CTO (with Multiple Successful Exits) Answers Your Top Startup-Building Questions
Engineering

Veteran CTO (with Multiple Successful Exits) Answers Your Top Startup-Building Questions

Adil Ajmal has built several standout technical organizations from scratch to successful acquisition. Here, he answers the toughest questions from our community.
Make Stronger Offers to Engineering Candidates and Boost Your Closes
People & Culture

Make Stronger Offers to Engineering Candidates and Boost Your Closes

Adil Ajmal has been building engineering teams from scratch to huge for over 20 years. Here's what he's learned to close the best candidates for your company.
Humans Hate Being Spun: How to Practice Radical Honesty — from the Woman Who Defined Netflix’s Culture
Management

Humans Hate Being Spun: How to Practice Radical Honesty — from the Woman Who Defined Netflix’s Culture

Patty McCord created the famed 'Culture Doc' that became Netflix's foundation. Here, she talks about how to make honesty everyone's default.
This Brand Strategy Can Make Your Startup Look Bigger Than It Is
PR & Marketing

This Brand Strategy Can Make Your Startup Look Bigger Than It Is

As a founding partner of Rock Health and seasoned consultant, Leslie Ziegler has helped brand dozens of startups. Here's what the success stories had in common.
The Four Cringe-Worthy Mistakes Too Many Startups Make with Data
Product

The Four Cringe-Worthy Mistakes Too Many Startups Make with Data

HotelTonight's Chief Data and Strategy Officer talks about how startups should set up and mine their data to drive insights that actually make a difference.
First Round Review's 6 Must Reads to Run Fast, Efficient Meetings
Management

First Round Review's 6 Must Reads to Run Fast, Efficient Meetings

We've featured advice from some pretty smart, successful people about how to run better meetings that don't sap energy or waste time. Here's everything they've shared.
These 13 Exercises Will Prepare You for Work's Toughest Situations
Management

These 13 Exercises Will Prepare You for Work's Toughest Situations

Maggie Leung, VP of Content at Nerdwallet, has encountered every management challenge. Here, she shares the one practice that helps her thrive through difficult decisions and conversations.
The Best Interview Questions We've Ever Published
People & Culture

The Best Interview Questions We've Ever Published

Over the years, we've published interview questions recommended by leaders across every field. Here are the very best for hiring excellent performers every time.
Make Product Decisions Without Doubt — My Lessons from Twitter and Slack
Product

Make Product Decisions Without Doubt — My Lessons from Twitter and Slack

At Twitter and Slack, Paul Rosania built interfaces that millions use each day. Here, he dissects how he eliminated doubt from four high-stakes product decisions.
  • About
  • Articles
  • Curated Reads
  • Paths to PMF
  • Newsletter
  • Podcast
  • Glossary
  • Sign in
  • Sign In
For the founder's notepad:
"If you personally want to grow as fast as your company, you have to give away your job every couple months." – Molly Graham
“Asking ‘Why can't this be done sooner?’ methodically, reliably and habitually can have a profound impact on the speed of your organization.” – Dave Girouard
“End every meeting or conversation with the feeling and optimism you’d like to have at the start of your next conversation with the person.” – Chris Fralic
“Focus is doing things with a clear intention. It doesn’t mean you charge single-minded toward a goal. It means you pay rapt and incremental attention to how you need to turn the rudder on a project.” – Fidji Simo
“It’s essential to grow with the company — rather than having the company grow around you.” – Cristina Cordova 
“You have to be impatient with shipping, but patient with your career.” – James Everingham
“‘I trust you, make the call’ might be the six most powerful words you can hear from a manager.” – Sean Twersky
“Your job as a CEO is to build fire departments, not put out fires.” – Sam Corcos 
“Can you say with confidence that each report would want to be on your team again? If you aren’t sure that the answer is yes, it’s probably no — much like how if you have to ask, ‘Am I in love?’ you’re probably not.” – Julie Zhuo 
“People can get addicted to yak shaving. An effective engineering generalist knows when to move on. Pay attention to whether they used their time wisely, not just the results.” – Mike Krieger 
“It sounds so simple to say that bosses need to tell employees when they're screwing up. But it very rarely happens.” – Kim Scott
“You’ll know you understand the customer problem enough when you can predict 75% of what a customer tells you. Keep having these conversations until three-quarters of it is stuff you already know.” – Christina Cacioppo
“I have a rule: no company swag until the business has at least $250K of revenue or 250k users. Until then, you don’t get to “feel” the benefits of having started a company.” – Gagan Biyani
“The business model ends up becoming the business. It’s equally important as the market you’re going after and the product that you build.” – Jay Simons 
“If speed is the yin, the yang is prioritization. You can’t be fast if you don’t know what’s important.” – Jaleh Rezaei
“If you treat your connections as a kind of personal ATM you use for frequent withdrawals, you’ll quickly be disappointed (and overdrawn).” – Karen Wickre 
“Delighting the customer always yields better returns than countering or copying a competitor. It’s just a lot harder to do.” – Andy Rachleff 
“When you’re a founder, every moment you’re not writing code or getting users, you need to be making a conscious choice: Is whatever you’re doing worth your time?” – Alexis Ohanian
“‘Why would a customer not want this?’ is often a far more interesting question than why they would.” – Rick Song
“When you leave the planning process wondering if you put too many resources behind a single bet, that’s the bet that ends up succeeding. Bold ideas need bold resourcing.” – Lenny Rachitsky and Nels Gilbreth
“Treat customer development as a one-on-one with a direct report — you just want to ask the hard questions.” – Ryan Glasgow
Shuffle

Published by