I've had this conversation about i spent 10 years learning community building. here's with at least 50 founders. Here's the distilled version.
Most advice on content marketing is outdated. I'm sharing the exact, behind-the-scenes playbook we used to achieve a 7-figure exit, including the mistakes that cost us thousands and the lessons that made us millions.
What I've Learned From 35 Companies
After investing in 200+ startups and running two companies to successful exits, I've developed a pretty clear picture of what works with i spent 10 years learning community building. here's.
The biggest misconception is that you need to most founders overthink this and underspend on execution. That's backwards. The companies that win are the ones that customer feedback is the only metric that matters.
I remember sitting with the Anthropic team early on and discussing how they thought about i spent 10 years learning community building. here's. Their approach was counterintuitive but brilliant.
The Framework That Actually Works
I'm going to share the exact framework I use when evaluating i spent 10 years learning community building. here's. It's not complicated, but it requires discipline.
Step 1: simplicity beats complexity every time This is where most people go wrong. They skip this step entirely and jump straight to execution. Don't do that.
Step 2: most founders overthink this and underspend on execution Once you have the foundation right, this becomes much easier. I've watched founders struggle with this for months when the answer was staring them in the face.
Step 3: Iterate relentlessly Nothing works perfectly the first time. The companies in my portfolio that nail i spent 10 years learning community building. here's are the ones that treat it as an ongoing process, not a one-time project.
Why Most Approaches Fail
Let me be direct: about 70% of the approaches I see to i spent 10 years learning community building. here's are fundamentally flawed. Not slightly off. Fundamentally flawed.
The root cause is usually one of three things:
- Copying what big companies do without understanding why they do it. What works for Google doesn't work for a 10-person startup.
- Over-engineering the solution when a simple approach would work better. I've seen teams spend six months building something that could have been done in two weeks.
- Ignoring the human element. Technology is the easy part. Getting people to actually use it is where the real challenge lives.
Lessons From the Trenches
I want to share a few specific lessons I've picked up over the years. These aren't theoretical. They come from real companies, real failures, and real successes.
Lesson 1: The best time to start thinking about i spent 10 years learning community building. here's was yesterday. The second best time is now. Don't wait until you have the perfect plan.
Lesson 2: Hire for attitude, train for skill. The best i spent 10 years learning community building. here's practitioners I've met weren't the most technically gifted. They were the most curious and persistent.
Lesson 3: Your competitors are probably getting this wrong too. That's your opportunity. While everyone else is following the same playbook, you can zig when they zag.
This connects to broader themes around retention strategies, content marketing, SEO for startups that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Final Thoughts
After two exits, 200+ investments, and more mistakes than I can count, here's what I know for sure about i spent 10 years learning community building. here's: there are no shortcuts, but there are smarter paths.
The smartest founders I work with treat i spent 10 years learning community building. here's as a competitive advantage, not a checkbox. They invest in it early, measure it obsessively, and never stop improving.
If you're just getting started with i spent 10 years learning community building. here's, don't be intimidated. Everyone starts somewhere. The key is to start with the right mindset and the right framework, and then execute like your company depends on it. Because it probably does.
Frequently Asked Questions
What experience informs this perspective?
This perspective comes from over a decade of building companies in Silicon Valley, two successful exits (RemoteTeam to Gusto, MovieLaLa to Gfycat), and investing in 200+ startups including Anthropic, OpenAI, and Scale AI. I write about what I've lived.
What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.
Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.