Archive - Sam’s Newsletter

Hiring before playbooks

Jun 10 •

Sam Gerstenzang

April 2025

How many businesses-in-a-box are there?

Every category has a transition point from when the ‘easy’ things get done to when the hard ones remain.

Apr 15 •

Sam Gerstenzang

Steel threads: the single most important product market fit technique that I use (that no has heard of)

I learned about the engineering concept of ‘steel threads’ about ten years ago from a colleague who had come from Microsoft.

Apr 13 •

Sam Gerstenzang

March 2025

Option A vs Option B

So much of being a founder is staring down two options and neither looks particularly good.

Mar 30 •

Sam Gerstenzang

November 2024

Unconventional approaches to conventional markets: what Boulton & Watt looks for

I can describe Boulton & Watt’s process of vetting ideas, but I think in practice that is less interesting than it seems.

Nov 10, 2024 •

Sam Gerstenzang

September 2024

"Founder Mode" in context

Paul Graham has written a great new essay called Founder Mode, which argues, in summary that great founders have hired great executives and it’s not…

Sep 1, 2024 •

Sam Gerstenzang

August 2024

Four sayings that changed how we operate

“The aesthetic of competence”

Aug 14, 2024 •

Sam Gerstenzang

March 2024

The single hardest problem in startups

There’s never a perfect answer for most situations you’ll run into as a founder.

Mar 23, 2024 •

Sam Gerstenzang

February 2024

October 2023

A word on incubators

An incubator - much like a producer - combines ideas, people, and money to create a new company.

Oct 5, 2023 •

Sam Gerstenzang

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