I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
Speed is the only moat
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Hey Reader, Every person I know who's built something remarkable is obsessed with speed. They don't get there by taking the safe, methodical approach. That's how middle managers think, not the people actually building things. Learning at a steady cadence and iterating thoughtfully sounds defensible. But the world is no longer moving slowly enough to justify that approach. Innovation is changing faster than methodical execution can keep up with. The gap between those who move fast and those who don't is widening every year. Every month, really. There are an infinite number of things you can work on and an infinite supply of labor hours you can harness toward them. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, wrote in his essay Machines of Loving Grace that we're heading toward a “country of geniuses in a data center" who will work for free. The mythical 10x engineer people used to joke about is becoming real, and there will be thousands of them. Speed has always been important, but it's about to unlock something it never has before: the faster you move, the more of that labor you can put to use. Elon Musk told John Collison something on the Dwarkesh podcast that surprised me. He said he sets goals at the 50th percentile likelihood of being achieved. Meaning, even with all the resource his team has, there’s a 50% chance of them hitting that timeline. My natural tendency is to set goals at the 90th percentile, which means as long as we put in good, consistent effort, we’ll get there. I told myself that was responsible leadership. But it's not. It's safe and it avoids conflict, sure—and short term that might mean less friction and fewer uncomfortable conversations. But long term, that conservatism is one of the biggest things holding back my own success as well as Kit's. And probably yours too. Goals you’re already positive you’ll hit don't create urgency, and without urgency every cycle takes longer than your competition. You should always optimize for the long term, and the long term rewards speed. The culture I'm working to instill inside Kit is one where everyone understands that speed of decision making and execution is the single biggest point of leverage for serving creators. Ask:
People say that speed and quality are at odds with each other, but that's a false dichotomy. Moving fast gives you more iteration cycles, which enables better quality. What percentile are you setting your goals in? Because that number is either creating speed or killing it. PODCASTLive Coaching: How We’re Growing This Business To $5MWhat do you do when your business just stops growing? Michael Sliwinski built Nozbe, a productivity app, to nearly $2 million in annual recurring revenue. Then it fell back to $1 million and stayed stuck for years. In this episode, he flies in from Europe so I can coach him through a full business audit. You can use this framework to diagnose your own business and figure out where to focus next. You'll learn:
Watch or listen to episode » BOOKThe River of DoubtThis book follows Theodore Roosevelt's exploration of the Amazon. He nearly dies multiple times and has all kinds of wild adventures along the way. It's a fascinating look at how Roosevelt saw the world. He had a unique take on physical toughness and refused to live a conventional life even after being president. ARTBringing back the renaissanceAtelier Missor is a foundry in France building incredible statues and monuments using techniques that have nearly disappeared from the modern world. Recent commissions include a gilded bronze Joan of Arc and a bronze Hercules. The craftsmanship is extraordinary. They're also fun to follow on social. Have a great week! —Nathan |
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
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