Building Principles:

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1/

Value = doing things that other people don't do, won't do or can't do.

"You get paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of problems you solve" — Elon Musk

2/

Service is high-touch result generation (building experience), product is low-touch result generation (scaling experience).

3/

In a world of infinite distraction, focus is the only path to freedom.

4/

Sell time to buy experience, sell experience to buy time.

“If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.” — Warren Buffett

Ok weekend thread 🧵 time 👉

Since college days, I have launched 4 products (2 fail + 2 sold), started up thrice (1 failed, 1 sold, 1 running), lead a team at a $1B+ startup and worked as lead engineer at a Fortune 100 giant

Here are some learnings (tech/management/product)👇

Everything is a people problem. Always. 100% of the time. It isn't the code, the market, the product fit, the idea, the money. None of that.

BUT BUT BUT, do not blame 'a person' for it. That's a cop out. Fix it structurally, in the process, so it isn't repeated.

The single short term fix for 99.99% problems is money.

From cofounder problems to team bandwidth, to bad code. More money can stop a leaving cofounder from leaving, let you hire more people, or scale your server 10x.

It is a bandaid. Fix it properly eventually though.

The one, and the only, just the only ever reason - for growth of people, for stagnation of people, for all things good and bad in your career - is your communication skill.

You can articulate well, you will do better in life. If you can't you'll be treated like trash.

There is no such thing as an "incompetent" worker, only incompetent managers.

If someone is given a task beyond their capacity, whose fault ?
If someone is overpaid while hiring, whose fault ?
If someone's performance isn't tracked, or feedback given, whose fault ?

I’ve gotten a lot of bad advice in my career and I see even more of it here on Twitter.

Time for a stiff drink and some truth you probably dont want to hear.

👇👇

College isn’t worthless for everyone.

All of the successful folks who tell you college is worthless went to college.

What does that tell you?

It’s not about the learning, though.

It’s about growing and learning how to sell yourself and your ideas.

Miami isn’t the next tech hub.

It’s surrounded by a swamp.

Construction costs are insane because of hurricane codes. Vacant land doesn’t exist.

Property insurance has risen on average 20% per year for 5 years.

Plus it’s hot AF. Ever been there in July?

Starting a business isn’t right for everyone.

95% of folks are better off getting a job.

It’s hard AF. Decisions are critical and plentiful. Risk is for real. Stress can be crippling. Delegation can be impossible for poor communicators.

Most folks don’t have what it takes.

Technology isn’t as far along as the media makes you think it is.

We’re 5+ years away from autonomous vehicles.

Alexa still can’t play the song I want 25% of the time let alone make decisions and “learn”.

Robots fall on their faces when they aren’t on perfectly flat ground.

Customer friction is a huge part of running a biz.

How hard is it to engage a company to work with you?

Data-driven companies obsess over reducing this friction.

Mom-and-pop operators SUCK at this and it’s costing them millions.

Here’s what I’ve learned 👇👇👇

1985 companies have a lot of friction.

Call them. Leave message. Wait. Guy may or may not call you back. Quote by phone or email. Scan signed contract.

A self storage facility we purchased recently had a lot of this.

Drive across town M-F 9-5. Spend 20 mins. Sign paper lease.

Get a physical key and lock. Drive back. Get your unit. Mail a check each month or stop by office with cash.

Owner charged $52 a month for a 10x10. Completely full.

We instantly setup software for online rental.

No phone call necessary. Rent a unit in 4 mins from your browser.

Sign lease online. Pay online. Upload photo of DL on phone.

Go straight to your unit 24/7. Type in gate key that was sent to you by text. Lock and key waiting in unit.

We can now charge $77 a mo for the same unit. $25 more. And we rent MORE units faster.

How significant is this?

That $25 increase per unit across the board turns out to be a 35% increase in revenue.

That takes revenue from $14k a month when I buy it to $18.9k a few months later.

An extra $58k to the bottom line over the course of 12 months.