Entrepreneurship

I co-founded Tortuga in 2010. Nearly a decade later, I'm still figuring things out for myself, still reading as much as a I can, and still learning from other founders.

I write this blog not because I have the answers and can tell them to you but because I'm still working on this stuff. By sharing what I'm working on and thinking about, I clarify my own thinking and hopefully can help you too. If you're working on the same ideas, get in touch.

Even with tools like Shopify, starting a business is still hard. But I love it and am passionate about the virtues of entrepreneurship.

Here is some of what I've learned so far.

Starting a Business

Forget Creating Jobs, Create Entrepreneurs: Promote entrepreneurship. The jobs will follow.

The Intersection of "Helpful to Others" and "Interesting to You": For a business to be successful and enjoyable, it must be both.

Build a Product-Focused Audience: Build the audience, then figure out what to sell to them.

The Middle Class Mindset is the Opposite of Lifestyle Design: You must be able to reject the middle class mindset if you want to use entrepreneurship as a way to design your ideal life.

If Your Business is a Secret, It's Probably Bullshit: If you can't tell someone what you do, don't expect it to last.

How to Fund Your Bootstrapped Business: Just because you aren't raising VC doesn't mean it's free. How to fund your business without sacrificing equity.