Not dead. Can't quit. I'm back.
I haven't been around lately, so let's see if I'll show up from now on.
Sorry folks, I couldn't keep up with the cadences and got lost in a bunch of experiments and ideas (plus the summer events), and as often in my life I started, and got my swing going, but wasn't there at the end.
I can't turn up here today and deliver all the content of the last 3-4 months in one go, so I'm just going to hit the <reset> button and start again.
I won't promise anything, but I want to continue to sit down and think about things that change my mind and my surroundings and continue to share them with the world. The intention to keep going is real, I just have to beat myself up and stick to the plan.
Let's go. 3...2...1.... Here we go!
Last week I started working on reviving an old project of mine. Back in 2021, I launched a podcast called B4D1 [Before Day One] and my angle was to tell stories about how founders went from identifying a problem or idea to launching their business. I want to show people how some of the great minds in the entrepreneurial ecosystem worked and approached the process of creating their businesses.
My very quick talk - and only one so far - was with Thadeu and Felipe Diz + Rodrigo Monteiro, all three founders of ZeeDog and great friends of mine. The episode highlights how founders can start a business out of their own pain and dissatisfaction, and how you go on to tackle and solve that problem.
The episode is in Portuguese and it's available here 👇🏿
What's open on my kindle?
Extreme Ownership - How US Navy Lead and Win - by Jocko Willink
[ 👇🏿 a teaser ]
The Creative Act: a Way of being - by Rick Rubin [ 👇🏿 a teaser ]
Tribe of Mentors- by Tim Ferris
“the struggle ends when the gratitude begins.”
Neale Donal Walsch
The Cold Start Problem - How to Start and Scale Network Effects - by Andrew Chen
Andrew has been a big name in the entrepreneurial world for some time now. His high-quality essays have increased his presence in the ecosystem and he is now a partner at A16Z. You can explore his content on his own website - here.
This summer I spent a few days walking, running, and drinking in the Pyrenees. OMG, that place is so special. It is huge, big fat mountains, but also a dense body of water that flows through its rivers and waterfalls. It's magical.
While I was hiking the mountains, I got to reconnect with nature and it's so peaceful. I think we need to reconnect with nature as much as we can.
When I came to a "refugio", a place in the mountains where you can spend the night under a roof and be safe, I saw a family of four traveling and exploring this route of 6-7 refugios with a total of 60km. I noticed that the two children looked to be 4 and 7 years old. I mean, the route that took me there was challenging and I had to push hard for 4 hours from the bottom to the top, so it's fair to assume that these children took longer than me. I thought about my two daughters and the idea of having them there with me, and I realized that walking is a perfect activity for parents.
Let me explore why I think so.
The idea of having your children with you is already a big win, and then you add the fact that when you go walking you are surrounded by all kinds of nature. You can experience a dense green forest, waterfalls, rocks with shapes that you stare at, but you can't explain why and how they are there, so everything around you is alive and real. You breathe fresh air and that's a given, but it's real - it makes a difference.
As you move into the unknown you will often hear: "Dad/Mom, what's that?" - and that's magical. Your child is asking you for information, for knowledge, and you have an opportunity to connect and explore together. PLEASE, don't shut down your child's curiosity. In fact, fuel it.
You will connect. As you explore what's around you, you and your family will grow closer. And it comes in little details like; a quick stop for a snake, a pause to catch your breath, a moment to take a photo and preserve the moment forever.
You teach them how to get to the end. Every hike has an end and if you involve your children in the planning process, they will explore the map and feel like Indiana Jones. You can show your children that planning for success makes a real difference in life. As you conquer meters and kilometers, you can communicate progress, and that's an opportunity to teach them that all great things are built with micro wins and steps.
Memories. As we sat down to dinner at the Refugio, we connected with a Dutch couple and chatted about their journey, their next stop, and what they liked most. The young lady, now in her thirties and with a boyfriend, shared that she had walked the same trail with her parents over 20 years ago. She was reliving her memory.
Love of nature and protection of the planet. When you walk, you respect, support, and love nature, and you can pass that on to your children. It reminds me of the old Indian proverb: "Blessed is the man who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit".
I signed a contract with myself to walk with Duda and Clara and pass on my love to them.
Best From Social Media
This post I wrote about my "biggest life hack" got some traction within my network. - click here.
From the Great YC - What You Should Ask Before Joining a Startup (+40 Questions From Y Combinator to Crash-Test Your Startup) - click here.
David Senra from Founders Podcast - My notes from Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger turned into maxims. - click here.
From our favorite, Tim Ferris:
There is a process that I have used, and still use, to reignite life...Create two timelines—6 months and 12 months—and list up to five things you dream of having (including, but not limited to, material wants: house, car, clothing, etc.), being (be a great cook, be fluent in Chinese, etc.), and doing (visiting Thailand, tracing your roots overseas, racing ostriches, etc.) in that order. - click here.
From the Founder Coach a very interesting topic:
There are five meetings every CEO can lead to address 90% of team issues.
Your meetings *are* your system—so it’s worth getting them right. - click here.
If you only have time for one content……👇🏿
The ones I like the most.
If you are interested in venture capital and the market dynamics of raising money from investors, and how the top investors in the game are preparing their cards for their next big bets, ....
You should watch, because all five participants have a deep knowledge of the venture market and how the top people are making their moves. They bring to the table their experience of growing large companies, combined with their current roles as early and later-stage investors. This episode is hosted by the great Bill Gurley and he shares his perspective on the next few years and the challenges founders and investors will face when deciding if it's time to raise more money or go public.
If you want to know how the best in business work, this masterclass is for you. Graham opens up about his struggles and how a turning point in his life changed his entire career and led him to great success.
I think it is a great piece because Graham was so open about his struggles and how he dealt with defeat early in his career. Graham, an investor accustomed to taking big risks, shows how changing your mindset from looking at the worst-case scenario to thinking about the best-case outcome can lead you to make better decisions and focus on winning at all costs. I personally struggle with overthinking all the things that can go wrong and end up hesitating to make a bold move and after this talk, I have started to think about the very best upside to all the things I see. It's less stressful and more fulfilling. Project your victory and work hard to deliver.
If you are an entrepreneur running an early-stage company right now, I have to tell you: you have to nail your message-fit on your way to product-market-fit; the holy grail of your stage.
I think this is a great piece of work from the First Round Review because the content is solid and goes deep into the challenge of getting the words right. It's a great start for founders who can take their learnings from this piece and explore what's around. I think getting the words right is about getting your story to the right people and that's a big challenge early on. You can be noisy or you can be heard - make sure your audience knows who you are and what you stand for.
As always, hecho con amor en Madrid.
Keep going! :)
Excelente!