Manifesto · Pinned
On founder positioning
A manifesto for founders who refuse to outsource the most important sentence their company will ever write. Positioning is a commercial act, not a creative one.
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Thinking
Essays on positioning, narrative, category and the founder's chair.
Approximately one new essay every fortnight. A monthly newsletter consolidates the month's thinking and lands once.
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The Conviction Stack · Pinned
Category is upstream of everything
A deep read on the layer most founders skip. Why category determines how every other layer of the stack is read — and why fixing it last is the most expensive mistake in early-stage marketing.
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Contrarian · Pinned
Most positioning is a feature list with adjectives
The rebrands, decks and homepages that mistake decoration for decision. A working definition of what real positioning looks like on the page.
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Manifesto
What I believe
- I believe positioning is a commercial act, not a creative one.
- I believe category is upstream of everything. Fix it first.
- I believe aesthetic literacy is a competitive advantage in B2B, and a missing one.
- I believe founders should sit with one trusted partner, not five vendors.
- I believe hourly rates corrode strategic work — for the consultant and for the founder.
- I believe most “rebrands” are positioning failures dressed up as design projects.
- I believe written deliverables outlive slide decks. Memos endure; decks decay.
- I believe “growth” is the wrong vocabulary for most early-stage problems.
- I believe brands that chase customers and investors lose to brands that attract them.
- I believe a calmer mind is a competitive advantage. Particularly during a fundraise.