Go Loud, Go Early, or Go Home

Your Roadmap is a Bore. Your Journey is a Story. Start Telling It.

September 10, 2025

In partnership with

Hey — It’s Charlie.

Welcome to the latest edition of Great Startups! Here’s what’s in store:

  • Go Loud or Go Home: Why Stealth Mode Is Startup Suicide

  • Why winners win: What makes a breakout company.

  • The Physics of Sales: 11 Ways You’re Breaking the Laws

  • No AI, No Job: The Future Is Already Here

  • Targeting Made Simple: A step-by-step guide to finding your perfect customer.

  • Hidden Startup Debt: The silent killer that’s slowing growth.

Get ready to dive into these power-packed insights for founders and growth enthusiasts!

Resources

  • What makes a breakout company. (LINK)

  • How to build user-generated distribution loops. (LINK)

  • Your next job will require AI skills. (LINK)

  • David Politis on doing whatever it takes to stay in the game (LINK)

  • Sam Blond on how to generate more demand. (LINK)

ICYMI

  • Nvidia reports record sales as the AI boom continues. (LINK)

  • Netflix is getting into short videos with a new vertical feed for mobile. (LINK)

  • Cloudflare launches a marketplace that lets websites charge AI bots for scraping. (LINK)

  • The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained. (LINK)

  • 1X will test humanoid robots in ‘a few hundred’ homes in 2025. (LINK)

  • Ray Dalio built a $14B empire by following core success principles that took him from humble beginnings to founding the world’s largest hedge fund.

  • Iman Gadzhi and Pierre de Preux launched a SaaS and hit 7-figure ARR in 9 months by moving fast, using Iman’s audience, and solving a real problem.

  • Lenny Rachitsky and Jen Abel on how to approach founder-led sales.

  • Carta shares 50 slides packed with insights for founders from 45,000 startups.

  • How One AI App Founder Makes $20K+ Monthly—and How You Can Too!

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The Startup Graveyard Is Full of Great Products Nobody Heard Of.

Startups rarely fail because the product sucks—they fail because no one hears about it. Webvan perfected everything except awareness and burned a billion in the process, while Amazon Fresh went heavy on marketing and won with the same idea. Dropbox didn’t wait until launch, they dropped a simple video and pulled in 75k signups overnight. Meanwhile, competitors in stealth mode spent years polishing features no one was asking for. The real edge isn’t perfection—it’s being known.

And here’s the kicker: sales don’t work without demand. Chime grew into a $25B giant because they built buzz first, while Better.com crashed after hiring sales before creating interest. Buyers move slower than founders—research shows they need 17+ touchpoints before making a decision. That means your runway gets eaten while you’re waiting for people to notice. The smart play? Start sharing early, build your list, and create anticipation. In the startup game, going loud beats going perfect every time. (LINK)

Ok that’s it for this week, We keep refining our newsletter content, just hit reply to let us know what you think about this issue.