Hey — It’s Charlie.

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

• New Social Media Platform: BuzzFeed is launching a new Social Media platform.

• Startup Fact: Built It, Loved It… But Will Anyone Buy It?

• Grow as a Founder: A 6-step framework to grow sales as a founders

• 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

• A 6-step framework to grow sales as a founder. (LINK)

• An operator’s guide to product strategy. (LINK)

• Deep Research and Knowledge Value. (LINK)

• PostHog’s 50 lessons about building successful products. (LINK)

• What comes after coding, according to Vercel founder. (LINK)

ICYMI

• BuzzFeed is launching a new Social Media platform. (LINK)

• SoftBank might invest 25 billion on OpenAI. (LINK)

• One thing almost every $100k+ MRR app has (LINK)

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

• Anthropic sees revenue potentially soaring to $34.5 billion in 2027. (LINK)

Quick Links

• Simon Høiberg shares a game-changing strategy to hit $1K MRR in your first month

• Jack Friks is racing to 1K app downloads in 30 days—see how TikTok, Instagram, and UGC fuel his strategy!

• 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!

Your Customers Aren’t You—And That’s the Hardest Lesson to Learn

Starting a company because you solved your own problem sounds like a solid plan, but it’s not enough to guarantee success. Sure, you understand the problem, have passion, and maybe even a solution, but building a business is way more than that. You need to understand your customers (who aren’t like you), figure out marketing, sales, and whether there’s even a market big enough to sustain your idea. Just because you built something doesn’t mean others will buy it—or that they care enough to switch from what they’re already using.

The truth is, most startups fail because founders assume too much too soon. You might have the drive and the technical skills, but running a company requires a ton of other skills you probably don’t have yet—and that’s okay. The key is to stay humble, keep learning, and be ready to pivot when things don’t work out. Your initial idea is just the starting point; the real magic happens when you adapt and grow. So, go for it, but don’t forget to keep your eyes wide open. (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.