Startups are an endurance sport, effective communication tactics, managing your manager for career growth
by Matthew Roberts, Founder & Investor of Nodes Ventures and Author of Nodes. | Originally published on Nodes.
Guest post by Matthew Roberts, Founder & Investor of Nodes Ventures and Author of Nodes. | Originally published on Nodes.
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Across X world has been blowing up about the future of America, suggesting its best years are behind it. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz strongly disagree, but believe bad government policies are now the #1 threat to “Little Tech”–ie, startups. They believe America’s technology supremacy, and the critical role that startups play in ensuring that supremacy, is a first class political issue on par with any other, but the American government is now more hostile to new startups than it used to be. This is a call to arms to politically defend Little Tech.
Talent is overrated, but it still has value. Having no talent is a significantly harder position to start from than some talent. However, grit outweighs talent in the long run. Duckworth defines grit as both passion and perseverance for long-term goals, and the ability to maintain interest and effort over long periods, even through adversity. She notes that enthusiasm is common, but endurance is rare–you have to be able to stick it out for long periods of time, even when it sucks.
Pursuits That Can’t Scale (7 minute read)
“every entrepreneur’s dream is to succeed at building an impossibly hard business and then finally open a local coffee shop to be happy”. After chasing massive growth, and losing a bit of their humanity, founders often crave doing projects that don’t scale in order to bring them grounding. Why do we have to take things to the edge, only to force ourselves back? The goal is to find meaning across the spectrum of scale. Personal fulfillment and business metrics don’t need to be divided.
Operational tactics
My favorite definitions of Growth (6 minute read)
Growth isn't just about quick hacks or flashy tactics. Elena Verna presents a compelling dive into growth, dissecting it with five definitions that pivot around science, distribution of value, performance chasing, strategic access-building, and acting as a self-serve sales team. These insights steer startups towards crafting robust growth systems rooted in experimentation, cross-functional collaboration, and a profound understanding of customer acquisition and retention.
Sales, not Logistics (7 minute read)
Internal communications at work are more about sales than logistics. Your audience probably needs more convincing than you realize, so craft messages that inspire action by appealing to self-interest, highlighting the benefits to them, and addressing potential objections. “If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”
The Magic of Small Engineering Teams (6 minute read)
PostHog’s small team model provides valuable lessons for scaling startups. By dividing into autonomous 2-6 person “one-pizza teams”, they’ve maintained startup-like agility while growing to 47 people globally. So what are the essential components? Genuine smallness, self-management, single leadership, clear missions, and adaptability. The key takeaway from PostHog’s model is that small, empowered teams can be a powerful tool for scaling without sacrificing the innovative spirit of a startup.
Angel investing
Rule of 40 — I don’t see you (1 minute read)
The “Rule of 40” combines growth rate and EBITDA margin to hit 40%. The old “rule”, conventionally used by investors to assess the health and future value of a company, isn’t backed up by current data. Analysis of 108 firms shows a combined average of only 12%, yet valuations remain high. Cash-efficient growth and free cash flow is now way cooler.
Traits I look for in founders (2 minute read)
Every investor develops their own rubric for assessing founder quality. Whilst no formula exists, you have to develop your own nose, and it’s useful to hear how others think about it. For this investor, founders need five key traits: high IQ, larger-than-life ambition, ability to make people believe, grit, and urgency.
The Groucho Marx Mandate (2 minute read)
VCs sit along a very strange spectrum between near absolute power and near absolute powerlessness. When a company is desperate, it puts a lot of power in the hands of the VC. Desperate companies are “nicer” to VCs, and it turns VCs off. Inversely, the more a company is killing it, the more they play hard to get. The meaner a founder is to a VC, the more likely it is the company is doing well. A founder's confidence (even dismissiveness) towards VCs may actually reinforce a startup’s perceived value–just make sure you have the traction to back it up.
Managing your career
How to Use Your Mentor Effectively (4 minute read)
Hack your personal growth curve by optimizing mentor relationships. Take the time to articulate long-term aspirations, seek out multiple mentors, be vulnerable, be open to being challenged as a way to identify blind spots, and learn from their actions. The result? Accelerated personal and organizational growth, enhanced problem-solving abilities, and a clearer path to long-term success.
Managing Up: 3 Things I Wish I Realized Sooner (8 minute read)
Your relationship with your manager is the most important one to get right. Learning how to “manage up” can be a huge unlock for your career. Your objective is to make them feel like they know everything about your work, without them having to ask. From the start, you have to make their priorities your priorities. By making them successful, you create success for yourself. Above all else, demonstrate that you have a growth mindset. Your learning velocity signals your future value to them.
Removing Asymmetry of Information (6 minute read)
One-to-ones create information silos, where knowledge is exchanged between two people–which opens you up to misinformation being passed through a chain of one-to-ones. You end up with a team that has part of the picture, but never the full one. This can create information asymmetry across your company, which hugely impacts effective decision making. By writing and documenting information, and making it available to all, you can create a greater sense of shared understanding and alignment.
