tl;dr:17 short, guiding statements including: (1) Optimism, obsession, self-belief, raw horsepower and personal connections are how things get started. (2) Cohesive teams, the right combination of calmness and urgency, and unreasonable commitment are how things get finished. Long-term orientation is in short supply; try not to worry about what people think in the short term, which will get easier over time. (3) It is easier for a team to do a hard thing that really matters than to do an easy thing that doesn’t really matter; audacious ideas motivate people.Nicola covers: (1) What a Tech Specs Document is, why it's important, and why it can sometimes be challenging to create one. (2) How to create outstanding Tech Specs. (3) A Notion system for creating Tech Specs. (4) Tips from both his own experience and the community.
tl;dr:"I think I am at least somewhat more productive than average, and people sometimes ask me for productivity tips. So I decided to just write them all down in one place." Sam discusses what to work on, how to prioritize tasks, physical factors (eating, sleeping, drinking, etc...) and more.
tl;dr:A founder asked Sam how to stop caring what other people think. After reflecting on the question more, he thinks it's the wrong question… “The most impressive people I know care a lot about what people think, even people whose opinions they really shouldn’t value. But what makes them unusual is that they generally care about other people’s opinions on a very long time horizon — as long as the history books get it right, they take some pride in letting the newspapers get it wrong.” Many people are not willing to function on this time horizon.
tl;dr:“The vast majority of founders don’t spend nearly enough time hiring. After you figure out your vision and get product-market fit, you should probably be spending between a third and a half of your time hiring. It sounds crazy, and there will always be a ton of other work, but it’s the highest-leverage thing you can do, and great companies always, always have great people.” Sam provides his hiring playbook.
tl;dr:36 short snippets on career and life advice - (1) Never put your family, friends, or significant other low on your priority list. (2) Life is not a dress rehearsal - this is probably it. Make it count. (3) Pick the right thing to do (this is critical and usually ignored), and more.