I found a useful article: the guys analyzed 17,500 pitch decks. Here's what really works:
🖤 Solo founders were 9% less likely to raise, but when they did, their median raise was 21% higher.
🖤 96% of decks were Pre-Seed/Seed reporting ARR at pre-seed made teams ~2× more likely to raise.
🖤 Funding is concentrated: Fintech, Enterprise, Healthcare = ~50% of total. Frame accordingly.
🖤 Funded startups were 47% more likely to have founders with prior startup experience, and 27% more likely to have at least one technical cofounder.
Full study: https://www.openvc.app/blog/worlds-first-study-of-17500-startup-pitch-decks-by-sequel
🖤 Solo founders were 9% less likely to raise, but when they did, their median raise was 21% higher.
🖤 96% of decks were Pre-Seed/Seed reporting ARR at pre-seed made teams ~2× more likely to raise.
🖤 Funding is concentrated: Fintech, Enterprise, Healthcare = ~50% of total. Frame accordingly.
🖤 Funded startups were 47% more likely to have founders with prior startup experience, and 27% more likely to have at least one technical cofounder.
Full study: https://www.openvc.app/blog/worlds-first-study-of-17500-startup-pitch-decks-by-sequel
www.openvc.app
World's first study of 17,500 startup pitch decks by Sequel
How long should a deck be? Are solo founders a red flag? Does deck design really matter? For the first time, we get a definitive answers to these questions.
👍1
Being a Founder Isn’t About Doing Everything
At some point, I realized a founder really has just three real jobs:
1. Direction. Define where we’re going (vision) and why it matters (mission).
2. People. Hire those who are way better than you in every area.
3. Capital. Bring in the money that keeps the vision alive.
Everything else? That’s the team’s job.
Ownership means they decide, execute, and have all the resources they need for the next quarter, without waiting for permission.
The founder’s job is to do a few things that are brutally hard, not hundreds of small ones.
Every time I catch myself buried in micro-tasks, I feel it - that quiet frustration of working hard but not really moving the needle.
Anyone else feel that tension between being busy and creating real impact?
At some point, I realized a founder really has just three real jobs:
1. Direction. Define where we’re going (vision) and why it matters (mission).
2. People. Hire those who are way better than you in every area.
3. Capital. Bring in the money that keeps the vision alive.
Everything else? That’s the team’s job.
Ownership means they decide, execute, and have all the resources they need for the next quarter, without waiting for permission.
The founder’s job is to do a few things that are brutally hard, not hundreds of small ones.
Every time I catch myself buried in micro-tasks, I feel it - that quiet frustration of working hard but not really moving the needle.
Anyone else feel that tension between being busy and creating real impact?
🔥5
Building on my last post about a founder's core jobs: Direction, People, and Capital, I've been reflecting on the journey to get there.
Yes, the endgame is delegation: empowering your team to own execution while you focus on the big levers.
But let's be real.
In the beginning, the founder has to do it all.
Why?
Because your vision isn't just words on a slide.
It's born from rolling up your sleeves, grinding through the details, and embedding your DNA into every process, product decision, and customer interaction. You prototype, you sell, you troubleshoot. You live it to ensure the foundation aligns perfectly with where you're headed.
Only then can you hand it off.
Delegation without that hands-on phase?
It's like passing a baton in a race you never started running. Your team needs to see the vision in action, not just hear about it.
Once the groundwork is solid, step back. Hire stars, fuel them with resources, and watch them scale what you sparked.
May the founder’s force be with you. 🤙🏼
Yes, the endgame is delegation: empowering your team to own execution while you focus on the big levers.
But let's be real.
In the beginning, the founder has to do it all.
Why?
Because your vision isn't just words on a slide.
It's born from rolling up your sleeves, grinding through the details, and embedding your DNA into every process, product decision, and customer interaction. You prototype, you sell, you troubleshoot. You live it to ensure the foundation aligns perfectly with where you're headed.
Only then can you hand it off.
Delegation without that hands-on phase?
It's like passing a baton in a race you never started running. Your team needs to see the vision in action, not just hear about it.
Once the groundwork is solid, step back. Hire stars, fuel them with resources, and watch them scale what you sparked.
May the founder’s force be with you. 🤙🏼
2👍4
Maker vs Manager Time
If you feel drained from constant context switching, Paul Graham’s model can help. He wrote about it in “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule”
Manager time is meetings, calls, quick decisions.
Maker time is long, uninterrupted deep work.
Founders usually mix these modes and then blame themselves for low output. In reality, one random call inside a focus block can ruin the entire day.
For almost three months I’ve been running a strict split:
☕️first half of the day - important work that needs full immersion,
🫖second half - calls and everything that breaks focus.
The difference is very noticeable. more progress, less mental noise.
Try it for a week. Protect a few clean mornings. Push all calls later.
Try it or share in comments what helps you feel more productive.
If you feel drained from constant context switching, Paul Graham’s model can help. He wrote about it in “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule”
Manager time is meetings, calls, quick decisions.
Maker time is long, uninterrupted deep work.
Founders usually mix these modes and then blame themselves for low output. In reality, one random call inside a focus block can ruin the entire day.
For almost three months I’ve been running a strict split:
☕️first half of the day - important work that needs full immersion,
🫖second half - calls and everything that breaks focus.
The difference is very noticeable. more progress, less mental noise.
Try it for a week. Protect a few clean mornings. Push all calls later.
Try it or share in comments what helps you feel more productive.
👍2
The longer I build products, the clearer one truth becomes:
Marketing is everything.
You can have a technically perfect product.
A masterpiece.
A system that deserves to win.
But if you can’t bring attention → audience → users…
You’re dead.
Not instantly, but inevitably.
GTM isn’t a document.
It’s a living creature. Wild, emotional, unpredictable.
You test, break, adapt, and steal attention every single day.
I stopped talking to users in “corporate marketing tone” long ago.
People don’t want polished slogans.
They want real language. Real emotions. Real intentions.
I love the hunt, finding non-obvious angles, unusual hooks, and new entry points.
And honestly?
Xtok is turning me into a much stronger marketer than ever before.
You can’t build an adult-creator fintech/AI platform without becoming obsessed with attention mechanics.
May the founder’s force be with you. 🤙🏼
Marketing is everything.
You can have a technically perfect product.
A masterpiece.
A system that deserves to win.
But if you can’t bring attention → audience → users…
You’re dead.
Not instantly, but inevitably.
GTM isn’t a document.
It’s a living creature. Wild, emotional, unpredictable.
You test, break, adapt, and steal attention every single day.
I stopped talking to users in “corporate marketing tone” long ago.
People don’t want polished slogans.
They want real language. Real emotions. Real intentions.
I love the hunt, finding non-obvious angles, unusual hooks, and new entry points.
And honestly?
Xtok is turning me into a much stronger marketer than ever before.
You can’t build an adult-creator fintech/AI platform without becoming obsessed with attention mechanics.
May the founder’s force be with you. 🤙🏼
3👍2❤1
hell yeah, this was a really huge new year's vacation. Literally, I pushed myself to rest and don't touch the work. I needed some time to avoid burning out. I hope you had a great vacation and will have a perfect year.
👍2
I feel like a social addicted junky.
I caught myself checking Instagram before my feet hit the floor this morning.
Eyes half-shut. Thumb already scrolling.
I wasn't looking for anything. That's the worst part. There was no notification, no message, no reason. Just the reflex. Like phantom calls.
I put the phone down. Went for a walk with my dog Hiro.
Picked it up again in elevator.
I used to judge people who said they were addicted to their phones. Now I'm standing in my kitchen at 7am, dopamine-starved, refreshing a feed of people I don't even like… and I can't stop.
The algorithm doesn't need to be smart. It just needs me to be bored for three seconds.
And I always am.
I caught myself checking Instagram before my feet hit the floor this morning.
Eyes half-shut. Thumb already scrolling.
I wasn't looking for anything. That's the worst part. There was no notification, no message, no reason. Just the reflex. Like phantom calls.
I put the phone down. Went for a walk with my dog Hiro.
Picked it up again in elevator.
I used to judge people who said they were addicted to their phones. Now I'm standing in my kitchen at 7am, dopamine-starved, refreshing a feed of people I don't even like… and I can't stop.
The algorithm doesn't need to be smart. It just needs me to be bored for three seconds.
And I always am.
18👍1
Everyone laughs at vibe-coders building todo lists.
They are building simplest project to know how it works.
But stop. What if these people are actually trying to solve the real BIG problem - "what exactly should I do next?"
Because that's the actual crisis. Not the code. The chaos.
We're all drowning in notes, tabs, bookmarks, voice memos, screenshots of things we'll "get back to."
Fragmented data everywhere. Zero pipeline.
The real value of AI isn't writing your code. It's ordering the unordered.
Taking your messy, scattered everything and turning it into one clear direction.
"Based on everything you've told me, Maxim you should probably schedule an appointment with a therapist."
Okay fair. 😃 But seriously-
This is literally the best product concept for any type of activity. Analyze the mess. Give me a short, sharp direction based on my actual goal.
Not another dashboard. Not another tracker.
Just: here's what you do next.
They are building simplest project to know how it works.
But stop. What if these people are actually trying to solve the real BIG problem - "what exactly should I do next?"
Because that's the actual crisis. Not the code. The chaos.
We're all drowning in notes, tabs, bookmarks, voice memos, screenshots of things we'll "get back to."
Fragmented data everywhere. Zero pipeline.
The real value of AI isn't writing your code. It's ordering the unordered.
Taking your messy, scattered everything and turning it into one clear direction.
"Based on everything you've told me, Maxim you should probably schedule an appointment with a therapist."
Okay fair. 😃 But seriously-
This is literally the best product concept for any type of activity. Analyze the mess. Give me a short, sharp direction based on my actual goal.
Not another dashboard. Not another tracker.
Just: here's what you do next.
10🔥2
The distance between “need to make” and “it’s actually work” = infinity.
👀 Here is what I’m building for now.
Just 3 weeks in, but we already have solid traction.
YouTubers hit a wall after their first 10 videos - they don’t know what to make next.
The data exists, but creators can’t read it. Agencies can, but they charge $3-10K/month.
Goxi delivers agency-level strategy for $29
We are starting to raise.
If you can connect us with the right early-stage investors or angels — my DMs are open: @gustmax
Just 3 weeks in, but we already have solid traction.
YouTubers hit a wall after their first 10 videos - they don’t know what to make next.
The data exists, but creators can’t read it. Agencies can, but they charge $3-10K/month.
Goxi delivers agency-level strategy for $29
We are starting to raise.
If you can connect us with the right early-stage investors or angels — my DMs are open: @gustmax
👍3
14 Rules of Startups.
Which one do you adhere to?
1. use claude
2. build in public
3. copy what works
4. ship fast
5. talk less
6. demo more
7. find a great co-founder
8. talk to your users
9. document everything
10. never raise desperate
11. traction is your best pitch
12. revenue is the best KPI
13. don’t be afraid to pivot
14. volume negates luck
Which one do you adhere to?
1. use claude
2. build in public
3. copy what works
4. ship fast
5. talk less
6. demo more
7. find a great co-founder
8. talk to your users
9. document everything
10. never raise desperate
11. traction is your best pitch
12. revenue is the best KPI
13. don’t be afraid to pivot
14. volume negates luck
👍2
We're building Goxi to kill one specific problem: creators guessing what to make next.
So we built a public report. You drop in any YouTube channel, we pull the data, and tell you what's actually working. No signup. No email. Just the analysis.
Here's one for Richard Yu -> https://goxi.ai/report/youtube/@RichardYuBusiness
His "how-to" videos average 34K views. His "overview" videos do 3.8K. That's not a content problem. That's a format problem. And he probably didn't know.
Inside Goxi, you also get:
1. Daily niche signals: what your competitors ship, what niche leaders publish, which new channels are rising
2. Next video ideas based on your data, not vibes
3. A pipeline built around one thing: shipping
$29/mo. Replaces a $5K/mo agency.
So we built a public report. You drop in any YouTube channel, we pull the data, and tell you what's actually working. No signup. No email. Just the analysis.
Here's one for Richard Yu -> https://goxi.ai/report/youtube/@RichardYuBusiness
His "how-to" videos average 34K views. His "overview" videos do 3.8K. That's not a content problem. That's a format problem. And he probably didn't know.
Inside Goxi, you also get:
1. Daily niche signals: what your competitors ship, what niche leaders publish, which new channels are rising
2. Next video ideas based on your data, not vibes
3. A pipeline built around one thing: shipping
$29/mo. Replaces a $5K/mo agency.
👍2
Muse Spark is live.
Meta's first Superintelligence Labs model dropped April 8.
It's multimodal, it reasons (Instant vs Thinking mode), and it already powers meta.ai.
This replaces Llama. It's closed, it's fast, and it's about to be in every Meta surface you use.
The AI race just got interesting again.
Meta's first Superintelligence Labs model dropped April 8.
It's multimodal, it reasons (Instant vs Thinking mode), and it already powers meta.ai.
This replaces Llama. It's closed, it's fast, and it's about to be in every Meta surface you use.
The AI race just got interesting again.
Как найти свою нишу в создании контента? На примере YouTube.
Почему большинство, включая меня, не правильно классифицирует YT контент?
YouTube делит весь контент на 14 категорий. Музыка, Гейминг, Образование. Попробуй туда засунуть челлендж. Фитнес-челлендж это фитнес или развлечение? А игровой? Система сыпется, потому что тема и подача свалены в одну кучу.
Если их разделить, всё встаёт на место.
Три слоя, которые надо разделить:
1️⃣ Домен это широкая территория.
Финансы, гейминг, фитнес, бьюти. Если на тему можно представить журнал, это домен.
2️⃣ Ниша это конкретный сегмент внутри домена.
Финансы → Инвестиции → Дивидендные акции
Гейминг → Minecraft → Спидраны
Канал держится на 1-2 нишах. Начнёшь снимать крипту вместо дивидендов, часть аудитории уйдёт. Просто разные люди.
3️⃣ Формат это шаблон подачи.
Натягивается на любую нишу:
• Тир-лист — автор ранжирует всё подряд от лучшего к худшему, зрители спорят в комментах
• «Попробовал X на 30 дней» — снимаешь как живёшь по новым правилам месяц и что из этого вышло
• Айсберг — сверху очевидные факты, чем глубже тем страннее и неизвестнее
• Жёсткий аудит — разбираешь чужие ошибки в лоб, как Caleb Hammer с личными финансами
• «100 дней в...» — долгий челлендж с историей, как мини-сериал
Форматы рождаются, хайпятся и затухают. Но пока формат горячий, он работает везде.
Вся магия в пересечении
Берём тир-лист и прикладываем к разным нишам:
🎮 Рейтинг боссов Elden Ring
🍔 Рейтинг бургеров из фастфудов
💳 Рейтинг крипто карт 2026
А вот “Я попробовал X 30 дней”:
💪 Ел только мясо месяц
📱 Заменил смартфон на кнопочный
📧 Слал по 100 холодных писем в день
Один формат, разные ниши, совершенно разные видео. И каждое соберёт просмотры.
Если полезно, ставь лайк, буду продолжать делиться тем что мы делаем в goxi.ai
Почему большинство, включая меня, не правильно классифицирует YT контент?
YouTube делит весь контент на 14 категорий. Музыка, Гейминг, Образование. Попробуй туда засунуть челлендж. Фитнес-челлендж это фитнес или развлечение? А игровой? Система сыпется, потому что тема и подача свалены в одну кучу.
Если их разделить, всё встаёт на место.
Три слоя, которые надо разделить:
1️⃣ Домен это широкая территория.
Финансы, гейминг, фитнес, бьюти. Если на тему можно представить журнал, это домен.
2️⃣ Ниша это конкретный сегмент внутри домена.
Финансы → Инвестиции → Дивидендные акции
Гейминг → Minecraft → Спидраны
Канал держится на 1-2 нишах. Начнёшь снимать крипту вместо дивидендов, часть аудитории уйдёт. Просто разные люди.
3️⃣ Формат это шаблон подачи.
Натягивается на любую нишу:
• Тир-лист — автор ранжирует всё подряд от лучшего к худшему, зрители спорят в комментах
• «Попробовал X на 30 дней» — снимаешь как живёшь по новым правилам месяц и что из этого вышло
• Айсберг — сверху очевидные факты, чем глубже тем страннее и неизвестнее
• Жёсткий аудит — разбираешь чужие ошибки в лоб, как Caleb Hammer с личными финансами
• «100 дней в...» — долгий челлендж с историей, как мини-сериал
Форматы рождаются, хайпятся и затухают. Но пока формат горячий, он работает везде.
Вся магия в пересечении
Берём тир-лист и прикладываем к разным нишам:
🎮 Рейтинг боссов Elden Ring
🍔 Рейтинг бургеров из фастфудов
💳 Рейтинг крипто карт 2026
А вот “Я попробовал X 30 дней”:
💪 Ел только мясо месяц
📱 Заменил смартфон на кнопочный
📧 Слал по 100 холодных писем в день
Один формат, разные ниши, совершенно разные видео. И каждое соберёт просмотры.
Если полезно, ставь лайк, буду продолжать делиться тем что мы делаем в goxi.ai
🔥2
Медитация очень важна для магии, потому что в точку, в которой мы сосредоточиваем наше внимание, потечёт и наша энергия. Поэтому, когда ты занимаешься магией, тебе нужно стараться по максимуму сконцентрировать разум лишь на том, чего ты пытаешься достичь. Такова роль медитации — она тренирует твоё сознание, чтобы оно не разлеталось во всевозможных направлениях, рассеивая накопленную энергию.
Большинство людей только и делает, что жалуется на то, что им не нравится. Так они лишь усиливают эти вещи — они дают им жизнь. Лучше концентрироваться на том, к чему мы хотим прийти, а не от чего уйти.
При этом не нужно врать, когда тебе плохо. Например, если ты простыл, и у тебя спрашивают, болен ли ты, не нужно отвечать «нет». Нужно отвечать: «С каждой минутой мне становится лучше». Это круто. (c) Damien Echols
Большинство людей только и делает, что жалуется на то, что им не нравится. Так они лишь усиливают эти вещи — они дают им жизнь. Лучше концентрироваться на том, к чему мы хотим прийти, а не от чего уйти.
При этом не нужно врать, когда тебе плохо. Например, если ты простыл, и у тебя спрашивают, болен ли ты, не нужно отвечать «нет». Нужно отвечать: «С каждой минутой мне становится лучше». Это круто. (c) Damien Echols
👍1