The hottest Entrepreneurship Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

Shou Zi Chew: The Man Behind TikTok's Global Success

China Story • 2 HN points • 26 May 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Shou Zi Chew invested in Internet giants like Xiaomi, JD.com, and Alibaba before joining TikTok.
  2. Shou Zi Chew left his comfort zone by transitioning from an investor to CFO at Xiaomi before becoming CFO and later CEO at ByteDance.
  3. As CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew faced challenges related to regulation, user data, and geopolitics, demonstrating resilience in navigating the tough landscape.

Letter #96: Larry Page and Sergey Brin (2004)

A Letter a Day • 2 HN points • 01 Jul 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998 and restructured it as Alphabet in 2015, focusing on core offerings.
  2. Google's founders emphasize serving end users, prioritizing long-term goals, and taking risks for high-reward projects.
  3. Their corporate structure aims at stability and independence with a dual class stock system to retain control over strategic decisions.

Kent Beck: Business

Software Design: Tidy First? • 2 HN points • 30 Aug 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Kent Beck learned from his grandfather that business can be about maximizing benefits for oneself at the expense of others.
  2. Kent Beck initially believed that by creating value for others, nature would provide for him, but he later realized he needed to actively create a path for value to return to him.
  3. Kent Beck's journey taught him that running a business doesn't have to mirror his grandfather's questionable practices; a business can be mutually beneficial for customers and himself.
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(Almost) Building Tacklr

Ben’s Growth Musings • 2 HN points • 01 Mar 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. The author attempted to validate an idea for an AI phishing protection product by following a structured process.
  2. The author found technical feasibility but faced challenges with market interest and competition, ultimately leading to scrapping the project.
  3. Key takeaways include the importance of validating riskiest hypotheses and understanding market interest before investing further resources.

I’m baaaaaaack

David Spinks' Newsletter • 14 implied HN points • 07 Mar 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. The author is back from parental leave and feeling excited to return to work.
  2. During the author's leave, they focused on writing, consulting, and building their business.
  3. The author plans to maintain a daily writing habit, continue consulting, and grow their Talent Collective.

How 43 famous companies got their names.

Jon’s Newsletter • 3 HN points • 30 Apr 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Many famous companies have names that come from their founders or meaningful phrases. For example, Nike is named after the Greek goddess of victory.
  2. Some companies chose catchy names that evoke ideas or images. For instance, 'Amazon' was selected to suggest a vast online bookstore, while 'Spotify' is a blend of 'spot' and 'identify'.
  3. The naming process often includes fun or unexpected stories. Like how IKEA's name comes from the founder's initials and his childhood home, or how Starbucks got its name from a character in Moby Dick.

Follow the value: How to sanity check startup ideas

Afridigest • 7 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Value creation is crucial for business success - make things that people want to create value.
  2. Many startups fail because they do not provide value to their customers, leading to issues like market need, product-market fit, and market adoption.
  3. Avoid the mistake of building something only based on what you think users want - ensure that your startup idea plausibly creates value.

Pico Masala: How I Built a Restaurant Empire—Then Gave It Away for Free

Juan David’s Newsletter • 1 implied HN point • 02 Jul 25
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Building a unique brand is crucial for success. It's not just about good food; your name, story, and design should be memorable to attract customers.
  2. Understanding your target market helps create personalized experiences. Researching customer needs allows you to connect with them on a deeper level and improve sales.
  3. Using a sustainable business model can help you grow. Consider options like subscription services or loyalty programs to ensure steady income and build customer loyalty.

✅ Monday briefing #17: PR start-ups, search metrics, propaganda media, sustainable local media, COVID-19 data, LinkedIn hack, foodbank fundraiser, and more

Wadds Inc. newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 26 Oct 20
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. PR start-ups in the UK are adapting to challenges by finding new business models during COVID-19.
  2. Using search metrics like Google Trends can help marketers measure the success of their campaigns better.
  3. Local media needs to focus on publishing fewer but higher-quality articles to survive and create a sustainable business.

Build a Product that the User Wants - Hard Learnt Unsaid rules of User Interviews

Build Startup In Public • 4 HN points • 22 Jul 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Always ask questions, even if you think you know the answers. It helps you understand the user's perspective better.
  2. Building a good relationship with the interviewee makes them more comfortable to share valuable insights.
  3. It's important to identify your target user base clearly. This helps you gather more relevant data during interviews.

Should User Interviews be Influenced by the Founder's Point of View on the Problem?

Build Startup In Public • 4 HN points • 16 Jul 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. When talking to users, keep an open mind and avoid pushing your own ideas. It's important to listen and discover unexpected insights from their experiences.
  2. Don't just talk to the end users; include stakeholders and decision makers too. Their perspectives can reveal hidden challenges and needs that could affect your product's success.
  3. Understand the context where your users operate. Observing them in their natural environment can help you learn about their behaviors and needs, leading to better product design.

Micro-tools from MKT1

MKT1 Newsletter • 1 implied HN point • 09 Jun 25
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. 'Vibe coding' helps marketers create value quickly and efficiently. It's a new way to develop useful tools in marketing.
  2. MKT1 offers a variety of ready-to-use apps and prompts for building your own tools. You can customize these tools and there's guidance provided.
  3. To learn how to use these tools effectively, check out the latest newsletter and explore the template library for more resources.

How to create buy-in and move immovable things; To Interim CMO or not?; Ten commandments of consumer behaviour

Femstreet • 7 implied HN points • 03 Dec 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. The '15% + 1 level' rule for creating buy-in and moving immovable things emphasizes thinking one level higher to get buy-in for ideas.
  2. The ten commandments of consumer behavior stress understanding human nature for successful product adoption and growth.
  3. Consider hiring an interim CMO as a low-risk, high-return option to build your leadership team effectively.

No More Pitch Deck

Venture Prose • 39 implied HN points • 27 Feb 18
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Pitch decks may not effectively represent the best entrepreneurs.
  2. Focus on understanding your customers to pique investor interest.
  3. When meeting with investors, emphasize team, market knowledge, and customer understanding over a pitch deck.

Search Fund/Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

Captain's Log • 8 implied HN points • 08 Jul 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition involves acquiring small to medium-sized businesses and becoming the CEO without climbing the corporate ladder.
  2. The process includes raising funds for a search fund, locating a business to acquire, operating it for 5-7 years, then selling it.
  3. Despite the value in AI-driven businesses, the lengthy search process and moderate outcomes may deter pursuing Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition.

Staying Scrappy

Perspectives • 9 implied HN points • 19 Apr 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Scrappiness is about facing challenges head-on and being resourceful, even in business.
  2. Experiment and adapt to find success, like in 'scrappy sowing' to test ideas and learn from failures.
  3. Avoid anti-scrappiness factors like rigid processes, excessive vetoes, institutional memory, and fear of failure.

The Tesla Mafia - $40bn raised, 10 countries

Golden Pineapple • 5 HN points • 16 Feb 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. The 'Tesla Mafia' comprises former Tesla executives who have gone on to found their own successful ventures, collectively raising over $40 billion.
  2. Clean energy and e-mobility are the top sectors for the Tesla Mafia startups, followed closely by software development.
  3. Stanford University has been the top choice for alma maters of founders in the Tesla Mafia, highlighting the strong educational background of these entrepreneurs.

How to make a compelling pitch deck

Venture Prose • 19 implied HN points • 11 Nov 19
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Pitch decks can be helpful to reflect on your venture, explain it clearly, and convince others with strong arguments.
  2. When addressing a problem or opportunity, start by engaging with customers/users and then explain the reasons why the problem persists before talking about your solution.
  3. In a pitch deck, focus on the product/service first, demonstrate its value proposition, and show its benefits from the customer's perspective before diving into the target market and competitive landscape.

A tous les candidats qui souhaitent rejoindre une startup

Venture Prose • 19 implied HN points • 11 Nov 19
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. When joining a startup, focus on finding a mission that resonates with you and helps you grow, not just on financial gains or publicity.
  2. It's crucial to align your skills and motivations with the opportunities in the startup world to avoid confusion and steer your career in the right direction.
  3. Success in a startup requires a deep understanding of the effort and commitment needed, and it's important to prioritize personal growth and giving your best every day.

🎧 🧱 Shreyans Bhansali | The Magic of Small Teams from Venmo employee #1

Tippets by Taps • 2 implied HN points • 04 Dec 24
🎙 Podcasts Entrepreneurship
  1. Small teams can create amazing results. They're agile and can adapt quickly to challenges and new ideas.
  2. Finding the right people to join your team is super important. Great talent can make a big difference in success.
  3. Being an early employee is different from being a founder. Each role has its own challenges and learning experiences.

You Shouldn't Start a Community

David Spinks' Newsletter • 8 implied HN points • 23 May 23
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Building a community is a massive amount of work and takes 10x more time than expected.
  2. Measuring the success and impact of a community is challenging as it is removed from revenue.
  3. Creating and managing a community involves dealing with various challenges like content creation, conflict management, and difficult decisions.

Why You Should Join: Inside Edition

Why You Should Join • 5 implied HN points • 01 Jan 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. The newsletter highlights early-stage startups worth considering for new roles.
  2. Investors shared perspectives on promising startups like Chkk, Footprint, Ollama, Cursor, and Orby AI.
  3. These startups offer innovative solutions in areas like Kubernetes infrastructure, fraud prevention, local model usage, AI-powered code editing, and workflow automation.

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them, 3rd installment

Building the Builders • 2 implied HN points • 04 Nov 24
💼 Business Entrepreneurship
  1. Estée Lauder believed strongly in her products. She felt that to sell beauty, you have to genuinely love and believe in beauty yourself.
  2. Her journey was not just about business; it was a lifelong mission to teach women how to be and feel beautiful. This passion shaped her identity and life choices.
  3. Estée's experiences with beauty began in childhood, leading her to realize that creating beauty could be more than just a hobby; it could be a serious, fulfilling career.