No Hopium

Most startup advice is hopium — "build it and they'll come," "just keep going." No Hopium is the opposite: weekly notes from real founders on distribution — how to actually get your first paying customers.

Autopsy

Aug 6, 2026

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1 min read

Distribution Autopsy: 38 clicks. Zero €10 sales

The ad earned the click. The page showed one product and delivered another.

Dmitry T

Dispatch

Aug 4, 2026

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1 min read

Compliments aren’t validation

Ask for the spreadsheet, the introduction, the next meeting, or a small payment.

Dmitry T

Autopsy

Jul 30, 2026

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1 min read

Distribution Autopsy: The metrics were moving, but the customers weren't

Fourteen opens, zero clicks, zero users. The message arrived; the problem did not feel urgent.

Dmitry T

Dispatch

Jul 28, 2026

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1 min read

50 warm sales. About 5 cold.

Warm buyers trust you. Cold buyers trust only the proof you put in front of them.

Dmitry T

Autopsy

Jul 23, 2026

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1 min read

Distribution Autopsy: They won attention, not customers

113 posts and 367 cold emails produced attention, three replies, and zero sales.

Dmitry T

Dispatch

Jul 21, 2026

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1 min read

The $100 validation trap

If you pay someone to talk, you tested the incentive, not the market.

Dmitry T