Hey Reader,
A founder reached out to me last week with a "job opportunity."
He had a finished product, a clean UI, and a pitch deck. He said, "Dmitry, I’ve seen your playbooks. You know how to talk to customers. I want to hire you to handle the sales so I can focus on building."
I smiled. Then I told him two things he didn't want to hear.
First, I asked: "If I’m the one finding the customers, closing the deals, and hearing the feedback — why exactly do I need you?"
It sounds harsh, but it’s the truth of the early stage. If you outsource the "Value Exchange" (the sale) before you have Product-Market Fit, you aren't the founder anymore. You’re just a project manager for an idea that might not work.
Then I asked the second question: "What do you think makes a founder?"
Most people think being a founder is about having the idea. It’s not. Being a founder is about validating the idea.
If you are "too busy building" to talk to your market, you aren't building a company — you're building a monument to your own assumptions.
The Clarity Filter Insight
The founder’s primary job isn't to write code or design screens. It is to be the bridge between a painful problem and a working solution. You cannot delegate the bridge-building until the bridge is solid.[Share on LinkedIn] | [Share on X]
If you're afraid to sell, it’s usually because you don't yet believe your solution is a painkiller. Don't hire a salesperson to fix your conviction. Talk to your customers until that conviction is so high you’d feel guilty not selling it to them.
Speak soon, — Dmitry
P.S. Want to get to your first $10K MRR faster?Check out my product — Traction OS on Gumroad.