the broke vc

venture capital / startups / tech optimism

essays (vc x startups)

The Unicorn Paradox

Jul 3, 2025

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7 min read

The Unicorn Paradox

Why $1B Valuations Might Actually Indicate Market Failure

Product-Market Fit Is Retrospective Fiction

Jul 1, 2025

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9 min read

Product-Market Fit Is Retrospective Fiction

The Myth of the Perfect Match

You Can Clone Code. You Can Copy Features. You Can’t Duplicate Real Community.

Jun 30, 2025

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8 min read

You Can Clone Code. You Can Copy Features. You Can’t Duplicate Real Community.

The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Revisited

Founders Are Option Contracts on Conviction

Jun 27, 2025

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7 min read

Founders Are Option Contracts on Conviction

The Early-Stage Founder Is a Volatile Asset. Conviction Is the Constraint.

You Don’t Need VC. You Need a Customer.

Jun 24, 2025

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7 min read

You Don’t Need VC. You Need a Customer.

The Theater of Startup Validation

The Lie of Scale

Jun 22, 2025

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7 min read

The Lie of Scale

Why Bigger Isn’t Better If You’re Broke