The Zero State
“Substack meets Masterclass meets the Economist meets the New Yorker”
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The thesis of this newsletter is that the best early-stage startup advice is recent advice from other founders. I’m fortunate to talk daily with founders as part of my job, so I started The Zero State to share some of those 0 → 1 lessons with others.
The Zero State is the most exhilarating part of a founder’s journey. You’ve had an idea, you have some Figma designs, and you’ve read every Paul Graham essay. Now what?
The answer to that question is both practical and existential. From daily conversations with founders, I’ve learned that the latter usually makes the bigger difference in the long run. Knowing how to write a cold email to get customers is as important as knowing how to deal with the reality of being a founder.
The title of the newsletter is inspired by the iconic phrase of Peter Thiel, “Zero to One,” as well as by one of my favorite art movements, The Zero Movement. ZERO was started in post-World War II Germany by a group of young artists who rejected the status quo and made new audacious art that “gleefully embraced technological progress.”
What to expect from The Zero State:
Practical: how to pitch at pre-seed, how to build a powerful waitlist, how to find a technical co-founder, what you need to know about UX/UI, SEO, etc. I have worked and built startups in consumer so it will lean more towards that.
Existential: the benefits and dangers of friends, why founders should lift weights, why most startup advice is garbage (hah), etc.
Zero Founders Highlights: this will be the paid part of the newsletter where I feature early-stage top-tier founders and startups I know personally.
Misc: this will also serve as my personal blog so expect random pieces on the best items I purchased in 2023 or the best cocktail bar in Brooklyn (it’s Eavesdrop).
Doodles
— BC
