The Curious Engineer

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Startup Real Talk

waseem.substack.com

War stories and tactical advice for startup founders. Click to read Startup Real Talk, by Waseem Daher, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

Tech news / industryEssays / personal

’21’22’23’24’25’26
Posts
68 from 6 Apr 2021 to 18 Jun 2025
Posting
now and then
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personal blog
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2025 8

  1. Don't pursue that good idea
  2. When should you cross-sell?
  3. Be the sales rep you wish to see in the world
  4. Responsiveness is key
  5. Lean into being small
  6. The duck lure
  7. Should you ever talk smack about your competitors?
  8. Just refund them

2024 4

  1. Don't hunt, set traps
  2. How to Exhibit at a Trade Show
  3. Your company's legal name
  4. Tips for managing your startup's cash

2023 19

  1. When will startups run out of cash?
  2. Be a rocketship or leave a big crater
  3. Your back office should be boring
  4. Don’t start a tech-enabled service
  5. Managing your psychology as a founder
  6. Avoiding the slow no
  7. Structural advantages of startups
  8. Delegate, don’t abdicate
  9. You’re going to hire the wrong executive
  10. Does the “no” ever get less awkward?
  11. How much money should you raise?
  12. Your startup has to be inevitable
  13. You’re not here to make friends
  14. Discounting is the root of all evil
  15. Getting investor introductions
  16. FAQ for startup founders re: SVB
  17. Running your startup in tough economic times
  18. Scalability is overrated
  19. Why goal-setting is hard

2022 15

  1. The best way to validate your startup idea
  2. How to set up a systematic hiring process
  3. Titles are your cheapest and most expensive thing
  4. A guide to productive board meetings
  5. That time we lost the sale
  6. A tactical guide to firing well
  7. Pilot’s Founder Salary Report
  8. The double-opt-in intro
  9. The forwardable email
  10. Navigating the downturn
  11. What is your “why now”?
  12. Asking people to do something new
  13. Structural advantages of startups
  14. Partnerships are a waste of time
  15. Don’t accidentally steer the ship

2021 22

  1. Start with the problem, not the solution
  2. Learning to let go
  3. When to expand from your core offering
  4. It's always a process problem
  5. When to ignore your investors
  6. Getting busy people to help you
  7. Picking the right investors
  8. What to do when it’s not working
  9. Why you shouldn’t start a startup
  10. Avoiding founder burnout
  11. Don’t get distracted by fake work
  12. What you should know about being acquired
  13. Your competitors don't matter
  14. There’s no “right” way to fund a company
  15. You can't have too many angels
  16. The most important rule of email
  17. No one cares that you're a unicorn
  18. Sales advice for the technical founder
  19. A backwards approach to naming your startup
  20. Tactical advice for finding your next startup idea
  21. Will your startup make you happy?
  22. Hello world!