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Go-to-Market

Your ICP is not the customer who likes you most

The best early customer is not always the one who praises the product. A useful ICP is built around urgency, willingness to change, and repeatable demand.

Your ICP is not the customer who likes you most

Your first sales hire should not rescue you

The first sales hire cannot compensate for unclear positioning, weak urgency, or a founder who has not learned the market yet.

Your first sales hire should not rescue you

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Founder Notes — Essays on Product, Fundraising, Hiring, and Building a Startup

Founder Notes is an independent publication for early-stage founders and operators. Long-form thinking on product strategy, fundraising, hiring, and the quieter parts of leadership — written from inside the work, not above it. One carefully edited essay, every Sunday. Browse the full archive.

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About the Editor

Founder Notes editor

Nathan Baugh

Operator. Investor. Writer.

I write about building, scaling, and leading companies. Previously founded an enterprise SaaS company and invested in early-stage startups.

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