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- Everything is Hard. 😵💫
Everything is Hard. 😵💫
The Observer's Notebook: Volume II, Entry 13 | February 20, 2025
Happy Thursday.
This week I'm cringing at how much a bad pitch reveals about a team, remembering that everything worth doing is hard, and preaching that customer discovery is a superpower till I’m blue in the face.
Here are three things on my mind this week, plus some reads I think you'll enjoy.
🔖Bookmarks of the Week
🔍Three Things On My Mind
1. A Simple Screening Tool: Is the Pitch Professional? ❌
I recently saw a founder blow their shot because their pitch was horrid. Painful to watch.
Here’s the lesson.
A poorly executed pitch signals one or more of the following:
The team is inexperienced.
The team is unprepared and/or does not value the investor’s time.
The team is incapable of effectively selling.
Reflecting back to the very first episode of The Diligent Observer Podcast with Matt Gore:
90% of the time, a pitch deck is a very good approximation of the founder’s ability to recruit and sell.
If you can’t tell a compelling story, if you can’t create a compelling vision of the future, then the chances that you’re going to be able to hire that 10x engineer or close that first contract is very small.
Extrapolating from the success of a pitch to saying “That was a terrible pitch, there’s no way I’m writing a check.” I think that’s right 90% of the time.
2. Everything is Hard. 😵💫
Something that I’ve been slowly recognizing for years, but only recently put into words: everything is hard.
Every single thing that looks polished and well-executed around you? Some person or team poured ridiculous energy into making it happen.
The sticky notes I write on every week? An evolution from years of persistence by two 3M scientists.
The last Shark Tank episode you watched? There's a team behind the scenes sifting through 40,000 applications to find 120 companies worth filming. And half of those don’t make it on the air.
Nothing just “happens”.
I think that's why it's so easy to coast. Growth and innovation require tremendous energy. Improvement takes effort. Building something great takes insane dedication.
As a mentor of mine likes to say, “You never drift towards excellence.”
But that's the hard thing about hard things - and it's what makes the wins so sweet.
3. Customer Discovery is your Secret Weapon. 🗣️
I told a roomful of engineering students something this week that I wish someone had drilled into my head when I was in their seats: customer discovery is your secret weapon.
Not your technical brilliance. Not your "genius" product ideas. Just good old-fashioned listening to customers.
Most of us don’t do this enough.
In my first job out of school, I built a couple of products almost entirely on assumptions and the needs of one customer.
Flops. Lost the company money.
Then I tried something different - I interviewed two dozen customers about what actually sucked in their day-to-day work.
That third product? We moved several hundred units.
Fast forward to launching PitchFact. Those 50+ discovery interviews I did with angel investors, entrepreneurs, and community operators? They're my north star. When things get hard, I go back to those conversations. I talk about them all the time. They give me conviction. Confidence. Direction.
Guess this engineer finally learned to stop building and start listening first.
⚛️A Note on Nuclear
I've spent the last few months deep diving into the early-stage nuclear energy investing landscape. After analyzing piles of Pitchbook data, interviewing industry experts, and reading way too much, I’ve pulled out the essential information to build the guide I wish existed when I started researching this space.
The Nuclear Energy Investing Playbook drops in March 2025. It includes analysis of 80+ startups, proprietary market research, and a framework to help angels navigate this complex but opportunity-rich sector.
Interested? Pre-order now for $79 (regular price $99). Want it for free? Subscribe and refer one friend to the newsletter (be sure to click the button to get a referral link) by March 15, 2025.
Until Next Week👋
Thanks for reading - have a great week.
-Andrew
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How did I do this week?
About Me
I cultivate flourishing.
I'm also the CEO of PitchFact, where our mission is to cultivate flourishing specifically through efficient and collaborative early-stage diligence. I'm a proud husband, grateful father, and honest friend. My love languages include brisket, bourbon, and a handwritten note.