1 May 2023
This week's additions focus on leadership, mindset, and strategy, with new digests from Lenny's Podcast Product Career Growth, Cameron Herold, and Rob Walling. Highlights include Creative testing is now the biggest lever in paid growth A Vivid Vision is a dated, detailed picture of your company's future
Showing 22 digests for 1 May 2023.
Mastering paid growth with Jonathan Becker of Thrive Digital
Lenny's Podcast Product Career Growth
May 7, 2023
Paid ads
9
Growth hacking
8
Long-term planning
6
Creative testing is now the biggest lever in paid growth
Attribution has no single source of truth — treat it as ongoing investigation
Over-reliance on one channel or loophole will eventually sink your business
How MN Custom Homes uses a Vivid Vision to align their team
Cameron Herold
May 7, 2023
Vision & mission
9
Culture building
8
Processes & SOPs
6
A Vivid Vision is a dated, detailed picture of your company's future
Sharing it publicly turns stakeholders into active participants
Tech adoption and community impact treated as core business commitments
Seven ways to control technical debt in a SaaS codebase
Rob Walling
May 7, 2023
Processes & SOPs
9
Tech stack & software
5
Technical debt can cancel a multi-million dollar acquisition.
Test-driven development forces better code architecture by design.
Housekeeping tickets turn ad-hoc shortcuts into a managed debt load.
Six communication tips for confident boardroom presence
Dr. Grace Lee
May 7, 2023
Communication
9
Public speaking
5
Stop seeking permission — executives reward conviction, not approval-seeking
Frame every proposal around fair exchange for each stakeholder
Communicate the essence only; discretion is a boardroom skill
Micro SaaS vs traditional SaaS: how to pick the right model from the start
TK Kader
May 7, 2023
Business models
9
Pricing strategy
7
Market size — not your idea — determines whether to go micro or traditional SaaS.
Micro SaaS caps near $1M ARR; traditional SaaS requires $20K+ deals and salespeople.
Start micro regardless: most billion-dollar SaaS categories began as small tools.
AI strategy & adoption
YouTube
AI is already changing daily life — adopt it now or fall behind
GaryVee
May 7, 2023
AI strategy & adoption
8
Work-life balance
7
Content marketing
6
Start using AI tools daily — waiting until you need them is too late.
Motivate teams with truth and optimism, not fear or pressure.
The pursuit is more fulfilling than the goal — internalize this early.
Founder interviews
YouTube
Why Neil Patel avoids real estate and bets on tech
Neil Patel
May 6, 2023
Founder interviews
9
Fundraising & VC
6
Bootstrapping
5
Your primary home is not an investment — you can't realise the gains.
Angel investing at 40% cash returns beats real estate by a wide margin.
Back people you trust repeatedly; skip the due diligence theatre.
Founder interviews
YouTube
Complimenting kids on character, not grades or looks
GaryVee
May 5, 2023
Founder interviews
10
Identity & self-belief
7
Bootstrapping
6
Praising grades or looks creates fragile, short-lived self-worth in kids
From suicidal teen to $125M donated: community purpose sustains founders
Maniacal DTC focus and customer obsession beat retail dependency every time
How Stripe builds a culture of engineering excellence
Lenny's Podcast Product Career Growth
May 4, 2023
Culture building
9
Iteration & feedback loops
7
AI tools & automation
6
Stripe's 'friction logging' turns user frustration into systematic quality improvements.
Engineers ship to production in 45 minutes — without a human babysitting the deploy.
Why Stripe hired its first PM only at employee ~200, and what changed.
Why BuzzFeed shut down its Pulitzer-winning news division
Masters of Scale
May 4, 2023
Pivoting
9
Bootstrapping
6
AI strategy & adoption
5
Facebook killed social news — BuzzFeed News had no sustainable model without it
Nostalgia for a working past is a signal to pivot, not persist
Generative AI is BuzzFeed's first genuinely transformative platform bet since social
How Neil Patel built a nine-figure agency by giving software away free
Neil Patel
May 4, 2023
Business models
10
Growth hacking
7
Cash flow management
6
No large brand relies on one channel — brand equity dominates revenue.
Acquire free tools to own enterprise audiences, then monetise via services.
Creative and A/B testing deliver more leverage than most marketers realise.
Founder interviews
YouTube
How Valeria Lipovetsky built a media empire with her husband
Silicon Valley Girl
May 4, 2023
Founder interviews
10
Hiring & recruitment
6
Processes & SOPs
5
Luxury brands build your image; mass brands actually pay your bills.
Closing a fashion e-commerce line to refocus on high-margin media.
Mom creators are more efficient — limited time cuts the nonsense.
Accountability, culture, and winning in social media
GaryVee
May 4, 2023
Culture building
9
Identity & self-belief
8
Social media
6
Blaming yourself puts you in control, not victims
Most agencies are too slow for social media's pace
Challenge clients' flawed metrics before defending social ROI
Why HR should own and standardise the employee termination process
HR Party of One
May 4, 2023
Management
9
Compliance & regulation
8
Terminations without HR involvement create legal exposure and access gaps
A three-strike warning system protects against liability before firing
Departing employees should leave feeling respected, not resentful
Five traits of successful entrepreneurs and how to scale with freedom
Cameron Herold
May 3, 2023
Delegation
9
Vision & mission
7
Productivity & habits
6
Scheduling personal time first forces the business to fit around your life.
Delegating everything outside your unique ability is what unlocks real scale.
A vivid vision replaces vague mission statements with a buildable three-year picture.