Subscribe to FOUND'R Notes

EVERY MONDAY · READ BY 200+ FOUNDERS

Learn from 80+ founders'

most expensive mistakes

before you make the same ones

Learn from 80+ founders'

most expensive mistakes

before you make the same ones

Learn from 80+ founders'

most expensive mistakes

before you make the same ones

Learn from 80+ founders'

most expensive mistakes

before you make the same ones

Every Monday I write about a decision that cost founders months, money, or momentum. After building 80+ products, I've seen the same ones repeat. You're either learning these from experience or from someone who already paid for them.

FOUND’R NOTE #01

The MVP playbook is outdated

I keep hearing founders say the same thing.

"We'll clean it up after people start using it."

I've said it myself in the past. It used to be reasonable advice. It even worked for a while.

It doesn't anymore.

Over the last few years, I've watched smart founders ship MVPs that technically did what they were supposed to do. The core idea was there. The features worked. The logic made sense.

Still, usage never really picked up.

In most cases trust was the issue.

(This shows up fast. Usually in the first few minutes.)

The old MVP playbook assumed users would tolerate friction in exchange for novelty. That they would explore, forgive rough edges, and stick around long enough for you to learn.

That assumption broke.

Users do not separate "early" from "careless" anymore. They don't wait to see where things are going. They make a call almost immediately on whether something feels solid enough to invest time in.

Once that judgment is made, learning stops.

Usually the issue is not speed.
It's trust.

When a product feels unfinished in the wrong way, users behave cautiously. They click less. They explore less. They do the minimum and leave. What you get back is not real signal. It's polite disengagement.

(This is easy to misread as lack of demand.)

First note arrives in your inbox today then one email every Monday. Unsubscribe anytime.

A smiling hadnsome young man, wearing a cap

Robert Avram

Co-founder, Nuova · 80+ products · $110M impacted

Connect with me on X

What these notes are about

One founder spent $50,000 on designs no developer could build from. Six months of work thrown away.

Another prepped for weeks for a VC meeting. The investor formed his opinion in the first 10 minutes before the pitch even started. The meeting was over before it began.

A third built a 6-month MVP roadmap. The one feature that made money took 3 weeks. The rest was wasted.

These are real stories from real projects. You'll read one every Monday.

What to expect from these emails

Pattern recognition

The same mistakes show up in almost every product I work on. These notes point them out before they cost you months.

Not advice, only perspective

No "5 tips for your MVP." Just honest notes on what I see founders get right and wrong and why.

Founder-to-founder tone

If you're actually building something right now, this will feel like a conversation with someone who's been where you are. If you're just browsing, this isn't for you.

One note, every Monday

Short enough to read with coffee. Specific enough to change a decision you're about to make this week.

What's coming next

#02

Minimum is not viable

MVP & Decisions

#03

Speed is overrated

Speed & Momentum

#04

Cheap design is expensive long term

Partnership

#05

If your product needs explaining, it's not Series A ready

Fundraising

#06

You didn't build a company. You built a bottleneck.

Founder Capacity

#07

Innovation has a tax nobody warns you about

Innovation

#08

Scale doesn't create problems — it exposes them

Scale

@therobertavram