Hey, Aaron here! Welcome to this bi-monthly startup newsletter. In each write-up, I tackle questions about building products, financial planning, growth, and raising capital! Today we dive into -

Education:

How to get your first 5 paying customers

Opinion:

Getting organized isn’t a delay — it’s how you go faster

A lot of early-stage founders stay busy but don’t really make progress. They jump into building, selling, and trying to grow before they’ve even stopped to think about where they’re going.

While I fully empathize that it feels good to be moving, movement without a clear plan usually leads to a lot of input and little to no valuable output.

The truth is, taking time to get organized can actually help you move faster — not slower.

And I’m not saying weeks of 1x1 meetings, offsites, and team-building exercises. I mean spending a few (<10) focused hours structuring internal operations with your team, setting clear goals, and establishing a regular work cadence can give you more momentum than weeks of rushing without direction.

Sharpen the Axe Before You Swing

There’s an old quote from Abraham Lincoln: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I’ll spend the first four sharpening the axe.” In other words, preparation matters.

For founders, this might mean:

• Writing down clearly who your end-customer really is (demographics, geographics, psychographics).

• Writing out your MVP feature list (wants vs. needs, validated features vs. unvalidated, etc.).

• Creating a simple system to track tasks and key relationships (investors, customers, business development relationships, etc.).

• Setting a weekly rhythm for meetings, content productions, and general workflow with your team so everyone knows what to focus on and can proceed with confidence.

Doing this kind of prep work might feel slow, but it saves you from wasting time later — fixing mistakes, changing direction, or redoing work.

And I’m not just saying this, I’m practicing what I preach as I recently joined a new company (more to come on that later) and the first thing we did post-onboarding was have ~10 hours of discussions over 3 days talking through all the aspects of the business and getting it on “paper” (we use Notion which I recommend checking out if it’s your cup of tea). Now, we as a team can enter the week with confidence and a sense of direction to progress our business together.

Why Some Founders Avoid Getting Organized

Some people think planning and systems are for big companies, not scrappy startups. But frankly, that’s a mistake. That’s like saying saving money / investing is only for rich people. Oh, so I guess Robinhood got it wrong? Investing is for everyone, and organizing is for every startup, regardless of size. Remember, you don’t need a huge setup and 18 different systems and dashboards, you just need a centralized place for tasks, documents, and notes — all designed to help you stay focused.

Things like:

• A weekly check-in with your team to report on work done, work in progress, and items to discuss as a team (I recommend doing Tues/Wed as Mondays are horrible for everyone, and who wants to meet on a Friday?).

• A shared work OS system (Trello, Monday, Notion, etc.) + a document management system (just use Google Drive and be done with it) where everyone can see what’s going on.

These little tools take almost no time (or money) to create, but they give your team confidence. When everyone knows what matters and who’s doing what, it’s easier to move together and faster toward your goals.

Getting Organized Helps You Move Smarter

Being organized doesn’t just reduce stress — it also helps you build better.

It helps you:

• Stay focused on what really matters

• Waste less time and energy

• Feel confident that you’re making progress

This matters whether you’re talking to customers, building your product, or raising money. The goal isn’t to be perfect — the goal is to be clear.

My Takeaways / Next Steps (if I’m a first-time founder)

• Set aside time to plan. Don’t skip this. Even 2–3 hours of focused planning can save you weeks of wasted work.

• Keep it simple. Use a shared work management system to track your key goals and tasks.

• Be specific. Don’t just say “talk to customers” — say how many, by when, and what questions / topics should be addressed.

• Check in often. Weekly check-ins help you stay on track and fix small problems before they become big ones.

Bottom line:

Moving fast feels good, but moving in the right direction is what actually matters. Get organized early, and everything else becomes easier.

Notable News

That’s It For Today!

Consulting || Resources || Community

Written By Aaron @(un)conventional Team