Back to square one
Glad to see you here, friend,
I am at a crossroads in my “professional” life. I have lived a successful entrepreneurial adventure for seven years at Partoo, right after college. Undergoing the struggle of the beginning (I handled the CTO role for about two years — huh!), the fast-paced growth (200+ employees to date), a profitable exit (with great investors/partners in the name of Webedia). And, finally, the quieter individual contributor time as Product Manager (more on how and why to step down from CPO to product manager will drop here eventually).
Now, I am back to square one (officially on Jan 14th). And, I expect it to leave more room for experiments—more space for writing and sharing.
My focus is progressively shifting onto two things. My collaboration with Nicolas, a long-time friend, genius product designer, and co-creator of TBH later acquired by Facebook. We started working together about a year ago, with a common interest in community-based products. We have been iterating on different topics, which boils down to social networks. The most advanced experiment is Stoke Club — a unique way to share the stoke within the surfing community.
The second thing I am continuously circling around is Unbundling Reddit — a service I started five months ago to help entrepreneurs get community insights/user discovery/business opportunities from subreddits. I really feel that Reddit is an under-valued source for observations. And one of the best places to hang out on the internet.
I imagine future publications being about these topics: community-led products, entrepreneurship, seeking Product-Market fit (+skateboarding — let’s be honest).
In other words, you could benefit from reading this newsletter if:
We have been working together, and you want to stay close
We share similar vibes and you want to relate
You are starting a new entrepreneurial journey, or aspiring to it soon, and you want to see how I approach some topics (which tools, which training, thoughts…)
And if subscribing to yet another newsletter feels too much, I am also sharing vibes on Twitter.
One last thing,
Nollie, short for "nose ollie", is an ollie executed at the front of the board while the rider is positioned in their natural stance.
Wikipedia
All being said, this newsletter is about a natural stance. I’d be happy if we could share a common argument on a given topic. If ever you comment on an article from this newsletter, we will likely become friends. Let’s be friends. I will need all the support in the world in this new exciting time, and I hope to share this with you.
Cheers,