Decks Don’t Build Companies. Customers Do.

Most founders get tricked into thinking their job is to impress investors.
Decks, competitions, vanity metrics. Theater.

But business isn’t about looking like a startup.
It’s about staying alive long enough to become a company.

The Purpose of Business

“The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” —Peter Drucker

Drucker didn’t say “maximize profit.”

He said the job of a business is to serve customers well enough to stay alive — and innovate fast enough to stay ahead.

A good business earns enough to:

• Support a long-term team
• Survive market shocks
• Fund innovation and growth

Profit matters. But profit optimization ≠ profit maximization. The best companies invest in customer relationships, learning, and durable advantage – not in chasing prizes or vanity.

You Might Raise Capital. You Might Not.

Venture capital is a tool—not the goal. And for many companies, it’s not the right tool at all.

“You’re almost always better off making your business better than your pitch better.” – Marc Andreessen

If you raise, great.
If you don’t, just F'n build.

Either way, the requirements are the same:

• Clarity
• Cash discipline
• Customer traction

The Core of a Business

At the end of the day, business is simple:

1. Make something people want
2. Make it easy to find and easy to buy
3. Make enough money to keep going, improve, and grow

A good business makes something people love—then builds the machine to deliver it, repeatedly, at a profit.

All financial models, metrics, and plans should serve that goal.

Tools and capital don’t build companies.
Decisions, discipline, and customers do.