Andrew Wilkinson

Quotes are word for word from the source.

• Small First Steps

  “When they have a good idea, they take one small step towards doing it. Whether it's giving it a name, sketching out a logo, or telling someone they're going to do it.”

  Our noteHe describes how successful people differentiate themselves by making ideas tangible quickly.

• Perception of time

  “Time perception is a strange thing. When you're in a routine, time rips by. Break the routine, and time slows down.”

  Our noteAndrew explains how routine affects our sense of how fast time passes.

• Danger of low margins

  “Low margins are business kryptonite, and they catch up with just about everyone”

  Our noteHe warns that poor unit economics eventually destroy even the most popular services.

• Inversion principle

  “Instead of asking what would make you happy, ask what would make you miserable. Then avoid those things.”

  Our noteExplaining the concept of inversion borrowed from Charlie Munger.

• Permanent capital

  “When we buy a business, we buy it to keep it. We've owned MetaLab for over twenty years.”

  Our noteDefining the long-term holding strategy of his company, Tiny.

• Hard mode entrepreneurship

  “I'd been doing entrepreneurship on hard mode my entire career. Starting from zero. Hiring from zero. Finding product-market fit from zero. Losing sleep. Losing money. Losing hair.”

  Our noteAndrew reflects on the difficulty of starting companies from scratch versus buying them.

• Seeking recognition trap

  “The core message is that seeking recognition from others is a trap. We bend ourselves into pretzels trying to meet everyone's expectations, but it's impossible. You literally cannot make everyone happy.”

  Our noteAndrew summarizes the lesson he learned from the book The Courage to Be Disliked.

• Courage to be disliked

  “The book argues that having the courage to be disliked is the only path to freedom. Not by being an asshole, just accepting that living authentically means some people won't like you.”

  Our noteDefining what it means to live authentically despite public opinion.

• Entrepreneurial Superpowers

  “The very traits that make traditional jobs challenging become superpowers in entrepreneurship: a tendency to see the big picture while delegating details, the ability to hyperfocus intensely on whatever interests us, a knack for building systems to compensate for our weaknesses.”

  Our noteHe explains why ADHD traits can be highly beneficial for business owners.

• The Generalist CEO

  “This scattered approach somehow worked in my favor - being an inch deep and a mile wide on every part of the business turned out to be exactly what a CEO needed to be.”

  Our noteHe reflects on how his tendency to jump between different business functions suited the CEO role.

• Benefits of Oversharing

  “Not so much networking as a complete failure to hold my cards close to my chest. This chronic oversharing somehow worked in my favor. When problems came up, I usually knew someone who could help.”

  Our noteAndrew describes how his impulsive social nature helped him build a vast network of helpers.

• Awareness and quick fixes

  “I had no clue about either of these issues, and I'm someone who actually pays attention to this stuff. Both were quick fixes and resolved within a few weeks.”

  Our noteAndrew reflects on discovering hidden health hazards in his home that were surprisingly easy to fix.

• Enjoying work time

  “We wanted to do something many successful business people seem to struggle with: we wanted to actually enjoy our time at work.”

  Our noteAndrew explains the simple but often overlooked goal he and his partner set for their company.