Start small. Spend more only after evidence. Close what does not work.

Every business we start begins with something a person is already trying to get done and is already paying for, in money or in time. We do not begin with a technology and look for a use. We begin with the job and build the smallest real business that does it well.

A new business opens with a working product, a way for customers to find it, and a way to pay. It gets a modest budget and a short window to prove itself. It is not given a large team, a long runway, or a brand campaign before it has customers.

Each business is judged on the same plain questions. What does it cost to reach a customer? What does that customer pay? Do they come back? When the answers hold up, the business gets more money and more attention. When they do not, it does not.

Some businesses will not work. When one does not, we close it, settle its obligations, and move on. Closing a business is a normal outcome of this approach, not an exception to it.

Customers of an operating company deal with that company, under its own name and its own terms. Suppliers and partners are engaged by the specific business they work with. If you are not sure which company you are dealing with, write to [email protected].