Founder’s Dance with George Levin #5

After six days of battling sickness and fever, the simple act of recovery transformed my everyday routines—like walking down the street or grocery shopping—into sources of unexpected joy.

We all know the profound relief we feel when sickness finally subsides. Suddenly, everything around us seems exciting and colorful, and we are filled with childlike curiosity.

But this feeling usually lasts only 2-3 days before we get caught up in our daily grind and soon find ourselves back in the hamster wheel. Is it possible to hold on to that feeling of enjoying everything we do for longer than just a few days?

Startup Hacks: Pull vs Push

Impatience is a major pitfall for salespeople and founders who sell ideas, stories, products, and the future.

Recently, someone from my running community messaged me out of the blue on WhatsApp. He started with some nice small talk and kind words. I kept the conversation going, and then—boom—he sent a long startup pitch, his website, deck, product description, and detailed ideas on how I could assist. I didn’t respond. He followed up. Then again...

I’ve been on the other side. During cold outreach on LinkedIn, I’d get excited when someone showed interest. I’d think, "This is it!" and then unload everything—who I am, what my startup does, all the use cases. Silence. Followup. More silence...

Founders often push instead of pull. But pushing rarely works. People don’t like being sold to; they want to feel good about helping someone they see as genuine.

To be that person, avoid direct selling. First, build a connection. Casually mention what you do. If they’re interested, they’ll ask. If not, overwhelming them will not change that.

Great salespeople stay on people’s radars without overtly selling. When the right moment comes, they’re already there. This approach requires patience and a system.

If that guy had stuck to small talk, made a good impression, waited a few days, sent something helpful, and met me at a running event, I might have offered to help myself.

Product Spotlight: Focusmate

Focusmate helps you stay focused and accountable using an unexpected approach.

You block time on your calendar to finish a task, and Focusmate matches you with someone working simultaneously via video call. This person becomes your accountability partner. You briefly discuss your tasks, wish each other luck, mute yourselves, and get to work.

One of the things I love most about Focusmate is how it helps me tackle complex tasks on which I usually procrastinate. You block a session, and as the time starts ticking, you think the task is too big and hard. Five minutes… ten minutes pass, and you begin with some micro steps. By the end of the session, you're deep into the work. A quick pause, and you’re booking another session because you can’t stop now.

The best part is time-blocking tasks in advance. Knowing someone is waiting for you adds enough pressure to keep you from skipping the session and helps you stay on task.

Focusmate taught me to respect my time blocks. Without it, I often felt tempted to handle something more urgent or start answering emails instead of focusing on my planned tasks.

It might sound cheesy, but the people on Focusmate are incredibly lovely and cheerful. Their positive energy, even during a quick 30-second chat before jumping into work, can be a great motivator to tackle something challenging.

From a business perspective, I love Focusmate’s simplicity. The problem of staying focused and accountable is well known, and we work better when surrounded by others who are also working. Founder Taylor Jacobson connected these dots and built Focusmate.

Taylor’s perseverance is impressive. He’s been steadily improving the product every month for eight years.

If you also struggle with procrastination when working alone and find yourself checking emails or pouring another cup of tea instead of working, try Focusmate.

Life Snippets: Start Small, Then Build a Platform.

Over the past months, I've been focused on launching our new product, CRMchat.ai, with the team. For those unfamiliar with our journey, we started in 2021 and navigated the turbulent times of the Gen AI revolution, which reshaped the market multiple times and forced us to pivot.

We initially made a mistake by building a universal product without targeting a specific segment, which diluted our focus and turned us into a feature factory. This summer, we took a bold step by cutting 90% of the product and starting from scratch. Instead of being a platform and doing everything for everyone, we decided to start small, focusing on solving a problem for a specific segment. We plan to break even with this segment before expanding the product further.

There is nothing new in starting small, getting first success, and then expanding, but it's still a #1 founder's mistake. It's hard to say no to a great idea, but having too many great ideas at once kills a startup. It's better to find the smallest one and focus only on it.

We focused on the Web3 space, addressing the challenge of managing business communications on Telegram. Our product keeps teams on top of their work, ensuring they never miss a deal on Telegram.

We’ve developed a mini-app that adds a CRM layer on top of chats and groups. It allows team members to add tasks, reminders, and tags to conversations and sync them with Notion, Google Sheets, or any other tool, converting chats and groups into pipeline deals.

This Friday, we introduced our paid plan, which includes integrations and team workspaces. We'll see how it goes 🤞

Culture Corner: Kill Tony

My #1 guilty pleasure is watching stand-up on YouTube, and my latest obsession is the Kill Tony show. It’s a live comedy podcast where young comedians perform brief sets and get feedback from Tony Hinchcliffe and guest comedians. While I wouldn’t recommend it purely as a stand-up comedy—since 80% of the content isn’t exactly highbrow—it’s a cultural phenomenon worth exploring.

Tony Hinchcliffe, the show’s host and a once-prominent comedian, faced cancellation in 2021 over a racist joke taken out of context in a viral 10-second clip. The fallout cost him bookings and management support, pushing him to focus on this unconventional and often bizarre show. Despite the backlash, Kill Tony has grown immensely popular, now booking venues as large as Madison Square Garden. What started as a quirky, niche show has become a comedy sensation, attracting bigger names as co-hosts, even with Tony’s controversial past.

Just watch this Madison Square Garden opening and imagine that all mainstream media turned away from Tony three years ago, leaving him with only YouTube and offline shows as his chances.

To taste what makes Kill Tony so unique, watch the episode featuring two of my favorite comedians: Shane Gillis playing Trump and Adam Ray playing Biden. It’s not top-tier humor, but its edgy, raw style makes it a fascinating cultural experience.

Mind Bender: Free Will

For years, I’ve been researching the topic of free will. Most of the scientific community agrees that free will doesn’t exist, but I wanted to believe there might be at least a sliver of it—maybe 95% of our actions are determined, but we still have some room to decide within that remaining 5%.

However, all my research proved me wrong, and now I’m fully convinced that free will doesn’t exist. The best sources on this topic are Robert Sapolsky's book Determined and Episode 241 of Sam Harris’s podcast Making Sense, where he compiles discussions on free will from various episodes.

Robert Sapolsky, a neuroscientist and biologist, provided compelling scientific evidence showing how genetics, brain chemistry, hormones, early life experiences, and the environment predetermine every decision we make. He argues that these influences shape our thoughts and actions beyond our conscious control, concluding that free will is an illusion and our choices are the inevitable result of prior causes.

It might seem like the very act of writing this newsletter disproves it. I wanted to write it, and I did. But, according to Sapolsky, my decision wasn’t truly free. The discipline and focus I used to sit down and write stems from how my brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex, developed over time. This part of the brain, which handles planning and self-control, was shaped by my genetics, upbringing, and experiences. So even though it feels like I made a conscious choice, Sapolsky would say all those factors predetermined it. My brain was wired to make that decision, and I never had control over it.

Sam Harris helped me come to terms with this realization. Before studying his perspective, the thought that free will didn’t exist made me sad—it felt nihilistic like I had no agency in my own life.

But Harris’s view reframed it for me. The lack of free will doesn’t mean we don’t live life; it means life lives us. Life exists, and it’s beautiful—it has meaning and purpose. All our feelings and perceptions of it are very real.

Sapolsky helped me understand that free will doesn’t exist, and Sam Harris gave me the lens to cope with this information.

I know this topic is intense and takes time to process. I also understand it may be a sensitive topic for some, and you might disagree with the statement. Many prominent people do. However, I believe it’s worth exploring.

Today I landed in London. My wife is on vacation, and as a founder who works from home, I’ve tagged along and now work from hotels. My first impression of London is great—it reminds me of my favorite neighborhood, Brooklyn Heights in NYC, but it’s less intense and loud. Plus, everything sounds so sophisticated with a British accent. Just splendid!

Speak soon,

George,

September 22, 2024. London.