The Two Boxes

A conversation I have with nearly *every* founder

Hi all —

Thanks to a cooking accident (beware cutting carrots), I’m writing this with one hand. This week’s post will be brief.

The biggest problem founders face is where to invest their finite time and energy. Every founder I speak with feels overwhelmed. I felt it too. There are a million things you could possibly do, and only a few that are actually worth doing.

It’s like the old saying: “I know I’m wasting 50% of my marketing budget, I just don’t know which half.”

For founders, it’s more like: “I know 90% of the things I’m doing aren’t going to help me find PMF, I just can’t figure out which 10% will.”

This leads me to the Two Boxes.

The “Two Boxes” helps founders think clearly about what matters and what doesn’t.

I find that most founders are conflicted because they’re trying to optimize across their vision, what investors find exciting, and what customers actually want. This leads to mental overload, as founders try to perform multivariate optimizations in order to prioritize. They wind up doing a little bit of everything, pleasing nobody.

As a result, their business isn’t growing as fast as it could, and their fundraising isn’t quite killing it.

When I sense that a founder is falling into this trap (aka: all the time), I explain the Two Boxes:

Box 1: What it takes to run a good business

Inside Box 1, you find what it takes to sell to customers, satisfy them, drive referrals, and retain them.

When you focus on Box 1, you think about what customers actually need to accomplish, and how you can serve them. Box 1 is pretty straightforward.

You pick your niche, lean into *what* works and *who* works, and learn from customers. You prioritize selling, growth, retention. You stay practical.

Then there’s Box 2.

Box 2: What it takes to raise money

Inside Box 2, you find the big, inspiring story. You build the massive product roadmap where, at the end, you’re a multi-billion dollar company. You have the vision of how the world should be different, and why you’re perfectly placed to change things.

When you nail Box 2, you’ve got a compelling, airtight story that motivates investors, the media, potential employees, and your friends and family.

Don’t mix up the two boxes

Customers want help accomplishing their big goals. They don’t want to hear about your 10-year product roadmap, your vision for a better world, or why you’re going to be the next big company. They like the fact that Box 2 keeps you in business to serve them, but only care about Box 1.

Investors and potential employees want to be inspired. They get bored with the business fundamentals, the fact that you’re focused on a niche’s sub-niche today. They like the revenue growth curve that Box 1 provides, but tend to find the details of Box 1 underwhelming.

In Box 2, you talk about how AI is going to transform the hourly workplace.

In Box 1, you build a software tool that texts new hires at fast food restaurants to make sure they haven’t lost their uniforms.

If you mix up the boxes, you wind up confusing customers, underwhelming investors, overwhelming employees, spending too much money, and growing slowly.

When you spend 95% of your time on Box 1, then pull out Box 2 on special occasions, you execute better, faster, with higher conviction and less stress.

Don’t mix up the two boxes.