Q2 Founder Notes 1.0
The more you know
***Founder Notes are published quarterly for Founding Level subscribers and additionally on an as-needed basis. If you’re a Free Reader or a TTL Subscriber, look for the next regularly scheduled issue at 9:00 AM EST on Thursday, June 4***
Dear Founders,
You might not know how the newsletter business works… but you should. And after we discuss it, I’ll tell you about a stock you definitely should not buy but may anyway. There is such a thing as free will.
The first time I read a newsletter it carried me away. Great newsletter writers take you somewhere you either can’t go, or won’t go. They’re the storytellers in the crowd.
We need storytellers… apps, notifications, and trending influencers are no substitute for the human desire to hear a story. Or in this case, read one.
Unfortunately, I was born to be a newsletter writer. My parents wanted me to be a preacher. When I say wanted, I’m being nice about it. Demand is more like it.
You see, there was a long line of these sorts of usurpers who wanted me to sell their idea. I didn’t want to sell anything. I’d see something, get very interested in it, and in conversation, I’d tell whoever was around all about it.
It’s not my fault they felt so compelled by the story they went out and did insane things with their money after hearing it. Again, the free will thing…
So, it was a long road to finally full-time writing newsletters. In the early days, I had a few hundred people reading a Blogspot publication. It was kind of a mess, but the spirit was there. I really threw myself at the work. Eventually I got picked up by a larger publisher, and pretty much wrote or co-wrote the marquee publications of the time.
And I loved it. Even though the whole time I fought an industry that’s truly a direct response marketing firm masquerading as a financial publisher.
What I mean by that is, the production of the newsletter is the dog. The marketing staff is the tail. That’s what they’d tell you, and initially, it’s true. The dog faces so much force from the tail, his body starts to wag. Over time, uncontrollably.
That’s when you, the lone creature producing actual written content worth reading, have a decision to make. Keep dealing with that errant tail. Or, part ways and move on. Part as friends, if possible. That’s what I did.
The crazy thing about the big newsletter business is how much people love it. The marketing that is. It’s so effective. I mean, writing TTL the way we do it is insane… financially.
Most of you surely read other letters. You likely get tons of emails written by barely out of college kids employed by publishers to craft content you’ll find credible. Worse yet, you’re now reading a lot of AI content.
Then there’s the sales efforts. They work very well. Professionals craft them to lure you into the idea there’s a life-changing outcome right around the corner… don’t miss out!
Maybe there is. Someone has to win the Powerball. Might as well be you. We all know you can’t win if you don’t play.
But the newsletter writer, the original storyteller, really isn’t selling Powerball tickets. In fact, that personality in its authentic form just wants to tell you about something interesting… it’s the marketing people who can’t let it happen without seventeen banner ads, tracking cookies, email funnels, special invite-only webinars, and a myriad of other tricks to separate you from your money. And you love it!
To be clear, I have no beef with the newsletter business. I left it on good terms. I have positive social contact with several big names in the business. I respect their success. But it’s not what motivates me.
TTL isn’t seeking an award for being outside the fold. Not at all… the publication is my outlet. It’s my connection to you. After reading it long enough you should be the most interesting person at the dinner party.
Just think about it, 26 times a year you read ~5,000 words typed by one person. You’ve been to Bologna, Italy, gold refineries in Switzerland, olive farms in Japan, Bitcoin Vegas twice, and had a full explanation of why and how I decided to buy certain stocks for a Trust where I’m currently Trustee. It’s a lot… and it’s what a good newsletter writer should do.
What’s wild to me is we have a stock like RIOT that’s up ~40% in three months… and by the looks of the comment section, you wonder if anyone reads the issues. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) is up ~7% during that three months, for context.
Either way, a great newsletter should enhance your life. Meaning, you should feel that your time reading it was worth deferring other tasks or activities.
While you might have to endure an essay about a Parisian dessert, or a junior tennis match, or a trip across some bizarre town that starts with an apostrophe (coming in June), know there’s a reason for good storytelling… it’s to be enjoyed.
And there will be stocks, like this one, which is interesting, and you’d be wise to only watch it, cautiously. File it under, the more you know.