Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach

exec coach · helping founders build companies they can be proud of with partners who truly have their back · alum meta etsy yc stanford

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

Favorite hot pot in sunset park https://t.co/JavBl8oFTE

[Stew Fortier @stewfortier]

Every person has a story to tell, and AI can help them tell it.

We're seeing this firsthand at @typedotai. We now serve writers ranging from NY Times bestsellers, to top 10 podcasters, to nearly 10k passionate independent authors.

We've been ~doubling revenue each quarter and active subscribers now spend 7+hours/week in our editor.

So we made this video to honor the intensely creative people we serve. Here's to the storytellers :)

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

Fin/ If you're in a partnership — business or personal — and you keep having the same argument:

It's probably not about the thing you think it's about.

Look for the Old Wound. Look for the Old Way.

Then have the conversation neither of you has had yet.

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

1/ Most cofounder fights aren't about what they're about.

After 18 months of coaching cofounder pairs, I've found the same hidden pattern underneath almost every recurring argument.

I call it Old Wounds and Old Ways. 🧵

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

10/ No challenging. No "buts." No problem-solving.

Just: "I hear you. That sounds painful."

That's it. That's the whole exercise. This is how I came to understand my wife's experience.

It works because for the first time, each person sees why the other reacts the way they do. The fight stops being about the deadline. It becomes about the person.

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

Love this kind of super targeted advertising lol

[Gaurab Chakrabarti @Gaurab]

We spent $15,000 on billboards targeting one person: the guy controlling all the chemical spend at a saltwater disposal company in Texas. We mapped his commute and bought every billboard between his house and the oil field. When we finally called, he said "I see your billboards everywhere." That landed us our first oil field contract. At the time our entire operation was a $10,000 reactor built from PVC pipes from Home Depot, turning corn sugar into industrial chemicals. People keep trying to throw it away. It still works. That leaking reactor started a multibillion-dollar company. @ycombinator visited our plant in Houston. The original PVC reactor is still on the floor next to the Bioforge.

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

You don't need to be a genius to win. You just need to be willing to do the things others find boring.

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

Second-guessing isn't safety. It's just a slower way to break your neck.

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

The most effective way to improve an AI model isn't finding better data, it's ruthlessly filtering out the bad data.

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

We are not passive receivers of sensory input. We actively construct our emotions and meaning based on past experiences and future predictions.

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

Founders burn out not because of workload, but because of misalignment. When your daily actions contradict your core values, exhaustion is the only logical outcome.

[Jason Shen · The Outlier Coach @JasonShen]

The market doesn't care about your effort, only your output. You can work 80 hours a week and still build something nobody wants.