Subscribe now

Manifesto punching above its weight class

Manifesto misconceptions

When you think of a manifesto, what comes to mind? Something big and influential? Perhaps the Declaration of Independence (Thomas Jefferson and others) or the Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels)? 

The reality is that most manifestos don’t attempt to change the course of history. Most are still important but have more narrow ambitions. 

It's not about how many people you move; it’s about moving those who otherwise wouldn’t have.

Manifest as a verb means ‘to make clear or evident’.¹ Manifesto, the noun, is “a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.”²

A more modern interpretation of a manifesto is a written vision of the future that’s clear and empowering; it helps customers, investors, and employees understand the future you’re building and invites them to build it with you.

Take two small but mighty examples:

Foster, a writing community, published a 617-word manifesto³ arguing the future of writing doesn’t need to be a solitary practice. The idea of escaping life for a week, month, or year to write in a cabin doesn’t work. For Foster, real writing happens when people work together to support each other. To them: “Exceptional writing is collaborative.”

Rostra, a marketing agency that helps startup founders “go direct” with their communications, published an 857-word manifesto⁴ arguing that “Traditional PR is dead” and “Communication is the founder’s job.” The manifesto, published in March 2024, quickly found its audience and attracted traditional media's attention.⁵

These are great examples of well-written manifestos that aren’t big and grand. Yet, they are incredibly effective at getting people to join forces and build the future they describe.

Manifesto magic

Startup founders have a tough job. There are many reasons why, but it all comes down to one thing: Founders have a lot to do and very little time to do it.

Aside from saying ‘no’ more, founders have one viable option: spend more time engaging in high-leverage activities.

Writing a manifesto is one of those activities. It’s the ultimate form of leverage a founder can have. It can raise capital, recruit employees, and attract customers–all at the same time. 

A well-written manifesto is short and full of insights; every sentence is important. It’s generally no more than 1,500 words and offers a window into the founder's mind, their personality, and the problem they're obsessed with.

Great manifestos evoke an emotional response from the reader.

They key is to extend beyond thinking and to connect with the reader on a deeper level.  Manifestos should make the reader feel inspired, terrified, or enraged—any emotion, really. 

Foster makes writers in their community feel connected, grateful, and confident through collaborative writing. Rostra makes founders feel empowered and liberated by not relying on traditional media to tell their stories. 

When a startup needs a manifesto

A good litmus test centers around the outcomes founders promise. 

If the founder promises better-than-average outcomes and has different-than-average beliefs, they need a manifesto.⁶

If the founder is creating a ‘new category,’ as they say in Silicon Valley, they need a manifesto. 

Writing a manifesto is not for everyone, nor the faint of heart. 

Publishing a manifesto is a vulnerable act; it opens the founder up to critique and criticism. The manifesto must be strong enough to stand alone, naked to the world. There is nothing to hide—just clear viewpoints in raw form.

At the same time, it can be a magnet to help attract the true fans. It enables the founder to bring the right people into their life at the right time.

When done right, the manifesto punches above its weight class. 

Ghostwriting a Manifesto

My job as a ghostwriter is not that different from my previous role as a Chief of Staff for startup executives. At its core, I work with startup founders and executives to 1) bring out their best ideas and 2) find the best way to communicate them.

This post was inspired by my recent work writing a manifesto for a founder. It was a fun and collaborative experience. The first-time founder had big expectations for their manifesto, and we gave it the time and attention it deserved, seven drafts over several weeks. 

Challenges founders have in communicating their vision.

For the majority of founders, speaking is easier (and faster) than writing. They don’t have the time or desire to go through multiple rounds of edits to ensure their work is crafted in the best way possible. This is where I come in.

I also help founders overcome the Curse of Knowledge, a common and often unconscious bias. Founders assume readers have the same background knowledge as they do. They use jargon and obscure terminology, esoteric concepts, or hard-to-understand abstractions, which prevents readers from understanding their writing. Ultimately, it’s a failure to empathize with the reader fully.

It’s my job to know who the audience is, what they know, and how best to communicate with them. 

Founders bring the ideas; I make sure they are understood.

Ready to write a manifesto?

If you muster up the courage to write one on your own, here are a few tips to get you started.  

• Do what you think is right, and don’t hold back. There are no rules. Just be authentic.

• Manifestos have a unique relationship with time. No other document simultaneously defines the present, states the ideal future, and provides a way to measure how much has changed (as time passes). Be sure to take this into account when writing one.

• Don’t try to sell anything. They are used to energize and galvanize people around a specific problem and vision for the future. 

• Don’t rush it. It will serve you throughout the life of your company. Take time to refine and structure your ideas.

• Voice is important. Make sure your unique style and personality come through.  

• Usually written from a first-person perspective. The use of ‘I’ and ‘we’ is encouraged. Just make sure you’re clear on who ‘we’ is. The use of the second-person perspective is OK, too. The ‘you’ helps draw the reader in, like you were talking to them at a coffee shop.

• Make it fun to read. They should ‘POP’⁷ and be personal, observational, and playful. 

Looking for more help?

If you’re a founder and want to learn how a manifesto could benefit you and your company, reach out to me. I love talking about this stuff and there is no cost and no obligation to work together. 

For inspiration, here is a link to 30+  other manifestos I studied. My top three are:

• https://www.rostra.co/

• https://slow.co/letter/

• https://github.com/Bloomberg-Beta/Manual/blob/main/1%20-%20Manual.md (a manifesto and more)

Acknowledgments

Thank you very much to Michael Dean, Charlie Becker, and Lyle McKeany for providing excellent feedback on earlier drafts of this essay.

1  https://www.dictionary.com/browse/manifest

2  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifesto

3  https://app.foster.co/manifesto

4  https://www.rostra.co/

5  https://www.prweek.com/article/1865810/ex-activision-blizzard-cco-lulu-cheng-meservey-launches-agency and https://www.axios.com/2024/03/19/activision-blizzard-meservey-rostra-communications-firm

6  Idea of ‘different-than-average beliefs’ came from an earlier version of https://helpthisbook.com/robfitz/outcome-oriented-communities

7  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haTMaxlDgVk (POP Writing from David Perell and Ellen Fishbein)

My biggest gripe with startup life is the need (or perceived need) to be always on, always working, and always ready to respond. 

Leaders emphasize the need to be ‘agile’ and move with ‘speed’, but I favor ways to find deep work that takes longer and feels slow at times. 

An hour of deep work is worth more than four hours of busy work.

In my own quest to slow down, I purchased an Imperial Good Companion typewriter–a British machine built in 1964, with the ‘£’ key instead of the ‘$’.  

There is something magical about being intentional with each keystroke you make. And you have to be with a typewriter. I quickly realized that my left pinky is much weaker than my other fingers and requires more oomph when striking the ‘a’ key. 

With each founder I work with (I write newsletter and LinkedIn posts for them), I often find that the biggest value-add I bring is not what gets published. Rather, it’s my ability to help the founder slow down and identify their best ideas. I then find the best way to share those ideas with others.

Slowing down gives you space to explore and learn. It gives you permission to go places you would have overlooked if you were too busy. It helps you see the world for what it is and what you can offer.

I love talking about this stuff. If you’re a founder interested in slowing down and homing in on your key insights, let me know.

At the very least, give yourself permission to slow down today.

It helps that the product is awesome. Some of the UX is a bit wonky, but overall, it’s a superior product to Medium and Substack (but that’s not the subject of this post).
 
Today’s lesson is from Tyler Denk, the co-founder and CEO of beehiiv. It’s small but something more people should be doing.

Every founder, especially early-stage, should do everything possible to connect with their customers. And there is a big opportunity to use LinkedIn for this.

I’ve been using beehiiv for a few weeks now and Tyler personally reached out to connect. Yes, the message is generic and probably used for everyone else. But that doesn’t bother me.

The key here is that he used his personal account to do this. Now, I feel I have a direct way to communicate with him. Something I now value as a customer. 

It could be him doing this, or he has an amazing team helping with these connections. Either way, it’s an easy and high-impact way to connect with customers and build loyalty.

Over the years, I provided leverage to founders and thought leaders by acting as a thought partner and writing to give them greater impact and reach.  

The idea for Founder Ghostwriting started when I was helping the CEO of a seed-stage startup.

“We need someone to drive the go-to-market strategy to acquire our first X customers.”

But what does that mean? Especially for a seed-stage company with a product that’s not perfect (yet).

They were nowhere near finding product-market fit. The ideal customer profile wasn’t defined. They had more questions than answers. 

The solution is simple: Founder-led marketing. 

It’s act of writing online is simple yet time-consuming. The ROI is large when done right. 

It allows the founder to be authentic and build trust. They can explore new problems and solutions with important people in their space. 

It provides a platform for the founder to be known as a thought leader.

Just one post can result in a direct conversation with numerous (potential) customers. That’s leverage! Especially for an early-stage founder. 

For the founders who are insight-rich and time-poor, that’s where Founder Ghostwriting comes in. 

I help founders translate what they often say out loud into written words that are easy to understand and fun to read.

Let me obsess over the words while you obsess over your customer. 

(I’ve compiled a list of advice I’ve shared over the years. It’s for B2B SaaS founders who want to build an audience on LinkedIn.

I plan to expand on many of these in future posts. Let me know what you think!)

Founder-Led means Founder-First.

• Own your story.

• Only you can tell it. 

• Let writing be your superpower. 

• Give the people what they want–to engage with someone who deeply understands them and their problems.

• Don’t let others pitch your product. They’ll get it wrong.

Know thy problem. [1]

It’s one of these three.

• Known Problem with High Existing Demand: Your solution has to be the best.

• Known Problem with Zero Demand: Wake people up! Show them why your solution is better.

• Unknown Problem with Zero Demand: Get ready for a long road. You’re a visionary creating a new category. 

[1] Sequoia has a great framework to think about this. https://www.sequoiacap.com/article/pmf-framework/

Know thy self.

• Know where your time is best spent. Do more there.

• Know where you get your energy from. Do more there.

• For everything else, drop things that are not important.
  Delegate things that are.

Writing as a form of leverage.

• Scale yourself through writing.

• Build an audience and educate them on the problem you’re solving.

• Start a conversation with people who have that problem today. 

• Find those that don't. Start a conversation with them. Learn from them. 

What the kids are saying.

• Writing is relational and writing through conversation is all the rage.

• The principle is simple: write like you talk.

• Get out and try it. Take out your phone, go for a walk, and talk it out. 

• Record yourself. Then, translate the recording into a piece of writing.

• A buddy can help.

Use the Buddy System.

• Find a friend who knows you.

• Find a coworker who knows your company.

• Find a ghostwriter who knows the industry you’re in.

• Find someone you enjoy talking to.

• Have that person build on your ideas with deep research.

• Make sure that person tells you when you have a good idea 

• And challenge you when you don’t.

• Find someone who can combine your ideas with something new to create something even more unique.

• Watch out for The Curse of Knowledge.

The Poker’s Patsy and The Curse of Knowledge.

• “As they say in poker, ‘If you’ve been in the game 30 minutes and don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.'” (Warren Buffet) 

• Don’t worry; I’m not calling you a patsy. 

• But you probably suffer from a similar lack of awareness—the Curse of Knowledge.

• If you suffer from The Curse, your audience doesn’t understand you.

• Words come out, but your message doesn’t land.

• To fix, ask for feedback and help. Speak plainly.

Don’t get fancy, and be specific.

• We’re not trying to impress anyone. 

• Big words and jargon don’t belong. 

• Pack as much as you can in as few words as possible.

Craft over Kraft.

• Go for the homemade, nutrient-rich stuff. Not the mass-produced sh*%. 

• Keep your writing clear and concise.

• Write with life. Reality has a surprising amount of details.

• No AI-generated content here.

• People want to hear from you.

• Let those details come to life.

Long-term Game with Compounding Returns.

• There are no shortcuts.

• Start with the basics.

• Optimize your profile. Use a good pic. Improve your bio.

• Show how you can help others.

• Reach out and connect to people. Think big. Find the people who already talk to your audience. 

• Engage with them regularly. 

• Post original content.

• Give before you ask.

Buying Snake Oil.

• Nobody can promise virality (and virality isn’t always what you need).

• Don’t listen to someone solely focused on likes, reshares, and comments.

• A lot of value is created outside of social metrics.

• If one post results in a DM from someone in your target audience, that’s a success.

• We can’t forget about depth.

The First One, Ten, Hundred, and Thousand Customers.

• You’ll do different things once you find product market fit. 

• You’ll do different things when you raise a Series A or B.

• We’re not worried about that now. 

• We want to lay the foundation that enables you to find your first customer.

• Then your first ten, hundred, and thousand.