Founder Advice: The Gift Isn’t the Problem. The Signal Is.
One of the most interesting policies I’ve seen comes from Esri. They cap gifts at around $25. Anything beyond that gets refused. At first glance, it feels rigid. In practice, it’s clean.
Ideas, Builds, and Field Notes
Founder Keith McCall on building companies, software, and real-world execution.
Founder Advice: Hire the OG. Then Create the Apprentices.
At first glance, “OG” sounds like it means old guy. That’s not it. OG = “Original Gangster.” The term came out of West Coast hip-hop—most notably Ice-T’s O.G. Original Gangster. It wasn’t about age. It was about credibility earned the hard way.
Founder Advice: LinkedIn Spam Isn’t a Sales Problem — It’s an Intelligence Failure
Almost every day, I get the same two messages: “We can help you outsource your development.” “Would you consider an offshore team to scale faster?” My response is always the same: We don’t outsource. Period.
Founder Advice: Providence Moves Too
The belief model matters more than most founders think. I started my first company before I even left Microsoft. Enough time has passed that I can probably admit that without getting in trouble. In 2003, about a year before I left the Microsoft Exchange team, I intentionally took responsibility for relationships with venture capitalists. That gave me a window into a world most entrepreneurs only see from the outside. In the lead-up to Microsoft’s acquisition of Groove, I spent time with people from Sequoia, Benchmark, Accel, and others across the Valley trying to align their portfolio companies with Microsoft. I did the job. But that wasn’t the real purpose.
Founder Advice: Culture Isn’t a Perk — It’s a Contract
During COVID, getting to Chile wasn’t a trip. It was a commitment. My wife and I flew into Santiago, got tested, and waited 24 hours in a hotel. If positive? Five days in quarantine. We got lucky.
Founder Advice: What Happens Next after you form your Delaware C-Corp?
Most founders think incorporation is the milestone. It’s not. It’s the starting line.
Founder Advice: Capture Your Life in Sound
A perspective on capturing moments, experiences, and life context in ways that persist beyond memory.
Founder Advice: Early Internet and Skunkworks
Lessons from early web infrastructure, proxies, and systems thinking that still apply to building companies today.
Founder Advice: Startups and Leadership
A practical perspective on leadership, accountability, and building companies with clarity under pressure.
Founder Advice: Startups and Entrepreneurship
Founders win by turning urgency into disciplined execution rather than mistaking noise for progress.
Founder Advice: Leadership in Motion
Leadership is tested through execution, alignment, and how quickly a team can move together.
Founder Advice: Startups and Venture Capital
A grounded view on venture capital, timing, and what fundraising does and does not solve inside a startup.
Founder Advice: Execution
Execution is where intent either compounds into value or disappears into delay.
Founder Advice: Resilience
Resilience is one of the most important operating assets when outcomes resist expectation.