The typical Silicon Valley startup script is dying.

Founders are getting sick of following a broken formula: Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) → Chase early investors → Dilute equity → Dance for Venture Capitalist → Race to exit.

This storyline was written by people who want to profit from your vision. While you're grinding 80-hour weeks trying to build something beautiful, they're already planning their next investment.

I spent years watching friends go through this cycle. Smart people with amazing ideas reduced to pitch deck merchants, redesigning slide 7 for the fifth time this week because some associate "wasn't convinced there was product-market fit."

Here's what they don't tell you in business school - the moment you take their money, your dream becomes their asset.

But there's another way. A path where you keep ownership, build real value and grow at a pace that makes sense. No board meetings. No forced "strategic pivots." No explaining why you haven't hit that unrealistic KPI. Maybe you eventually seek funding - but now it's strategic rather than desperate.

This isn't just a theory of mine. I'm watching it happen in real time.

For this letter, I'm getting up off the meditation cushion and putting on my MBA pants. I will show you exactly how creators are rewriting the startup playbook - building million-dollar companies without giving away a single share to investors.

The game has changed. The question is - are you still playing by the old rules?

The Trap of the Old Model

Let's look at Facebook's journey, the fairy tale that launched a thousand startups:

• "TheFacebook" launched in February 2004

• A few months later, Zuck gets $15K from Eduardo Saverin for 30% of the company

• Summer 2004: Peter Thiel drops $500K for a 10.2% stake

• 2005: Accel leads a $12.7M Series A (undisclosed but likely for another 10-20%)

• 2007: Microsoft joins at $15B valuation

• 2012: IPO at $104B

• Everyone involved creates generational wealth and beyond

Sounds like a dream, right? But look closer.

In the first year of business, Zuck had already surrendered over 40% ownership of his company. And with each round of funding, another piece of the dream gets carved away. More board meetings. More pressure to hit arbitrary numbers. Yet another "strategic pivot" that slowly but surely kills your original vision.

During my MBA, I worked with two unique founders: a breakdancing physiotherapist and a stoic tech enthusiast obsessed with brain-computer interfaces. Their startup's premise was fascinating - they'd stumbled on research showing that 'mental practice' could be nearly as effective as physical training for athletes. Their goal? Create a wearable device to measure and track athletes' visualization patterns against actual performance. Imagine capturing Steph Curry's mental state as he visualized those legendary 3-pointers.

The concept generated significant buzz. NCAA Division 1 coaches were interested, and our mentors saw the potential. We eventually parted ways and I was off to start my management consulting gig. But I still watched from afar as the startup's story took a familiar turn. Despite winning pitch competitions and securing angel funding, "strategic pivots" gradually transformed their vision into yet another bland medical device company. I could picture the investor meetings: "Forget sports science - it's unproven. The medical device market is worth billions."

The magic faded. The groundbreaking neuroscience research never materialized. No Steph Curry brain waves. The startup eventually shut down, becoming another casualty of choosing safe mediocrity over bold innovation.

For every Facebook success story, there's a graveyard of companies that followed this outdated playbook and died. Not because their ideas were bad, but because they were building for their investors instead of their users.

The solution? Flip the script entirely.

Build Connection First

Enough Facebook and failed companies, let's dive into Dan Koe and his startup - Kortex.

According to my YouTube history, I discovered Dan Koe's content on September 10th, 2024. Specifically, it was this video titled "The One-Person Business Model (How To Productize Yourself)."

I've been to business school and worked for some of the biggest companies you know (and some of the smallest ones you'll never hear about). But turning myself into a business? My interests? Passions? Me - Darren Dunn? This was a completely new concept - and the way Dan framed it changed my perspective on my life’s work and inspired me to start creating.

And this impact that Dan's content had on me? This is the focus of his mission. To help you identify your interests, create a business around them, and live out your highest purpose. He wants you to reconsider the conventional corporate path (whoops - my bad Dan), and see that there is a different way - a better way - to design your life.

In a sea of over-the-top influencers, it was refreshing to find someone using social media as a tool to go deep on intellectual topics while helping improve the lives of others.

Now let's break down Dan's current subscribers:

• X: 495K

• YouTube: 930K

• Instagram: 1.6M

• Threads: 443K

• LinkedIn: 157K

• Newsletter: 175K

• Medium: 4.7K (had to throw that one in to humble the guy)

Grand total: 3.8 million subscribers across all platforms

Yes, I know there's some double counting in my math. But the point remains - Dan has millions of fans who’ve changed their lives by implementing his message into their lives (like myself). Because of this, these same fans are also willing to spend money on the products and services he offers to gain even more wisdom.

And let’s be clear, Dan isn’t using pushy, manipulative, psychology-bending sales tactics. He gives you a value-packed newsletter or YouTube video (completely free) and says “Oh by the way, if you want to learn how I do this - check out this course”.

If Dan was more in your face, he might pull more cash from his audience. But by using this laid-back approach, he’s not manipulating and creating an icky feeling in his audience. He’s selling based on trust and connection - it just feels right.

His approach works. Here's the proof:

Let’s be clear, Dan didn't just wake up one day with millions of subscribers and a 1-Person Business generating $5M in revenue. For the past 5-6 years, he's dialled in his writing, shaped his messaging, and fined-tuned his digital products. The man has tweeted almost 30,000 times and published 182 YouTube videos.

This is the work and it cannot be skipped. This is what creates trust, builds authenticity, and creates that strong connection with his audience.

Audience Instead of Angels

Welcome to Investing 101: Today we're going to learn about Angel Investors. An Angel investor is an individual who provides money to early-stage startups, usually for ownership of the company. Looking back at our Facebook example, Peter Thiel - who bought 10.2% of Facebook for 500K - would be considered an Angel Investor.

But you see the problem, right? You need to give away chunks of your company before you really even get going. And not just chunks of your company - you're ultimately giving away control. Doesn't sound very angelic to me.

But Dan likes to do things differently. Through the cash flow generated by his 1-Person Business, he would’ve been able to fund Kortex in the beginning stages. He would’ve injected enough cash into the business, team, and development to get the spark lit. Dan found a way to be his own Angel Investor.

And look, Dan can't be the only one throwing money into this thing to get it off the ground. The money will run out, and he’ll have no cash left to buy Rice Crispy squares. So where does the next round of funding come from?

From us - his audience. Those millions of fans he's been building trust and connection with for the past 5-6 years. The ones who love Dan's content, want to support him, want to buy his products and want to write with similar clarity and depth.

And in typical 1-Person Business style, he lets you know that the Kortex team is running a 5-week Writer's Bootcamp and to sign up if you're interested. No push, no sketchy tactics, no psychological manipulation, just that same laid-back style we’ve come to know, love and trust.

I don't have the data on the number of Bootcamp signups, but let's do some back-of-the-napkin math. Let's say the average price for this Bootcamp is $400, and Dan + team can generate 500 signups. That's $200K right into Kortex's bank account. 1000 sign-ups? We're now looking at $400K worth of funds available to build.

And the beauty of this method? Due to the size of Dan's audience and new people discovering his message, the team can offer this Bootcamp multiple times without oversaturating the market. It’s like having an Angel Investor on demand - except I like to call us ‘Audience Investors’.

And you may be thinking "Oh great, another influencer money grab!" Sure... but as a graduate of the Writer's Bootcamp, I can confirm that this course was packed with wisdom, value and like-minded friends.

My personal highlight reel of the Bootcamp included:

• A crash course on using Kortex and walkthroughs of best practices

• Tons of templates, guides, and examples on how to write Tweets, Threads, and Newsletters (Dan literally gives you his playbook)

• Getting a direct line to the Kortex team members to get feedback on my writing

• Building commitment and confidence in myself that I can be an effective online writer

• Finding a community of like-minded people who take this 1-person business thing seriously

Still don't believe me? Look at my growth on X since I completed the course late in 2024. My follower count has grown from ~100 to ~620 in just 3-4 months.

The model of selling products and services to your audience isn't new. You see it with Logan Paul + KSI's Prime Energy drink or Mr. Beast's Feastables chocolate bars. But Dan and team aren't in the business of selling sugar to children - they're selling high-value wisdom, knowledge, and tools that you can use to reach your highest purpose.

And on the flip side, the Bootcamp helps create an army of Kortex super users, super fans, and above all else, builds their super community.

As a dude who studies businesses for a living - this is art.

Audience to Community

The cold hard truth is that 90% of startups fail. Sometimes it's hard to understand exactly why this happens, but it could be for many reasons: misreading market demand, running out of cash, a weak founding team, or pricing/cost issues.

But I like to look at it from a simpler angle - a business will ultimately fail if it cannot:

1. Solve a problem / provide customers with value

2. Create an emotional connection (what most startups miss)

Looking back at Facebook, you'll see this holds true. Facebook solves the problem of isolation by connecting people across distances through a digital platform. The platform builds emotional connection through features like reactions, photo memories, and milestone celebrations that trigger nostalgia and shared experiences.

Kortex helps creators organize their thoughts, ideas, and writing in a minimalist way that fuels creativity. For me, Kortex helps organize my inner world and provides the ideal platform for me to share what's going on in my mind with all of you.

And Kortex's emotional connection? It comes from the amazingly authentic community of 7,500+ like-minded creators. Similar to the people I met in The Writer's Bootcamp, but on steroids. This is right here is their secret sauce.

And where did this community come from? It was buried in Dan's original audience, the one he'd been building through trust and connection long before Kortex ever popped into his consciousness. This is why it's real. This is why it is authentic. It was never forced, it was forged organically.

A typical day in the community looks something like this:

• People seeking advice and guidance on building an online business

• Celebrations of each other's wins, whether its a post that popped off or landing that first client

• Getting to interact with and gather wisdom from legends like Dan Koe himself, co-founder Joey Justice, dan goldfield, and K. Deep.

• Sharing pictures of our pets

This community connects you with others who are taking the craft of writing and creator business building seriously. Join and I promise that you'll make a friend or two hundred.

My Prediction: Kortex Will Make It

I'm willing to bet 10 bucks that Kortex is going to make it - they will not be part of the 90% that falls into the startup graveyard.

How do I know this? Because of the emphasis on community. The product is great, but as mentioned, this is only half the battle in the noise of the digital age.

Most people don't understand how powerful and influential a community can be. Let me give you an example. There's a video game called Super Smash Brothers Melee. It was released in 2001 - 24 years ago. To this day, it's one of the most popular video games that people play competitively at a professional level.

Nintendo, the developer behind this game, has not offered much support to this competitive scene. In fact, Nintendo has been known to randomly shut down Melee tournaments. But like a cat with 9 lives, the Melee community finds a way and keeps the scene alive. This is true grassroots stuff, 100% community-driven due to the pure love of the game.

I feel like there's something similar happening with the Kortex community. As mentioned, we're in there pointing out bugs, suggesting features, and letting the Kortex team know what parts of the platform we love. This co-creation process creates super fans who naturally post and share their love (like I am right now in this letter).

People who are shopping around for a new 'Second Brain Software' will sense the authenticity of this community and know it’s real when we say “check out Kortex, it fucking rocks.”

By the way, this guy writes one of the most popular newsletters related to Psychedelic Science called The Trip Report.

And another cool feature? The Kortex team includes financial kickbacks to their super fans who help bring users to the platform via affiliate marketing (here's my link - it’s free so give it a try). They're bringing the community along for the ride right from the start.

Being community-driven is how you maximize your odds of survival in this hyper-connected and competitive world.

What You Can Do

If I still have you here, thank you for sticking with me. I know we covered a lot. But here's where we bring it all home.

Remember, the starting point to Dan's new Kortex questline began with one thing - building an online presence.

In 2025 and beyond, having authentic online authority will become more important than any degree, job title, or past work experience. Your dream employer, team, co-founder, and maybe even your new best friend, will find you because you’re posting high-value content online. Not because you're the director hiding at some corporation.

Whether you like it or not - in today’s world - all the attention is focused on social media. If you want to make a name for yourself, meet cool people, create positive change, and generate influence - it’s time to get in the game and start creating.

So what can YOU do about all of this?

• If you want to start a company someday - start building your online presence now to find your team

• If you've already started a company - doesn't matter, start building your online presence now to help it grow

• If you've already sold a company - build an online presence to help others a few steps behind you (serial entrepreneur Matt Gray is a prime example of this)

• Don't know what to do with your life? - Build. Your. Online. Presence. NOW. It will help you figure yourself out

It's not a coincidence that you've been hearing Zuckerberg on your favourite podcasts or seeing clips of him attending UFC events - sporting a more laid-back persona. Think about it: One of the richest men in the world is also starting to take his personal branding and online identity seriously.

That is how big of an opportunity this is.

A final closing thought: Dan and the team might take investor funding someday. They might even sell Kortex. And that's perfectly fine.

Why? Because if they do, it won't be out of desperation. It won't be because some VC associate is breathing down their neck about burn rate. It will be a choice. Their choice.

The brilliance of this model isn't about never taking investment - it's about having options. When you build an audience first, you're playing a different game entirely. If Kortex needs capital to scale to millions of users? They can raise on their terms. If they accomplish their mission and want to pass the torch? They can exit because they want to.

Meanwhile, Dan's creator business keeps humming along. The audience keeps growing. The trust keeps building. The opportunities keep flowing. And when he's ready for his next adventure, he'll have even more supporters ready to join the journey.

This isn't just a new way to build startups.

This is freedom.

If you're interested in Kortex, check out their website here or email me with any questions. Happy to help.

Hope you enjoyed it - until next time,

Darren