Founders love a good origin story. So do we — until that story ends in, “and then… nothing happened.”
In this episode, JDM and Cam play a game where they evaluate startup anecdotes with one simple question: did you actually learn anything?
They hosts take three real startup scenarios — full of MVPs, waitlists, Chrome extensions, and warm fuzzies — and rate each one based on whether the founder actually got a usable insight. Along the way, they uncover the hidden traps of vanity learning, founder fear, and “procrastivity”.
Also: the phrase “Startup Catfishing” makes an unscheduled cameo.
In This Episode
* Why activity ≠ progress, and why momentum ≠ learning
* How founders use fake experiments to avoid hard truths
* What it means to be your own first investor—and how to think like one
* Unprocessed fear, founder psychology, and the emotional landmines of real validation
* When a waitlist is a signal… and when it’s just a polite ghosting
Startup Stories Reviewed
* Freelancer SaaS MVP shared in Slack communities
400 views, 120 signups for “real version”
Verdict: Cool Story + Still Don’t Know Anything
Insight: Great motion, zero measured value. Was this an MVP test or just a fancy landing page?
* Mental wellness app surveys 3,000-person waitlist
700 respond, journaling prompts “win”
Verdict: Mistaken for Iteration + Startup Theater
Insight: When your research confirms the obvious, maybe you asked the wrong question.
* Chrome extension for ethical shopping gets 800 installs
Now “watching how people use it”
Verdict: Startup Theater
Insight: If your experiment has no hypothesis, you’re not learning—you’re lurking.
Frivolous Thoughts
* JDM’s brother wins an Emmy (again). Turns out talent runs in the family.
* Cam recommends Stick on Apple TV, a sports comedy with yips and heart.
* Bonus meta-commentary: The team calls themselves out for “procrastivity” on launching their own referral program. If you’re listening… hold them accountable.
