JA Westenberg
@joanwestenberg.com
yc now wants your claude code transcripts, which is the first time a startup accelerator has explicitly asked you to show your homework to prove you didn’t do your homework
February 9, 2026 at 9:34 PM
yc now wants your claude code transcripts, which is the first time a startup accelerator has explicitly asked you to show your homework to prove you didn’t do your homework
A pitch .md in a GitHub repo is version-controlled, forkable, and transparent.
You can see the entire history of how the founders described their own company.
That's a better signal than gradient fills.
www.joanwestenberg.com/the-pitch-d...
You can see the entire history of how the founders described their own company.
That's a better signal than gradient fills.
www.joanwestenberg.com/the-pitch-d...
The pitch deck is dead. Write a pitch.md instead.
Every week, thousands of founders open Canva or Google Slides or, God help them, PowerPoint, and begin the ritual. They agonize over fonts. They nudge logos three pixels to the left. They workshop whether the TAM slide should come before or after the team slide, as though the ordering of
www.joanwestenberg.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:51 AM
A pitch .md in a GitHub repo is version-controlled, forkable, and transparent.
You can see the entire history of how the founders described their own company.
That's a better signal than gradient fills.
www.joanwestenberg.com/the-pitch-d...
You can see the entire history of how the founders described their own company.
That's a better signal than gradient fills.
www.joanwestenberg.com/the-pitch-d...
happy "i'm too good to watch the superbowl unlike you plebs with your bread and circuses" day to all who celebrate. can't wait to read everyone's posts about how much they're not watching it.
February 8, 2026 at 10:04 PM
happy "i'm too good to watch the superbowl unlike you plebs with your bread and circuses" day to all who celebrate. can't wait to read everyone's posts about how much they're not watching it.
underrated feature of enterprise saas that can't be vibecoded away: plausible liability.
companies buy someone to blame when the software goes wrong. that's the product.
no exec is signing off on being the one responsible when the system goes down. you can't build that in house.
companies buy someone to blame when the software goes wrong. that's the product.
no exec is signing off on being the one responsible when the system goes down. you can't build that in house.
February 8, 2026 at 11:00 AM
underrated feature of enterprise saas that can't be vibecoded away: plausible liability.
companies buy someone to blame when the software goes wrong. that's the product.
no exec is signing off on being the one responsible when the system goes down. you can't build that in house.
companies buy someone to blame when the software goes wrong. that's the product.
no exec is signing off on being the one responsible when the system goes down. you can't build that in house.
my favorite genre of guy is "did his own research" guy and his research is 8 hours of a man with a whiteboard in a garage explaining that every problem in the world is caused by one specific group of people and here's how to buy gold
February 8, 2026 at 6:02 AM
my favorite genre of guy is "did his own research" guy and his research is 8 hours of a man with a whiteboard in a garage explaining that every problem in the world is caused by one specific group of people and here's how to buy gold
THOUGHT LEADER: you need to invest in yourself
i bought your course
THOUGHT LEADER: not like that. differently
how
THOUGHT LEADER: buy my other course and i'll explain
i bought your course
THOUGHT LEADER: not like that. differently
how
THOUGHT LEADER: buy my other course and i'll explain
February 8, 2026 at 4:14 AM
THOUGHT LEADER: you need to invest in yourself
i bought your course
THOUGHT LEADER: not like that. differently
how
THOUGHT LEADER: buy my other course and i'll explain
i bought your course
THOUGHT LEADER: not like that. differently
how
THOUGHT LEADER: buy my other course and i'll explain
nothing funnier than a guy who peaked in high school posting "hard times create strong men" under a photo of himself in sunglasses sitting in his truck in a parking lot. what hard times Stevo. what strong men. you sell supplements.
February 8, 2026 at 1:02 AM
nothing funnier than a guy who peaked in high school posting "hard times create strong men" under a photo of himself in sunglasses sitting in his truck in a parking lot. what hard times Stevo. what strong men. you sell supplements.
THINK PIECE WRITER: we need to have a conversation about—
ME: we do not. we have had the conversation. we have had it nine thousand times. the conversation has been had. everyone agrees it was a bad conversation. and yet here we are. having it. again. in the atlantic
ME: we do not. we have had the conversation. we have had it nine thousand times. the conversation has been had. everyone agrees it was a bad conversation. and yet here we are. having it. again. in the atlantic
February 7, 2026 at 11:34 PM
THINK PIECE WRITER: we need to have a conversation about—
ME: we do not. we have had the conversation. we have had it nine thousand times. the conversation has been had. everyone agrees it was a bad conversation. and yet here we are. having it. again. in the atlantic
ME: we do not. we have had the conversation. we have had it nine thousand times. the conversation has been had. everyone agrees it was a bad conversation. and yet here we are. having it. again. in the atlantic
This is everything I know about marketing software:
Every channel works until it’s crowded.
Every advantage disappears as soon as it’s obvious.
What’s left is judgment, patience, and being useful longer than others can tolerate.
thisisstudioself.substack.com/p/working-n...
Every channel works until it’s crowded.
Every advantage disappears as soon as it’s obvious.
What’s left is judgment, patience, and being useful longer than others can tolerate.
thisisstudioself.substack.com/p/working-n...
February 5, 2026 at 10:52 AM
This is everything I know about marketing software:
Every channel works until it’s crowded.
Every advantage disappears as soon as it’s obvious.
What’s left is judgment, patience, and being useful longer than others can tolerate.
thisisstudioself.substack.com/p/working-n...
Every channel works until it’s crowded.
Every advantage disappears as soon as it’s obvious.
What’s left is judgment, patience, and being useful longer than others can tolerate.
thisisstudioself.substack.com/p/working-n...
My working theory on why nobody's impressed by AI: Google and Siri spent a decade training the entire population that "AI assistant" means a thing that can't set a timer properly and confidently misunderstands your mom's name.
February 4, 2026 at 4:42 AM
My working theory on why nobody's impressed by AI: Google and Siri spent a decade training the entire population that "AI assistant" means a thing that can't set a timer properly and confidently misunderstands your mom's name.
The most useful productivity system is subtraction.
February 3, 2026 at 6:02 AM
The most useful productivity system is subtraction.
If you have multiple interests, you don’t pick one.
Pick one ~season.
90 days. One output. One audience.
Then rotate.
Pick one ~season.
90 days. One output. One audience.
Then rotate.
February 3, 2026 at 4:51 AM
If you have multiple interests, you don’t pick one.
Pick one ~season.
90 days. One output. One audience.
Then rotate.
Pick one ~season.
90 days. One output. One audience.
Then rotate.
I don't believe in second brains. Most people I know who built elaborate Notion vaults ended up with digital hoarding problems.
I'm skeptical about "Claude Code will 10x your output"
But I believe in something adjacent to both: coherence as a system.
www.joanwestenberg.com/the-coheren...
I'm skeptical about "Claude Code will 10x your output"
But I believe in something adjacent to both: coherence as a system.
www.joanwestenberg.com/the-coheren...
The Coherence Premium
I don't necessarily believe in second brains. The notion (pun-intended) that you can offload your thinking to a perfectly organized system of notes and links has always struck me as a fantasy. The people I know who've built elaborate Notion databases or Obsidian vaults mostly end up with digital hoarding
www.joanwestenberg.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:47 PM
I don't believe in second brains. Most people I know who built elaborate Notion vaults ended up with digital hoarding problems.
I'm skeptical about "Claude Code will 10x your output"
But I believe in something adjacent to both: coherence as a system.
www.joanwestenberg.com/the-coheren...
I'm skeptical about "Claude Code will 10x your output"
But I believe in something adjacent to both: coherence as a system.
www.joanwestenberg.com/the-coheren...
Algorithmic Morality: confusing what performs as what’s true
February 2, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Algorithmic Morality: confusing what performs as what’s true
i want a calendar view called: “what you traded your life for.”
February 2, 2026 at 5:33 AM
i want a calendar view called: “what you traded your life for.”
The One About the Lobsters
February 1, 2026 at 6:12 AM
The One About the Lobsters
If you work 25–65, you get ~2,080 Mondays.
You get ~560 vacation days.
Your life is 19:1 mundane.
Design accordingly.
www.joanwestenberg.com/your-life-i...
You get ~560 vacation days.
Your life is 19:1 mundane.
Design accordingly.
www.joanwestenberg.com/your-life-i...
Your Life is the Sum Total of 2,000 Mondays
We plan our lives like we're editing a movie trailer.
The trip to Portugal, or the product launch, or the transformation photo at the gym. The big moment where everything crystallizes into meaning. We accumulate these peaks in our imagination, and then arrange them into a montage that proves our
www.joanwestenberg.com
January 31, 2026 at 12:30 AM
If you work 25–65, you get ~2,080 Mondays.
You get ~560 vacation days.
Your life is 19:1 mundane.
Design accordingly.
www.joanwestenberg.com/your-life-i...
You get ~560 vacation days.
Your life is 19:1 mundane.
Design accordingly.
www.joanwestenberg.com/your-life-i...
The "OMG Moltbook" posts are not real. The AGI screenshots are not real. The sentient bots are not real.
You are being farmed for engagement.
You are being farmed for engagement.
January 30, 2026 at 11:28 PM
The "OMG Moltbook" posts are not real. The AGI screenshots are not real. The sentient bots are not real.
You are being farmed for engagement.
You are being farmed for engagement.
PASSION RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME.
January 29, 2026 at 10:33 AM
PASSION RULES EVERYTHING AROUND ME.
Nobody in recorded history has tweeted 'A reminder' and then followed it with information they didn't believe made them morally superior to everyone reading it.
January 28, 2026 at 3:55 AM
Nobody in recorded history has tweeted 'A reminder' and then followed it with information they didn't believe made them morally superior to everyone reading it.
After a hiatus last year, I’m excited to be relaunching Studio Self for 2026.
It’s the agency where I help good folks - the right folks - in tech and VC think clearly, speak up and be heard.
If that’s you, I’d love to chat.
thisisstudioself.com/
It’s the agency where I help good folks - the right folks - in tech and VC think clearly, speak up and be heard.
If that’s you, I’d love to chat.
thisisstudioself.com/
January 27, 2026 at 1:58 AM
After a hiatus last year, I’m excited to be relaunching Studio Self for 2026.
It’s the agency where I help good folks - the right folks - in tech and VC think clearly, speak up and be heard.
If that’s you, I’d love to chat.
thisisstudioself.com/
It’s the agency where I help good folks - the right folks - in tech and VC think clearly, speak up and be heard.
If that’s you, I’d love to chat.
thisisstudioself.com/
Wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.
Wisdom is what tells you not to install Clawdbot on your personal device and give it access to your banking details, even though you could become the next Tony Stark.
Wisdom is not the same thing as intelligence.
www.joanwestenberg.com/why-intelli...
Wisdom is what tells you not to install Clawdbot on your personal device and give it access to your banking details, even though you could become the next Tony Stark.
Wisdom is not the same thing as intelligence.
www.joanwestenberg.com/why-intelli...
Why Intelligence Is a Terrible Proxy for Wisdom
Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientific minds in human history, lost a fortune in the South Sea Bubble of 1720.
After initially making money and selling his shares, he bought back in at the peak, watching helplessly as the stock collapsed. His reported loss was around £20,000, equivalent
www.joanwestenberg.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:36 AM
Wisdom is knowing what you don’t know.
Wisdom is what tells you not to install Clawdbot on your personal device and give it access to your banking details, even though you could become the next Tony Stark.
Wisdom is not the same thing as intelligence.
www.joanwestenberg.com/why-intelli...
Wisdom is what tells you not to install Clawdbot on your personal device and give it access to your banking details, even though you could become the next Tony Stark.
Wisdom is not the same thing as intelligence.
www.joanwestenberg.com/why-intelli...
