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The Founder Tonic Newsletter

Founder Tonic #12: How to get fired


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Hey friend,

In June of 2022 I sold my company Krit to one of our long time clients in an acquihire. I made it 11 months before I got fired.

As soon as it happened I knew I wanted to write about the experience, both to document how I felt and destigmatize something that had been such a huge fear. But everything was too fresh, and the drafts I wrote weren't coming across the way I wanted them to.

So I've let it sit and percolate in the back of my head for the last 2.5 years, and last week I sat down to take another crack at it. Here's how it turned out:

How to get fired

If you're ever been in a similar situation or know someone who has I hope it resonates and you find it helpful.

Cheers,

Andrew

For bootstrappers

​Outseta's Choose Your Own Adventure Compensation Model​

I've been interested in alternative models to structuring power and ownership within companies recently, and Outseta's model is one of the most fascinating I've ever seen. The model has 3 pillars:

  • A full-time salary at Outseta is $210,000 per yearβ€”for everyone.
  • Everyone can choose to work anywhere from 1 to 5 days per week.
  • Everyone can elect to work as much or as little as they like earning equity in the business on the same terms as our founders.

​The compensation - contribution - control framework for understanding motivation​

I had a chat with Bryan Chappell recently, the founder of Scout and my single client at the moment, about some struggles I've been having recently to feel motivated. He shared this framework for how he thinks about motivation, and I've found it really helpful.

​My SEO workflow with MetaMonster​

I recently published these help guides for using MetaMonster, and the first guide outlines my workflow for using MetaMonster to optimize a new site. Also potentially interesting, the workflow I used to create these was very AI-centric:

  • Record a video using Loom
  • Feed the transcript into Claude to create written docs
  • Fill in the suggested screenshots
  • Vibe code the layout with Cursor

From me

​How to get fired​

β€œThere’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to get into it.”

Ah, shit.

As soon as I heard those words, I knew what was coming next. After all, I had said them before myself.

I was being fired.

For fun

​LISTERS: A Glimpse Into Extreme Birdwatching​

This documentary has been going viral on YouTube lately, and it's one of my favorite movies I've watched all years. Two brothers decided on a whim to spend a year traveling around the country in their minivan in pursuit of seeing as many bird species as possible, and placing in the top ranks of competitive bird watchers. The doc goes into the good and bad of bird watching, is beautifully shot, and highly entertaining. They released it ad-free on YouTube and it has over 2 million views so far.

​The Rise and Fall of Capitalism​

A friend sent me this podcast episode earlier this year, and it has shaped my way of thinking about the world more than almost any other piece of content. It addresses many of the common arguments for capitalism and against socialism or communism, and then breaks down where those arguments fall short with lots of historical references all while managing to stay highly entertaining.

​Testing Old vs New Camping Gear​

I watch a lot of videos about outdoor gear, and this video is one of the most entertaining and unique I've seen in a long time. These guys went on a 3-day backpacking trip with historically-accurate gear from 1925, 1975, and 2025. The results are hilarious and give perspective to how far backpacking has come in just a couple of generations.

The Founder Tonic Newsletter

Hey πŸ‘‹ I'm Andrew! I write about bootstrapped startups, mental health, and my attempts to lead a fulfilling life. I hate silver-bullet advice and hustle porn. I send an issue every month with 3 links about building bootstrapped startups, 1 original essay, and 3 links just for fun.

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