Building
A candle brand that smells like places that don't exist anymore. "Blockbuster on a Friday Night." "Your Grandmother's Kitchen, 1987." Memory as product.
Constraint
No funding. Making candles in my apartment kitchen. Can only afford one scent at a time — if it doesn't sell, I eat the cost.
This Week
First batch of "Blockbuster Friday" sold out in 4 hours. 47 candles. Posted a TikTok of me pouring wax at 2am with the caption "making smells for memories you forgot you had" and it did 340K views overnight.
Now I have a problem: 600+ people in my DMs asking when the next drop is, and I physically cannot make candles fast enough. Too successful to stay small, too broke to scale.
The Honest Part
I have no idea if this is a real business or just a viral moment. One video hit. That doesn't mean the next one will. I'm terrified of being a one-hit wonder who peaked at 47 candles.
Building
A newsletter for Black men in tech who don't see themselves in "tech bro" culture. Called it "Offline." We talk about burnout, imposter syndrome, building wealth quietly.
Constraint
Full-time senior engineer job. Two kids under 5. Writing happens between 9pm and midnight, three nights a week. My wife thinks I'm crazy.
This Week
Hit 2,400 subscribers. Slow growth but the right people. Got an email from a VP at a Fortune 100 company who said my piece on "performing competence" made him cry in his car.
Turned down my first sponsorship offer — $2K for a fintech ad. The money would help but the product was predatory. Can't build trust and sell it at the same time.
The Honest Part
Some weeks I want to quit. The growth is so slow. I see people with worse writing and bigger numbers. But then I get a DM from someone who says "you wrote the thing I couldn't say out loud" and I remember why.
Building
Third attempt at a jewelry brand. First one failed because I tried to do everything. Second one niched too hard. This time: one product. Stackable gold rings. That's it.
Constraint
$1,200 left in savings. No more runway after this. Working part-time at a coffee shop to pay rent. This is the last try before I have to get a "real job."
This Week
Finally found a manufacturer who'll do small batches. 50 rings, 3 sizes, solid 14K gold vermeil. Total cost: $890. That leaves me $310 for packaging and shipping.
Built the Shopify store in one weekend. No fancy theme — just white background, iPhone photos, and one sentence: "One ring. Stack it your way." Haven't launched yet. Scared to.
The Honest Part
My parents think I've wasted three years. My friends from business school are all at McKinsey or Google. I'm 29, living with a roommate, making rings in my bedroom. But I keep coming back to this. Every time I try to quit, I can't.
Building
NoThings™ — a lifestyle brand for the quiet ones. The builders who make something from nothing without performing for an audience.
Constraint
Solo founder. No funding. No team. Every system I build has to function when I'm not paying attention to it. One bad decision compounds into months of wasted effort.
This Week
Completed the full strategic rebuild. Manifesto rewritten with defensible pillars instead of borrowed language. NT001 specs locked. Physical ritual products specced — pins, patches, tiles, stamps.
The hard part: none of this is live yet. It's all documentation. The gap between "designed" and "built" is where most things die.
The Honest Part
I've rebuilt this brand three times now. Each time I thought I had it. Each time something cracked under pressure. This version feels more solid — but I've felt that before.