First Buildinpublic Post

Yesterday I attended the first session of 1909's Applied Learning Workshop, a 12-week sprint focused on validating, selling, and building toward real revenue.

I applied a few weeks ago. The program takes 10 founders across two tracks, Launch and Grow. I picked Launch. My business isn't pre-revenue anymore (first sale in December before I even officially launched), but I'm early enough that I need structure, feedback, and accountability to get to sustainable.

The room was a mix. Some people knew they wanted to start a business but didn't have direction yet. Others had staff and were talking about problems in the millions, but the common thread was obvious. Everyone made a choice to show up and commit.

The orientation covered the skills we're training. Showing up, speaking clearly, making decisions, following through, and integrating feedback. The two I'm focused on? Making decisions quickly and follow-through. When I solve for the first one, the second one fixes itself. Analysis paralysis is the real enemy.

Then we hit the core truth. You are paid to solve a problem and if the problem is unclear, your business will struggle.

When it was time to describe my customer and their problem, I was ready. Mid-career engineers doing senior-level work but can't figure out why they're stuck. Getting passed over, underselling themselves, or struggling to keep up with a rapidly changing landscape. And they don't have a senior engineer in their corner who can show them how the game actually works.

The presenter stopped and told the group to give me some snaps (we snap instead of clap). I said "yeah, I know. I lived it."

We ran out of time before finishing the full worksheet, but that was the right call. It was worth the extra time so every founder could get real-time coaching on the foundational questions. You can't build on vague.

Afterward I stayed to work and ended up in two conversations that reminded me why showing up matters.

A branding mentor pulled me aside and said I have a golden opportunity with my name. He validated what I've been feeling about leaning into the juice angle (he threw out "O.J. will give you the juice" but said I should make a list of ones that make me laugh). Being memorable isn't optional because brands that aren't memorable are commodities.

Then I connected with a fellow founder, a former engineer with 20+ years of experience building a startup accelerator. We traded insights, agreed to be customer interviews for each other, and then... because of course... he asked me to look at a DNS issue.

It's always DNS.

Walked him through checking specific resolvers and suggested a dedicated DNS provider instead of Squarespace. Problem solved in minutes.

Building a business about helping engineers level up, then immediately helping an engineer solve a problem in real time? That's the brand. Working engineer helping other engineers.

Week 1 down. 11 to go.

hashtag#BuildInPublic hashtag#LearnWithOJ #1909 hashtag#Entrepreneurship hashtag#TechMentorship