I send one action packed email a week called a 1x1x1 covering crazy cool businesses I spot, updates on what we're building and buying, and lessons from the journey of an entrepreneur.
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For those of you that are new here, every week I send what I call a 1x1x1.
One thought from my week.
One interesting find/tool from my week.
One image from my life.
Let's dive in 👇
At Pono, one of our core values is Operational Excellence, which sounds like something you’d find on a corporate mug, but I swear it actually means something around here.
Now, I used to run WeHero like a crazed pirate captain.
Growth at all costs. Drink from the firehose. Patch the holes with duct tape and hope for the best.
Pono is different.
We’re building a Navy now.
Precision, discipline, tight formations. (Also less rum… slightly.)
That’s why in the second half of 2025, we’re only taking on 3 more clients.
That’s not a marketing trick.
That’s a real limit.
Which means we say no a lot.
It’s painful.
But it’s the only way to protect what we’re building.
A team, a culture, and a standard that doesn’t collapse under its own ambition.
Of course, even with these controls, things still break.
They always do when you’re growing a team and bringing in new talent.
I think the most important thing is that we own it.
When a ball gets dropped, clients feel it, and that’s on us.
So sometimes that means our founding team (including myself) personally step back in and manage projects.
Sometimes we issue refunds.
Not because we like giving money back (we don’t), but because doing right by clients isn’t just a motto.
It’s the operating system.
We go deep with our clients, they’re part of our team, and we’re part of theirs.
When you think that way, the “right decision” becomes obvious.
You refund the invoice. You pull in your best people. You fix it.
Because without them, we’re just some nerds with nice slide decks.
Lately, I’ve been messing around with Base 44.
It’s like Bolt, Lovable, and the 37 other AI app builders that have launched since breakfast.
Every time I open Twitter, there’s a new one promising I can build a billion-dollar startup while I’m waiting for my coffee to cool.
And honestly? They’re wild. Spinning up proof-of-concepts in minutes? Super fun. Feels like cheating.
But here’s the thing: the last mile is still a nightmare.
At Pono we build quite a few websites, and I’m also building Luna, a mobile app for veterinary care.
These tools get you to mile 25 of a marathon… then drop you off barefoot, in the desert, with no water.
Yes, AI app builders are great for quick demos.
But if you want quality, you’re still gonna need developers and designers who can predict the edge cases and know what they're doing.
We’ll get there eventually. But right now, the last mile is still a scavenger hunt.
Celebrated our boy Connor getting married with a squad e-bike ride through Bend.
