The Pre-Pre-Seed | Pawel Brodzinski | Substack

Anything and everything about building early-stage products. Zero hype. More than two decades of pragmatic experience. Click to read The Pre-Pre-Seed, by Pawel Brodzinski, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

pawelbrodzinski.substack.com

The Pre-Pre-Seed | Pawel Brodzinski | Substack · Oct 07, 2026

BUSINESS MARKETING AND EMPLOYMENT

“We Invest in Founders” Is a Convenient Lie

Investors back the jockey, not the horse is a popular startup advice. If you look what investors actually do, the story doesn’t hold.

TONY HSIEHAIRBNB

The Pre-Pre-Seed | Pawel Brodzinski | Substack · Sep 23, 2026

MINING AND MINERAL RESOURCES

MVP: Always a Product, Sometimes Viable, Never Minimum

MVP hasn't meant "minimum" in years. After going through 1,000+ product pitches, I'm not sure it ever did.

LUNAR LOGIC

The Pre-Pre-Seed | Pawel Brodzinski | Substack · Sep 16, 2026

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND STARTUPS

Product Developer A.D. 2026: Jack of All Trades

T-shaped skills still work as metaphor for a decent product developer. It’s just the shape of the T has changed.

The Pre-Pre-Seed | Pawel Brodzinski | Substack · Sep 10, 2026

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND STARTUPS

You (Still) Can’t Vibe-Code a Product

After more than a year I revisited my “you can’t vibe-code a product” claim. It aged well.

The Pre-Pre-Seed | Pawel Brodzinski | Substack · Aug 20, 2026

TALENT ACQUISITION AND RECRUITING

They Shouldn't Know It's a "User" Interview

Done well, user interviews are a staple for product discovery. Done wrong, they’ll make you shoot yourself in the foot. With confidence.