About FoundersNotebook
Most founder content optimizes for virality. We optimize for depth. FoundersNotebook publishes the frameworks and conversations that help you build companies that endure, not just grow fast.
Strategy without taste is mechanical. Taste without strategy is indulgent. We believe the best companies are built at the intersection of both.
The Founder
FoundersNotebook is created by Alvin, a strategist and operator who has spent eight years at the intersection of technology and luxury. His career spans building products at high-growth startups, advising luxury houses on digital transformation, and investing in early-stage companies.
The common thread: a fascination with how great companies are built. Not just the tactics and techniques, but the underlying principles that separate enduring enterprises from flash-in-the-pan successes.
FoundersNotebook is his attempt to codify these principles and share them with a community of like-minded builders. The goal is not to provide easy answers—there are none—but to offer the frameworks and mental models that make hard questions more tractable.
The Philosophy
Depth Over Breadth
We publish less, but better. Each piece is designed to be read multiple times, revealing new insights with each reading. We'd rather write one essay that changes how you think than ten that you forget by tomorrow.
Principles Over Tactics
Tactics expire; principles compound. We focus on the underlying mental models that generate good decisions rather than the specific actions that worked in one context at one time.
Craft Over Speed
We believe in the value of taking time to do things well. This applies to our own work—every essay is carefully edited, every framework rigorously tested—and to the companies we admire.
The Four Pillars
Strategy
Competitive advantage, market positioning, and the frameworks that help you see clearly.
Systems
Operations, processes, and the infrastructure that enables scale without chaos.
Psychology
The mental models, habits, and emotional patterns that distinguish exceptional founders.
Luxury
Brand building, premium positioning, and lessons from the world's most enduring houses.