Sometimes I like to stop everything I am doing to focus on one special thing that I craft like it's my whole world for a minute, an hour, a day. An introspection, a moment, a gift.
Or a reflection on a day that felt special like today. One of those days that remind me why I do what I do.
It started with a couple of bootstrappers, flying, who’ve found their pace without losing themselves. Yoline, Raph…
Then came another founder. Different stage, different story. I met him back when the product was just a Facebook Messenger bot. Now they’re doing $5M in ARR, something totally different, and a lot more ambitious. Dylan…
A few hours later, a founder who’s selling. Eight years of grind. Built a company that made people feel something. And now it’s time. Time to pass it on. He’s calm. Grateful. Ready. It’s not a finish line. It’s a partial handoff . He gets to breathe. We get to win. Everyone walks away proud. Luca…
I see it at home too with Natacha. And don’t just take my word for it. She has crafted a product so refined that people say “This is perfection. If I could only use one skincare product for the rest of my life, it would be this.”
And through all these moments, I see something that clicks.
What makes these founders so good, what sets them apart, is how right they are.
Right in alignment.
They’re doing the thing they were meant to do.
They see the field. They move with clarity.
They don't stop despite the struggle, the setbacks, the feedbacks and all the honest reflection that come with it.
And when they execute, it looks like instinct.
But it’s not.
It’s experience turned into reflex.
It’s in-depth connection turned into intuition.
It’s thousands of reps behind the scenes that make it look effortless on the surface.
And here’s something else I kept seeing today:
Most of them don’t realize how rare they are.
Yes, you.
Look at you.
You are rare.
You build.
You talk to users, all the time.
You erase, you rebuild.
You’re overseeing, deciding, doing.
Big things, small things, all the things.
You grind.
You never give up.
You never stop.
But wait…
Actually…
Just stop for a minute.
You are rare. But rarely do you stop, like to write it down for instance, to put it all down:
The principles.
The rules.
The culture.
Yours.
Because yes, it’s yours.
Don't let anyone take it from you.
Who you are, and how that translates into what you expect from people.
Not the polished fluff from a team meeting.
The real, in-the-trenches culture.
The expectations.
The way your company does things.
What gets celebrated. What gets shut down.
What gets tolerated. Or not.
What matters when no one’s watching.
And that’s a problem, because culture doesn’t scale on vibes.
It scales on clarity.
It must be written. And enforced.
The best founders I know build from the inside out.
Their values aren’t slogans. They’re behaviors.
And if they want their teams to carry that forward, especially as the company grows, they need to make it explicit.
Set the principles. Write the damn doc.
Share it. Show it. Make it non negotiable.
Don’t let your culture get diluted by default.
That was the thread of my day.
Founder after founder. Different products. Different stages.
But all of them locked in. Doing what they’re supposed to do.
No hesitation.
No performance.
Just realness.
And after a day like that?
I can’t help but feel fired up.
It’s why I do this job.
It’s what makes the slow weeks bearable.
It’s what balances out the hard news, the tough conversations, the days when nothing clicks.
I don’t celebrate those moments enough.
But today, I am.
To all the founders building with clarity, resilience, and heart.
You’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
Hello Jean,
I hope this communique finds you in a moment of stillness.
Have huge respect for your work.
We’ve just opened the first door of something we’ve been quietly crafting for years—
A work not meant for markets, but for reflection and memory.
Not designed to perform, but to endure.
It’s called The Silent Treasury.
A place where judgment is kept like firewood: dry, sacred, and meant for long winters.
Where trust, patience, and self-stewardship are treated as capital—more rare, perhaps, than liquidity itself.
This first piece speaks to a quiet truth we’ve long sat with:
Why many modern PE, VC, Hedge, Alt funds, SPAC, and rollups fracture before they truly root.
And what it means to build something meant to be left, not merely exited.
It’s not short. Or viral. But it’s built to last.
And if it speaks to something you’ve always known but rarely seen expressed,
then perhaps this work belongs in your world.
The publication link is enclosed, should you wish to engage with it.
https://helloin.substack.com/p/built-to-be-left?r=5i8pez
Warmly,
The Silent Treasury
A vault where wisdom echoes in stillness, and eternity breathes.
So true, I can almost hear your voice while reading these words. Thank you for the morning boost."