Founder's Diary topic

Building Xena

7 diary entries filed under Building Xena, newest first.

Nov 3, 2026On-site original A 70% Answer on TuesdayIn October I wrote that speed covers up a lot of founder mistakes. I still believe it. But the things that changed Xena most took years… Read entry · 6 min
Nov 2, 2026On-site original The Tick Remover QuestionFor three years brands asked me where they ranked on Amazon. Then a founder asked whether ChatGPT even mentions them when someone wants a… Read entry · 6 min
Nov 1, 2026On-site original Why AI, or Why Louisville. Usually Both.In 2022, telling people I was building an AI company in Louisville got me two questions, usually in one breath. Four years later Xena has a… Read entry · 7 min
Oct 31, 2026On-site original My 22-Year-Old Self Wanted Times Square. He Got It.In September I wrote an apology letter to my 22-year-old self about everything he expected from startup life. Five days earlier, one item… Read entry · 7 min
Oct 30, 2026On-site original One Hundred Customers, Priced Like an ApologyXena crossed 100 customers in April. Looking back at numbers 1, 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100, most of what I learned was about selling, saying… Read entry · 7 min
Oct 29, 2026On-site original The Engineer Who Picked a Startup That Barely Had a LogoNaseem Shah was in his final year of computer science, with Google, Meta and Amazon in the picture. He joined Xena part time instead and… Read entry · 7 min
Jun 3, 2026LinkedIn edition The scariest part of building isn't building. It's telling people you built something and waiting to see if they care.Last week I launched SearchPanel . It's a tool that scores how AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Amazon Rufus describe and recommend… Read entry · 3 min

Building Xena

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