I had a completely different newsletter planned for today. But I just had to write this instead. x — Maxim from iPhone on a London bus.

Bryan Johnson just raised $60 million for Blueprint.

Not because he built the perfect longevity app. Not because he had revolutionary tech. Not because he waited until everything was polished.

He raised it because he did the one thing most founders are terrified to do: he shared his messy, imperfect process with the world whilst he was still figuring it out.

And that transparency just made 48 (!) rich people bet on him.

Four years ago, Bryan had a problem you'd recognise: he couldn't trust himself to make good decisions.

"Evening Bryan" wanted to stay up late, eat crisps, and binge Netflix. "Morning Bryan" wanted to live forever and optimise every biomarker. Two different people in the same body, constantly sabotaging each other.

Sound familiar?

Replace "longevity protocol" with "product development" and you've got every founder's internal battle: "Evening You" wants to add just one more feature, perfect the design, wait until it's ready. "Morning You" knows she needs to get something in front of customers immediately.

Bryan's solution was radical: give all decisions to an algorithm. No more internal negotiation. No more "I'll start tomorrow." The data decides everything.

But here's where it gets interesting for you...

Instead of perfecting his protocol in private, Bryan did something that would make most founders break out in hives: he made everything public.

Blood tests. Sleep scores. Workout videos. The exact supplements he took. His daily routine down to the minute. All of it. Online. For free.

"But what if competitors copy me?"
"What if I look stupid?"
"What if it doesn't work?"

Every objection you have about sharing your work early is making your skin crawl, just thinking about it. Tough sh*t. He shared anyway.

Because he understood something most founders don't: your biggest risk isn't someone stealing your idea. It's building something insignificant.

Here's how transparency created a $60M company:

First, he solved his own problem. Started with taking 70 supplements daily and tracking everything obsessively.

Then, he shared the process. YouTube videos, blog posts, data dumps. Not selling anything—just documenting.

Next, people started copying him. They made his recipes. Tried his routines. Reported their results.

Community emerged naturally. Meetups happened. People compared notes. A Discord formed.

Only then did he build products. When people complained about taking 70 pills, he combined them into 12. When they wanted the food recipes, he created protein powders.

The result? By the time he launched Blueprint as a company, he already had thousands of validated customers, which ultimately led to $60M worth of investor confidence.

Notice what he didn't do:

Let's address the elephant in the room, shall we?

"But I'm not a biohacking millionaire with a home medical clinic!"

I hear you.

Yes, Bryan Johnson is an exited founder who sold his company for nine figures. Yes, he's got $2 million worth of medical equipment in his house. Yes, major news outlets wrote about him because he's already famous.

"Of course it worked for him - he had all the advantages!"

Here's the twist: being an exited founder is exactly WHY he took this approach.

Most first-time founders think success comes from building the perfect product in secret, then revealing it to the world like some grand magic trick. Bryan learned the hard way (through Braintree Venmo) that this is bollocks.

So when Bryan decided to tackle longevity, he didn't retreat to his home lab for three years to emerge with the perfect protocol. He did what experienced founders do: he validated in public from day one.

The $2M equipment? That wasn't the secret sauce - it was the shock factor that made people pay attention. But you know what kept them engaged? The transparency. The daily updates. The willingness to share failures alongside wins.

Your advantage isn't having millions. It's having problems people relate to.

Bryan's angle was extreme biohacking with movie-villain levels of equipment. What's yours?

Maybe it's:

The point isn't to be Bryan Johnson. It's to find the angle that makes people say "I have to see how this turns out."

Then document the journey like your business depends on it. Because it does.

Pick one problem you're solving (for yourself or your business) and commit to sharing your process for the next two weeks:

Day 1: Post about the problem you're tackling and why it matters to you Day 3: Share your first attempt at solving it (however rough) Day 7: Update on what's working and what isn't Day 10: Show the feedback you're getting and how it's changing your approach Day 14: Reveal your current solution and ask who wants to try it

By day 14, you'll know if people want what you're building. You'll have a community of interested folks. And you'll have started validating demand before spending thousands on development.

Bryan didn't raise $60M because his longevity protocol was perfect (Well... Okay. He’s got receipts. It’s pretty darn good). He raised it because he proved people desperately wanted the outcome he was delivering.

What outcome are you working towards that others might want too?

Stop building in secret. Start building your story.

Your future customers are waiting to watch you figure it out.

P.S. - Want to see exactly how Bryan documented his journey? Check out his original posts where he shared his biomarkers before anyone cared.

And if you're ready to stop hiding your product development process and start building in public, our 14-Day MVP Pilot Sprint gives you the exact framework to validate your idea with real customers in two weeks. No perfect product required. Hit reply to get it first (for free, duh).

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Hiring explained in plain English for founders who need to work with developers

Quick legal note: This newsletter shares my experience and opinions, but it's not official financial, legal, or business advice. Every situation is different. Make your own decisions, do your own research, and consult professionals when you need them. You're the expert on your business.