Makers & Breakers #003
Harvesting, Fishing, Ugly Websites, and Building Aggressively Helpful Teams
Hey makers & breakers!
Last week got me reflecting on how easy it is to get lost in the pursuit of shiny, new things—whether it’s a groundbreaking feature, a sleek design, or the idea of building the next great team. It’s a natural tendency, but what often gets overlooked is that real progress rarely comes from these quick wins.
The truth is, the things that truly work, the things that last, often come from more practical, down-to-earth efforts. It’s about focusing on the basics, the less glamorous but essential tasks that move the needle.
In this edition of Makers & Breakers, we’re going to look at how focusing on what works can drive success in three key areas: tackling challenges in startups, understanding why “ugly” websites can outperform visually stunning ones, and building teams that don’t just get by but truly thrive.
So, grab your coffee/tea/poison-of-choice, and let’s dive in!
Personal prompt. Ideogram.ai
Let’s start with the framework shared by Stay SaaSy, which introduces us to three ways of thinking about the challenges startups face: harvesting, fishing, and panning for gold. It’s a simple yet powerful way to categorize the kinds of problems that pop up, and I often find mental models like this give much-needed clarity when you’re trying to navigate complex situations.
Take harvesting, for example. It’s the day-to-day grind, the work that’s not glamorous but critical. Whether it’s fixing bugs, tweaking integrations, or tackling those mundane but necessary tasks, this is the type of work that keeps everything running smoothly. It’s like tending to a garden—you plant, you water, you pull the weeds, and over time, you see the results. Progress is steady, and it’s the kind of effort that’s easy to overlook but absolutely vital for long-term success.
Then there’s fishing, which struck a personal chord for me. My son is an avid fisherman, and watching him go out with his gear, his knowledge, and his patience has made me realize how much fishing parallels the way we approach opportunities in tech. You’re out there casting your line, not always sure where the fish are, but you know they’re out there. In a startup, fishing is about exploring new opportunities—whether it’s product features, new revenue streams, or market shifts. With the right preparation, tools, and a little bit of luck, you can reel in something big. It’s unpredictable, but the possibilities are endless if you keep casting.
“… being really good at handling fishing problems is often the foundation of how companies win.” — Stay SaaSy
And then there’s panning for gold—the high-risk, high-reward part of the equation. Every startup dreams of striking gold, of hitting that game-changing breakthrough. But, as the article rightly points out, you can’t base your entire strategy on it. Sure, you might get lucky and find a gold mine, but you might just as easily end up empty-handed. That’s why harvesting and fishing matter so much—they give you a steady foundation to stand on, even when the big wins seem out of reach.
This idea of balancing practicality with ambition also applies to how we approach design—especially when it comes to websites. Michal Malewicz makes a great point about how we often get too caught up in making websites look beautiful, forgetting that the real purpose is functionality. You know what comes to mind? Craigslist. Now, it’s not the prettiest site out there—far from it—but it works. And that’s what counts.
Too often, we get fixated on how things look, and we forget that a website’s job is to get users to take action. It’s about the experience. If your design is getting in the way of people finding what they need or taking the next step, then it’s failing. That’s why strong positioning and clear messaging are so critical. When you get those right, you’ve already won half the battle. The lesson here? Focus on what works, not just on what looks good.
And this same principle—focusing on what works—applies directly to teams. Teams are the backbone of any successful product, but building a high-performing team doesn’t happen by accident. It takes deliberate effort and a lot of intention. One of the most important things I’ve learned over the years is the value of psychological safety. If people don’t feel safe to ask for help or offer support, you don’t have a team—you have a group of individuals working in isolation. This is where Britton Broderick’s idea of aggressively helpful teams comes into play.
What does it mean to be aggressively helpful? It’s about more than just stepping in when someone’s struggling. It’s about creating a culture where offering help isn’t seen as a sign of weakness, but as a natural part of how the team operates. Britton’s strategy is simple but effective: instead of immediately moving on to your next task, ask a teammate if they need a hand. And more importantly, reframe the question—make it clear that asking for help is encouraged, not a sign that they can’t handle their work.
But it doesn’t stop there. Building a team that functions at a high level requires guiding them through the different stages of development. Every team goes through the Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing cycle, and recognizing where your team is in that process allows you to push them forward. It’s a lot like fishing—you need the right tools and timing, but you also need to understand the waters you’re working in.
I’ve seen firsthand how important it is to foster this culture. A team that feels supported, that knows help is just a question away, becomes a power team. And sometimes, yeah, these teams form organically. But more often than not, it’s the result of conscious, ongoing work to ensure that people feel safe, valued, and supported.
So, to wrap things up, here’s the takeaway from this week: focus on what works. Whether you’re harvesting through steady, incremental efforts, fishing for new opportunities, or building a website that prioritizes functionality over aesthetics, success comes from focusing on what delivers results. And when it comes to building teams, it’s about creating an environment where psychological safety and collaboration drive true performance.
These are the ideas we’ll keep coming back to. In the future editions, I’ll be sharing more of my favorite mental models—those simple frameworks that help cut through the noise and get us to what really matters.
Let’s keep pushing forward.