Substack Weekly Finds for 11/7/25
I found five great reads this week and created quick video versions in Biteable, so you can watch or read depending on your mood. They each explore different angles of growth: leadership, mindset, writing, brand building, and AI. Let’s walk through them and why I think they’re worth your time.
Why Every Founder Needs a Woman in the Ops Seat by Katie Barnes
From the article “Why Every Founder Needs a Woman in the Ops Seat” by Katie Barnes, the central insight is that startups with women in operational leadership tend to scale faster, exit sooner, and generate higher returns. The piece isn’t just descriptive—it argues that diversity at the ops level isn’t an optional nice-to-have but a strategic advantage.
In four of the last five start-ups I’ve worked at, I’ve seen both men and women running Ops from the COO role. In my experience the companies where a woman ran Ops were successful more times than not. Whether it was their style, their perspective, or their experience, I credit much of the success at each of those companies to them.
Mental Storms Pass Faster When You Stop Fighting Them by Healthy Reminder
The article “Mental Storms Pass Faster When You Stop Fighting Them” by Healthy Reminder explains that resisting anxiety, “what-ifs”, and regret only prolongs them. Instead, noticing the storm, and letting it pass, is more effective. It’s a lean piece but rich in practical value for anyone dealing with high-stakes or high-growth situations.
As someone working in a fast-moving marketing environment with shifting KPIs and remote teams, I’ve learned the hard way that trying to “fix it immediately” often leads to burnout. This article offers up really good advice that will help you stop spiraling the next time you’re in a mental storm.
The 20-Minute Writing Exercise That Neuroscientists Say Can Solve Your Hardest Problems by Magdalena Ponurska
In “The 20‑Minute Writing Exercise That Neuroscientists Say Can Solve Your Hardest Problems”, Magdalena Ponurska lays out a simple protocol: set a timer, write a detailed “day in the life” six months from now in present tense, then act. The piece shows how this primes your brain to notice solutions you were otherwise blind to.
For marketers or creators (definitely you and me), this helps break out of the “what we’ve always done” loop and re-frame problems in fresh ways. I’ll be writing out my future day this weekend to help solve a problem on working through.
Your brand isn’t IP (yet) by Let’s talk branding
The article “Your Brand Isn’t IP (Yet)” by Let's talk branding brings a crisp perspective: brands today aren’t just logos or taglines—they’re assets built over time that can become intellectual property (IP) if you treat them that way. For anyone working on content, positioning, or scaling a brand (hello marketers), it’s a timely reminder.
At a previous re-brand I led, we treated the brand like a one-time project. If we’d treated it as IP—building reusable narrative, consistent frameworks, and licensing potential—the value we realized over the next five years would have been significantly higher.
Cursor 2.0 Is Rewriting the Future of AI Coding — And What That Means for Builders by Build to Launch
In “Cursor 2.0 Is Rewriting the Future of AI Coding — And What That Means for Builders”, Jenny Ouyang dives into a coding tool (Cursor) that blends creation, collaboration, and AI in a way that could shift how builders (and marketers) work.
Even if you’re not writing code, understanding how builder-tools evolve helps you stay ahead in marketing, automation, and product thinking. I recently explored a workflow where our team used AI-assisted scripting for a Biteable video. It shaved ~30% off our scripting time and allowed us to iterate faster—reminding me how tooling changes unlock new creative bandwidth.
Closing thoughts
Whether you’re leading teams, crafting content, building a brand, or navigating uncertainty—each of these reads offers a small lens shift that could result in meaningful change. I hope at least one of the video versions sparks an idea or action for you this week.