Built, Not Bought

Built, Not Bought

Turning founder-dependent businesses into systems-driven ones. Weekly.

Issue #8: A tire distributor explained my business better than I could

Jul 21, 2026

•

3 min read

Issue #8: A tire distributor explained my business better than I could

I stopped publishing because I couldn't say what I did

Nick Turnbull
Nick Turnbull
Issue #7: I spent a month with operators who do not work in tech. They are building the future faster than the people who do

May 5, 2026

•

4 min read

Issue #7: I spent a month with operators who do not work in tech. They are building the future faster than the people who do

What a homestead farm, a Land Mastermind, and a thesis from Y Combinator and Sequoia all point to.

Nick Turnbull
Nick Turnbull
Issue #6: I spent a week showing people what is actually possible. Then Anthropic made it even easier.

Apr 9, 2026

•

7 min read

Issue #6: I spent a week showing people what is actually possible. Then Anthropic made it even easier.

What a real estate networking event, a trades conversation, and yesterday's Claude announcement have in common.

Nick Turnbull
Nick Turnbull
Issue #5: Your business has been building its most valuable asset for years. It is probably stuck in a spreadsheet.

Mar 31, 2026

•

8 min read

Issue #5: Your business has been building its most valuable asset for years. It is probably stuck in a spreadsheet.

Why custom knowledge bases are replacing off-the-shelf software and why the data work nobody talks about is what makes the difference.

Nick Turnbull
Nick Turnbull
Issue #4: Most business owners look at me like I have 8 heads. One of them found out his agency was stealing his traffic at lunch.

Mar 24, 2026

•

7 min read

Issue #4: Most business owners look at me like I have 8 heads. One of them found out his agency was stealing his traffic at lunch.

What a mold remediation business owner and a breakfast club taught me about where we actually are.

Nick Turnbull
Nick Turnbull
Issue #3: I watched 2,900 entrepreneurs see the future. Maybe 20 were living in it.

Mar 17, 2026

•

6 min read

Issue #3: I watched 2,900 entrepreneurs see the future. Maybe 20 were living in it.

What a room of entrepreneurs revealed about where AI adoption actually stands.

Nick Turnbull
Nick Turnbull
Load more