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Zach Holman

What Zach Holman thinks about startups

@zach-holman · 10 positions · 0 changes of mind

Web developer and writer; an early GitHub employee, author of speaking.io and of widely read essays on startups and product.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Zach Holman did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

5 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Zach Holman has said — not written or endorsed by them.

The line under a date shows how recently it was said: empty within a month, full after three years.

  1. Our readingThe pace of building new companies has become so fast that legal incorporation, not building the product, is now often the real bottleneck.

    Their wordsthings are happening really fuckin' fast these days, to the point where the incorporation step isn't an afterthought in the middle of a paragraph; in many cases it's the real blocker.

    ↗You Should Have an LLCzachholman.com 1st of 2 in this piece

  3. Our readingFounders should set up a business entity like an LLC before they have a specific idea, so they can move quickly once one arises.

    Their wordsget an LLC. Even if you don't particularly have something in mind to launch right now, it's worth grabbing one to be able to move quickly in the event that you do.

    ↗You Should Have an LLCzachholman.com 2nd of 2 in this piece

  4. 8 weeks earlier

  5. Our readingVenture capital decision-making runs more on subjective feelings than on objective substance.

    venture capital

    Their wordsA lot of venture capital is full of wishy-washy bullshit human feels over reals.

    ↗Probably Won’t Pass You on to Another Investorzachholman.com 1st of 3 in this piece

  7. Our readingAsking a referring investor whether they personally invested puts the startup being referred at a disadvantage.

    investing

    Their wordsIt immediately puts your company at a disadvantage because they're already getting other signals from other investors (that they ostensibly trust) that your company wasn't a good fit for them.

    ↗Probably Won’t Pass You on to Another Investorzachholman.com 2nd of 3 in this piece

  9. Our readingAn investor who passes on a pitch they find truly novel will often still refer it to another investor, to get credit for having found it.

    investing

    Their wordsMost investors will side with doing that if they think the pitch is truly novel: even if they don't participate, they still want the aura of referring it to another investor who might.

    ↗Probably Won’t Pass You on to Another Investorzachholman.com 3rd of 3 in this piece

How recent

The line under a date fills as the words age, a quarter at a time: past a month, six months, a year, and three years. Empty means said within the last month; full, more than three years ago. It says when, not whether it still holds — a change of mind is marked on the claim itself.

Dashed means we only know the words existed by that date; they may be older.