The Physics of Startups

Rob Snyder

Most startup advice is a pile of things that worked for someone, once. This show works differently. It's built on causal relationships, not tactics. Rob throws out anything that "might work" and keeps only what would be weird if it didn't.
Rob Snyder has helped 50+ startups go from $0 to $1M ARR. He's the creator of the PULL framework and author of "The Power of PULL" which explains why customers actually buy, why some startups scale and others stall.
For VC-backed founders who are tired of advice that sounds smart but doesn't work.
More about Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org

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20 episodes
Updated Friday

Episodes20

Newest first

Friday · 30 min
The Physics of Enterprise Sales
Does selling to a Fortune 100 company need a different playbook than selling to a small business? Rob's take: enterprise sales runs on the same physics as other deals - you're still looking for one person with PULL. He gets into why procurement isn't actually your buyer, how to spot the person inside a big org who can buy, and why the "project plan to purchase" is where deals quietly stretch from one month to twelve. Links Get The Power of PULL: Amazon: https://amzn.to/48KC1yv Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/4dyMTSv Rob's PULL course: https://robsnyder.org/course Work with Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Rob's conversation with Newt Gingrich YouTube | Apple Podcasts Chapters 02:56 — Introducing the topic: the physics of enterprise sales 04:02 — Why founders assume enterprise sales is a different game 05:59 — The Challenger Sale mistake that blew a ten-million-dollar deal 09:09 — The actual physics: it's still one person with PULL 10:32 — Why procurement isn't your buyer 12:35 — Why PULL matters even more at the enterprise level 14:05 — Finding the champion — and avoiding contacts who are too junior 17:30 — The three-call process for enterprise deals 19:32 — Building the project plan to purchase 23:52 — Using their timeline as a forcing function 27:10 — Common mistakes and the "tush push"
July 24 · 25 min
The $1M ARR founder calendar
What should a founder's calendar actually look like? (and if someone looked at your calendar, would they believe that's what you want?) Rob introduces the Calendar Standard: a simple framework for how founders should spend their time if they're serious about reaching product-market fit and scaling from $0 to $1 million ARR. Includes a practical weekly schedule you can use today. Covered in this episode: Why your calendar reveals what you actually believe matters The activities that drive startup growth from $0 to $1M ARR What a founder's weekly calendar should look like Why smart founders often outsmart themselves The two most common excuses founders use to avoid growth activities How to identify whether you're working on the business or avoiding the business Links Get The Power of PULL: Amazon: https://amzn.to/48KC1yv Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/4dyMTSv Rob's PULL course: https://robsnyder.org/course Work with Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Mentioned in this episode: The B2B Standard Operating Philosophy Pipeline Megapost Chapters 01:00 Why this episode exists 02:03 The Startup Standard recap 06:24 What your calendar reveals about you 10:58 The Calendar Standard 13:06 Why this schedule can generate $2M+ ARR 14:04 Why outbound comes first 15:42 Go-to-market admin 16:14 Post-sales calls 18:26 Who this calendar is for 20:33 Objection #1: "I don't know my case study yet" 21:27 Objection #2: "I can't get people to meet with me" 23:51 Why most outbound fails 24:27 Compare your calendar to the standard
July 17 · 22 min
Debunking Startup mythology: "Pain Points" (and why they're worthless)
"The Power of PULL" on Amazon: https://bit.ly/4pm3dKq (Please leave a review!) Why do some people with obvious pain points never buy? Rob explains why founders are often taught to look for the wrong thing. Pain points may create interest, but they don't create purchases. Instead, he introduces the concept of PULL points, the conditions that make a customer unable to delay a project and unable to solve it with their existing options. Use these to stop mistaking enthusiasm for buying intent and start identifying customers who are actually trying to buy. Covered in this episode: Why pain points and buying intent are not the same thing The two PULL points every founder should look for when selling (or designing products) How to tell whether a customer's existing options are "good enough" Why the best sales conversations often feel like you're talking someone out of buying Links Get The Power of PULL: Amazon: https://amzn.to/48KC1yv Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/4dyMTSv Rob's PULL course: https://robsnyder.org/course Work with Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Chapters 01:49 Why book reviews matter 03:29 The problem with pain points 06:47 Introducing PULL points 07:16 Schrödinger's Date 12:22 The two PULL points 14:23 Example: employee retention software 16:55 Why "good enough" matters 19:37 A better sales question 21:11 Applying PULL points in your business 22:02 Closing thoughts
July 10 · 43 min
What "Good" actually looks like for startups
How do you know if your startup is actually on track? A founder recently asked Rob a simple question: What does good actually look like? Rob realized that most founders don't have clear standards for evaluating whether their startup is making progress or quietly stalling. In this episode, he introduces a practical framework for assessing startup health across the entire customer factory - from pipeline and PULL to close rates, cycle times, and customer success. Covered in this episode: The six metrics every founder should track What a repeatable case study actually looks like How many customer conversations you should be having each week Why PULL is a better metric than interest or enthusiasm The close rates and sales cycles high-performing startups achieve How to identify your leading indicator of customer retention Why most founders focus on the wrong bottleneck A simple weekly process for confronting reality and making progress Links Get The Power of PULL: Amazon: https://amzn.to/48KC1yv Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/4dyMTSv Rob's PULL course: https://robsnyder.org/course Work with Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Chapters 00:00 The Power of PULL is published 02:16 Why founders need standards 08:22 The case study factory 13:21 Metric #1: The repeatable case study 19:28 Metric #2: Pipeline 23:38 Metric #3: PULL 27:17 Metric #4: Close rate 31:21 Metric #5: Cycle time 35:07 Metric #6: Success rate 39:01 A weekly startup reality check 40:30 Why these standards matter 42:37 Final thoughts
July 3 · 34 min
Five Lessons from 50 Startups That Reached $1M ARR
What do startups that reach $1 million ARR have in common? Rob has helped more than 50 startups grow from $0 to $1 million ARR. In this episode, he reflects on the patterns that show up across startups and industries, including five lessons from those journeys. Covered in this episode: Why PULL is the underlying cause of startup growth Why nearly every successful startup "unfolds" Why the product customers want is usually much smaller than founders imagine How founders accidentally make sales harder than they need to be Why learning velocity depends on getting more customer conversations Links Pre-order The Power of PULL and get Rob's Claude skill: https://www.robsnyder.org/book Rob's PULL course: https://robsnyder.org/course Work with Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Chapters 00:00 Book launch 02:16 What 50 zero-to-one-million journeys have in common 09:03 Lesson #1: PULL is everything 14:34 Lesson #2: It almost always takes an unfolding 20:01 Lesson #3: The thing that works is embarrassingly small 22:27 Lesson #4: Most founders are counterproductive at sales 28:39 Lesson #5: Everything starts with customer conversations 31:59 Why most startup advice gets this wrong
June 26 · 31 min
Are they pulling? (aka: avoiding "seems-like-pull-but-isn't")
In this episode, Rob explores one of the most costly mistakes founders make: confusing enthusiasm with PULL. We explore why things customers say like "This would solve our biggest pain point" or "This would save us millions" often lead founders down dead ends. People with PULL try to buy. People without PULL often sound interested, ask questions, and give positive feedback - but don't initiate purchase-shaped actions. We cover in this episode: The difference between enthusiasm and PULL Why pain points, ROI, and positive feedback are often misleading What "trying to buy" actually looks like How to identify purchase-shaped actions Why founders waste months chasing prospects who were never going to buy How to "play dumb" to uncover what customers are really thinking LinksPre-order The Power of PULL and get Rob's Claude skill: https://www.robsnyder.org/book Rob's PULL course: https://robsnyder.org/course Work with Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Chapters 01:57 Why founders misread sales calls 04:46 The cost of false PULL 08:33 What PULL actually is 10:51 What trying to buy looks like 15:46 Common signals that aren't PULL 20:33 The danger of hypothetical next steps 25:20 Playing dumb to find the truth 29:36 Getting to ground truth
June 19 · 22 min
If your product hasn't taken off (radical simplification)
Your startup has customers. Revenue is growing. So why does growth still feel harder than it should? Rob tackles one of the most frustrating challenges founders face: knowing your product works, but not knowing why growth isn't accelerating. Rob explains why the issue is almost always traced back to just two causes: 1. You haven't identified who truly has PULL for your product, or 2. You're doing something that prevents those people from buying. In this episode, we cover: • Why most founders feel like there are a million possible reasons growth has stalled • The two root causes behind most startup growth problems • How to identify the customers who are weird not to buy your product • Why some customers buy quickly while others never become successful • How to narrow your ICP based on real-world evidence instead of assumptions • Why most sales processes create friction instead of momentum • The difference between what causes a purchase and what prevents one • How demos, sales calls, and onboarding often work against founders • A simple way to audit your sales calls for hidden problems • The signals that tell you whether a prospect actually has PULL Links Pre-order The Power of PULL and get Rob's Claude skill: https://www.robsnyder.org/book Rob's PULL course: https://robsnyder.org/course Work with Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Chapters 00:00 Book and course updates 04:56 Why founders feel stuck 06:42 The two causes of stalled growth 08:27 Who this framework applies to 10:00 Reason #1: You haven't identified who has PULL 11:41 Narrowing your ICP 13:09 Why PULL isn't knowable in advance 16:56 Reason #2: You're preventing people from buying 19:45 How sales processes create friction 20:29 Auditing your sales calls 21:27 The one-minute demo rule 22:08 A simple test for PULL
June 12 · 14 min
Learn from 2 *real* founder sales calls (Rob teardowns)
Sales teardown #1: https://youtu.be/3TsrrMSXIfg Sales teardown #2: https://youtu.be/9a78RWkaALM --- Pre-order Rob's book and get his Claude sales call analysis skill: https://robsnyder.org/book Work with Rob: https://robsnyder.org/work-with-me Rob's substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/
June 5 · 30 min
What founders get wrong about pilots / POCs / trials
Your pilots are going well. Users are getting value. Usage is increasing. So why aren't customers buying? Or buying still is painful? Rob unpacks a common startup assumption: if a pilot succeeds, the customer will buy. He explains why pilots, demos, procurement reviews, and other parts of the sales process never cause a purchase. Instead, they can only prevent one. Understanding that distinction helps founders design shorter sales cycles, avoid endless pilots, and focus on the factors that actually drive buying decisions. In this episode: • The two things that actually cause a purchase • Why pilots belong in a completely different category • How founders accidentally sabotage deals by offering pilots too early • What procurement, security reviews, and compliance really do • How to uncover the reason behind a pilot request • Why "success criteria" can be a trap • How to design pilots that accelerate deals instead of delaying them Links: Pre-order The Power of PULL and get Rob's Claude skill: www.robsnyder.org/book Work with Rob: www.robsnyder.org Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Follow Rob's Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Chapters: 00:00 One month until The Power of PULL launches 02:02 The founder question: pilots that don't convert 05:18 What actually causes a purchase? 08:43 Procurement, compliance, and other purchase blockers 12:07 Why pilots can hurt your sales process 14:29 Understanding the demand behind a pilot request 18:20 Why "success criteria" often create delays 22:06 Mistaken causality and failed lessons 25:15 Designing pilots around failure conditions 29:29 Design for causes, minimize preventers
May 29 · 28 min
The first two things that matter in a startup ("Aero mode")
Access to Rob's Claude skill + AMAs: LINK (just upload a screen grab of your pre-order) Rob's book: Amazon, B&N When founder is getting started, they might be juggling multiple different ICPs and value props. Rob in this episode discusses why the goal is to eliminate all the "might work" and get to "weird if it didn't work" --> then translate that into a "weird not to meet" when a customer is in that situation. Full blog on Rob's substack (post "Aero Mode"): ⁠https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/⁠⁠ ---- Work with Rob: ⁠ ⁠ https://www.robsnyder.org⁠⁠ Connect w/ Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠ ⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/⁠ ⁠Weekly founder insights: ⁠⁠https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/⁠ Preorder Rob's book - "The Power of PULL" - ⁠ https://amzn.to/48KC1yv⁠
May 22 · 23 min
What happens after PMF?
Rob's buddy found PMF a few months ago and went from ~bankrupt to more than $1M ARR in less than three months. What happens in that case? Rob and RC discuss what changed to find PMF, and what the experience is post-PMF. Also, what do you do as a founder - where do you focus? And how does your approach pre-PMF affect your post-PMF life? (tl;dr: a lot) Preorder Rob's book - "The Power of PULL" - ⁠and take a screenshot of your receipt! (we'll tell you what to do with it soon) ⁠https://amzn.to/48KC1yv⁠⁠---- Workwith Rob: ⁠ ⁠ https://www.robsnyder.org⁠⁠ Connect w/ Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠ ⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/⁠ ⁠Weekly founder insights: ⁠⁠https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/⁠ Preorder Rob's book - "The Power of PULL" - ⁠ https://amzn.to/48KC1yv⁠
May 15 · 27 min
The PULL Quickstart Guide (a PMF hierarchy)
Rob has distilled PULL into its most important elements - arranged in hierarchical order so that a founder knows where to focus first. This conversation includes the common error of getting the order wrong, Rob's commentary on the three most important parts of PULL, and examples of how these show up with founders. Highly recommend reading the full substack post, "The PULL Quickstart Guide", available on Rob's substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ ---- Work with Rob: ⁠ https://www.robsnyder.org⁠ Connect w/ Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ ⁠Weekly founder insights: ⁠https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/ Preorder Rob's book - "The Power of PULL" - https://amzn.to/48KC1yv #PMF #B2BSales #VC #Startup #VentureCapital #Founderledsales
May 8 · 28 min
Investor PULL (what VCs actually want)
This is about VCs but also isn't about VCs. PULL can be found all over a startup - obviously with customers, but also, investors have PULL and they're trying to accomplish something specific. Rob works with founders to shape pitch decks and has fundraised - there's a hard-won lesson about what VCs are trying to accomplish, and the HUGE trap that smart, thoughtful founders building solid businesses fall into. This is an example of a broader lesson - things that look the same "when you're squinting" - are often fundamentally different, and that drives how you sell, how you build, and more. Check out Rob's full lecture: "Notes on the physics of startups": ⁠LINK⁠ Preorder Rob's book: ⁠LINK⁠ ---- Rob's website: ⁠www.robsnyder.org⁠ Connect w/ Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/⁠ Rob's (free) Substack: ⁠https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/⁠
May 1 · 26 min
Buying is weird and rare (a reality check)
Founders are inherent optimists - that's why (despite all the warnings of battle-scared entrepreneurs) we continue to start businesses. It is the cheerful burden we carry as we march into the abyss. But GIVEN THAT'S THE CASE - how can we avoid that optimism crippling our chances at finding product-market fit? In this convo, Rob discusses the cold, harsh reality of launching a startup, the risks that optimistic founders run, and how to avoid them. Also, Rob deadlifted 400lbs. Check out Rob's full lecture: "Notes on the physics of startups": LINK Preorder Rob's book: LINK ---- Rob's website: www.robsnyder.org Connect w/ Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ Rob's (free) Substack: https://thephysicsofstartups.substack.com/
April 24 · 47 min
How Rocksalt.ai went from Push to Pull
The Lightspeed-funded startup Rocksalt had some traction, but it wasn't clear they had really found Pull. They had sales, but there was friction in the sales calls. They were trying to decide between three different ICPs. And retention and consistent use wasn't as consistent as they wanted. In this conversation, cofounders Arjun Moorthy and Anita Moorthy join Rob to discuss how they used the PULL way of thinking to change their approach to identifying their ICP, outbound, their sales process, their sales deck, and how their product evolves. Learn more and get in touch with Arjun and Anita: Website: https://www.rocksalt.ai/ Arjun LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunmoorthy Anita LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amoorthy/ Email: arjun@rocksalt.ai , anita@rocksalt.ai X/Twitter: https://x.com/anitamoorthy , https://x.com/juicemoorthy --- Work with Rob: ⁠ https://www.robsnyder.org⁠ Connect w/ Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1/ ⁠Rob's substack: ⁠ https://howtogrow.substack.com/ ⁠ Preorder Rob's book - "The Power of PULL" - https://amzn.to/48KC1yv
April 17 · 9 min
DECK DROP - Rob's latest
Whatever you're doing, make time to read through Rob's latest deck: "Notes on the Physics of Startups" Access here (free): LINK Work with Rob: robsnyder.org
April 10 · 19 min
Cause vs. Benefit | The Quickbooks lesson
When someone buys something, they get a bunch of benefits and they may use a variety of different features, all of which provide an array of different benefits. After they buy, they explain what they like about our product based on these post-hoc benefits they received after they purchased it. But the benefits do not *predict* why someone buys. In this conversation Rob gets into the difference between cause vs. benefits of a purchase, and a surprising lesson from Quickbooks and Bobby Moesta. Rob's Substack post here: ⁠LINK⁠ PMF Camp / Work with Rob: ⁠LINK⁠ Pre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - ⁠Amazon⁠ Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠LINK⁠
April 3 · 36 min
The fusion engine for progress (PULL applied to capitalism)
Rob is zooming out this week to look at what PULL means in the context of capitalism, and in particular, why it is the only system that can possibly serve people. It's taking a micro-understanding of how demand and PULL work, and thinking about its broader implications - and what this means for social entrepreneurship and alternative economic organizations. Rob's Substack post here: ⁠LINK⁠ PMF Camp / Work with Rob: ⁠LINK⁠ Pre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - ⁠Amazon⁠ Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠LINK⁠
March 27 · 48 min
Translating customer language 101
One of the most challenging things about identifying PULL in customers is understanding what they are telling you. In this conversation, Rob discusses the “hairball” that customers often spit out - a mix of demand, supply, history, random red herrings - and how to translate that into Demand. Rob's Substack post here: ⁠LINK⁠ PMF Camp / Work with Rob: ⁠LINK⁠ Pre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - ⁠Amazon⁠ Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠LINK⁠
March 20 · 49 min
Rob's B2B Sales Call Script (finally)
Rob's B2B Sales Call Script: LINK You asked, Rob answered. Rob is open-sourcing his sales call script that he uses with founders and heads of sales to identify PULL and pitch supply in a way that customer's want (and actually understand and buy). In this conversation, Rob discusses common failure modes in sales calls that he sees and walks through key elements of the sales call script - from Demand to Supply. Rob's Substack post here: ⁠LINK⁠ Work with Rob: ⁠LINK⁠ Pre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - ⁠Amazon⁠ Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: ⁠LINK⁠