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Founder of the Week
Big Desk Energy startup insights, stories, and vibes sent to your inbox every Tuesday
This is a newsletter for the following: founders, employees, and investors at the top startups and funds.
It mixes:
candid lessons and founder stories from building and scaling companies (and the life that comes with it)
insights on new trends, tools, and how companies are adapting and using them
framing thought experiments, mindset shifts, and tactical prompts to rethink product and strategy
step by step lessons from real scenarios like fundraising, building in public, operating remote teams, and scaling revenue
actionable frameworks you can use immediately in your work and decision making
Basically: a weekly intelligence briefing for builders, operators, and investors navigating the startup world with energy, honesty, and real time experience
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breakdown
Newsletter of the Week
Big Desk Energy speaks to thousands of entrepreneurs and startup founders with exceptional engagement rates.
But why? and how you can replicate this for your own newsletter
✅ 1. Raw Founder Journey + Strategic Insights
Tyler shares unfiltered startup stories (fundraising rejections, tragic losses, breakthrough moments) alongside tactical business advice from building beehiiv to $2M monthly revenue.
This creates deep authenticity + credibility, making readers invested in both the person and the lessons.
How to replicate: Lead with vulnerable, real experiences from your journey, then extract actionable business insights your audience can apply.
✅ 2. Consistent, Value-Dense Framework
Each issue follows a reliable structure: main story/insight, curated AI-generated office spaces, music playlist, web finds, and referral incentives that readers anticipate and engage with weekly.
How to replicate: Build 4-6 signature sections that become your newsletter's "brand" - readers should know exactly what value they'll get each time.
✅ 3. Content That Builds Businesses or Careers
Fundraising breakdowns, remote work strategies, platform critiques, and startup lessons help founders make better decisions, avoid pitfalls, and accelerate growth.
This is why engagement stays high - everything directly impacts their success.
How to replicate: Every issue should contain at least one framework, strategy, or insight your readers can implement immediately to advance their goals (playbook, case study, tactical breakdown, tool recommendation).
Newsletter Metrics “emails don’t make money”
NEWSLETTER AD PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
My Results: 316 impressions → 5 clicks → $11.25 earnings
Here's how this stacks up:
Click-Through Rate: 1.58%
Industry benchmark: 2-3% (I'm slightly below)
Social media average: 0.5-1%
Still beating social by 58%
Cost Per Click: $2.25
Beehive Ad Network range: $2-4
I'm hitting the sweet spot
CPM: $35.60
Newsletter industry: $20-50
Social media: $5-15
I'm earning 2-7x more per impression
🎯 KPIs Every Founder Should Track:
✅ CTR Target: 2%+ (aim higher than my 1.58%)
✅ CPC Sweet Spot: $2-4 through ad networks
✅ CPM Goal: $25+ (I hit $35.60)
✅ Revenue Per Impression: $0.036 (my benchmark)
The Reality Check:
316 impressions earned more than most founders make from 10K social media impressions
Small, engaged newsletter > massive, unengaged social following
Quality beats quantity every single time
Your Action Plan: Get to 1,000 newsletter subscribers and you could be earning $112+ per send with these same metrics.
week highlight
Newsletter Automation of the Week
Here’s how the flow works:
This week I wanted to show you the exact ManyChat automation I use to turn Instagram comments into email subscribers without doing anything manually.
Here's how the flow works:
1. Trigger: Someone comments on your Instagram post
The automation activates the moment someone comments keywords like "NEWSLETTER," "GUIDE," "TEMPLATE," etc. This replaces 100% of the back-and-forth I used to do manually.
It's almost like having a personal assistant who never sleeps.
2. Collect their email address
The system immediately DMs them asking for their email so you can send the free resource.
If they don't reply, it follows up automatically with alternate versions (A/B tested for highest response rate).
Goal: capture the email instantly while their interest is peak.
3. Deliver the promised resource
Once they drop an email, ManyChat:
Tags them as a lead
Logs a conversion event
Sends the free resource link or download
Adds them to your ConvertKit/beehiiv email sequence automatically
This turns a simple Instagram comment into a newsletter subscriber + qualified lead.
4. Smart follow-up sequence
After 30 minutes, the automation checks in:
"Hey, were you able to grab the [resource name]?"
Half the audience gets version A, the other half gets version B so you know which wording drives the most engagement.
This gentle nudge recovers tons of lost conversions.
🎯 Why This Works
This automation removes friction, stays human, and responds instantly - which is exactly what Instagram users expect.
Result? More newsletter subscribers, higher conversions, zero manual effort.
It's almost like having a conversion machine that works while you sleep.
If you want, I can also help you set up:
The exact DM scripts to use
The tags to apply for segmentation
The email follow-up sequences to pair with this flow
end
📧 Ready to Build Your Own Revenue Generating Newsletter?
🎯 No owned audience = you're renting space on someone else's platform Zero recurring revenue = starting from $0 every month
Want Your Newsletter Blueprint?
✅ Pick your $500+ monetization strategy
✅ Set up your first automated revenue stream
✅ Create content that converts browsers to buyers
🔗 Stay Connected:
Twitter (X) → https://x.com/itstreheart
Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/itstreheart/
YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/itstreheart/
P.S. Every day you wait is another day your competitors are building their owned audience while you're stuck hoping the algorithm shows your content.
Your newsletter could be earning $500+ by next month.
Catch you later,
Tre
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