JP has grown to a point of critical mass in the last 60-90 days; since the group's founding 9 months ago, we’ve had > 1,200 applications to get into JP, of which only 30 have been accepted & another 4 have already been told to walk the plank. JamSesh’s & Pollinations have become a tradition at places like The Henry, LGO, The Sanctuary, Culdesac, The Scott, Sinatra HQ, and more. Poker Nights have been a smashing success, with me taking everyone’s money & games going until 3 AM, all while some of the best convos/coolest people roll through. The camaraderie of the group has grown to be nearly indestructible. With that being said, however, it’s time for JP’s Act 2; Introducing Layer 1. Let’s dive in:
Layer 0
Layer 0 was all about establishing barebones infrastructure for the mob:
Our identity.
DNA of a JP founder.
Internal infra like Discord, Luma, and Notion.
Pollination spots allow for weekly run-ins with other tech bros.
Founder tiers (L1/L2).
Magnet events occur each month.
The core mobsters & a board of bosses
Public presence in the AZ tech scene (or lack thereof).
And more….
As of this writing, it’s safe to say we’ve nailed these down. Now, let’s take a look at what Act 2, IE Layer 1, will consist of:
Layer 1
Act 2 will be officially turning JamPad into Arizona’s startup mafia. How are we going to do this? By beginning to force founders to pop off, or die. We’re also going to double down on the DNA that’s floated to the top of JP, from appointing bosses (board members), whacking founders (having them walk the plank, IE kicking them), and holding the standard of getting & staying in JP at an immensely high bar. So, with that being said, at JP9, we asked all of you what you need this month for your startup; here’s what we got:
Raising money
Getting customers
Building a network & becoming an insider
EQ
Achieving PMF
Marketing
Talent pipelines
Building/hiring a team
Misc
Looking forward, we’re going to completely revitalize Pollinations:
Every Pollination from now on will be strategically thrown as a crash course in one of the above.
They’ll be run by a JP founder who’s been successful in one of the said categories mentioned above, as well as include the latest pillar of infra: operators.
At these newly structured Pollinations, things are not going to be nonchalant and just “hangouts”; founders will now need to have skin in the game. Well, what does that mean? Check it out:
At each pollination, we’re going to have the leading founder(s) assign resources such as blogs, books, and frameworks to achieve a common language.
Afterward, you can only come to Pollinations if you’ve reviewed those recourses, otherwise, it’s a waste of time for everyone involved.
After each pollination for said categories, founders can reach out to board members or said leaders of certain topics for further assistance, intros, etc.
Check JP Discord, Luma, and your phones ASAP for the first events taking place over the next 2-3 weeks. We’re not wasting any time.
Lastly, a fair warning; some of these Pollinations will occur in environments that might make a few of you highly uncomfortable.
The Internal JP Database
Furthermore, we’re going to release the JP Notion (our internal “Database”) containing all our resources (networks, operators, syndicate, write-ups, etc) effective immediately to all JP founders. Here’s how this will work:
Notion contains a ton of resources, from operators, investors, reading materials, and more.
If you want an introduction to an investor or an operator, reference the tab seen below this section.
Note: you are not guaranteed an intro to any of these people. The founders who are connected to these individuals need to feel you are ready & worthy, as we’re dealing with serious social capital here that has ripple effects at the heart of the startup game; Silicon Valley. Reputations are on the line and at the end of the day, we’re protecting you by denying you an intro at a certain point in time.
Lastly, please keep this private. If any Mob Boss finds out you’ve released these materials to the public, it will result in an immediate exile from JP.
May The Games Begin
What exactly does all this boil down to? It’s time to start having companies & their founders pop off. And JP’s role within that? To supply infrastructure exclusively to its founders for them to leverage as they may; whether that be a network of investors to tap, operators, strategic partners for customers, developing EQ (if this is possible…), or just leveraging the mob as a support system for yourselves. It’s fully up to you. This is the next evolution of the exclusivity to getting into JP as an Arizona founder; you get the chance to become an insider of insiders.
But note: the clock is on, founders. If you’re not proactively getting after it & gobbling up whatever can help you take that next step for your startup, you will be kicked, no questions asked.
So, I’d suggest you ask yourself the following questions; what does popping off look like for you? What’s the benchmark? ETA on that benchmark? This isn’t a school project or a for-fun group; this is real life and real social capital. So, let’s get after it.
AL