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Hard Part First

Hard Part First

3x Co-Founder, CEO @ FOMO.ai

Hard Part First is a publication for founders who have worked out that technology is a commodity, so the difficulty lies first in finding the customer and the problem actually worth solving, then in distribution, positioning, and pricing.

Featured

agenct maestro

+11

Services firms = the next $trillion company

Services firms = the next $trillion company

Sequoia just named the model we’ve been building for two years.

sales

+7

Start Here: The hard part has changed (technology —> distribution)

Start Here: The hard part has changed (technology —> distribution)

[New here? Start with this piece first.] Building technology has never been easier, but getting anyone to care about it has never been harder.

Most recent

career ladder

+6

The management ladder was always a workaround

Jun 11, 2026

•

5 min read

The management ladder was always a workaround

We built career paths that rewarded coordination over craft. AI is making that a question worth asking again, and Founders are the ones who get to answer it first.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

gravity

+8

Your job as a founder is to build gravity

Jun 4, 2026

•

6 min read

Your job as a founder is to build gravity

The founder’s real work is building pull, the kind that brings deals, hires, and investors to you before you’ve asked for anything.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

demand generation

+9

AI doesn't fix bad Founders, and Meta will charge you to find out

May 28, 2026

•

6 min read

AI doesn't fix bad Founders, and Meta will charge you to find out

Our Meta relaunch this month was a lesson in why AI amplifies whatever you give it, including the broken parts.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

dax hamman

+6

SaaS is being forced to grow up

May 11, 2026

•

3 min read

SaaS is being forced to grow up

The enterprises who bet on ungoverned AI just proved why systems + expert humans still win

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

tariff war

+10

Forcing function: If the trade war was an audit, China just passed.

Mar 26, 2026

•

3 min read

Forcing function: If the trade war was an audit, China just passed.

The trade war didn't create China's advantage, it just made it impossible to ignore.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

investing

+8

Carta says the venture comeback is real, but the invitations are more scarce

Mar 23, 2026

•

3 min read

Carta says the venture comeback is real, but the invitations are more scarce

Carta’s Q4 2025 data is the most honest picture we have of where startup funding actually went last year. And it makes a surprisingly strong case for rethinking the priced round entirely.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

investing

+9

Why I (& Disney) don’t believe in self-serve only

Mar 20, 2026

•

5 min read

Why I (& Disney) don’t believe in self-serve only

It's not our fault, but it is our problem...

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

agenct maestro

+11

Services firms = the next $trillion company

Mar 13, 2026

•

3 min read

Services firms = the next $trillion company

Sequoia just named the model we’ve been building for two years.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

startup

+9

Analysts are saying "we are cooked" but human behavior has something to add.

Mar 10, 2026

•

3 min read

Analysts are saying "we are cooked" but human behavior has something to add.

The data shows what AI could theoretically do to your career. It says nothing about what humans will choose to hold onto, and that turns out to be the more interesting question.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

OpenAI

+9

Companies are reversing course on hiring graduates

Mar 3, 2026

•

3 min read

Companies are reversing course on hiring graduates

AI gets all the blame for the lack of opportunities for graduates, but the companies now reversing course might be the most important hiring story nobody is telling

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

startup

+10

Want to know what defines if AI will take your job?

Feb 27, 2026

•

4 min read

Want to know what defines if AI will take your job?

Why the real threat to your career isn’t the one you’ve been told about, and what a 1960s economist nobody talks about can tell you about where your value is actually going.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

startup

+7

AI Bubble or Founders Playground?

Feb 24, 2026

•

4 min read

AI Bubble or Founders Playground?

Why founders who keep tinkering with these tools will be the ones left standing.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

Hard Part First

Hard Part First

Hard Part First is a publication for founders who know that tech is a commodity today and distribution is the moat. I’m Dax Hamman. I’ve been a founder three times: at Chango (sold to Rubicon Project for $122M), and now at FOMO.ai, where I’m building AI + human marketing teams for brands like Noom, Minted, and PetMeds.

© 2026 Hard Part First.
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