The "Margin of Safety" mental model for bootstrapping in 2026
We talk a lot about "growth hacks" here, but rarely about survival. With the current market volatility and the AI shakeup, I think it's worth looking outside our bubble for strategy.
I’ve been analyzing the seth klarman portfolio lately. Klarman is famous for holding huge cash reserves when the market is euphoric and buying distressed assets when it cracks.
The lesson for founders? Cash is optionality.
If you have a long runway (Klarman’s cash pile), you don't have to make bad short-term decisions just to pay server bills. You can wait for the right opportunity or pivot without panic. In a "noisy" market, staying alive is the ultimate competitive advantage.
Are you guys optimizing for max growth or max runway right now?
I noticed you’re just listing an email for contact. I’m building a tiny floating feedback widget called GetSig that lets visitors send messages without leaving the page, which tends to increase response rates. Happy to set you up with free early access if you’d like to try it 🙂