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Bob Remeika on the 70% Rule and Lessons from Building Three Startups
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Founder, ragie.ai | 3X Founder | Building the Context Engine for Agents & Apps
San Francisco | 3,100+ LinkedIn Followers
Ready to apply these hard-won lessons to your startup? Get the playbook ↓
Insights from Bob Remeika
3X Founder | Building ragie.ai | Lessons from the Trenches
Stop Waiting for 100% Certainty. Here's What Three Startups Taught Me About Making Decisions, Hiring, and Finding Product-Market Fit.
You're stuck in analysis paralysis. Your hiring process is broken. You're not sure if you've found product-market fit. In this guide, learn the hard-won lessons from a founder who's been there three times—so you can move faster and make better decisions.
The Founder's Dilemma
The Decisions That Paralyze Founders
"If you're 70% sure about a decision, just go for it. Waiting for 100% certainty leads to missed opportunities. Action reveals the path forward."
Sound familiar? You're facing decisions every day:
- Should I hire this person or keep looking?
- Is this our product-market fit or should we pivot?
- Should we launch now or polish more?
- Is this sales strategy working or do we need to change?
- Should I fire this underperformer or give them another chance?
You're waiting for perfect information. You're afraid of making the wrong call. Meanwhile, your competitors are moving.
Bob's insight from three startups: Perfect information never comes. The 70% rule is your unlock.
"Action often reveals the path forward. Waiting for certainty is the real risk."
— Bob Remeika, Founder, ragie.aiHard Truths About Startups
What Bob Learned from Three Startups
"There are no shortcuts to finding product-market fit. Regardless of how much capital you raise, you must navigate this crucial step."
The 70% Rule
Most founders wait for 100% certainty before making decisions. This kills momentum.
- 70% sure? Make the decision.
- Test. Learn. Adjust.
- Indecision is worse than a reversible wrong decision.
No Shortcuts to Product-Market Fit
Capital doesn't buy PMF. You can't skip this step.
- Every founder must go through the valley
- More money = more time, but same journey
- You'll know PMF when you feel it (and not before)
Hiring Won't Solve All Your Problems
That "perfect hire" won't magically fix everything.
- One person can't solve systemic problems
- A bad hire is worse than waiting
- You need process, not just people
Selling to Developers Is Different
If you're building for developers, traditional B2B playbooks don't work.
- Developers smell BS from a mile away
- Authenticity > polish
- Build something they actually need
Build What People Need
Bob started ragie.ai because he saw a genuine need, not because it was cool.
- Multiple signals pointing to real pain
- Talk to customers obsessively
- Be willing to pivot when signals change
The Startup Reality Check
What You Think
Idea → Funding → Execution → Success
What Actually Happens
Idea → PMF Search (long valley) → Hiring Mistakes → Pivots → Maybe Success
The 70% Decision Framework
How to Apply Bob's 70% Rule
Bob's 70% rule is simple but powerful. Here's how to apply it:
Categorize Your Decision
Type A: Reversible Decisions
(Two-way doors)
- Hiring someone
- Launching a feature
- Running a marketing experiment
- Changing pricing
→ Threshold: 70% certainty is enough
Type B: Irreversible Decisions
(One-way doors)
- Pivoting the entire company
- Shutting down a major product line
- Selling the company
- Firing a co-founder
→ Threshold: 90%+ certainty required
Most decisions founders agonize over are Type A. Act faster.
Gather Enough Information
What "70% sure" means:
- You understand the core trade-offs
- You've talked to relevant stakeholders
- You have a hypothesis you can test
- You know what success/failure looks like
- You have a backup plan if it fails
What "70% sure" is NOT:
- Guessing blindly
- Ignoring red flags
- Skipping customer research
- Making emotional decisions
Make the Decision and Move
The decision is only half the battle. Execution is the other half.
- Commit to the decision
- Communicate clearly to the team
- Set success metrics
- Create feedback loops
- Be ready to adjust based on data
Learn and Iterate
Most decisions reveal information you couldn't have known before.
- What worked? What didn't?
- What would you do differently?
- How does this inform the next decision?
- Document your learnings
The Cost of Indecision
Bob's lesson: "The worst outcome isn't making a wrong decision. It's making no decision and watching opportunities pass you by."
Research shows:
- Fast decision-makers grow 2x faster than slow ones
- Indecision costs compounding time
- Reversible decisions should take hours/days, not weeks/months
The Hiring Truth Bombs
What Bob Learned the Hard Way About Hiring
"A bad hire can be more detrimental than delaying until you find the right fit. Prioritize quality over speed."
Mistake #1: Hiring to Solve Problems You Don't Understand
The trap: "We're struggling with sales, let's hire a VP of Sales."
The reality: If you don't understand the problem, they won't either.
Bob's fix:
- Understand the problem FIRST (do the work yourself initially)
- Define what success looks like
- Then hire to scale what's working
Mistake #2: Thinking One Great Hire Will Fix Everything
The trap: "This rockstar engineer will solve all our technical problems."
The reality: Individual contributors rarely solve systemic issues.
Bob's fix:
- Hire for specific, well-defined problems
- Build processes alongside people
- Understand hiring is not a substitute for leadership
Mistake #3: Rushing the Hire Because You're Desperate
The trap: "We need someone NOW, this person is 60% but available immediately."
The reality: A bad hire costs 3-6 months and damages morale.
Bob's fix:
- Use the 70% rule: 70% confident they'll succeed (not 70% of what you want)
- A delay of 1-2 months is better than a bad hire
- Trust your gut on red flags
Mistake #4: Ignoring Culture Fit
The trap: "They have the perfect resume, we can work on culture fit."
The reality: Culture mismatches rarely improve with time.
Bob's fix:
- Assess values alignment explicitly
- Include team in interview process
- Reference checks focused on working style
Mistake #5: Not Acting Fast Enough When It's Not Working
The trap: "Maybe they'll improve with more time..."
The reality: Performance rarely improves without intervention.
Bob's fix:
- Set clear 30/60/90 day expectations
- Address concerns immediately
- Don't drag out the inevitable
The 70% Hiring Rule
You should be 70% confident the person will SUCCEED, not that they check 70% of boxes.
Ask yourself:
- ☐ Can they do the job? (Skills)
- ☐ Will they do the job? (Motivation)
- ☐ Do they fit our culture? (Values)
- ☐ Can I work with them? (Chemistry)
If any answer is below 70%, don't hire.
Selling to Developers
The Authenticity Playbook
"Developers are just people. Selling to them is hard, but authenticity and genuine understanding of their needs go a long way."
If you're building developer tools (like ragie.ai), traditional B2B sales doesn't work.
Why Developers Are Different
Traditional B2B Buyer
- Convinced by ROI and business case
- Values relationships and trust
- Tolerates some marketing fluff
- Influenced by brand and polish
Developer Buyer
- Convinced by "does it work?"
- Values technical competence
- Allergic to BS and marketing speak
- Influenced by documentation and community
What Doesn't Work With Developers
- ❌ Aggressive sales tactics
- ❌ Overpromising capabilities
- ❌ Hiding technical details behind "contact sales"
- ❌ Marketing fluff without substance
- ❌ Ignoring open source alternatives
- ❌ Making them sit through demos for information
What Works With Developers
- ✓ Excellent documentation (let them try themselves)
- ✓ Transparent pricing (no "contact us")
- ✓ Open source or free tier (lower barrier to entry)
- ✓ Technical content (blog posts, tutorials, reference architectures)
- ✓ Community building (Discord, GitHub, forums)
- ✓ Speaking their language (show code, not slides)
- ✓ Solving real problems (not invented ones)
Bob's Developer GTM Playbook
1. Build in Public
- Share your journey, challenges, technical decisions
- Be honest about limitations
- Engage with community feedback
2. Documentation-First Marketing
- Best docs = best marketing for developers
- Invest in examples, tutorials, reference apps
- Make it ridiculously easy to get started
3. Product-Led Growth Over Sales-Led
- Let the product sell itself
- Free tier or open source to drive adoption
- Monetize on scale, features, or support
4. Developer Relations Over Traditional Marketing
- Hire developer advocates, not marketers
- Speak at conferences, contribute to OSS
- Build trust through technical competence
5. Community as Moat
- Active Discord/Slack community
- User-generated content and examples
- Customers helping customers
Case Study: How ragie.ai approaches developer sales
- Clear documentation and examples
- Transparent pricing
- API-first design
- Active community support
- Built by developers, for developers
What You'll Learn
Get the complete Founder's Decision-Making Playbook
Based on Bob Remeika's hard-won lessons from building three startups, this playbook will show you:
- The 70% Decision Framework: How to make faster, better decisions without perfect information
- The PMF Navigation Guide: How to know if you're on the path to product-market fit
- The Hiring Playbook: When to hire, who to hire, how to assess fit, and when to let go
- The Developer Sales Handbook: If you're selling to developers, how to build trust and drive adoption
- The Pivot Framework: How to know when to stay the course vs. when to change direction
- Founder Decision Templates: 15+ decision frameworks for common startup scenarios
- The "Bad Hire" Early Warning System: Red flags to catch before it's too late
- Real War Stories: Bob's specific mistakes and lessons from three startups
Is This For You?
Who This Playbook Is Designed For
This playbook is designed for:
- First-time founders navigating decisions without a playbook
- Repeat founders who want to avoid past mistakes
- Technical founders building developer tools or B2B products
- Early-stage teams (pre-seed to Series A) facing hiring decisions
- Founders stuck in analysis paralysis waiting for perfect information
Specifically valuable if you're:
- Struggling to make decisions quickly
- Not sure if you've found product-market fit
- About to make your first few hires
- Building for a developer audience
- Facing a pivot decision
Not for: Late-stage companies with established processes, or founders looking for venture fundraising advice (this is about operations, not capital raising).
Answering common questions
Is this really free?
Yes. Brief is sharing Bob's insights from building three startups to help founders make better decisions faster. No catch, no spam.
How long will it take to read?
The playbook is approximately 18-22 pages. Most founders read it in 35-40 minutes, then reference specific sections (70% rule, hiring framework, developer sales) as needed.
What happens after I download?
You'll get instant access to the PDF. Brief may occasionally share similar insights and founder stories. Unsubscribe anytime.
Who is Bob Remeika?
Bob is a 3X founder currently building ragie.ai, the context engine for agents and apps. He's based in San Francisco and shares lessons learned from his journey building multiple startups.
What is the 70% rule exactly?
If you're 70% confident about a reversible decision, make it. Most founders wait for 100% certainty which never comes. The 70% rule helps you move faster and learn from real data instead of hypotheticals.
What is ragie.ai?
ragie.ai is the context engine for AI agents and apps. It helps developers build AI applications with better context retrieval and management. Visit ragie.ai to learn more.
Ready when you are
Stop Waiting. Start Deciding.
Get Bob's tactical playbook: the 70% rule for faster decisions, hiring right the first time, and finding product-market fit without wasting years.