Small Wins Matter
Vestingnotes Newsletter - 30.09.2025
I’ve now been part of nestermind for 9 months.
You probably know that already (I’ve mentioned it more than a few times - maybe even too many 🙃).
But here’s the new milestone: Vestingnotes itself just turned one month old 🎉.
This is my fourth newsletter in a row - and yes, I’m counting that as a win. I believe in celebrating small achievements.
And that’s something you learn quickly in a startup: celebrating milestones - big or small - is part of the journey. We celebrated signing our very first LOI (Letter of Intent), growing the team, launching new features… and each time it’s a reminder that progress is real and we’re moving forward.
We’re not the only ones who think this way. In the podcast by Alan Frei with Besfort Biljali, they talked about the importance of celebrating every single success - whether it’s closing a small deal or a big one, the level of joy should be the same.
A really inspiring episode, and also a good excuse to keep my Schweizerdeutsch sharp while running or commuting to the office 👌🏼
So, thank you for all the support during this first full month of Vestingnotes, and once again thanks to the 199 people following on LinkedIn and those who’ve subscribed on Substack 🎉.
If you’d like to join, drop your email below to get Vestingnotes straight into your inbox every Tuesday morning 🚀
If you’ve made it this far, drop a like so I know you’re actually reading along 😉
And if you’re curious why I chose the name Vestingnotes, leave a comment and maybe take a guess!
Last week I shared what my first week as a first hire looked like.
As I mentioned, cold calling was a huge part of the process.
And speaking of it - in my last newsletter, I actually forgot to share this picture as “proof.”
Funny story:
I wasn’t even on a call in that picture - it was right after a team event when I finally got a proper headset with a microphone, ready to call.
The very next day, excited to test my new gear, I called a potential client.
Here’s how it started:
“Hello XY, this is Jonathan - Jona from nestermind. […] How much time do you currently spend updating your CRM?”
His reply?
“Jonathan, do you know how I actually save time?”
I could feel a big wave coming, so I said:
“Sure! Tell me…”
His reply:
“By avoiding conversations with people like you.”
Fair enough. Probably not the German accent you want to hear on a rainy Monday morning.
Feel free to share this story with your friends and colleagues - maybe someone in your network has experienced something similar 😁
The big picture behind Vestingnotes
Finally, I’m starting to sketch out some answers to the big picture behind Vestingnotes:
“How do the right people, at the right time, in the right market, turn ideas into companies that last?”
Of course, what follows isn’t a universal truth. It’s just my perspective - shaped by what I’m living right now as a first hire inside an early-stage startup. These are observations in motion, not conclusions.
From where I stand today, I see the question splitting into different layers.
Some pieces you can address from the very beginning, others only reveal themselves over time.
People and timing are the first two dimensions you encounter.
People are where everything begins. Skills matter, yes - but they can be built along the way. What’s harder to find is the mindset: the ability to stay steady in uncertainty, to adapt when plans fall apart, to keep moving when there’s no clear road ahead. And it’s also why startup CEOs invest so much time in recruiting - because choosing the right people early on has an exponential impact.
Timing, instead, is something no one fully controls, but no one can ignore.
Sometimes the very same team and idea can fail one year and succeed the next - simply because the market or culture wasn’t ready before. Timing is always a mix of luck, awareness, and trial-and-error, and often you only recognize the “right moment” afterwards. Even when the timing feels off, it still comes down to people - the right team can adapt, adjust, and keep going until the timing finally aligns.
As for market and companies that last - those parts of the question will come later in the story.
I’d be very curious to hear your opinion 👇🏼
nestermind
That’s a chapter I’ll share with you very soon 😃
Here our last update: 🚀 nestermind Product Update – August/September 2025
If you want to learn more and stay updated, you can subscribe at the bottom of the page!
Why Vestingnotes
Why bother writing all this down?
Because the messy, unexpected, human lessons usually vanish in the rush of startup life.
I don’t want to forget what it feels like right now. And maybe by writing, I can give something back - to students curious about startups, founders searching for a first hire, and investors wondering what really happens in the trenches.
Thanks for reading - and if you subscribe, welcome to Vestingnotes! 🎉
See you next week 🕶️
Cheers,
Jona
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow Vestingnotes on LinkedIn