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Post by Garry Tan on X

Garry Tan@garrytan

You can learn a lot from books and podcasts but here’s why you need to still seek out advice from people who have worked with a lot of startups 1:1— Books/podcasts don’t tell you what happens when things go bad. They will just give you the survivorship bias of what goes right.

794 likes32 repliesPosted Jul 20, 2019

View the original on X Written by Garry Tan. Captured Sep 4, 2026.

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Based on absolute engagement — the platform doesn’t expose follower counts here, so large accounts score higher.

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Why it worked

Addresses the reader directly, so it reads as written for them.
Short enough to read in full without expanding, which removes a step before the point lands.

The mechanics

Hook: Speaks directly to you
Structure: Hook → Landing
Style: Conversational paragraphs at a steady pace.
Tone: plain, matter-of-fact
Written for: Founders, marketers and operators

Analysis by ViralLoop — not written by the original author.

Topics

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Garry Tan on Lessons · ViralLoop