Books
Different topics, same operating lens. Founder Mode is about how great companies are actually built. Forward Deployed AI Engineering is about a specific job that has become the default way to ship AI into the real world. Both are written for people who actually do the work.
2026 · New
A Working Guide to the Hottest Job in Software
On May 4, 2026, OpenAI and Anthropic each launched deployment subsidiaries on the same day, both built around the title Forward Deployed Engineer. This book is for the person who wants to do that work. Five parts: the landscape, the mindset and the method, the craft, becoming an FDE, and the economy and future.
Read the first chapters
2026
How the Great Companies Are Actually Built
In 2024, Paul Graham named "Founder Mode" after Brian Chesky's talk at a YC alumni dinner. The practice is older than the name. HP, Disney, Apple, Pixar, Amazon, NVIDIA, and Costco built their best work this way. This book traces how, and is honest about the costs.
Read the first two chapters
The two books are about the same thing seen from different angles. Founder Mode is about the people who choose to stay close to the work that matters as their companies scale. Forward Deployed AI Engineering is about the work itself, in a specific form, in a specific moment. Read either one first. The connection becomes obvious by the end.
