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growth

growth

+5

AI is taking 80% of EACH job, not 80% of ALL jobs

Aug 25, 2026

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6 min read

AI is taking 80% of EACH job, not 80% of ALL jobs

Token spend up, salaries flat, projects shipping faster than ever, and not one line of cost lower. That gap has an explanation, and it changes how you staff a company.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

startup

+7

AI Bubble or Founders Playground?

Feb 24, 2026

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4 min read

AI Bubble or Founders Playground?

Why founders who keep tinkering with these tools will be the ones left standing.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

sales

+7

The hard part has changed (technology —> distribution)

Feb 11, 2026

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9 min read

The hard part has changed (technology —> distribution)

[New here? Start with this piece first] Building technology has never been easier, but getting anyone to care about it has never been harder.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

delight

+6

How a $4 Hot Dog Taught Me to Stop Optimizing and Start Creating Loyalty That Lasts

Feb 8, 2026

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3 min read

How a $4 Hot Dog Taught Me to Stop Optimizing and Start Creating Loyalty That Lasts

When a couple dining at Eleven Madison Park mentioned they’d never had a proper New York hot dog from a street cart, Will Guidara did something that made his kitchen staff think he’d lost his mind.

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

sales

+6

Use the Shackleton Sales Recruitment Process

Feb 8, 2026

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3 min read

Use the Shackleton Sales Recruitment Process

Why your best candidates keep quitting before Q2 (and what a 100 year old explorer's ad can teach you about fixing it)

Dax Hamman
Dax Hamman

Hard Part First

Hard Part First

Hard Part First is a publication for founders who know that tech is a commodity today and distribution is the moat. I’m Dax Hamman. I’ve been a founder three times: at Chango (sold to Rubicon Project for $122M), and now at FOMO.ai, where I’m building AI + human marketing teams for brands like Noom, Minted, and PetMeds.

© 2026 Hard Part First.
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