https://lechkaniuk.com Essays on startups, unit economics, and angel investing in Central and Eastern Europe. Journal updates and request for startups. en Mon, 13 Apr 2026 09:13:24 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/og-default.svg https://lechkaniuk.com https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/002-cac-payback-is-the-only-honest-metric https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/002-cac-payback-is-the-only-honest-metric Why payback period reveals what LTV hides — and why investors care about it more than your growth rate. unit-economics Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/001-the-two-numbers-every-founder-must-know https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/001-the-two-numbers-every-founder-must-know Why LTV and CAC are the only metrics that determine whether your business model actually works. unit-economics Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/029-european-founders-guide-to-fundraising https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/029-european-founders-guide-to-fundraising The US playbook does not transplant. Here is what actually works in European fundraising. european-ecosystem Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/028-building-in-poland-vs-silicon-valley https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/028-building-in-poland-vs-silicon-valley Not a complaint — a strategic map. The differences that change what playbook you should use. european-ecosystem Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/025-what-i-look-for-before-writing-a-check https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/025-what-i-look-for-before-writing-a-check The actual criteria. Not the polished version I give at panels. investing Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/022-when-to-quit-vs-push-through https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/022-when-to-quit-vs-push-through The framework for the hardest decision a founder will make. How to tell the difference before it is obvious. founder-psychology Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/021-founder-loneliness-nobody-talks-about https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/021-founder-loneliness-nobody-talks-about Not the PR version. The actual experience of building something nobody else can fully understand. founder-psychology Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/012-pre-seed-vs-seed https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/012-pre-seed-vs-seed The wrong answer to this question costs you 12-18 months. Here is how to get it right. fundraising Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/010-mistakes-that-kill-deals https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/010-mistakes-that-kill-deals You will never know about most of them. Here are the ones you can actually control. fundraising Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/009-how-to-read-a-term-sheet https://lechkaniuk.com/library/essays/009-how-to-read-a-term-sheet The clauses that look harmless and are not. A practical guide for first-time founders. fundraising Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/001-rebuilding-the-site https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/001-rebuilding-the-site Why I'm tearing down the React SPA and starting over with Astro. Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/010-building-in-public https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/010-building-in-public Accountability is underrated as a forcing function. When you've told people what you're building, you actually build it. Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/009-askmeevo-100-agents https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/009-askmeevo-100-agents A hundred companies are running AI agents built on our platform. The use cases we didn't anticipate are the most interesting ones. Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/008-writing-the-books https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/008-writing-the-books Writing forces you to have a position. The act of explaining something to someone else is how you find out if you understand it. Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/007-grasperly-new-enterprise-tier https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/007-grasperly-new-enterprise-tier First enterprise contract signed. SSO, SCIM, custom SLA. It took six months longer than I wanted. Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/006-the-thing-about-momentum https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/006-the-thing-about-momentum A bad quarter is recoverable. A slow quarter compounds into something structural. I see founders confuse the two all the time. Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/005-on-losing-a-deal https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/005-on-losing-a-deal We passed on a company 18 months ago that just raised a Series B at 10x the valuation. The lesson isn't what you think. Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/004-askmeevo-agent-builder-launch https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/004-askmeevo-agent-builder-launch Six weeks from idea to launch. The product is simple enough that we could build it fast. That's the point. Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/003-grasperly-q1-checkpoint https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/003-grasperly-q1-checkpoint We hit 200 paying teams. The churn rate is the most honest signal we have right now. Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/002-why-i-rebuilt-this-site-in-astro https://lechkaniuk.com/journal/002-why-i-rebuilt-this-site-in-astro React SPAs are invisible to search engines. I wanted a site where the content actually exists when you curl it. Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT