Podcast
The Physics of Startups
Hosted by Rob Snyder · EN
Most 0-to-1 and product-market fit advice is a pile of things that worked for someone, once. This show is built on causal relationships, not tactics.
Rob Snyder has helped 50+ startups go from $0 to $1M ARR. He's the creator of the PULL framework and author of "The Power of PULL" which explains why customers buy and why some startups scale and others stall.
For VC-backed and bootstrapping founders who are tired of advice that sounds smart but doesn't work.
More about Rob: https://www.robsnyder.org
35episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Translating customer language 101
Mar 2700:48:06Tap to summarizeOne of the most challenging things about identifying PULL in customers is understanding what they are telling you. In this conversation, Rob discusses the “hairball” that customers often spit out - a mix of demand, supply, history, random red herrings - and how to translate that into Demand. Rob's Substack post here: LINKPMF Camp / Work with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
Transcribe →Rob's B2B Sales Call Script (finally)
Mar 2000:49:41Tap to summarizeRob's B2B Sales Call Script: LINKYou asked, Rob answered. Rob is open-sourcing his sales call script that he uses with founders and heads of sales to identify PULL and pitch supply in a way that customer's want (and actually understand and buy).In this conversation, Rob discusses common failure modes in sales calls that he sees and walks through key elements of the sales call script - from Demand to Supply.Rob's Substack post here: LINKWork with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
Transcribe →Behind a $300M exit: Interview w/ Palash Soni from Goldcast
Mar 1300:46:58Tap to summarizePalash Soni founded Goldcast, a video-first B2B event marketing platform which was acquired by CVent in December 2025 reportedly for $300M. Palash and Rob have known each other for several years, and in this conversation they discuss the evolution of Goldcast, why Goldcast survived when better funded competitors didn't, the acquisition process, choosing the right market, the experience of being acquired, and more.--Rob's Substack: LINKPMF Camp / Work with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
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The "PULL Theory" of business
Mar 600:45:01Tap to summarizeA startup is not many things - it's "one thing" - and it obeys laws of evolution. The best way to understand how the evolution works is through the PULL framework, and Rob sheds light on the continuum - from outreach and discovery to demo and onboarding / delivery. Reserve your spot in the next cohort of "The Physics of Sales." Spots are limited! https://bit.ly/4aQcuWa or reach out to Rob on LinkedIn. Read Rob's Substack post here: https://howtogrow.substack.com/ Pre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - https://amzn.to/48KC1yv Connect with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rsnyder1
Transcribe →Exponential PULL (aka: stop slogging it out)
Feb 2700:46:01Tap to summarizeWhy do some startups take off ($25M ARR within 2 years) while others - with equally talented founder teams, with equally unique tech, with equally attractive markets, … - struggle to reach $500k, $1M or just feel like they’re pushing instead of customers pulling?Rob jumps into that question in this week’s Substack and this podcast. The answer is that PULL is not linear - it’s logarithmic - and that explains how startups can have such divergent outcomes.Rob's Substack post here: LINKPMF Camp / Work with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
Transcribe →Learning from Infomercials: How to describe your product
Feb 2000:41:19Tap to summarizeToday we’re learning from true masters of their craft - the heroes behind infomercials and “As seen on TV” product - who understand PULL more intuitively than the best marketers.Rob breaks down the “TurboPump” infomercial, which communicates just about everything a customer needs to know within 16 seconds. Lessons include:Sequencing a sales callHow to describe how your product worksHow to improve your sales calls using this approachHow to differentiate your supply vs. othersTurbo Pump infomercial: YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/MtzSgzijGyk?si=4EfpEv7MaffDvRAc Breathe Easy Humidifier infomercial: YOUTUBE ---Work with Rob: INFORob's Substack post here: LINKPMF Camp / Work with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
Transcribe →Is your customer BLOCKED or COPING?
Feb 1300:50:49Tap to summarizeThere are two types of PULL out there. If a customer has either of them - and if your Supply fits - they will rip a product out of your hands. Here is how Rob defines them:COPING PULL: A buyer who is prioritizing a project right now, but their current approach is sufficiently bad that they are COPING - struggling against their current approach.BLOCKED PULL: A buyer who would prioritize a project right now if they could - but their existing options are unworkable, so they are BLOCKED.In this episode, Rob dives into the difference between the two, case studies of each, how to find them, and common pitfalls that founders run into. Substack post: “Blocked or Coping?”Rob's Substack post here: LINKPMF Camp / Work with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL"): AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
Transcribe →Cyberstarts: Inverting the idea stage
Feb 600:48:29Tap to summarizeCyberstarts (VC focused on cybersecurity) has an insane hit rate - its first fun turned $50M into $2B within 3 years investing in 9 founders. Founded by Gili Raanan, their approach (which they call "Sunrise") inverts the pre-idea / pre-product stage. Instead of choosing a market / technology to bet on, they invest in founder teams pre-product, use a network of CSIOs to identify demand, validate by selling, then begin to build the product. In this episode, Rob breaks down Cyberstarts' approach from the lens of PULL and customer demand - including why Cyberstarts' approach has an advantage over other VCs, what can be learned from both a founder and a VC perspective - and a few areas that he would approach differently.Invest like the Best interview with Gili Raanan: Spotify, transcript, Cyberstarts webpageRob's Substack post here, "Inverting the idea stage": LINKPMF Camp / Work with Rob: LINKPre-order Rob's book ("The Power of PULL") - AmazonConnect with Rob on LinkedIn: LINK
Transcribe →How companies become generational
Jan 3000:52:01Tap to summarizeA frequent critique Rob hears of "Sell then build" is that it's fine for a 'lifestyle business' but can't possibly result in a unicorn or generational company. ...Right? So Rob dug into the histories of some of the leading tech (Microsoft, Oracle, Hubspot), Deep-tech (NVIDIA) and consumer (Nike, Starbucks) companies. ... turns out, they follow similar themes:Figure out some sort of a market need by selling and delivering somethingLearn the shape of the real opportunity by selling and delivering something that’s not quite right.Avoid attempting to (1) predict the future or (2) convince the market. At some point, benefit from demand waves or dams. (related post)This week's post: "How companies become generational" (Substack)Work w/ Rob or join the next PMF Camp: LINKSubscribe to Rob's Substack: LINKPre-order Rob's book, "The Power of PULL": LINK
Transcribe →The aerodynamics of sales
Jan 2300:44:51Tap to summarizeRob discusses the evolution of sales calls from the first version (often awkward, typically clunky and uncomfortable for the prospect, and not effective) to the various iterations he sees with each step improving incrementally. The discovery sharpens, then the customer targeting, then the pitch, the demo, the sequencing of calls, and the offer / conversion.This is a very practical episode and Substack for founders and early sales hires that are noticing 'friction' in their sales process and struggling to understand how to think about improving. Rob's newsletter: LINK - this week's post: "The aerodynamics of sales"Join Rob's upcoming PMF Camp: LINKPre-order Rob's book, "The Power of PULL": AMAZONRob's website: www.robsnyder.org
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