Nicolas Dolenc
@nicolasdolenc.substack.com
A founder's friend - Writing thoughts on Just Thoughts - For the curious, the bold, and the quietly restless. A creative lab for rethinking how we live, work, and lead.
Find out more at https://nicolasdolenc.substack.com/about
Find out more at https://nicolasdolenc.substack.com/about
I write about tunnels. And the Bridge of Light in Helsinki that reminds me what the opposite feels like.
Even in the darkest moments, there is a bridge.
A letter to my son: https://nicolasdolenc.substack.com/p/a-letter-to-my-son-i
Even in the darkest moments, there is a bridge.
A letter to my son: https://nicolasdolenc.substack.com/p/a-letter-to-my-son-i
January 15, 2026 at 7:56 AM
I write about tunnels. And the Bridge of Light in Helsinki that reminds me what the opposite feels like.
Even in the darkest moments, there is a bridge.
A letter to my son: https://nicolasdolenc.substack.com/p/a-letter-to-my-son-i
Even in the darkest moments, there is a bridge.
A letter to my son: https://nicolasdolenc.substack.com/p/a-letter-to-my-son-i
This is not a ranking. It is a collection of signals.
I wrote about the moral tension in @Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, @Dave Chappelle’s uncomfortable mastery, and the Knives Out trilogy.
Attention, more than ratings, is the real currency of culture.
nicolasdolenc.substack.com
I wrote about the moral tension in @Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, @Dave Chappelle’s uncomfortable mastery, and the Knives Out trilogy.
Attention, more than ratings, is the real currency of culture.
nicolasdolenc.substack.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:45 PM
This is not a ranking. It is a collection of signals.
I wrote about the moral tension in @Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, @Dave Chappelle’s uncomfortable mastery, and the Knives Out trilogy.
Attention, more than ratings, is the real currency of culture.
nicolasdolenc.substack.com
I wrote about the moral tension in @Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen, @Dave Chappelle’s uncomfortable mastery, and the Knives Out trilogy.
Attention, more than ratings, is the real currency of culture.
nicolasdolenc.substack.com
How I treat reviews, what Tom Coancys Jack Ryan show teaches us about recent global political actions, and Avatar in review
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#moviereviews #film #entertainment
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#moviereviews #film #entertainment
Just Culture #26: How I think about reviews, care, and cultural responsibility
What does entertainment teach us about culture, and how we interpret society? Also, Avatar: Fire and Ash in review.
open.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:10 AM
How I treat reviews, what Tom Coancys Jack Ryan show teaches us about recent global political actions, and Avatar in review
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#moviereviews #film #entertainment
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#moviereviews #film #entertainment
Leadership letters age in public, even when you delete them. This one was written in 2017, rediscovered years later, and reread with hindsight. If you care about leadership, memory, and what survives after roles end, this one’s for you.
#leadership #culture
#leadership #culture
Just Thoughts #64: What Survives After the Role Ends
A leadership letter written before AI, deleted on purpose, and recovered as part of an archive that still has something to teach
open.substack.com
January 3, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Leadership letters age in public, even when you delete them. This one was written in 2017, rediscovered years later, and reread with hindsight. If you care about leadership, memory, and what survives after roles end, this one’s for you.
#leadership #culture
#leadership #culture
Big things don’t start optimized.
They start believed in.
A conversation with Aape Pohjavirta on ecosystems, memory, and ambition.
🎧📖 Link in bio
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
They start believed in.
A conversation with Aape Pohjavirta on ecosystems, memory, and ambition.
🎧📖 Link in bio
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Thoughts Podcast #9 - Ecosystems Don’t Fail on Talent. They Fail on Belief.
Thinking out loud with Aape Pohjavirta about systems, people, and the future we still control
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Big things don’t start optimized.
They start believed in.
A conversation with Aape Pohjavirta on ecosystems, memory, and ambition.
🎧📖 Link in bio
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
They start believed in.
A conversation with Aape Pohjavirta on ecosystems, memory, and ambition.
🎧📖 Link in bio
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Perfect output isn’t always empowering.
In leadership and AI, the real question isn’t how good the result is, but how it feels to receive it.
Some feel hollow. Some feel liberated. Both are valid.
Just Thoughts #63 is out 👇🏼
#Leadership #AI #Empathy #ProductDesign #JustThoughts
In leadership and AI, the real question isn’t how good the result is, but how it feels to receive it.
Some feel hollow. Some feel liberated. Both are valid.
Just Thoughts #63 is out 👇🏼
#Leadership #AI #Empathy #ProductDesign #JustThoughts
Just Thoughts #63: Practicing Empathy Is Like Playing a Second-Person Game
Perfect outcomes can hollow people out, and most leaders and AI products are making this mistake.
open.substack.com
December 28, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Perfect output isn’t always empowering.
In leadership and AI, the real question isn’t how good the result is, but how it feels to receive it.
Some feel hollow. Some feel liberated. Both are valid.
Just Thoughts #63 is out 👇🏼
#Leadership #AI #Empathy #ProductDesign #JustThoughts
In leadership and AI, the real question isn’t how good the result is, but how it feels to receive it.
Some feel hollow. Some feel liberated. Both are valid.
Just Thoughts #63 is out 👇🏼
#Leadership #AI #Empathy #ProductDesign #JustThoughts
Movies are no longer finished things.
They’re becoming systems.
Netflix bought the pipes.
Disney is building the simulator.
Amazon turned content into checkout.
Apple’s defining move is still pending.
I wrote a about this
👉 nicolasdolenc.substack.com
#MediaStrategy #FutureOfMedia #Entertainment
They’re becoming systems.
Netflix bought the pipes.
Disney is building the simulator.
Amazon turned content into checkout.
Apple’s defining move is still pending.
I wrote a about this
👉 nicolasdolenc.substack.com
#MediaStrategy #FutureOfMedia #Entertainment
Just Culture #25: F1 isn't the point, it describes the point.
A Just Culture essay on media, money, and the end of static stories
open.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Movies are no longer finished things.
They’re becoming systems.
Netflix bought the pipes.
Disney is building the simulator.
Amazon turned content into checkout.
Apple’s defining move is still pending.
I wrote a about this
👉 nicolasdolenc.substack.com
#MediaStrategy #FutureOfMedia #Entertainment
They’re becoming systems.
Netflix bought the pipes.
Disney is building the simulator.
Amazon turned content into checkout.
Apple’s defining move is still pending.
I wrote a about this
👉 nicolasdolenc.substack.com
#MediaStrategy #FutureOfMedia #Entertainment
How do you apply leadership learning? Having trouble teaching company values?
This post is for you.
#leadershiplessons #leadership #management
This post is for you.
#leadershiplessons #leadership #management
Just Thoughts #59: On Cooking, Culture, Tribal Leadership, and the Long Road of Learning
A story about cooking, culture, leadership levels, and why most lessons fail until you learn to use them.
open.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:42 PM
How do you apply leadership learning? Having trouble teaching company values?
This post is for you.
#leadershiplessons #leadership #management
This post is for you.
#leadershiplessons #leadership #management
Elon said X is for thinkers and writers. I think there might be more of those here on bluesky than on X, don’t you think?
I feel calling X a haven for freethinkers is like drawing parallels between a moshpit and a seminar.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
I feel calling X a haven for freethinkers is like drawing parallels between a moshpit and a seminar.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Culture #24: Frankenstein, Sisu & Elon Musk’s Sci-Fi Future Logic
A late-evening sparring match between movies, sci-fi futures, and an Elon Musk interview that reveals more than it intends.
open.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Elon said X is for thinkers and writers. I think there might be more of those here on bluesky than on X, don’t you think?
I feel calling X a haven for freethinkers is like drawing parallels between a moshpit and a seminar.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
I feel calling X a haven for freethinkers is like drawing parallels between a moshpit and a seminar.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Reposted by Nicolas Dolenc
Launched Norte today on Product Hunt. If you are also #buidinginpublic you know how special a day like this is.
So if you would like to show up with some support, here is the link:
www.producthunt.com/products/nor...
So if you would like to show up with some support, here is the link:
www.producthunt.com/products/nor...
Norte — Your wallet’s benefits brain: See every benefit your wallet already gives you. | Product Hunt
Most people miss out on card perks, pay for coverage they already have, or lose receipts when they need them most. Norte stores your cards, insurance and documents in one smart wallet — so you can unc...
www.producthunt.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Launched Norte today on Product Hunt. If you are also #buidinginpublic you know how special a day like this is.
So if you would like to show up with some support, here is the link:
www.producthunt.com/products/nor...
So if you would like to show up with some support, here is the link:
www.producthunt.com/products/nor...
New Just Thoughts is out: Rob Snyder takes the #1 spot at Slush, Ilkka Paananen reframes success, and a life framework finally clicks.
Read here 👇
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#Startups #Slush #FounderLife #Leadership #DemandDecoded #JustThoughts
Read here 👇
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#Startups #Slush #FounderLife #Leadership #DemandDecoded #JustThoughts
Just Thoughts #58: What Actually Matters
Demand, success, failure, and a framework for living a life that feels aligned.
open.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:18 AM
New Just Thoughts is out: Rob Snyder takes the #1 spot at Slush, Ilkka Paananen reframes success, and a life framework finally clicks.
Read here 👇
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#Startups #Slush #FounderLife #Leadership #DemandDecoded #JustThoughts
Read here 👇
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#Startups #Slush #FounderLife #Leadership #DemandDecoded #JustThoughts
@efesor.bsky.social launched Norte app on Product Hunt!
Support with a vote if you think it’s cool that someone saves you money by helping you makes sense of your insurences!
www.producthunt.com/products/nor...
Support with a vote if you think it’s cool that someone saves you money by helping you makes sense of your insurences!
www.producthunt.com/products/nor...
Just Products #11: Using Lovable & Claude to build an app as a non-technical founder
Watch now | Jose Sánchez on Building Norte — a tool to simplify credit card coverage. From creative director to founder, Jose uses Lovable & Claude to unlock new possibilities.
open.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:28 AM
@efesor.bsky.social launched Norte app on Product Hunt!
Support with a vote if you think it’s cool that someone saves you money by helping you makes sense of your insurences!
www.producthunt.com/products/nor...
Support with a vote if you think it’s cool that someone saves you money by helping you makes sense of your insurences!
www.producthunt.com/products/nor...
Just dropped a new conversation featuring rob-snyder and richardmakara — and it completely reframes how founders should think about demand, sales calls, and early-stage GTM.
#startups #gtm #demandgeneration
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#startups #gtm #demandgeneration
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Who the Hell Has Demand? – Rob Snyder on Startups, Sales Calls, and Case Study Factories
Recorded in an old hospital-turned-startup-campus during Slush week in Helsinki. Yes, there are tunnels. No, we’re not sure we made it out.
open.substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Just dropped a new conversation featuring rob-snyder and richardmakara — and it completely reframes how founders should think about demand, sales calls, and early-stage GTM.
#startups #gtm #demandgeneration
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#startups #gtm #demandgeneration
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
My evergreen content: Life as balance, the spinner analogy and how I find purpose.
#life #purpose #selfreflection
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#life #purpose #selfreflection
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Thoughts #41: Two decades of life experience summarised in less than 10-minutes
That's how much time people have to for a life story anyway right?
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:24 PM
My evergreen content: Life as balance, the spinner analogy and how I find purpose.
#life #purpose #selfreflection
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
#life #purpose #selfreflection
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
GTM is not the same in every domain. Interviewed 5 doers to cover the differences and used some of your content @martenmickos.bsky.social as you a world expert on Open Source GTM ;)
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Thoughts #54: The GTM master framework.
Five doers interviewed, two thought leaders sourced for content, one prompt to tie everything to a framework ready to be re-written.
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:51 AM
GTM is not the same in every domain. Interviewed 5 doers to cover the differences and used some of your content @martenmickos.bsky.social as you a world expert on Open Source GTM ;)
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
From one interview to Femcode’s kickoff at Antler, where Mari Luukkainen vibe-coded a dog meatball tracker while talking about scaling Freska to €30M ARR and building multiple SaaS in months. Now she’s switching gears on Herizon: the global employment engine for immigrants.
#startups #vibecoding
#startups #vibecoding
Just Thought #53: Byte-Coded Vibes at Antler (Femcode Kickoff Edition)
At the Femcode kickoff, Mari Luukkainen showed what happens when code becomes conversation.
open.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:38 AM
From one interview to Femcode’s kickoff at Antler, where Mari Luukkainen vibe-coded a dog meatball tracker while talking about scaling Freska to €30M ARR and building multiple SaaS in months. Now she’s switching gears on Herizon: the global employment engine for immigrants.
#startups #vibecoding
#startups #vibecoding
Quantum hacker Lars Lydersen on the Defense Tech Supercycle
Telegram’s Pavel Durov, the untouchable communicator
Both ask: What are we really building for?
👉 Read the full edition
#DefenseTech #Startups #AI #ContentCreation #Innovation #EthicalTech #Storycrafter #QuantumComputing #Telegram
Telegram’s Pavel Durov, the untouchable communicator
Both ask: What are we really building for?
👉 Read the full edition
#DefenseTech #Startups #AI #ContentCreation #Innovation #EthicalTech #Storycrafter #QuantumComputing #Telegram
Just Thoughts #52: VC Supercycles, and platform creating founders.
Converging worlds of defense technology, digital freedom, and cryptographic integrity, drawing insights from personal networks, social media, AI research & leading podcasts
open.substack.com
November 1, 2025 at 8:03 AM
Quantum hacker Lars Lydersen on the Defense Tech Supercycle
Telegram’s Pavel Durov, the untouchable communicator
Both ask: What are we really building for?
👉 Read the full edition
#DefenseTech #Startups #AI #ContentCreation #Innovation #EthicalTech #Storycrafter #QuantumComputing #Telegram
Telegram’s Pavel Durov, the untouchable communicator
Both ask: What are we really building for?
👉 Read the full edition
#DefenseTech #Startups #AI #ContentCreation #Innovation #EthicalTech #Storycrafter #QuantumComputing #Telegram
Two bestselling Finnish startup books are shaping how the next generation thinks about leadership and ambition.
But what if they’re teaching us to build for a world that no longer exists?
👉 Read the full reflection on Just Thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
But what if they’re teaching us to build for a world that no longer exists?
👉 Read the full reflection on Just Thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Thoughts #51: The Book's, The Hype, and What We Missed Along the Way
Two bestselling Finnish startup books, one evolving ecosystem. What they reveal—and forget—about leadership, ambition, and belonging.
open.substack.com
October 30, 2025 at 6:50 AM
Two bestselling Finnish startup books are shaping how the next generation thinks about leadership and ambition.
But what if they’re teaching us to build for a world that no longer exists?
👉 Read the full reflection on Just Thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
But what if they’re teaching us to build for a world that no longer exists?
👉 Read the full reflection on Just Thoughts.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Writing in swedish covering three other swedish speaking finns and their thoughts
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Thoughts Swedish edition: Att Skriva på Svenska
An essay about the Swedish-Speaking finns at the book fair in Helsinki 2025 turned into an audio podcast in English. This is Just Thoughts in Swedish.
open.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Writing in swedish covering three other swedish speaking finns and their thoughts
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Finnish basketball, Denzel Washington, and AI music might seem worlds apart.
However, they all wrestle with the same question: can we believe under pressure?
New Just Culture essay: When the Game Ends, the Story Begins.
#basketball #aimusic #moviereviews
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
However, they all wrestle with the same question: can we believe under pressure?
New Just Culture essay: When the Game Ends, the Story Begins.
#basketball #aimusic #moviereviews
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Culture #23: When the Game Ends, the Story Begins
Where sports, film, and AI music collide: finding the same human heartbeat in systems built for performance.
open.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Finnish basketball, Denzel Washington, and AI music might seem worlds apart.
However, they all wrestle with the same question: can we believe under pressure?
New Just Culture essay: When the Game Ends, the Story Begins.
#basketball #aimusic #moviereviews
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
However, they all wrestle with the same question: can we believe under pressure?
New Just Culture essay: When the Game Ends, the Story Begins.
#basketball #aimusic #moviereviews
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
An ”old school” classy night out in Helsinki. New school would’ve been clubbin at 6pm and home by 10pm. A less classy night out would’ve been in Kallio & Komplexi. Know your city 💪🏻
Click to read and find out where to go!
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Click to read and find out where to go!
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Culture #22: A night out in Helsinki
What started as wings with the fam turned into a tour of Helsinki’s best bars, unexpected philosophy on situational awareness, and a diamond dealer from New York.
open.substack.com
October 18, 2025 at 6:40 AM
An ”old school” classy night out in Helsinki. New school would’ve been clubbin at 6pm and home by 10pm. A less classy night out would’ve been in Kallio & Komplexi. Know your city 💪🏻
Click to read and find out where to go!
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Click to read and find out where to go!
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
What’s it like being a health tech entreprenour from Finland?
Read to find out.
#entreprenourship #healthtech #founderstories
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Read to find out.
#entreprenourship #healthtech #founderstories
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
What's It Like Being a Health Tech Entrepreneur from Finland?
Why Finnish health tech founders trade unicorn dreams for mission control, and why they're still winning.
open.substack.com
October 11, 2025 at 9:02 AM
What’s it like being a health tech entreprenour from Finland?
Read to find out.
#entreprenourship #healthtech #founderstories
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Read to find out.
#entreprenourship #healthtech #founderstories
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Why does it make sense to still learn languages, when AI can translate in seconds? Read to find out.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
Just Poems #16: The love that never goes away
Handwritten three language poem, and the value of translators & learning languages in an AI-driven world, with instant audio translation being comodotized.
open.substack.com
October 5, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Why does it make sense to still learn languages, when AI can translate in seconds? Read to find out.
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...
open.substack.com/pub/nicolasd...