Why Founders Should Move Faster on Fundraising, Hiring and Product Development

In a recent LinkedIn post, Max Pog discusses lessons from NFX’s Speed Masterclass, a 10-lecture course by James Currier that, in Pog’s view, offers practical guidance for founders. This article covers Pog’s post and his account of the course; it was not written by Pog.

“Most of what founders do can be done much faster than they’re used to.”

Pog’s central takeaway is that startups can accelerate decisions and execution. He points to examples from the masterclass: investor meetings compressed into a single day, hiring decisions made within weeks, and product development completed on a much shorter timeline than outside experts had estimated. These are cases Pog relays from the course, rather than independently verified benchmarks.

Speed as a founder’s operating principle

According to Pog, the course frames speed as more than a matter of working quickly. Its examples focus on setting tight timelines and making consequential choices without prolonged deliberation. Pog describes Mike Cassidy arranging investor meetings on one day and requesting an answer by that evening, with terms attached. In hiring, he says, the suggested approach is to prepare an offer before a candidate leaves the final interview and give them 24 hours to sign.

Pog also highlights a development story from the course: Dragons of Atlantis reportedly built a product in five months for $450,000, despite an expert estimate of 12 months and $4 million. Pog says the game generated $120 million the following year. The example illustrates the ambition of the masterclass’s message, though the post does not provide further detail on how those figures were calculated.

Daily shipping and the human cost

As Pog recounts it, the course also challenges slower release cycles. He says Dragons of Atlantis shipped updates four times a day while serving three million players online. That example gives a concrete scale to the course’s emphasis on frequent iteration.

But Pog’s summary is not limited to operating tactics. He calls the psychological material unusual, citing NFX’s 48-point founder checklist, 22 mental models, and Currier’s candid comment about the toll of building companies:

“after 4 companies he has PTSD.”

The remark, as presented in Pog’s post, adds a personal dimension to the course’s focus on founder performance. It suggests that speed and execution are discussed alongside the emotional pressures of entrepreneurship.

A condensed guide to the course

Pog says he turned more than four hours of video into a PDF containing 116 key ideas, which he invites readers to review before watching the original lectures. His post describes the masterclass as a resource NFX provides to its founders and says portfolio companies show “The Speed Talk” to new hires on their first day.

In Pog’s view, the course is especially timely for founders planning for 2026 and 2027. His post ultimately serves as a recommendation: use the condensed notes as an entry point, then consult the full masterclass for Currier’s explanations and context.