You Already Know This

You just didn’t know its name

TLDR: Things you didn’t have a name for, including your own startup.

The best founders are not just builders. They’re also world-class communicators.

Whether you're building a company or betting on one, your edge often lies in seeing what others haven't and communicating it in a way others can.

Most of us carry around unnamed sensations. Intuition perhaps. A weird déjà vu. A sense that something’s off. A moment when we catch ourselves knowing there is more to heart we’re thinking, but can’t exactly explain it.

That’s what psychologists call a lexical gap—when the concept exists, but the label doesn’t.

And the fuzzy space between knowing and saying? That’s called vemic space—the psychological terrain between experience and articulation.

As founders, the onus of communication is on us. It’s our job to cross the chasm between our intuition and the world’s understanding.

Indoctrinating investors.

Winning talent.

Closing customers.

When taking what seems like an insane idea and bending the world to your reality, it’s paramount.

Vernacular isn’t trivial. It’s an act of perception. It makes the invisible legible. The intuitive transferable. The chaos ordered.

I’ve seen this in countless pitches.

Founders who create names for markets, is probably the most obvious example.

But that thought had me wondering, what are all those things we know we know but don’t quite have a name for? I’m sure they have names.

So I found a few…

Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon
You hear something once, then suddenly see it everywhere.
Like when one startup pitch mentions MCPs or RAG… and suddenly every deck does.

Semantic Satiation
You repeat a word so much that it starts sounding like gibberish.
Like “AI... AI... AIAIAIAIAI... ayeyaye”

Sonder
The realization that every stranger has a life as deep and complex as yours.
Perhaps why founder market fit can be such an advantage.

Spotlight Effect
You think everyone is noticing you.
They aren’t. They’re too busy thinking about their own life, priorities, and problems.

Pygmalion Effect
People perform better when more is expected of them.
The best early hires aren’t just talented—they rise to the belief you place in them.

IKEA Effect
You value something more because you helped make it.
That buggy MVP? You love it more than your users do. Be careful.

Mondegreen
A misheard lyric or phrase that permanently overwrites the original.
Like thinking Elton John sang “Hold me closer, Tony Danza” instead of “Tiny Dancer.”

Pratfall Effect
We like people more when they make small, relatable mistakes.
The founder who admits what went wrong—but owns the fix—is more investable than the one who pretends it’s perfect.

Zegarnik Effect
Your brain fixates more on unfinished tasks than completed ones.
Why many founders focus on what’s not shipped yet, instead of launching.

Chekhov’s Gun
If a detail is introduced in a story, it should be used later.
If you show it in the demo, we’re going to assume it matters—and ask why it’s there. Comedians also call this “neural coupling” when they connect a later joke to an earlier one in their set.

Cringe Bias
We perceive our own awkwardness much more intensely than others do.
That investor call you think you bombed? They probably don’t remember it. Next play, move on, focus on getting to yes.

Apophenia
The tendency to perceive meaningful connections in unrelated things.
Why VCs chase what resembles their last big win—even if it only looks the part.

Mere Exposure Effect
You like things more simply because you’re exposed to them often.
The more we see your product in market, the more real it feels—even before traction. Why TK flooded certain neighborhoods with Ubers.

It’s not enough to simply build a great product. You need to be able to communicate it to the world. That belief you have in yourself and in your business that’s often met by confused looks and constant rejections from investors are often a function of your own inability to synthesize your vision into an indoctrinating philosophy.

Just look at Rahul selling Superhuman to Grammarly last week. The man made email exciting. That’s a superpower, and a case study in itself.

Unfortunately, most of us are not Rahul Vohra, so we must first become conscious so that we can adapt. And as you adapt, you will sharpen. Your narratives will harden as though they have been processed in a crucible, and your team, your customers, and your investors will begin to gravitate rather be repelled.

It takes awareness, creativity, and persistence.

See you Monday.