The Founder's Toolkit
Vetted tools for DTC founders who’d rather build than manage a bloated stack. Each one earned its place by solving a real problem: protecting deep work, increasing creative output, or reducing friction in cross-border operations. Hundreds were tested. These stayed.
Uninterrupted Focus & Flow
Cal.com — Replaces three scheduling tools and the back-and-forth. Clients in LA book into my Tokyo availability without a single email.
Loom — Async video killed the unnecessary meeting. I send strategy walkthroughs that clients can watch at their convenience, not mine.
TextExpander — Every SOW, onboarding email, and brand questionnaire starts from a snippet I’ve refined over the years. Consistency at speed.
Better Dictation — Captures first-draft thinking faster than typing. Most of my long-form writing starts as voice, then gets shaped.
Google Workspace — The operating layer. Docs for live collaboration, Drive for deliverable handoff, Calendar as the single source of truth.
Blinkist — Fifteen minutes on a new positioning book between client calls. Keeps the strategic lens sharp without blocking two hours for reading.
Brand-Quality Creative Production
Descript — Edit video and audio like a text document. I use it to produce client-facing content and polish podcast appearances without touching a timeline.
Veed — Fast, browser-based video editing for social cuts and brand content. No bloated software installs, no waiting on exports.
Skylum — AI-powered photo editing that delivers commercial-grade results without a retoucher. Essential for brand shoots and product imagery.
Topaz Labs — Upscales and sharpens images and video to a quality level that satisfies even the most detail-obsessed brand founder.
ElevenLabs — Studio-quality AI voice generation. I use it for narrated brand guidelines and internal content that needs polish without a recording session.
Sharp Writing & Research
Perplexity — AI-powered research with cited sources. Replaces the first hour of competitive analysis and market scanning.
Grammarly — Final-pass editing on every client deliverable. Not about fixing grammar—about maintaining a consistent professional register across documents.
Originality.ai — Verifies content authenticity before it goes out under a client’s brand. Non-negotiable in an era of AI-generated noise.
Seamless Cross-Border Operations
Wise — International invoicing and currency conversion at the real exchange rate. Saves thousands annually versus bank wires between Tokyo and the US.
ExpressVPN — Stable, fast connection for accessing region-locked platforms and maintaining security on client work across networks.
Dropbox — Reliable cloud storage for large brand asset files. Syncs cleanly across devices and shares without friction with clients who don’t use Google.
Dynadot — Where I register and manage domains for client brand projects. Clean interface, fair pricing, no upsell noise.
Moo — Premium business cards and print materials that match the caliber of the brands I work with. First impressions are physical, too.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you sign up—at no extra cost to you. Every tool listed here is one I use in my own practice. I don’t take placements, and editorial decisions are mine alone.