the three acts

Good morning Predictable Revenue community,

Hey all, 

This week, I got my first major edits and, after some long talks with my editor, we found a solid framework for the book. It turns out I had actually written two books: one for founders and another focused on sales. To refine the focus, I’ll be cutting much of the sales and sales management content to concentrate on the journey from finding product-market fit to first customers.

James, my editor, recently provided detailed feedback that has helped tighten the book's focus and elevate its structure. His insights confirmed that this revised approach aligns with my goal: a unified narrative that solves one essential problem for founders. The book will guide you step-by-step through finding a market gap, landing your first customers, and ultimately building a repeatable revenue engine. James highlighted that this clear through-line maintains a tension of need and fulfillment that will draw readers in, keep them engaged, and leave them ready to apply what they’ve learned.

tl;dr 

• The book will be structured into three acts: finding a market gap, finding your first customers, and building a repeatable revenue motion.

• I’ll lay out objective exit criteria for moving from one act to the next. 

• The book ends when you’ve pulled yourself out of the day to day of finding and closing customers. 

Sidebar: I've been conducting customer development interviews this week to validate a new product. While I appreciate the value my spreadsheet provides, I find entering data a pain in the ass and, admittedly, I'm a bit lazy. So, I created a GPT to extract "jobs to be done" from these interviews and automatically populate my sheet. Hit reply if you want a 5 min walkthrough + access to the GPT. There’s no cost to you, I’m just looking for feedback.  

This reworking means that I’ll need to work on combining and renaming chapters. New chapter titles and structure is my priority for next week, in the meantime, here’s a high level of the refocused acts. 

Act 1: Finding a Market Gap

Act 1 lays the foundation by helping you identify an unmet need in the market that matches your strengths and vision. As James noted, understanding the difference between solving a nice-to-have versus a must-have is crucial. This difference is what sets the stage for revenue success. By the end of Act 1, you’ll know how to assess opportunities that are not just interesting, but essential - leading to stronger traction and sustainable growth in Acts 2 and 3.

Act 2: Finding Your First Customers

James pointed out that while some material for this act is in place, additional stories and examples will strengthen it. Act 2 shifts from exploration to engagement, with chapters focused on slowly shifting your customer development interviews into real sales discovery calls, without bait and switching anyone. This is where the narrative turns from learning to selling, a critical pivot that James highlighted as needing more real-world examples to ground readers in practical application.

Act 3: Building a Repeatable Revenue Motion

In Act 3, the goal is to help founders transition from personally leading sales to building systems that will get them out of the day to day. James recommended emphasizing anecdotes about founders stepping into sales without experience, which makes this journey relatable and actionable. Here, I’ll also lay out the four funnels that form the backbone of sustainable sales practices, with a special focus on the often-overlooked nurture funnel. According to James’ notes, this will help balance the practical advice with narrative elements, ensuring readers leave Act 3 ready to build a scalable, repeatable revenue engine.

Next Steps

James’ feedback also emphasized the importance of weaving my story with Carb throughout the book, providing a consistent thread that ties chapters together. While the overall structure is set, some chapters still need more content and stories to flesh out the journey. The focus now is on creating a first complete draft that’s rich in detail and flows seamlessly.

This feedback loop with James is shaping the book to be more than a guide - it’s becoming an engaging narrative that founders can see themselves in, complete with actionable takeaways to apply directly to their businesses.

If any of this resonates or sparks questions, I’d love to hear from you as we move closer to a final draft. Your input continues to shape this book into a resource that truly serves the founder community.

Collin 

PS - I listen to a wide variety of music so send me the last Spotify playlist you listened to, here’s what I listened to while writing this email. It’s a Swedish Jazz Fusion band called Dirty Loops, if you like like strong bass lines and a weird variety of songs, this band’s for you.

PPS - I re-read The Mom Test in preparation for my customer development interviews and updated my cheat sheet based on some of Rob’s questions. Hit reply if you want to copy my cheat sheet.