Category Pirates

Today's businesses are drowning in 3 expensive problems: 1. Expert knowledge costs a fortune (and your best people are maxed out) 2. High-quality decisions take forever (while opportunities sail away) 3. Lead generation burns cash (with no data flywheel in sight) But you can leverage AI to help solve all of these problems. AI's superpower isn't writing mediocre content or figuring out what to buy your Aunt Debbie for Christmas. It's scaling expert judgment into a scorecard that helps customers make instant decisions, which gets your data flywheel spinning. (And lowers your customer acquisition costs to $0). We're hosting a free live webinar to show you how to use AI to create scorecards that generate consistent, high-quality decisions and leads—automatically. You'll learn: ✅ How to identify what knowledge to capture and automate ✅ Methods for maintaining accuracy at scale ✅ 7 practical ways to use AI in building scorecards Plus, you'll get our actual One-Page Strategy AI Scorecard prompt to self-assess your 2025 business strategy. Join us live on Tuesday, December 17th from 10am - 11am PT. Save your spot here: https://lnkd.in/gfswF5Xc

Legendary business partnerships don’t just happen. The people you surround yourself with — your business bandmates — can make or break your ability to create something legendary. Think of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. A marketing innovator and an engineering mastermind teamed up to redefine personal computing. It wasn’t just about skill. It was about complementary superpowers and a shared vision for Apple. But the wrong business bandmates? They'll drain your energy, sabotage your efforts, and hold you back. In our latest mini-book, we break down how to find (or form) a business band: 🏴☠️ How to spot the 11 nightmare bandmates you need to steer clear of (because one bad partner can ruin everything) 🏴☠️ How to assess yourself and your potential collaborators with a 100-point scorecard 🏴☠️ Real stories of partnerships that thrived — and ones that crashed because the chemistry was off If you’re serious about having legendary business collaborators, the Find Your Business Bandmates mini-book is your backstage pass to assembling the band of your dreams. Read the full mini-book now. 🔗👇

Anyone with an internet connection can start a newsletter. But designing a category-defining newsletter that generates real revenue — that's different. The biggest mistakes most newsletter creators make: 👉 They focus on being clever instead of claiming their category. 👉 They chase subscribers instead of building systems. 👉 They write emails instead of designing engines. @Nicolas Cole and @Dickie Bush are category designers who know how to create newsletters that drive 6-7+ figures in revenue. (And Cole co-founded Category Pirates!) They’ve generated over $5M and helped 11,000+ students with Ship 30, Write With AI, and the Premium Ghostwriting Academy newsletters. Because they understand something most creators miss: Newsletters aren't about writing — they're about owning mental real estate. They just launched a new course that helps creators avoid these mistakes when designing a newsletter category. It's called Category Newsletter Creator, and it isn't just about writing emails. It's a proven system for: • Positioning your newsletter to own your category • Building an email engine (not just a list) • Driving revenue and automating the heavy lifting This isn't a BS “make money fast” product. (But knowing these guys, they’ll show you exactly how to monetize.) We Pirates are sharing this because more category-defining newsletters = more Category Designers = a legendary future. You can join Category Newsletter Creator now, but only until December 1st. Check out the program here: https://lnkd.in/gn-QhvdR Your future subscribers (and revenue) are waiting.

Your inbox is flooded with endless "daily tech insights" and "marketing tips & tricks." These are dead newsletters walking. Why? They're playing COMPARISON GAMES - focusing on better writing and prettier designs, missing what actually matters. But here's the billion-dollar secret: The legends are designing a category of one. PROOF: Write With AI: $300K+ recurring revenue Start Ghostwriting: $5M+ in 18 months Lenny’s Newsletter: $600,000+ recurring revenue How? They understand something others don't: Your newsletter isn't a PRODUCT. It's a CATEGORY. The Pirates behind these mega-successes are dropping their blueprint: CATEGORY NEWSLETTER CREATOR Forget about writing pretty emails or hacking your way to success. This is about something bigger. This is about: 🏴☠️ Designing your newsletter category of one 🏴☠️ Building an email revenue engine 🏴☠️ Owning Superconsumers mental real estate For the first time, @Nicolascole and Dickie Bush 🚢 are revealing their complete system — the Category Newsletter Creator. This is NOT for newsletter "hobbyists." This is for Pirates ready to own their category instead of renting attention, to create systems instead of endless content, and to print money instead of begging for pennies. The treasure map is LIVE. But only for 7 days. Time to choose: Keep fighting for scraps in crowded waters... Or become a Category King? P.S. - We rarely promote products or agree to be affiliates. But when fellow pirates create category-defining gold? We sound the foghorn. 🏴☠️ Grab your seat now, doors close in 7 days 👇

The biggest mistake most newsletter creators make? They compete instead of create. Just look around: • "Another tech newsletter" • "Another finance newsletter" • "Another marketing newsletter" But here's the truth about legendary newsletters: They don't win by being better —they win by being different. It's not better writing. It's not fancier tools. It's not "growth hacks." It's category design. (You knew we were going there, didn't you? 🏴☠️) We get asked all the time, “How can I create a successful (and profitable) newsletter like yours?” *Drum roll please* Introducing the Category Newsletter Creator. Built by Nicolas Cole 🚢👻 (co-creator of Category Pirates) and Dickie Bush 🚢, two pirates who've generated millions in newsletter revenue by designing their own categories. Inside, you'll learn how to: 🏴☠️ Frame, name & claim your own category (instead of being "another finance guy with a Substack") 🏴☠️ Build a "Category of One" that attracts super-consumers 🏴☠️ Turn your newsletter into a standalone business (not a "side hustle") 🏴☠️ Create multiple revenue streams (one treasure chest is never enough) 🏴☠️ Scale to 6-7 figures in 2025 (while others fight over pennies) Want to know the best part? Cole and Dickie have done this multiple times. They're not teaching theory — they're showing you their battle-tested blueprint. This ship is for: • Category Designers ready to turn expertise into treasure (not LinkedIn likes) • Pirates who want to own their audience (not rent from Zuckerbergs) • Anyone ready to plant their flag in a new category This is NOT for: • "Quick growth hack" hunters (no magic beans here) • Newsletter copycats (we have enough Morning Brews) • Anyone who gets seasick from thinking different Full transparency: We're affiliates because we've seen what Cole and Dickie built and believe in its value. We rarely promote other products. But at Category Pirates, we know the power of this knowledge. Want to stop being a newsletter nobody and start being a category KING? 👉 Sign up for the waitlist in the comments — the course drops Monday, Nov 25!

This is why most innovation fails: We're taught to be reasonable. To follow best practices. To learn from experts. But Pattern Breakers know better. Instead of playing by today's rules, they: 🏴☠️ Challenge basic assumptions 🏴☠️ Create their own language 🏴☠️ Design new rules entirely Look at Tesla's Cybertruck: They didn't ask "How can we build a better truck than Ford?" They asked, "What if trucks looked like they came from the future?" The result? A product so different it: • Can't be directly compared • Forces people to think differently • Creates its own category This is what we call "The Pattern Breaker's Advantage": When you design the future, you don't have to compete in the present. But it requires courage: • Airbnb faced constant legal battles • Lyft got cease-and-desist letters daily • Early Tesla fans were mocked relentlessly Our new mini-book "Living In The Future" shows you how to spot these opportunities and build the courage to pursue them. 👉 Mini-book linked in the comments

If you hear someone say, "That's not how it's done," remember: That's precisely the point. Perfection is the enemy of creativity. Instead of striving for flawless execution, focus on the process of creation itself. 👉 Here’s why it’s important to embrace imperfections: 🏴☠️ When you focus solely on the outcome (on finishing, shipping, completing), you limit what's possible. But when you permit yourself to find joy in the process, to keep playing, to keep exploring — that's when you create something timeless. 🏴☠️ The safe path of perfectionism and performance paradoxically leads to mediocrity. The riskier path (embracing imperfection, genuine play, and progress focus) leads to legendary work. This is why most brainstorms fail. Why most "innovation sessions" produce incremental improvements at best. They're optimizing for the wrong thing. The path to legendary isn't through optimization — it's through permission. 🏴☠️ Most people's first instinct when hearing a new idea is to point out what's wrong with it. But great bandmates do something different — they add to it. Great bandmates treat every idea as a potential starting point rather than a finished product to be judged. Each person built on what came before, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Nothing legendary ever came from doing things the way they've always been done. Our new Permission To Play mini-book teaches you how to shift your mindset from perfectionism to playful exploration. 👉 Get the link to the mini-book in the comments, and start playing!

When you're a creator, play isn't a luxury — it's what you must do most. That's why you're called a creator. Listen to the word. Creator. What does the word say you do? You create. 👉 Here's what they know that most business people don't: ‘Playing’ means giving yourself permission to get lost in the work. Ever notice how artists never schedule "innovation time" or hold "creativity brainstorms"? Instead, they create environments where magic can happen naturally. When we immerse ourselves in play, we create a space where creativity thrives. It’s about allowing yourself the freedom to explore without a clear destination. Our recently released mini-book, Permission To Play, dives deep into how to create an environment of creativity. You'll learn how to find your business “bandmates” and get the Jam Session Framework we Pirates use for our weekly calls. It’s lot of fun, combined with practical steps to create sessions that encourage experimentation and collaborative creation. 👉 Link to the mini-book in the comments!

We’ve been testing AI to make our content more digestible and help readers see results faster. After spending big on solutions that missed the mark, we pivoted to using AI internally—where it excels at analyzing feedback, speeding up processes, and improving strategy sessions. By focusing AI on internal efficiency, we’re seeing real value emerge. Curious about how we're using AI? Read Eddie's full post ⬇️

Innovation isn't just about planning and executing the perfect strategy. It often emerges when we: 🏴☠️ Allow ourselves to play and explore without constraints 🏴☠️ Take the pressure off 🏴☠️ Start to have fun and experiment At Category Pirates, we play in weekly meetings (what we call jam sessions). There’s no posturing. No bullsh*t. Just three people having fun, creating, and getting work done. Here’s how to give yourself permission to play: 👉 Schedule a regular Jam Session: Plan regular meetings where the focus is solely on exploration. No pressure to perform, just ideas flowing freely. 👉 Encourage wild ideas: Create an environment where all ideas are welcome, even the weird and wild ones. No idea is too ridiculous to talk about. 👉 Create a judgment-free zone: Encourage open dialogue without the fear of criticism. Want to create the constraints for this kind of playful innovation? Our recently released mini-book Permission To Play breaks down the Permission Paradox — a framework that teaches you how to explore ideas and unlock breakthroughs. 👉 Get the link to the mini-book in the comments