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• Daily Idea - Raya for Newsletters

• Small but Mighty

Whisper-Only Newsletters for Power Players

Inspired by this MFM Podcast

The One Liner

A gated newsletter for the rich, smart, and busy.

The 140 character tweet (or X) version

Everyone’s publishing to everyone. This sends private, invite-only newsletters to niche power circles. Think Raya meets Substack.

The Longer Story Version

The Problem

Most newsletters scream for attention.
Few whisper value to the right people.

We’re drowning in “top 10 trends” and “hot takes.” Mass newsletters hit inboxes like fast food — convenient, cheap, forgettable. But what if you’re not looking to feed the crowd? What if you want to serve the room?

A room of high-performers. Quiet killers. People who don’t chase content — they attract signal.

These folks don’t want another listicle. They want what nobody else gets.

And right now? That doesn’t exist.

There’s no way to create private, curated, high-trust newsletters for just 50 or 100 insiders.
There’s no clean way to add scarcity, exclusivity, or invite-only logic without duct taping half a dozen tools.

The Solution

What if newsletters felt like VIP dinners?
What if instead of trying to go viral, you went deep?

You choose the niche.
You set the cap — 50 readers max, invite-only.
You write just for them.

Think:

• “10 angel investors share unfiltered startup takes every Sunday.”

• “Tier 1 fund managers swap backchannel notes on global trends.”

• “Only fans? No. Only LPs.”

The model flips Substack on its head. You don’t grow an audience — you curate a circle.

Just like Raya filtered dating with exclusivity, this filters content with trust, signal, and scarcity.

Fewer readers. Way more power.

How We’d Build It

⚪ Beginner Mode (No Code, Just Launch)

• Toolstack: Letterdrop (paywall + private list), Outseta (billing + CRM)

• How: Write inside Letterdrop. Use Outseta to handle invites, payments, and member access.

• Tip: Cap it early. “Only 25 seats open” is stronger than 10,000 free reads.

🟡 Intermediate Mode (With Community Layer)

• Add: Circle.so for gated community, DMs, events.

• Stack: Letterdrop + Circle + Outseta (all-in-one stack to scale private content + conversations)

• Trick: Set a public waitlist, but private invites. Drives FOMO like nothing else.

🔵 Advanced Mode (High-Trust Power Circles)

• Stack: Commsor (to build “who’s in the room” transparency), Outseta, Circle

• Mechanics: Tiered access — some can only read, others can write or invite.

• Add: Auto-expiring invites, dynamic caps (e.g., auto-close when engagement drops).

• Bonus: Integrate with Calendly + Zoom for members-only AMAs or deal calls.

Why It Needs to Exist

Because not everyone wants to be famous.
Some people just want access.

This isn’t for the masses. It’s for the smart, rich, and overloaded.
The ones who don’t subscribe. They get invited.

The biggest unlock? You don’t need 100,000 subscribers to win.
You need 100 of the right ones.

This flips distribution from megaphone to whisper.
It’s not the next Substack. It’s the first Raya for Newsletters.

The newsletter every professional should be reading

There’s a reason Morning Brew is the gold standard of business news—it’s the easiest and most enjoyable way to stay in the loop on all the headlines impacting your world.

Tech, finance, sales, marketing, and everything in between—we’ve got it all. Just the stuff that matters, served up in a fast, fun read.

Look—over 4 million professionals start their day with Morning Brew’s daily newsletter, and it only takes 5 minutes to read. Sign up for free and see for yourself!

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🧠 Build Small, Win Smart

Welcome to the newsletter for people who don’t want to raise $10M just to find out no one wants what they’re building.

Let’s talk about the power of small.

Big ideas get all the attention. But you know what’s underrated?

A clean little business that pays your bills, grows steadily, and doesn’t give you a panic attack every Sunday night.

You know the type:

• Built by one person.

• Clear value prop.

• Profitable in year one.

• Doesn't rely on a million followers, 10 engineers, or a hundred VC intros.

Everyone wants to build the next Uber. But what if you built the next Indie Hackers, Buttondown, or Readwise?
Quietly profitable. Deeply useful. No noise.

The Trick: Shrink the Scope

Most startup ideas die because they’re too big, not too small.

So here's a cheat code: take a big problem... and slice off 1% of it.

Want to "fix hiring"?
Start with “make job descriptions not suck.”

Want to “reinvent education”?
Start with “create better flashcards for radiology students.”

Want to “revolutionize real estate”?
Start with “help landlords automate lease renewals.”

If you nail the slice, people will line up for the whole pie.

Tools That Help You Think Smaller (But Better)

Here are a few tools that help you spot tight, high-value opportunities most people overlook:

1. Glasp – Highlight what founders and investors are reading. Patterns emerge. So do idea gaps.

2. Exploding Topics – New niches before they’re cool. Search small trends with big potential.

3. Tally + Notion – Build a landing page and form in under 30 minutes. You don’t need code to validate demand anymore.

4. Startups.fyi – A directory of real solo-built businesses. Filter by revenue, niche, and simplicity.

5. SaaSBase – Shows you profitable micro-SaaS companies and their playbooks. Great for idea teardown.

Here’s Your First Prompt

Try this:

1. Think of a massive, overfunded space you know has bloat (e.g., healthtech, creator tools, SaaS ops).

2. Ask: “What do people actually complain about inside this world?”

3. Now shrink it: What’s the smallest solution someone would pay for that solves just that complaint?

You’re not building a platform. You’re building aspirin.
For a specific pain. For a specific person.
That’s how you win smart.

One More Meme