You’ve been thinking about starting your own company for months. Maybe years. You run the numbers, build side projects, read every “how I quit my job” post, but you still don’t know when you’re ready.

Welcome to Pragmatic Founders

One practical insight every Saturday for people navigating the employee-to-founder transition in 300 words.

Why This Exists (And Who It’s For)

Most content about becoming a founder falls into two camps: “just quit and figure it out” or “grind every weekend until you burn out”.

Neither is helpful when you’re trying to make a smart decision about your career and financial future.

Pragmatic Founders is different.

It’s about taking a practical approach to building an intentional business: a business that aligns with your values and goals, not someone else’s playbook. Smart bets over reckless gambles. Action over endless analysis. What actually works, not what sounds good in theory.

This newsletter is for people who:

• Want to build their own company but prefer smart bets over blind leaps

• Value action and learning over perfect plans

• Are tired of both hustle culture AND analysis paralysis

• Think “good enough and shipped” beats “perfect and stuck”

• Are still employed and figuring out the right path forward

• Want practical guidance from someone in it with them

If you’ve already made the leap and you’re full-time, this probably isn’t for you. But if you’re in the messy middle, planning, calculating, wondering when to jump, you’re exactly who I’m writing for.

Who I Am

I’m Rasmus Edwards.

For the past 4 years, I’ve been a software consultant working in enterprise codebases. I’m decent at it and I solve complex problems. I get paid well.

But none of it is mine.

So I’m building two products in my off-hours, going the solo founder route:

Solopreneur Liftoff - A financial planning tool that helps people figure out when they’re actually ready to make the leap. I built it because I couldn’t find one that worked the way I needed.

Lysa Care - An iOS app for skincare tracking. Different market, same lessons about validation, building and shipping.

I haven’t quit my job yet. I’m running numbers, testing my products with real users, trying to figure out when “good enough” becomes “time to go.”

This newsletter is me thinking out loud about that process.

I’m not an expert who’s “made it.” I’m just a few steps ahead, taking a pragmatic approach, and sharing what I’m learning along the way.

If that sounds useful, I’ll see you Saturday.

What You’ll Get

Every Saturday: One insight in 300 words

Smart bets and decisions:
When to quit (and when not to). How to know you’re ready. Making good decisions with incomplete information. What “ready” actually looks like.

Building while employed:
Making progress with limited time. Good enough beats perfect. What to build first (and what to skip). Sustainable building that doesn’t burn you out.

The real numbers:
What it actually costs to make the leap. Simple runway calculations. Real updates from building my products. Honest metrics.

Learning by doing:
What worked, what didn’t. Course corrections. Experiments and results. Mistakes that taught me something. Building a business on your terms.

Subscribe to start your journey to become a Pragmatic Founder

One practical insight every Saturday for people navigating the employee-to-founder transition in 300 words.