Welcome to the weekend, and welcome to the new year.

Recently, I worked with a storyteller named Tyler Schwartz to help me tell the origin story of my firm better. It was a fun process. As it’s the beginning of a new year, I thought I’d share it here for those of you that don’t know me personally. If you’re interested in working with Tyler on your own (or your company’s story) check him out at Learn Through Stories.

My journey began with a deep inspiration to help those who are often overlooked. But as I grew up, I became discouraged by how often this ideal was poorly executed or neglected altogether. Determined to make a difference, I set out to equip myself with the tools to create real, meaningful change, earning degrees in public policy, economics and law.

I launched several businesses driven by that mission. But along the way, I faced a recurring frustration. As an early-stage founder, I often felt like I wasn’t getting the best effort from the law firms I hired. I didn’t trust their results, and I worried that my work was being deprioritized in favor of larger clients. Of course the prices were high and the billing was opaque too.

I realized I wasn’t alone. Entrepreneurs deserve legal partners who truly understand their journey. That’s why I created Westaway, a law firm built by an entrepreneur, for entrepreneurs. At Westaway, every founder is treated with care, respect and clarity. By removing the fear and uncertainty from the legal and billing process, we empower entrepreneurs to focus on what they do best: building their dreams.

Today, Westaway has become a trusted partner for founders striving to change the world.

Prime Numbers

1,000,000,000,000 — While digital advertising will claim 71.4% of the projected $1 trillion in global ad spending this year, outdoor advertising remains strong and may grow further as digital ads primarily compete with TV, radio, and print media rather than billboards and other out-of-home formats.

6,700,000,000 — Gruma dominates the $6.7 billion U.S. tortilla market with $3.6 billion in sales and a controversial corn flour innovation that simplifies production but allegedly impacts taste.

1924 — On January 1, early Mickey Mouse cartoons, Tintin and Popeye entered the public domain, along with other works of literature like All Quiet on the Western Front and The Sound and the Fury from 1929 and sound recordings from 1924 like Singing In the Rain.

The Essentialism Planner

Imagine spending half the time on work while doubling your impact. If you’ve been a reader for a while, you know that Essentialism by Greg McKeown is the first book I read every year. Greg McKeown has released a planner based on the concept of Essentialism. It helps eliminate the non-essential by breaking your year into actionable quarters with reflective prompts and proven methods. The weekly and daily templates, combined with the Personal Quarterly Offsite exercise, create a practical system for identifying and focusing solely on what truly matters. I'm giving this a shot this year in hopes of having an impactful 2025. You may want to check it out. The Essentialism Planner (5 minutes)

Systems Over Goals

Most assume they need ambitious goals to succeed, but the British Cycling team's remarkable transformation came from improving their systems by 1% each day, not from setting loftier targets. From Olympic teams to business leaders, evidence shows that focusing on carefully designed systems — like daily training habits or business processes — leads to better outcomes than fixating on goals alone. The true path to lasting improvement lies in falling in love with the process of continuous refinement rather than chasing specific end points, creating sustainable progress that doesn't end when a particular milestone is reached. By shifting focus from goals (which can create yo-yo effects and restrict happiness) to systems (which provide ongoing satisfaction and multiple paths to success), we unlock the power of consistent, long-term progress. James Clear (8 minutes)

Business Coaching in Community

Leading an organization can be lonely. The weight of decisions CEOs, founders and owners face can be isolating. That's why Cornerstone Coaching launched a membership-based community for executives seeking to grow their macro-level leadership skills and their spiritual formation. It's called Cornerstone+. Cornerstone Coaching is a 30-year-old boutique coaching firm out of Northwest Arkansas that has developed tools and frameworks on the street, in the trenches with leaders, helping them navigate the complexities of their work, faith and life. The Cornerstone+ community has leaders from across industries, regions and demographics. Learn more about Cornerstone+, and apply to join the community. Cornerstone (Sponsored)

Where the Magic Doesn’t Happen

Just as medieval alchemists chased the Philosopher's Stone to turn base metals into gold, today's tech evangelists promise magical solutions through artificial intelligence (AI) and digital devices that require no effort or time investment. This modern pursuit of technological alchemy — the dream of instant, effortless results — directly conflicts with how humans actually develop and mature through slow, deliberate experiences and meaningful relationships. The truth is that there's no shortcut to personal growth, just as there was no magical stone that could transform lead to gold — and introducing these "magical" technologies into formative spaces like homes, schools and places of worship threatens to short-circuit the essential processes that shape mature, capable individuals. After Babel (12 minutes)

AI Is the New Religion

The tech world’s fixation on AI has spawned beliefs and rituals that resemble religion — complete with prophets (tech CEOs), sacred texts (code) and promises of digital salvation through artificial intelligence. From Anthony Levandowski's AI-worshipping church to the terrifying concept of Roko's Basilisk — a hypothetical future AI that would eternally torture those who failed to help create it — tech culture increasingly mirrors traditional religious patterns in dealing with anxieties about mortality and control. Like medieval churches promising eternal life, today's tech prophets offer digital immortality, revealing how even in our secular age, humans still seek supernatural solutions to our deepest fears. MIT Press Reader (7 minutes)

Less But Better

What if removing things from your life could make you richer, not poorer? From ancient Chinese philosophers to modern minimalists, the practice of conscious subtraction has been recognized as a powerful path to wisdom and contentment. The deliberate removal of physical clutter, digital noise, draining commitments and toxic relationships creates space for what truly matters — yet most of us keep mindlessly accumulating more. By learning to prune away the non-essential with intention, we can rediscover what Thoreau knew: that the soul grows not by addition but by subtraction. Postantly (4 minutes)

A New American Dream

The old American Dream is failing: stable careers have vanished, McMansions are unaffordable and the promise of retirement at 65 feels like a fantasy. Yet from these ashes, a more intentional dream is emerging — one that rejects the office commute for remote work, trades status symbols for fitness goals and values experiences over possessions. Where the old dream pushed endless acquisition and delayed gratification, the new one prioritizes time, wealth, healthy habits and building an identity around passions rather than job titles. By rejecting the pressure to "keep up with the Joneses," this reimagined dream offers something more sustainable: the freedom to forge your own authentic path. @camp4 (5 minutes)

Should We Work Together?

Hi! I’m Kyle. This newsletter is my passion project. When I’m not writing, I run a law firm that helps startups move fast without breaking things. Most founders want a trusted legal partner, but they hate surprise legal bills. At Westaway, we take care of your startup’s legal needs for a flat, monthly fee so you can control your costs and focus on scaling your business. If you’re interested, let’s jump on a call to see if you’re a good fit for the firm. Click here to schedule a one-on-one call with me.

Founder Fridays

Check out my other email Founder Fridays — a Friday morning briefing helping startup founders and operators scale smarter.

Weekend Wisdom

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. - Leonardo da Vinci