Essays and The Founder's Memo vlog from David Risley: building a business on your own terms.https://www.davidrisley.com/en-ushttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/why-there-are-so-many-wordpress-security-warnings-lately/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/why-there-are-so-many-wordpress-security-warnings-lately/Cigar time. Haven't done one of those since the beginning... so let's talk about the WordPress security scene.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/ai-is-now-my-main-interface-for-running-the-business/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/ai-is-now-my-main-interface-for-running-the-business/Well, there's been a bit of a delay since the last one. When I started the Founder's Memo I talked about getting my reps in and staying consistent. That's harder than it sounds when I've got my fingers in so many projects. So let me tell you about one of them.Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/im-done-with-adp-payroll-shopping-for-a-one-man-business/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/im-done-with-adp-payroll-shopping-for-a-one-man-business/As a solopreneur, one of the joys of running a business is dealing with payroll. This is some behind-the-scenes stuff we don't usually talk about around here, but we all deal with it... taxes and all that.Wed, 30 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/cpanel-is-lazy-hosting/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/cpanel-is-lazy-hosting/I've worked with a lot of web hosts over the years. And there's one kind I really don't like: the ones that throw their customers into cPanel.Tue, 22 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/i-gave-grokbot-a-try-but-im-done/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/i-gave-grokbot-a-try-but-im-done/I gave Grokbot a real try. It's polished, easy to use, and you don't need to know much about AI harnesses to stand up a "team." That's the whole pitch.Fri, 11 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/breaking-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-as-ceo-of-automattic/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/breaking-matt-mullenweg-put-on-leave-as-ceo-of-automattic/Breaking: Automattic's board put Matt Mullenweg on a paid leave of absence. Not necessarily permanent, but he's out as CEO for now.Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/grokbot-vs-hermes-easy-team-or-diy-power/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/grokbot-vs-hermes-easy-team-or-diy-power/As a solopreneur you wear every hat. AI agents are the closest thing to a real team that can take work off your plate.Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/local-ai-fomo-is-making-people-spend-stupid-money/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/local-ai-fomo-is-making-people-spend-stupid-money/Follow-up to last week's Mac Studio video. I did not buy the $10,000 machine.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/claude-fable-5-1-stop-using-a-lamborghini-to-pick-up-groceries/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/claude-fable-5-1-stop-using-a-lamborghini-to-pick-up-groceries/People on X are piling on Claude Fable 5.1 for being needy and burning quota. I used it last night as a thinking model on my Obsidian vault. If I were paying by the token it would have been about $55. I'm on Claude Max, so it was included.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/treat-ai-like-a-power-drill-not-a-ghostwriter/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/treat-ai-like-a-power-drill-not-a-ghostwriter/Rhonda emailed asking if using AI trains models on her work, lets competitors clone her, and makes everyone sound the same.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/behind-the-scenes-how-i-use-claude-to-build-my-newsletter/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/behind-the-scenes-how-i-use-claude-to-build-my-newsletter/Founder's Memo #5 - Behind the Scenes!Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/new-mac-studios-are-out-but-worth-it-to-drop-10k-on-it-for-local-ai/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/new-mac-studios-are-out-but-worth-it-to-drop-10k-on-it-for-local-ai/Apple just announced the new Mac Studios. The one I'm looking at is $9,500. That's the M5 Ultra with 256GB of RAM.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/still-not-using-ai-time-to-get-moving/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/still-not-using-ai-time-to-get-moving/I went into 2026 knowing this was the year I had to actually learn AI. Not chatting with it like a glorified search engine. Real work.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/why-i-bought-a-dji-osmo-pocket-3/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/why-i-bought-a-dji-osmo-pocket-3/I'm trying to remove friction from putting these videos out. Concierge WordPress work is what I actually do all day. This isn't my business, so the process has to be easy.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/videos/founders-memo-1-restarting-this-as-a-solopreneur-vlog/https://www.davidrisley.com/videos/founders-memo-1-restarting-this-as-a-solopreneur-vlog/This is Founder's Memo #1.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Founder's Memohttps://www.davidrisley.com/commandments-of-online-blog-based-business/https://www.davidrisley.com/commandments-of-online-blog-based-business/I have a natural inclination toward simplicity. No matter what subject I tackle, my gut instinct is always to boil things down to the big ideas. And the subject of online business is no different. Years ago, when my business was much more focused on blogging and content, I decided to create a set ofFri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTBloghttps://www.davidrisley.com/entrepreneurial-cycle/https://www.davidrisley.com/entrepreneurial-cycle/Turns out I’ve been doing the same thing for over a decade: creating for a while, then quietly sliding into survival mode without noticing. Here’s the framework that keeps catching me at it.Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTBloghttps://www.davidrisley.com/how-to-help-save-the-world-using-your-social-media-account/https://www.davidrisley.com/how-to-help-save-the-world-using-your-social-media-account/We’ve all done it. Or at least most of us. You get pissed off about something that happens to you, and you turn to Facebook to rant. Or perhaps you rant about politics on social media. Or post news stories. Or perhaps you do the exact opposite… posting only the good things that happen to…Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlog