Another week, another newsletter you feel obligated to ship. It’s supposed to help, but it often reads like a status update no one asked for. In this episode, Todd Gagne sits with Banks Benitez to reframe the founder newsletter as a product, not an email. The core insight: trust is the scarce resource, and your newsletter should solve a specific problem for a narrowly defined reader. They dig into positioning your newsletter in the funnel (often mid-funnel credibility, not top-of-funnel lead gen), why slower cadence beats volume in the AI era, and the idea of “nutrient density” over cheap calories. Todd and Banks walk through practical prompts: who exactly is this for, when do they need it, what decision does it support? They share examples from lists of 25 decision-makers to 100k subscribers, and metrics to watch beyond open rates. The thread running through it all is patience. Precision, honesty, and craft compound into trust over time.