THE
FOUNDER
UPGRADE
Small changes, big results.
Piernicola De Maria
The book.
The Founder Upgrade.
Small Changes, Big Results.
Founder’s Edition. By Piernicola De Maria.
The thesis, in one paragraph.
The difference between founders who scale and founders who stall is not strategy. It is the willingness to make small upgrades, on time, in the right order, and to keep making them while the company is still running. This book is the field manual for that work. Decisions, time, systems, growth, the founder’s own role. One chapter at a time.
Contents.
00. Introduction
01. Why the Founder Upgrade?
02. You Are What You Do
03. Upgrade Your Life
04. The Two Upgrade Strategies: Remove and Replace
05. The Relationship Upgrade
06. Upgrade Your Time
07. Your Business Upgrade
08. True Entrepreneurial Success
09. Focus and Behavioral Patterns
10. Entrepreneurial Work: Structure, Priorities, and Your Calendar
11. Entrepreneurial Work: Decision-Making and Strategic Thinking
12. Business Progress Assessment
13. Your Next Step
Who this is for. Who this is not for.
For.
- Founders running a real company
- Founders who suspect the ceiling is themselves
- Founders who are ready to act, not only read
- Anyone who has read enough business books and wants one that ends with action
Not for.
- Aspiring founders looking for permission to start
- Readers looking for "ten steps to ten million"
- Anyone uncomfortable with personal responsibility
- Anyone who needs a coach to follow up
Read the opening.
From Chapter 01, Why the Founder Upgrade? No email required.
The Irresistible Call of Entrepreneurial Freedom
“I always wanted to be a gangster... as far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. To me, being a gangster was better than being President of the United States.”
That’s how one of my favorite films, Goodfellas, begins, with a line that calling iconic would be an understatement. The protagonist is a kid from Brooklyn who looks at the gangsters in his neighborhood not as criminals, but as models of success and freedom. And who can blame him?
Now, don’t get me wrong: I never dreamed of being a gangster. I’m way too chicken for that kind of thing. But I perfectly understand the attraction to that freedom, that power, that respect.
Personally, I’ve always dreamed of FREEDOM. Freedom to manage my time however I please. Freedom to interact only with the people I choose. Freedom to choose the projects I work on. Freedom to build a team of people who excite me. Freedom to make mistakes and course-correct, without the terror of losing my position.
In short, I have ALWAYS wanted this: to be FREE. And I chose the entrepreneurial path because, then as now, it’s the only one that offers you the possibility of reaching this level of freedom.
The chapter continues in the book.
Where to buy.
The book.
In your hands.
The English edition is being listed now. Leave your email and we will send the buy link the day it is live.
Coming, 2026. Delegate The Noise. The next chapter, for the AI-agent era. Get notified