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💆🏻 The Ultimate Founder Mental Health Stack. Psychedelics, depression drugs, dog walks, training, meditation, Whoop and loads more.
🔥 The CFO Who Killed The Spreadsheet. An interview with John Glasgow, CEO & CFO at Campfire.
🧊 Get Down On Your Knees And Pray For Shackleton. The greatest Antarctic adventurer and how to lead through difficult times.

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HOUSEKEEPING 📨

Honestly, the 41-year-old LeBron James, in year 23 of his career, is just filling me with so much joy right now. In this previous game, he and his son—yes, that’s right, LeBron James Jr.—scored 10 straight points for the Lakers, including an insane father-to-son, alley-oop pass. What world are we living in right now? It’s literally bonkers.

Not only that, but the Lakers are going to win this series against the Rockets, meaning they progress to the big boss of the OKC Thunder in the next round, where they will likely get smashed, but I don’t care. I am just so happy that after I watched LeBron’s first game at 17 years of age in the bedroom of my family home (downloaded the game from The Pirate Bay), I am still watching him at 40. Amazing.

INTERVIEW 🎙️

Ronan Berder, Exited Founder & CEO at Wiredcraft

Ronan Berder is the founder and longtime chief executive of Wiredcraft, a Shanghai-born digital product consultancy known for building large-scale apps and WeChat experiences for global brands like Nike, Dior, Burberry, Hilton, and more. He grew the team to well over 100 specialists across design, data, and engineering, positioning Wiredcraft as a go-to partner for Western brands competing in China’s fast-moving digital ecosystem.

In 2022, Ronan led the sale of Wiredcraft to Publicis Groupe and later stepped away from day-to-day operations. Since the exit, he’s been writing, contributing to open source, and advising founders while splitting time between Singapore and the U.S., as well as working on his new project /dev/push.

Give us the quick Wiredcraft elevator pitch?

Wiredcraft was a consulting firm doing two main things: digital transformation and digital products. Concretely, we worked mostly with Fortune 500s—primarily in China, with some work in Japan, Australia, and the U.S.—on consumer-facing digital touchpoints.

We covered everything from strategy and design down to infrastructure, scaling, and security. We worked with leadership teams on how to enter and grow the Chinese market digitally and make it successful from a business standpoint. Clients included LVMH, Adidas, Nike, Burberry, Dior, GM, and Hilton, among others. We got serious about consulting around 2015 and grew from eight people to over 100 by the time we sold. At peak, we were roughly 160.

What pushed you toward selling the company?

I've always hated consulting. I'm a product guy at heart; I like building, launching, and growing digital products. When we focused on consulting in 2015, I was clear that it had a shelf life for me.

We had a deal on the table in early 2020 that died because of COVID. We went back to market after strong growth—20%+ top-line in 2020 and ~70% in 2021—which led to the sale.

Who acquired you, and how did the process unfold?

We sold to Publicis, one of the largest agency holdings in the world. They own brands like Sapient, Digitas, and Saatchi & Saatchi. We were initially approached by about half a dozen firms, plus a few strategics. We hired SI Partners as our M&A advisor to run the process. We probably had ~12 interested, narrowed to 8, then 6, then 4. In the end, we had two serious offers and multiple LOIs.

We optimized for a mix of partner take-home, brand fit for staff, and how our team would be treated post-deal. Deal structures varied, so it was a balancing act: more upfront vs. more earn-out, retention targets vs. financial targets. Another bidder was a well-known consultancy that would’ve looked great on résumés, but Publicis had the more attractive terms overall.

How did you think about valuation and negotiation?

I’m not particularly sophisticated in finance. My approach was to anchor to the highest credible price and let advisors help parse the terms. The process was stressful: periods of intense decision-making, then long due diligence with constant small issues. We focused on the totality of terms: what partners take home, the brand impact, treatment of the team, and the structure of upfront vs. tail.

What did the first 24 hours after closing feel like?

Honestly, nothing. Mostly relief. I was in my bedroom on a cheap IKEA folding chair with my laptop on a stack of books because we had no furniture. We got on the call, confirmed signatures, and it was done in minutes.

Leading up to it, I had a knot in my stomach for weeks. Shanghai was going through brutal lockdowns, and after our 2020 deal died because of COVID, I worried it might happen again. Once it closed, it was back to work immediately. There was an earn-out and targets. It was pretty anti-climactic.

Did your mindset towards wealth change? How do you manage your money now?

Not really. The biggest shift was simply feeling that my family is safe, no matter what happens; that was always the goal. I’ve always been very frugal. I don’t chase attention, I don’t care about fancy things, and the most expensive thing I buy is a laptop. I’d pick a barbecue with my wife over a fancy restaurant or meeting some actor any day. Before the deal, I’d never even owned a credit card, taken a loan, or bought stocks. I lived off my debit card, so there was a learning curve just to understand how to manage money after the exit.

Others close to me benefited as well. I had a few minority partners, and they did really well. They don’t need to take jobs unless they want to. They can rest for a few years, and some may not need to work again. At first, the money sat in an HSBC account earning no interest for two or three months; that was dumb in absolute terms, but I had no idea where to put large amounts. We took time to get intros to private banks, choose who to work with, and set everything up.

There’s pressure to use them as your wealth manager, and others also pitch you. I was skeptical. It’s hard to delegate what you don’t understand. I didn’t understand the products or mechanisms, and I don’t think banks always have your best interests at heart. So now I mostly manage it myself. About 40% is in equities and ~60% in fixed income. I’m still learning and may eventually bring in help, but only once I deeply understand the risks and products.

How is the portfolio allocated today, and what do you expect from private credit?

High level: 40% equities, 60% fixed income. Within equities, it’s fairly concentrated in a few names, heavy on tech. There’s one ETF in the mix. We may add broader ETFs as we move toward a 60/40 equity/fixed split. We’re taking calculated risks with names like Tesla and Nvidia, aiming for strong performance over 3–5 years.

Fixed income is a blend: some cash in deposits (rates are still okay), some bonds and products like PIMCO, and a third going into private credit with firms like Apollo and others. So roughly a third cash, a bit more than a third bonds/PIMCO-style products, and a third private credit. Depending on the vehicle, roughly 8–12%. In my view, it’s lower risk than equities and historically on par with—or better than—the S&P 500. It’s more ‘fixed income-like,’ with coupon payments on a quarterly or monthly basis and much less volatility.

How has your personal spending changed post-exit?

It hasn’t. My two luxuries pre-exit remain: business class for flights longer than eight hours, and not worrying about the price of food. I cook most meals and eat high-protein, so I buy what I want there.

What’s your household burn, and does it touch principal?

Roughly $30k a month, mostly family and kids. Almost a third goes to the apartment—real estate in Singapore is expensive. The rest is schools, Chinese and French lessons, and general comfort for the kids.

How do you get the best out of yourself?

I don’t think I’m exceptionally bright or sophisticated. A lot of success was timing and sheer consistency, putting in the work and creating your own luck. I don’t give much advice because context rarely transfers. Most people need to get burned to adopt lessons anyway. What I can say: hard work isn’t sufficient, but it’s mandatory. People underestimate what that really means: years of high stakes, fear of failing, and grinding. For years, I was broke; only in the last three years did it look like it would work.

Discipline is my edge. I don’t drink alcohol. Paleo/carnivore diet; no pasta, bread, sugar, or processed food. No coffee or tea. I work out five times a week, even if I’m sick. Reasonable sleep. It’s boring and vanilla, but consistency wins over occasional brilliance. I’ve seen incredibly talented people fall behind because they weren’t consistent. The steady ones compound from consistently good to very good to great. Do that long enough, and timing eventually tilts in your favor.

Extra reading / learning

• 15 Years Doing What I Hated… 8-Figure Exit. Worth It? - July, 2025

• If You Ain’t AI First, You’re Last - November, 2025

And that’s it! You can follow Ronan on LinkedIn to keep up with him or check out /dev/push to see what he’s been working on right now!

BRAIN FOOD 🧠 

TWEETS OF THE WEEK 🐣 

TOOLS WE RECOMMEND 🛠️

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