First Principals
First Principals: business education the architecture and interior design industry never built for itself. Weekly essays on pricing, positioning, AI, and succession — written for principals running firms in 2026, not 1992.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 21 | Founded | 4 months ago | Last Issue | 4 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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firstprincipalsletters.substack.comLatest Issues
The Work You Lose Money On
Questions We’re Answering This Week ~
How do we keep doing the mission work — affordable housing, civic buildings, community projects — that we became architects to do, without going broke? Why does the work that matters most pay the le...
Nobody Is Funding Your Firm
Questions We’re Answering This Week ~
Why is there no capital behind design talent the way there is behind founders, filmmakers, or fund managers? Why do architects fund growth only from last month’s fees? And why does a profession that...
The Best Design Rarely Wins
Questions We’re Answering This Week ~
Why does the best scheme lose the room to a slicker presentation? How do I make a client feel what the design will do, instead of drowning in reactionary plans? How do I hold my ground in a hard con...
It Was Never Just About the Drawings
Questions We’re Answering This Week ~
Is AI just another tool we adopt, like CAD or BIM — or is it something categorically different? How do we tell a passing hype cycle from a genuine transformation? And how do we make a bet on technol...
You Already Know and You Still Won’t
Questions We’re Answering This Week ~
Why do we nod along to every strategy conversation and then change nothing? Why do the ‘decide this week’ resolutions die by the following month? How do we actually execute a change we already know...
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| Subscribers | Engagement | 72 | Monthly Web Visits | ||
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| Accepts Sponsors | Estimated Cost per Ad | ||||
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First Principals: business education the architecture and interior design industry never built for itself. Weekly essays on pricing, positioning, AI, and succession — written for principals running firms in 2026, not 1992.
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