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Chiara Cokieng

📍 Berlin, Germany

Linchpin, 14 Years Later

In 2012, a book made me realize my impressive resume meant… almost nothing. I read Linchpin by Seth Godin. It kind of punched me in the face. At the time — fresh out of university — I thought I was hot shit. Magna cum laude. Student council. Recruited into an exclusive, prestigious

Update for the week ending Fri, 30 Jan, 2026

Getting back into work faster than usual after a vacation, and reframing revenue as a signal toward Product–Market Fit, not the goal.

Update for the week ending Fri, 16 Jan, 2026

Unexpectedly shortened week due to family loss: traveled to Manila, delivered a eulogy, one client interview win via AI, and three blog posts published.

He Just Took Care of Us: A Eulogy for My Uncle Harry Dy, Tua Yi Tiu

Delivered at his funeral on Friday, January 16, 2026. For those who don’t know me, my name is Chiara. My family calls me Chi Chi. Harry Dy is my uncle, I call him Tua Yi Tiu. I now live in Germany. On Tuesday, I woke up and saw the

Thinking Like a Player in a Job Market (Not Just a Job Seeker)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it really means to be a “player” in a job market — not just someone applying to jobs, optimizing their CV, and hoping for the best, but someone who understands that they’re operating inside a market with supply, demand, competition, and

Torturous Chaos, Until It Isn’t

Jason Cohen is talking about bootstrapping startups here, but it might as well be about job searching in this market. These things mean you haven’t yet succeeded, but neither do they prove that you’re failing. It’s always like this until it isn’t. It’s like this

Is building a business supposed to consume your life - even when you do everything right?

I’ve been thinking about why work still consumes founders even when they prioritize well, automate, and build great systems. This post explores whether that pattern is inevitable.

Letter to Josh Doody: On Building a Luxury Business and Learning the Business and the Craft

Hi Josh, I originally started writing this as an email reply to your email newsletter. But I’ve been enjoying writing public letters lately, so I thought: why not make this one public too. I also want to share your 2025 Year in Review with a few friends who are

Update for the week ending Fri, 9 Jan, 2026

First week back after the holidays: first client interview, onboarding reset, one new client, and outcome goals met despite missed KPIs.

On love as a competitive advantage and making profit the right way (after reading Jason Cohen)

Typical advice in business and negotiation is to charge as much as you can. Don’t leave money on the table. Some even say it’s your moral imperative to do so. This never sat well with me. I’ve always valued the long-term relationship over short-term profits. I always