Barn Sessions NYC: Building Something That Matters
Starting small, thinking big, and finding your real purpose as a founder
Hey everyone,
I've been carrying around this vision for months, and I think it's time to make it real.
Picture this: A raw space. Wood floors, big windows, afternoon light streaming in. A deck of cards on the table next to a coffee setup that actually works. No slides, no pitch decks, no "let's circle back on that."
Just founders, their ideas, and the space to build something that matters.
The Thing About Ideas
I was doing a card trick for someone the other day (old habit from my theater days), and they said something that stuck with me: "You make it look like the magic just happens, but I can tell there's real skill behind it."
That's exactly how I feel about the best startup ideas I've seen. They look effortless when they're working, but there's craft behind them. Real understanding of the problem. Clear vision of the solution. And most importantly—genuine conviction about why it needs to exist.
The problem is, most founders never get the space to develop that craft. They're too busy optimizing funnels, chasing metrics, or preparing for the next investor meeting. They never get to sit with their idea long enough to understand what it really wants to become.
What I'm Actually Building
I'm calling it The Barn Sessions, and here's how it works:
One Saturday. 3-5 founders. One guide (me).
We start in the morning with coffee and a simple question: What are you really trying to build, and why does it matter to you? No elevator pitches. No market size slides. Just the honest story of why this problem found you.
Then we get to work. Not on business plans or financial projections, but on the thing itself. If you're building an app, we prototype screens. If it's a service, we map the experience. If it's hardware, we sketch and model. By lunch, you have something real in your hands.
The afternoon is about iteration and clarity. We test assumptions, refine the core value proposition, and figure out what the first real version looks like. Not the "we'll add features later" version—the version that solves the actual problem for actual people.
And here's the part that might sound cheesy but I don't care: we end with reflection. What changed? What became clear? What are you going to do Monday morning that you weren't going to do before?
Why This Matters to Me
You know what I've realized after 15+ years in tech? The best products I've worked on all started the same way. Someone had a clear vision, understood the real problem, and cared enough to build it right.
At Obsess, when we reduced client resolution time from 23 minutes to under 3 minutes, it wasn't because we had better tools. It was because we finally understood what our clients actually needed and built exactly that.
Same thing with Cash Critters. I didn't build it because AI made it easy (though it did). I built it because I genuinely wanted something like that to exist for kids learning about money. That clarity made every design decision obvious.
The Barn Sessions Difference
This isn't a networking event. It's not a masterclass or a workshop series. It's something more like what happens in a craftsman's studio—focused work on real problems with someone who's been there before.
I'm starting small because small is where the real work happens. 3-5 founders means everyone gets attention. One day means we focus on what actually matters. And doing it regularly means we can watch ideas evolve from sketches to real products.
I'm thinking of a space in Manhattan—something with character, good light, and room to spread out. Maybe even a small deck where we can step outside when we need to think.
The Real Purpose
Here's what I'm really after: I want to help founders find the authentic core of what they're building. Not the version that sounds good in investor meetings, but the version that gets them up at 6 AM excited to work on it.
Because that's when the magic happens. When you're building something you genuinely believe needs to exist, everything else gets easier. The right team finds you. The right customers recognize it immediately. Even the hard technical problems feel worth solving.
I've seen it happen over and over. The founders who succeed aren't necessarily the ones with the best initial ideas—they're the ones who understand their problem deeply and care enough to keep refining their solution until it's exactly right.
If This Sounds Like You
I'm looking for founders who have an idea they're excited about but want to get clearer on what they're actually building. Maybe you've been working on it for months and it feels scattered. Maybe it's brand new and you want to start with a solid foundation. Maybe you've built something but you're not sure it's solving the right problem.
The only requirements: you're willing to work with your hands, you're open to honest feedback, and you care more about building something meaningful than building something that sounds impressive.
I'm planning to start The Barn Sessions in a few weeks. 3-5 founders, one Saturday, real work on real problems. If you're in NYC or willing to travel here, and this resonates with you, let me know what you're working on and why it matters.
Because there's always competition. But there's only one version of your idea that comes from your specific understanding of the problem and your unique vision for solving it.
Let's figure out what that looks like.
Want to be part of The Barn Sessions? Hit reply and tell me about your idea—not the pitch version, but the real story of why you're building it.
P.S. - Yes, I'll probably do a card trick to break the ice. Some habits die hard.
John Mann
Building things that matter, one idea at a time
If you know a founder who could use some focused time to clarify their vision, forward this their way.