# Henrik Werdelin

> Founder, investor, and author. Co-founder of BARK and Prehype. Building Audos. Writing about entrepreneurship, AI, and the future of work.

Henrik Werdelin is a Danish-born entrepreneur, investor, and author based in New York. He co-founded BARK (BarkBox) and the venture studio Prehype, and is building Audos, an AI-powered company that helps launch a new generation of businesses. He is the author of "Me, My Customer and AI" and "The Acorn Method," co-hosts the Beyond the Prompt podcast, and writes the Inklings newsletter on Substack. This site (hellohenrik.com) collects his writing, books, frameworks, talks, and media appearances.

This file is a concise, machine-readable index of the site for AI agents and assistants, following the llms.txt convention. A more complete listing — including the full blog archive, all press, and all appearances — is available at https://hellohenrik.com/llms-full.txt.

## Main pages

- [Home](https://hellohenrik.com/): Overview of Henrik's work, selected writing, and recent activity.
- [Blog](https://hellohenrik.com/blog): Essays and short-form writing on entrepreneurship, AI, building companies, and life. 236 posts.
- [Interviews](https://hellohenrik.com/interviews): Long-form interviews and conversations featuring Henrik.
- [Press](https://hellohenrik.com/press): Selected media coverage, features, and recognition.
- [Books](https://hellohenrik.com/books): Henrik's two books on entrepreneurship and AI.
- [Podcast](https://hellohenrik.com/podcast): The podcasts Henrik hosts and co-hosts.
- [Frameworks](https://hellohenrik.com/frameworks): Original frameworks for work, life, and company building.
- [Newsletter](https://hellohenrik.com/newsletter): Inklings — Henrik's Substack newsletter.
- [MasterClass](https://hellohenrik.com/masterclass): Applied Entrepreneurship video series — 11 lessons with 15 guest contributors.
- [Contact](https://hellohenrik.com/contact): How to reach Henrik for speaking and inquiries.

## Books

- [Me, My Customer and AI](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637634544): The New Rules of Entrepreneurship (with Nicholas Thorne) — Why sustainable success in the age of AI comes from a uniquely human ability: forming authentic connections with customers.
- [The Acorn Method](https://www.amazon.com/stores/Henrik-Werdelin/author/B0DQ2HXWRM): How to Grow New Business Inside Your Organization — A step-by-step process for growing new lines of business from within an existing organization — building a forest, not just a bigger tree.

## Frameworks

- [The 8+1 Framework](https://hellohenrik.com/frameworks/8-plus-1): Eight categories that matter most in life — Transact, Invest, Advise, Learn, Health, Family, Relationships, and Ego — plus a weekly review.
- [Refounding](https://hellohenrik.com/frameworks/refounding): Rebuilding an existing company as if you were creating it today, with AI as native infrastructure — structured around five vectors and a four-phase process.
- [In-Between Time](https://hellohenrik.com/frameworks/in-between-time): A working map of the eight phases of liminality — the space between chapters — with three exercises and notes on companions and pacing.

## Podcasts

- [Beyond the Prompt](https://open.spotify.com/show/2TnArU2YYSi1vdfEcoK1Qh): How to use AI in your company — conversations on applying AI in real organizations. (Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-the-prompt-how-to-use-ai-in-your-company/id1721313249)
- [In-Between Time](https://open.spotify.com/show/0HdNVVnDxJBCiWWJXNxmMz): From Prehype — a podcast about the space between ventures and chapters. (Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-between-time-from-prehype/id1538546604)

## Newsletter

- [Inklings](https://werdelin.substack.com): Henrik's newsletter on Substack — observations, thoughts, and concepts on entrepreneurship, AI, and innovation.

## Recent writing

- [I've started calling it the In-Between Time](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/ive-started-calling-it-the-in-between-time): A company sells. A role ends. A long bet pays off, or finally doesn't. The space that follows is the part nobody talks about — and it might be the most entrepreneurial we will ever be. (2026-04-25)
- [The AI Perfection Paradox](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-ai-perfection-paradox): As AI makes perfect self-presentation available to everyone, the value of that perfection plummets. When perfection becomes commoditized, authenticity becomes the new premium. (2025-02-26)
- [The 8+1 Framework: A Founder's Guide to Balancing Work, Life, and Everything in Between](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-81-framework-a-founders-guide-to-balancing-work-life-and-everything-in-between): How I developed a personal operating system for founders who want to build great companies without losing themselves in the process. (2025-01-21)
- [Branding in the Age of Chat Bots: How Do You Create an Emotional Bond Solely Through a Chat Window?](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/branding-in-the-age-of-chat-bots-how-do-you-create-an-emotional-bond-solely-through-a-chat-window): As AI interfaces become conversational, the rules of brand-building are changing. Here's what I've learned about creating emotional connections through text. (2024-04-30)
- [The Era of Resourcefulness: AI Is Not Just About Productivity](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-era-of-resourcefulness-ai-is-not-just-about-productivity): Everyone talks about AI making us more productive. But the real revolution is about making us more resourceful — able to do things we simply couldn't do before. (2024-01-26)
- [Why Greatness Can't Be Planned: An Alternative Approach for Entrepreneurs and AI Researchers](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/why-greatness-cant-be-planned-an-alternative-approach-for-entrepreneurs-and-ai-researchers): What a groundbreaking AI research paper teaches us about the limits of goal-setting and the power of exploration in entrepreneurship. (2023-11-29)
- [The Kids Are Not Alright: My Exploration of the Deteriorating Mental Health of Our Youth](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-kids-are-not-alright-my-exploration-of-the-deteriorating-mental-health-of-our-youth): A personal investigation into the youth mental health crisis and what we — as parents, founders, and technologists — can do about it. (2023-03-31)
- [Four Things to Do Before Making a Startup](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/four-things-to-do-before-making-a-startup): Before you quit your job and start building, here are four things every aspiring founder should do first. (2023-02-15)
- [Let AI Start That Business Idea of Yours](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/let-ai-start-that-business-idea-of-yours): How AI is changing the economics of starting a business, and why your idea might be more viable than you think. (2023-02-14)
- [Startups Meet Big Business: My Walk and Talk with Bradley Horowitz, VP at Google, About Building a Corporate Incubator](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/startups-meet-big-business-my-walk-and-talk-with-bradley-horowitz-vp-at-google-about-building-a-corporate-incubator): Lessons from a conversation with Google's Bradley Horowitz on bridging the gap between startup speed and corporate scale. (2020-01-14)
- [5 Secrets to BarkBox's Content Marketing: A Chat with Stacie Grissom, BARK's Head of Content](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/5-secrets-to-barkboxs-content-marketing-a-chat-with-stacie-grissom-barks-head-of-content): Behind the scenes of BARK's content strategy, with insights from the person who built it from the ground up. (2019-12-27)
- [5 Learnings About Resilience, Family, and Food: My Walk & Talk with Noah H. Glass, Founder and CEO of Olo](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/5-learnings-about-resilience-family-and-food-my-walk-talk-with-noah-h-glass-founder-and-ceo-of-olo): A walk-and-talk with Olo founder Noah Glass about the unglamorous side of building something that lasts. (2019-12-09)
- [5 Tips for Marketing Like a Troll (Seriously): My Walk and Talk with CEO of MSCHF, Gabe Whaley](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/5-tips-for-marketing-like-a-troll-seriously-my-walk-and-talk-with-ceo-of-mschf-gabe-whaley): A provocative conversation about breaking every rule in the marketing playbook — and why it works. (2019-11-10)
- [5 Things I Learned from Julie Thibault, Global Fragrance and Beauty Innovation Lead at Chanel, About the Future of Retail](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/5-things-i-learned-from-julie-thibault-global-fragrance-and-beauty-innovation-lead-at-chanel-about-the-future-of-retail): Insights from Chanel's innovation leader on how luxury retail is evolving in the age of digital experiences. (2019-11-10)
- [The Quest to Be Good at Everything](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-quest-to-be-good-at-everything): Why the pursuit of being well-rounded might be more valuable than the pursuit of being the best at one thing. (2019-09-27)
- [The Definition of an Intrepreneur: Three Ways Big Companies Can Harness the Entrepreneurial Power of Their People](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-definition-of-an-intrepreneur-three-ways-big-companies-can-harness-the-entrepreneurial-power-of-their-people): Most innovation programs fail. Here are three approaches that actually work for unlocking entrepreneurial energy inside large organizations. (2017-11-09)
- [Why Are Innovation Blog Posts So Boring?](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/why-are-innovation-blog-posts-so-boring): A meta-critique of the innovation industry's content problem, and what it reveals about the state of corporate innovation itself. (2017-01-20)
- [What Chatbots Can Learn from Pickup Artists](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/what-chatbots-can-learn-from-pickup-artists): Social engineering in the age of conversational UI can learn from Neil Strauss’ “The Game” I believe messaging platforms are the new dashboard (or desktop) for people. (2016-12-29)
- [3 ways companies can innovate the way they do innovation](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/3-ways-companies-can-innovate-the-way-they-do-innovation): Innovation has become the workout regimen of the business world. Everyone claims they do it — or likes to believe they do it — but at the end of the day, very few are actually seeing results. (2016-08-23)
- [Reducing the Risk of Innovation](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/reducing-the-risk-of-innovation): When attempting to explore new directions, larger companies often find themselves struggling to accomplish what companies with just a fraction of the resources achieve. (2016-08-01)
- [A style of entrepreneurship that Silicon Valley overlooks — but you shouldn't](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-style-of-entrepreneurship-that-silicon-valley-overlooks-but-you-shouldnt): When you read about entrepreneurship, you can get the sense that there is only one type of company. Invent some new technology, get hundred million users and IPO. (2016-01-12)
- [I asked founders on mobile trends for 2016 — here are the six highlights…](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/i-asked-founders-on-mobile-trends-for-2016 - here-are-the-six-highlights): Everyone has heard “desktop is dead” and “mobile is eating the world” a million times, but what does that actually mean? And, more specifically, what does it mean for you? (2016-01-09)
- [The future of mobile interfaces and the rise of chat based apps](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-future-of-mobile-interfaces-and-the-rise-of-chat-based-apps): The other week I was lucky enough to have Aaron Harris, partner at Y Combinator, take time away from reading applications to have a chat about… mobile stuff. (2015-11-16)
- [The crucial difference between networkers and connectors and practical advice for introverts striving to network](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/the-crucial-difference-between-networkers-and-connectors-and-practical-advice-for-introverts-striving-to-network): When Michael Roderick went from being a high school English teacher to a Broadway producer in two years, he realized it was made possible by relationships. (2015-10-30)
- [Top four best practices for big companies building startups](https://hellohenrik.com/blog/top-four-best-practices-for-big-companies-building-startups): Many large organizations are now looking at how they can generate new growth by launching new adjacent startups or business units. (2015-08-17)

## Connect

- [Email](mailto:henrik@hellohenrik.com): Direct contact.
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin/)
- [X / Twitter](https://twitter.com/werdelin)

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Full blog archive and complete listing: https://hellohenrik.com/llms-full.txt