Start Ugly. Build Smart.
Start Ugly. Build Smart. Book Cover
Start Ugly. Build Smart.
A Field Manual for Real People Building Real Businesses.
You don't need a perfect plan. You need a real one.
This book cuts through the fluff and gives you the tools to finally launch whether you're broke, unprepared, or just tired of waiting.
Book Four in a 9-Part Series

Launch Fast. Build Real. Skip the Fluff.

This book is for the doers. The ones who are done waiting and ready to move.

  • How to start lean, fast, and ugly
  • Build momentum without investors, branding, or permission
  • Real-world stories, scripts, checklists, and examples
  • Marketing, pricing, selling, systems—it's all inside
  • Built from two decades of in-the-trenches experience

You don't need more ideas. You need a field manual.
Buy Start Ugly. Build Smart. →

This Isn’t Just a Book. It’s a Starting Point.

Start Ugly. Build Smart. is Book Four in an evolving 9-part series built for real people taking real steps toward financial freedom and business ownership.

Each book tackles a specific stage, whether you're digging out of debt, chasing cash flow, building systems, or scaling up.

You're not buying hype. You're buying a blueprint.
View the Full Series Roadmap →

Don’t Miss What’s Next

We’re not just writing books. We’re building a system, a nine-part field guide for real operators, backed by live sessions, tools, and a growing circle of builders who want more than theory.

Get early access to new drops, behind-the-scenes insights, and practical tools you can use right now. No filler.

No spam. Just real help from people still in the game.

The Builder's Circle - Coming Soon

Real Help. Real Time. No Fluff.

This isn’t coaching. It’s not a course. It’s not a "mastermind" with a whiteboard and a vague promise.

The Builder's Circle is a private membership for people building real businesses who want more than ideas. Every week, we go live to break down actual businesses: yours, ours, and the ones in between. Finances, funnels, pricing, hiring, burnout - we cover it all with brutal clarity and zero theory.

  • Weekly live sessions with unfiltered Q&A
  • Deep dives into real business problems (and how to fix them)
  • Field-tested insights from two builders who still do the work
  • A private space to ask better questions and get real answers
  • No fluff, no formulas, and no "Just believe in yourself!" speeches

It’s for operators. Builders. Owners. People who’d rather get honest feedback than polite applause.

Meet the Authors

Trevor Hunter and Michael Smith are the authors of Start Ugly. Build Smart., a book built from years of real-world trial, error, and finally getting it right.

They’ve launched businesses, rebuilt broken systems, and turned sketchy beginnings into solid operations. They also co-founded FOCUS Digital Marketing, but this isn’t about client work. It’s about what came before that: messy starts, painful lessons, and the systems they wish they had from day one.

No fluff. No theory. Just the stuff that works.
Trevor Hunter
Trevor Hunter
Michael Smith
Michael Smith
More About the Authors →