ecosystem. Silence or a PR answer is often better than a poorly timed truth.
Public speaking is about discipline, not just honesty. As a CEO, truth isn’t always public-ready; your words are landmines.
Whether it's true or not, how you frame a problem matters. You can’t tell a country of over 200m people they aren't employable and expect to keep your reputation intact. Preparation is everything.
As a leader, you aren't just representing yourself, you’re representing an entire
Otters hold hands while floating so they don’t drift apart, and the AI company Otter AI is named after them, turning your “uttered” speech into perfectly held‑together notes
You aren't lost. You're just at an uncomfortable stage of your life where your old self is gone.
But, your new self isn't fully born yet. Once it's born, you shall shine.
I've been falling in love with some traditional Igbo names lately and researching their meanings.
Here are a few of my favourites: Olanna: God's gold; Kambili: allow me live; Lotanna: remember the father; and Urenna: her father's pride.
So, there are those whose faithfulness to him will get tested twice - now & during the one-thousand-year reign
And there are those whose faithfulness will get tested just once & that's during the one-thousand-year reign
The former might wish for the latter
Double trial lol.
Here are 25 early-stage sales learnings we’ve collected at @jjellyfish_co ...
1. 0-1 sales talent does not exist. Founders, this is you.
2. Product/market fit is (almost) always found in adjacent markets. Don’t handcuff yourself to Day 1 market vision.
3. The demo should never be focused on the product.
4. You need to understand their buying process before you build/define your GTM.
5. Unlocking product/market fit is a process of elimination (like science), NOT a hedge.
6. If the problem is not currently being measured or managed, it’s likely not a priority for the prospect.
7. Specificity is fastest way to build market trust — “Wow, I feel like you understand this better than I do.”
8. The quality of your questions is critical for discovery; the quality of their questions is critical for intent.
9. Your niche is not a random starting point. It’s a GTM strategy to prove the experiment with Act 1.
10. Building a working GTM will take longer than building a working product.
11. Give yourself 18-24 months in the market to be invalidated, rejected, and redirected. Founders will also be "Head of Sales" for this period.
12. Consistency is the only way to unlock repeatable themes. Controlled conversations (i.e., experiments) are critical.
13. 80% of early sales is getting them excited by YOU, the Founder — how you see the world (vision) and how you uniquely solve their specific problem today. Hint: the founder is the 'product.'
14. A seed-stage startup should never have a VP of Sales.
15. Channel partnerships are a colossal waste of time. If you haven’t sorted it by going direct, don’t expect another party to.
16. Traction/success abroad seldom puts you further ahead in the U.S.; in fact, it often requires unwinding.
17. If the primary need is being over-served, focus on the secondary need. This is for ‘red ocean’ markets.
18. Someone asking for more features is (almost) never an early adopter. Easy and lightweight is how to test unproven partners ;)
19. Sales team should never lead the product roadmap.
20. SMB is not easier than enterprise. And, there is no such thing as mid-market; it's 'upper-end small business' or 'lower-end enterprise'.
21. Never expect the user to sell to the buyer on your behalf — go direct to the buyer -- in many cases, users can be a blocker.
22. If you did not co-write the RFP, you are likely just a checkbox in their buying process.
23. Enterprise deals are all about expansion opportunity -- if you’re not expanding by a multiple YoY, someone is not doing their job
24. In the enterprise, sales get 'closed' via text
25. A startup should never wait on the product to go to market
Entrepreneurship is about risk-taking.
It’s about doing things without knowing in advance how they will turn out.
It’s about “getting it wrong” time after time since you know in your heart that each failed experiment is getting you closer to solving the real problem.