Archita Fritz

Assurance Services International

Member of The Supervisory Board

hubble

You can book a 1:1 with me here:
 https://www.hubble.social/architafritz

Advice on everything:
✔️ Build Commercial Engines
✔️ Product Marketing
✔️ Scale Founder-Led Growth
✔️ Position for Multiples
✔️ Workforce Planning & Leadership
✔️ Building a Boardroom Career
✔️ Career Transitions

Advisor

Ready Set Bold

Fractional Executive Partner
—————————————
I embed with mid market PE- and VC-backed portfolio companies for focused, 4- to 11-month sprints, turning strategy into measurable results.

Typical challenges I solve
	•	Mis-aligned Product Vision → Execution
I bridge the gap between roadmap, build, and commercialisation so every feature ships with a revenue story.
	•	Quality Whiplash
I create frameworks that balance urgent customer issues with long-range innovation—no more trade-offs between delight and disruption.
	•	Silo-Driven Slow-Downs
I replace hand-offs with hand-shakes, bringing Product, Sales, Support, and Finance into one transparent cadence.
	•	Ghost GTM Plans
I install a pragmatic, metrics-first GTM engine that prioritises, sequences, and launches for maximum speed-to-money.

⸻

Workplace Culture Strategist
——————————————
Using a data-backed diagnostic rooted in research and lived experience, I help organisations move from awareness to action on:
	•	Psychological safety & “speak-up” culture
	•	Cross-team communication loops
	•	Team health → performance → profit

⸻

By the numbers
	•	25+ product launches
	•	$2.1 B cumulative revenue impact
	•	128+ countries served
	•	20+ years leading global, cross-functional teams

⸻

Selected client roster
BlueMountain · CluePoints · ResMed · Sparking Capital · Adidas · NHS Lincolnshire · Verity HealXR · Spookfish Innovations · Bright Spaces · Vatis Tech · FlaminJoy

⸻

If you need a high-impact operator who can land both product and people wins—fast—let’s talk.

Strategic Growth Catalyst : People and Product (Fractional CMO)

DfX (Deal Flow Xchange) is rethinking how private capital moves.
It’s not a fund or a network — it’s infrastructure.
A transparent, intent-driven platform where founders, investors, and lenders connect directly to get deals done. If you're raising, deploying, or lending capital — this is where you should be.
→ Learn more or request access: www.dealflowxchange.com

Sign up for our newsletter → https://lnkd.in/ebsicefQ
Are you a service provider? Plug into our network → https://lnkd.in/dJQsCCGm

Advisory Board Member

Veblen Director Programme

Chairperson of the 11 member Board of VDP. 

Through the Veblen community we work with Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s) to help place Board members that can move forward innovation, impact and growth. Additionally support aspiring Board members in building and landing Board Roles.

Chairperson of the Board

Rose Equity Partners

Non Executive Director

BetterLogiq

Board Member

Brydge Club

Brdyge Club is a private angel investing network for women who want to write checks, build wealth, and shape the future of innovation.

We’re reimagining what access looks like — not just for founders, but for female investors ready to move from the sidelines to the cap table.

If you’re an accredited woman looking to invest in early-stage companies with purpose and upside, apply to join the club. → https://brydgeclub.com/

Founding Member

Institute of Directors (IoD)

Member

Open-Intro

I am available for 1:1 direct meetings on Open-Intro. Book me at: https://open-intro.com/expert/archita-fritz

Expert on Open-Intro

Fractional Product Marketing Leader | I help operationalize product roadmaps for commercial success | Strategic Board Advisor | Workplace Culture

I’m a Fractional CMO for PE-backed, mid-market companies and founder-led teams in the middle of growth, pressure, and transition.

→ I identify the gaps: people, product, and process
→ I build the commercialization system they forgot to build
→ I help teams launch, enable sales, and scale—fast
→ I create clarity, culture, and structure so the full-time hire can succeed
→ I step out once the system works without me

This is not “marketing.”
This is what makes a business commercial—and scalable.

Where I’ve Done It
→ Took a company from $1.5M to $350M in revenue
→ Launched 25+ products across 80+ markets
→ Opened a $2.1B market opportunity through positioning and system-building
→ Built product marketing functions from scratch for 7 companies and 15 founders
→ Advised founders through post-acquisition transitions and culture realignment
→ Partnered with CROs and CPOs to align product, marketing, and sales enablement

Who I Work With
→ PE-backed CEOs who don’t have time to figure it out alone
→ Founders stuck between what worked and what will scale
→ Boards that need more than “just another hire”—they need traction
→ Teams that need clarity, coordination, and accountability yesterday

Why It Works
Because founder magic burns out without structure.
Because the board doesn’t want more activity—they want results.
Because clarity beats chaos, every time.

I build what should have been built six months ago.
And then I help you hire the person to run it long-term.

If you would like to chat or need advice, you can book a 1:1 with me here: https://www.hubble.social/architafritz

What Others Say
“Archita’s strategic vision opened a $2.1B market for us. Her leadership was crucial to our expansion.”
— Shiva Ralapalli, CEO, Verity HealXR

“She helped us connect the dots and activate our teams. She built our Product Marketing function and aligned commercial with product.”
— Patrick Hughes, CRO, CluePoints

“Archita activated me and the audience to lead better for my team and myself.”
— Katie Reget, VP of Sales, ResMed

“She had high expectations of the team, and I of her—and she exceeded all expectations.”
— Vlad Panait, VC Partner, Sparking Capital

Chief Marketing Officer

We rise by lifting others! Driven by a commitment to build psychologically safe workplaces where people can unapologetically be themselves Archita is resolutely focused to work with partners who want to look beyond metrics to help shape cultures of belonging and cancel out the silent acceptance of bullying and harassment in the workplace.

Archita is the strategy and marketing lead on campaigns, partnerships, products and promotion. If you want to partner with Speak Out on organisational campaigns or partnerships please connect with her.

Grateful to be named one of Product Marketing Alliance’s Top 100 Product Marketers globally, for the second year in a row.

For almost 20 years I did product marketing without knowing it had a name.

In med device we just called it:
“Get the product launched and don’t screw it up.” Or Upstream marketing! 

Only later did I realise there was a whole discipline behind what I was doing in the middle:

- between product and sales
- between the investment thesis and the actual customer
- between the board deck and the front line

Over those ~20 years, I’ve helped bring 45+ products to market across:
	•	medical devices
	•	life sciences
	•	B2B tech & SaaS
	•	manufacturing

While they have been across different industries, I have noticed the same patterns. 

👉🏽 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 (𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅) 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓.

When nobody truly owns that layer, you get:
- beautiful products that never hit their number
- sales teams improvising a story that doesn’t match reality 
- leaders wondering why the plan works in Excel, but not in the market

In PE-backed and high-growth companies, product marketing is not “nice-to-have marketing”.

𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 

- pressure-testing the thesis against real customers
- choosing which problems to solve first
- arming GTM teams so revenue doesn’t depend on heroics

That’s the work I care about.

The recognition is just a visible signal of an invisible job a lot of us have been doing for years.

To the team at Product Marketing Alliance – thank you for shining a light on this craft and for putting me on the list again this year. 🙏🏽

Read up about all the other 99 here: https://lnkd.in/d7qWTUBX

And to the CEOs / value creation leaders reading this…

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴.
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵… 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦.

PS: Congratulations to the other Product Marketing leaders recognized for this. Honoured to be amongst this cohort. Full list in the comments below.

——

Hi 👋🏾 I’m Archita. I spent 17 years in MedTech and now partner with investor- and private equity–backed CEOs, boards, and commercial leaders to build growth plans their teams can actually execute.

Archita Fritz 

Partner to Private Equity CEOs | GTM & Value Creation | Board Member | 2 x Top 100 Product Marketing Leader

Archita Fritz, Top 100 Global Product marketeer as recognized by Product Marketing Alliance. Archita Fritz Value Creation Partner to Private Equity CxO‘s and PE firms 

Last weekend I went back to Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA to teach the leadership module I sat in 8 years ago.

While it was a new cohort with senior EMBA leaders from multiple countries, industries, and P&Ls.

One thing hasn’t changed as much in these 8 years.

When I asked where they feel the most pressure right now, the top answer wasn’t “strategy” or “performance.”

It was this:

“𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐’𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦.”

I see the same pattern in my private equity client work too. 

We still don’t really train our current or next generation of leaders to stay self-aware under pressure.

And yet it’s self-aware leaders who quietly build:
	•	better teams
	•	healthier organisations
	•	stronger communities

In the room, we had a lot of healthy debate as the leaders could describe the system ‘issues’ in perfect detail…

promotion rules, politics, cultural norms, short-term targets.

But when the pressure hits, the behaviours they tend to default to, looked familiar:

↳ hovering and micromanaging
↳ snapping
↳ telling instead of listening
↳ those “devil emails at midnight” Mita Mallick  writes about

Often followed by this sentence I hear in almost every geography: 

“In a high-performance culture, you have to be more direct.”
“In my country, this style of leadership doesn’t work.”

𝑪𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅.
𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆.

This is why I teach leadership as an operating system: within my Leadership OS™: 
Me → We → System → Future.

If Me is ignored:
	•	We don’t feel safe
	•	System changes don’t stick
	•	Future stays a story on slides

“Me” work for a senior leader isn’t a fancy offsite. It’s tiny, in-the-moment reps:

➟ Notice your first reflex under pressure: attack, withdraw, or hover.
➟ Name it: “I’m in micromanager / attack / rescue mode right now.”
➟ Choose one different move: ask a question, delay the midnight email, or take 90 seconds before you walk into the room.

To the EMBA leaders who spent Saturday with me….thank you!

You challenged the ideas. 
You challenged me. 

Many of you didn’t agree with everything we discussed, and you still stayed in the conversation.

That’s where real leadership work begins.

PS: Mita Mallick every student got a code to a copy of your book and thank you for taking time to record with us before!  To more aware leaders.

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In my house, there were only two correct answers to:
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Doctor
Engineer

But in the breaks at school, over steel tiffins from 5th grade onwards, I’d lean in and quietly tell my friends:

“I want to be a DJ.”

It was 90’s India. MTV VJs and radio DJs were everything, loud, free, fully themselves.

If my mum had known I was harbouring that dream, it would’ve been squashed instantly.

So I did what a lot of us do:

I kept the ‘wrong dream’ off fhe record. 
Got the grades, followed the path, got a scholarship, moved countries, started working on that engineering degree and collected responsibilities.

And then while at Michigan Tech in  Houghton, Michigan someone says, “There’s a student radio station here… 91.9 FM.”

Bam.

That hidden dream finally found a doorway.
A few months later, “Chai with Archita on WMTU 91.9FM” was on air, the only world music show in the entire Upper Peninsula.

It wasn’t a grand career move.
It was one small, very real way to let 10-year-old me exist in my actual life.

We quieten and defer a lot of these dreams.
We don’t just do this with childhood dreams.

We do it with adult ones too:
“I’ll start when work calms down.”
“When the kids are older.”
“Once this promotion is sorted.”

Here’s your Sunday nudge:

This isn’t just about childhood dreams.
It’s also the adult ones you quietly downgraded to “later” or “maybe when things calm down”.

👉🏽 What’s the thing you keep labelling “maybe one day”…and what’s the smallest real way you could let it live in 2026?

👇🏽In the comments, I’ve linked my latest newsletter, “Before 2026 Finds You on the Same Treadmill” , it’s a short read and a simple way to stop postponing the thing you already know you want (including a 90-minute option if you want support).

PS: I found this old student planner with a picture from my DJ days on a family trip back to Michigan last summer…wild what we forget we’ve already been brave enough to do.

Partner to Private Equity CEOs | GTM & Value Creation | Board Member | Top 100 PMA Product Marketing Leader

Archita Fritz advisor to Private Equity CEO’s also helping corporate individuals activate their childhood and adult tiny dreams they keep deffering to ‘some day’ 

The worst career advice that stuck in my head in my 20s was this line:

“Be brief. Be brilliant. Be gone.”

I heard it before my first big sales meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I was a quality engineer in MedTech, one of the only non-sales people in a huge room full of suits. That line was meant as presentation advice, but my brain took it everywhere.

Every time I bumped into someone senior, my internal script was:

You’ve got 20 seconds.
Don’t waste their time.
Say something smart.
Exit.

I wasn’t silent.
I laughed at the right moments, made safe comments about the weather, asked where people had flown in from.

But inside I was thinking,

“I don’t know these people. I don’t know the politics. I don’t know what they actually care about. How the hell am I supposed to be ‘brilliant’ in small talk?”

It made every hallway chat feel like a tiny performance review.

Fast forward a lot of years.

Now I get short windows with private equity operating partners and CEOs in a completely new world to me. 

The time is still limited. 
Their calendars are still packed.

But I use that old line differently now.

➟ In formal updates: 
“Be brief” still holds. 
Know your point, land the point and stop talking.

➟ In human moments: 
I drop “be brilliant” completely.

𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

I focus on two things only:
	1.	Know why I’m in the room.
	2.	Be a normal human about it.

That’s it.

“Be brief, be brilliant, be gone” is great for slides and steering committees.

As a personality setting, it quietly convinces you you’re not worth anyone’s time unless you perform for it first.

I know I’m not the only one who had to unlearn that.

PS: Yes, that’s me in the ‘suit’, in that same room just many years later. I still believe in “be brief” for updates. I just refuse to make people feel like every hello has to be “brilliant” to count.

——

Hi 👋🏾 I’m Archita. I spent 17 years in MedTech and now partner with investor- and private equity–backed CEOs, boards, and commercial leaders to build growth plans their teams can actually execute.

Archita Fritz, Private Equity Advisor to CEO’s and Operating Partners “You don’t owe brilliant on demand. You already earned your seat.” 

I hit every work and life goal I set as an 19-year-old… and then I “manifested” a toxic boss. :) 

When I was 19, I sat down with a pen and paper and wrote my 20s out like a checklist.

By 21, I wanted a dream job, a sponsored visa, to graduate debt-free and buy my dream car.
By 24, be engaged.
By 25, marry a kind, steady man I could build a life with.
By 27, live in a new country and do something meaningful there.
By 30, become a director and have my first child.
By 32, have my second kid. 

And in many ways, it worked.

Career, visa, marriage, kids, international move, director title, the list filled up with neat little ticks. I even added a third little human who never appeared on the original checklist and is one of the best plot twists of my life.

I’m very aware there’s a lot of privilege in that paragraph, education, opportunity, support, luck. A lot of people work just as hard and don’t get the same outcomes. That’s exactly why it took me a while to admit: something still felt off.

If I look back now, my late teens were performance as survival.
My 20s were listen. learn. lead. Watch closely, take notes, then step up.
My early 30s were operate. expand. prove. Bigger scope, M&A, more responsibility, more “you’ve made it” from the outside.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭. 

Not a cartoon villain, but the kind of leader who can turn every win into a question mark. Praising you in one breath and poking holes in the next, until you start to doubt your own judgement. Even when the results are right in front of you.

I would never have called that time a gift back then. Now I can see it cracked the checklist wide open. 

👉🏽 It forced me to finally ask different questions:

What do I actually want my days to feel like?

If no one was clapping, would I still choose this work, this pace, this version of “success”?

Where am I performing a role instead of living my own story?

That’s when my late 30s quietly shifted into a new chapter: ask. unlearn. choose.

𝑨𝒔𝒌 better questions.
𝑼𝒏𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 the scripts that were never really mine. 
𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 a life I can actually recognize myself in. 

So if you pressed pause on everyone else’s expectations for a moment, family, culture, your 18-year-old self….

👉🏽 what would your version of success look like right now?

Archita Fritz keynoting at Impact Players in Belfast Ireland

Some of the worst value destruction I’ve seen didn’t come from a bad strategy. It came from a decent plan no one felt allowed to question.

This photo is from my first “proper” photoshoot in Los Angeles.

It looks calm and glossy.

What you don’t see is everything wrapped around it:
      •	12 weeks postpartum
	•	a big product launch in Barcelona
	•	a main-stage talk in Los Angeles 
	•	24 hours later next launch in Seattle
      •	48 hours later back to Dussledorf 
	•	flights, decks, rehearsal, inbox, repeat 

On the outside, it looked like momentum.
On the inside, the script was pretty simple:

Don’t slow down.
Don’t drop anything.
Don’t question the plan.

And that’s what so many companies feel like right now.

On paper, everything looks great.

Inside the business, people are sprinting from one “critical” thing to the next with almost no space to say:

“With what we know now, this plan needs to change.”

That’s what I talked about with Dane 🦘 Groeneveld on the The Future of Teamwork  podcast. 

In the episode, we get into:

1️⃣ Why “we’re on a PE clock” is not a leadership strategy
2️⃣ How noise around GTM, value creation and “transformation” confuses CEOs who actually want to do the right thing
3️⃣ What healthier high-performance can look like when you lead with clarity, ownership and space to challenge the plan

🎧 Episode with Dane Groeneveld, here or anywhere you get your podcasts.

https://lnkd.in/gwpeyWPp

P.S. This was a really fun photoshoot with my fellow high-performance queen and co-host of the Embracing "Only" Podcast  podcast circa 2020. 

——

Hi 👋🏾 I’m Archita. I spent 17 years in MedTech and now partner with investor- and private equity–backed CEOs, boards, and commercial leaders to build growth plans their teams can actually execute.

Archita Fritz at a photo shoot before getting on stage at Podcast Evolutions. Private Equity commercial and leadership advisor 

If the idea of slowing down today makes you feel a bit guilty, this is for you.

𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌.
𝑾𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆.

That little voice that says:
“If I slow down, I’ll lose momentum.”
“Everyone else is sprinting to year-end. I can’t ease up now.”

I know that voice well.

But life isn’t one straight line up.
There are stretches where you push, and stretches where you flatline a bit so you can climb again.

Today is Thanksgiving for my friends in the U.S.(and for those of us celebrating over here too).

We are having a small Friendsgiving tonight, and I have decided my pause is today and tomorrow.

Then the year-end sprint picks up again.

If you’re reading this while you’re:
↳ prepping food
↳ cleaning the house
↳ answering “what time should we come?” for the fifth time
↳ or just trying to get through a regular Thursday

You still get to claim a small pause:
➟ ten quiet minutes in the car before you go back in
➟ one meal where your phone stays in another room
➟ a short walk with no podcast, no call, just your own thoughts

I hope you claim one small, imperfect, very human pause in the middle of it all.

Not because you “earned it”, but because rest is part of how you do your best work and how you show up for the people you love.

If you needed permission, this is it.

PS: I got to pause with the lovely humans in this photo below about a month ago and we took the whole weekend. Truly grateful for these ladies, and the ones not in this picture too. 🧡

----
Hi, I’m Archita. I work with Private Equity (PE)-backed CEOs and value creation teams to fix what’s slowing growth, usually misalignment, messy messaging, or GTM systems that don’t scale.

I also serve on several boards, where I support founder-led and investor-backed companies navigating growth, governance, and strategic clarity.

👉🏽 Book a 1:1 via my featured section. (Serious enquiries only — otherwise, start with the Hubble link.)

A lot of brilliant people I work with...VP, Director, C-suite and other leaders, are quietly asking the same question right now:

“What if I don’t want 2026 to look like 2025… or 2024… or the three years before that?”

Not because you want to quit.
Not because everything is awful.

But 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂 𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒍𝒆, 𝒂 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆, 𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕.

Before I ever left corporate, I sat with that same feeling.

For almost three years while I was still in my global / EMEA roles, I quietly started building optionality for myself, testing different ways of working, building my own IP, saying yes to advisory and board-style work, and learning how to talk about what I do beyond a job title.

That’s the work that turned into what I have now...

PE-backed CEO work, 
a portfolio of board roles, 
advisory, speaking, 
and The Embracing "Only" Podcast with Olivia Grant-Cream.

And that’s why we created Embracing “Only” in the first place, to give people the space to talk honestly about what comes after you’ve succeeded at everything everyone told you to do.

And today, for the first time ever, I am sharing a low-touch, high-impact end-of-year invitation with our 3K newsletter subscribers:

👉🏾 A subsidised 90-minute 1:1 Activation Session
👉🏾 Specifically for those exploring a portfolio career
👉🏾 Or for those exploring a Board career
👉🏾 5 spots only
👉🏾 10% donated to Olivia’s GoFundMe 
(Read more about Hurricane Melissa efforts in the comments below)

And if it’s not the season for paid support, we included a few free episodes to guide your next step.

If 2026 needs to feel different for you…start here.

PS: If you had to pick one word for what you want more of in your work life in 2026, what would it be? 

----
Hi, I’m Archita. I work with Private Equity (PE)-backed CEOs and value creation teams to fix what’s slowing growth, usually misalignment, messy messaging, or GTM systems that don’t scale.

I also serve on several boards, where I support founder-led and investor-backed companies navigating growth, governance, and strategic clarity.

👉🏽 Book a 1:1 via my featured section. (Serious enquiries only — otherwise, start with the Hubble link.)

Most people reading this are not trying to blow up their lives. You’re in full-time, high-pressure leadership roles. You’re running teams, carrying nu

Open article: Before 2026 Finds You on the Same Treadmill: A Small Invitation for the “Onlys” by Archita Fritz • 4 min read

Before 2026 Finds You on the Same Treadmill: A Small Invitation for the “Onlys”

Seventeen years in MedTech left me with one permanent side effect…

I can’t look at a growth story without picturing the humans who have to carry it.

Once you’ve watched an ICU team on a bad day, you stop believing pretty plans.

Back then I worked on devices that lived in acute care settings of hospitals, if we were pitching a new product idea or a big launch, it was never enough that the slide looked smart.

Someone would always ask:
“Okay, what does this look like on a bad shift?”

Every “big bet” had two parts:
- the upside case
- and a ruthless pass on what had to go right in real life, with tired people

We didn’t just ask, “Is the market there?”

We asked things like:
↳ Who has to change their behaviour on a bad day, not a good one?

↳ How many steps are we adding to their shift?

↳ Where does this break first when the ward is short-staffed and everyone is on hour eleven?

If that part didn’t hold up, the launch didn’t move.

Not because we were nice, but because ignoring it was the fastest way to get shut down.

In Private Equity (PE) backed high growth companies, I see the reverse.

Weeks of work on TAM, pricing, scenarios and upside. Then “execution risk” gets one slide and a hand wave at best.

You’re doing serious work on the market side of the thesis and almost no serious work on whether the organisation can actually absorb the plan you’re buying.

That’s not a minor gap.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌.

Alix Partners data shows 56% of PE-backed CEOs are replaced within two years, usually for 

➟ ‘failure to execute the thesis’, not because the market disappeared.

Because of MedTech, I’m wired to stress-test a plan, not just get excited about it.

Now, when I look at your “growth story”, that’s the part my brain refuses to skip.

If your story only lives in the spreadsheet and not in the calendar and nervous system of the people who have to execute it, it’s not a strategy.

It’s a wish.

PS: My dad beaming while on his “daughters” stretcher, after finding himself on it after a fall a few years ago. Almost a decade later still so proud I helped launch The Stryker PrimeX into this world! 

——

Hi 👋🏾 I’m Archita. I spent 17 years in MedTech and now partner with investor- and private equity–backed CEOs, boards, and commercial leaders to build growth plans their teams can actually execute.

How MedTech Marketing helps stress test Private Equity backed high growth companies! 

I sat through 103 B2B SaaS product demos this year.
Not one of them made it easy for me to just experience the product.

No login-free walkthrough.
No short, honest flow I could click through on my own.

Best case, I got:
 – a “Book a demo” wall
 – a discovery call
 – 15–20 minutes of slides
 – then a partial screen share of a half-broken sandbox

And then the call ended and I realised I was still guessing:
 “What does this actually change for my client/their customer next quarter?”

I see this as someone buying tools, building AI SDR stacks, and working with PE-backed leadership teams:

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 “𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕” 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒘.

The closest I’ve seen are things like demo hubs (e.g. Klue’s demo arena, something by Rob Hoffman).

 But even those stop just short of:
“Here. Click through this one real workflow like it’s your own.”

If I were running GTM for a SaaS company in 2026, 

I’d start with one question:

👉🏾 How easy is it for a serious buyer to actually experience what we do, without jumping through hoops?

My answer would need to look like this:
 – One ungated, 60–90 second interactive walkthrough from the website
 – One real workflow, end-to-end, that looks like a real day in the life
 – Clear language: “You’re [role]. Here’s the moment you’re in.”
 – A concrete outcome: “This is what changes for you next quarter.”
 – A link I can replay and share internally without booking another call

And honestly it isn't about being clever, it's about respecting buyers’ time and brains.

This is where interactive demo platforms like Guideflow actually make sense to me:

not as “prettier sales decks”, but as a way to finally ship:
 – one link
 – one clear walkthrough
 – one shared product story for buyers, teams, and investors

I wish I could tell you I saw five perfect examples of this in 2025.
I didn’t.

Which means: whoever builds it properly in 2026 will stand out fast.

And yes I made my own version of Wrapped for Product Demos to bring this home! :)

👋🏾  If you’ve seen a truly ungated, “just let me in” product walkthrough this year, drop it below. I’m genuinely curious, and I’d love to be wrong.

#GuideFlowPartner #sponsored

PS: You can check out and complete a real product walk through on the GuideFlow website at: https://lnkd.in/ez6Fc6b6

——

Hi 👋🏾 I’m Archita. I spent 17 years in MedTech and now partner with investor- and private equity–backed CEOs, boards, and commercial leaders to build growth plans their teams can actually execute.

"Book a Demo" Button Wrapped across multiple B2B SaaS

In private equity, this line is a red flag:
“We can’t prove marketing’s impact on revenue.”

If nothing in marketing can be tied to 

pipeline, 
win rate, 
deal size, 
or sales cycle,

you don’t just have a marketing problem
you have a value-creation problem.

Not everything needs perfect attribution.

But something needs a clear chain:
product marketing → sharper story → better opportunities → better economics.

And before anyone jumps in with
“but brand / comms / PMM is hard to attribute”
I agree, not everything gets a perfect CAC number.

But every marketing function should have a clear, testable path to:
better pipeline
better win rates
better economics

That’s the bar I hold in my PE work, and it’s why I loved Product Marketing Alliance’s “How to Prove Product Marketing ROI” so much.

The article is a sharp breakdown on proving product marketing ROI, and I turned the core ideas into a short carousel you can save, share, and forward the next time someone says “how do we prove product marketing drives ROI.”

This is the work I do with PE-backed companies, turning “marketing is a cost centre” into a testable revenue engine.

👉🏾  Original article linked in the comments.

PS: Where do you draw the line between “we can’t measure this” and “we just haven’t been forced to?”

----
Hi, I’m Archita. I work with Private Equity (PE)-backed CEOs and value creation teams to fix what’s slowing growth, usually misalignment, messy messaging, or GTM systems that don’t scale.

I also serve on several boards, where I support founder-led and investor-backed companies navigating growth, governance, and strategic clarity.

👉🏽 Book a 1:1 via my featured section. (Serious enquiries only — otherwise, start with the Hubble link.)

How to Prove Product Marketing ROI

You keep hiring “change agents”…
and then designing their jobs so they can’t change anything.

New CEO.
New CRO.
New Head of GTM or Chief of Staff.

And then the same soundtrack in most Private Equity backed portcos when I step in: 
“Marketing isn’t working.”
“Sales isn’t executing.”
“We need more leads.”
“We’ve outgrown our GTM.”

That’s what this grid is about:
7 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘛𝘔 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘛𝘔 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺.

Because underneath the language, you usually find:
Not a skills problem, but an 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 problem
Not a sales problem, but a 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 problem
Not a people problem, but an 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 problem 
(this org is simply done pretending to transform)

And then the “change agent” becomes the easiest person to blame.

For me, the real multiple in PE looks more like:

(𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆) × (𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒃)

If either piece is close to zero…
zero honesty × anything = still zero
any amount of honesty × zero emotional capacity = still zero

The lower of those two sets your real ceiling. Your model won’t go further than your honesty or your team’s emotional bandwidth.

PS: If you’re in PE or leading a portco or growth focused company...Which box in this grid do you hear the most right now and where do you disagree with this framing? I’m especially curious where you think it is a people problem, not a system one.

----
Hi, I’m Archita. I work with Private Equity (PE)-backed CEOs and value creation teams to fix what’s slowing growth, usually misalignment, messy messaging, or GTM systems that don’t scale.

I also serve on several boards, where I support founder-led and investor-backed companies navigating growth, governance, and strategic clarity.

👉🏽 Book a 1:1 via my featured section. (Serious enquiries only — otherwise, start with the Hubble link.)

What leaders say when Go-to-Market is Failing in Private Equity and Beyond


Most leaders I know are caught between three browser tabs:


1️⃣ Targets that went up
2️⃣ Headcount that went down
3️⃣ LinkedIn telling them AI + “efficient growth” will somehow square the circle

So I pulled the tools I use to answer these questions,  into a FREE Growth Toolbox you can grab below. 👇🏾

25+ of the most used assets I developed based on the work I do with companies. 

If you sit anywhere near private equity, that contrast is just louder.

You’re not short on ideas.

You’re short on clarity about:
↳Where the next €5–10M realistically comes from
↳Which customers you should actually fight for
↳Where AI genuinely creates leverage (vs. theatre)
↳How to push harder without frying your best people

That’s the work I do with portcos across EQT, Accel-KKR, Cinven, Nordic Capital and others.

Whenever something actually worked, we turned it into a reusable tool.

𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦:
👉🏾 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝑻𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒃𝒐𝒙

 25+ practical assets, including:
➟ “Quality of growth” scorecards
➟ GTM & ICP clarity frameworks
➟ Europe & market expansion checks
➟ AI focus maps (using the stack you already have)
➟ Product marketing & commercialization templates
➟ Leadership & anti-fragility prompts

It’s built with private equity portfolios in mind…but if you own a number, run a team, or live between “big targets” and real life, there’s probably something in there that will help you think and act more clearly this quarter.

If that sounds useful, just grab it.
👉🏾 The link to the toolbox is here: https://lnkd.in/eCunKCjU

No “comment GROWTH” ritual. 🙃 
Just the tools, in one place, so you can get back to making real decisions.

PS: If there’s a specific best practice, learning, or toolset you’d love to see next, around value creation, GTM, product marketing, or leadership, drop it in the comments. I’ll use that to decide what to build and share next.
----
Hi, I’m Archita. I work with Private Equity (PE)-backed CEOs and value creation teams to fix what’s slowing growth, usually misalignment, messy messaging, or GTM systems that don’t scale.

I also serve on several boards, where I support founder-led and investor-backed companies navigating growth, governance, and strategic clarity.

👉🏽 Book a 1:1 via my featured section. (Serious enquiries only — otherwise, start with the Hubble link.)

40+ Linkedin Money-Making-Influence Resources I Toxic Boss Immunity I Frequency of INFLUENCE: ETHICAL PERSUASION I $20k Brain-Based Sales System | HarvardX Neuroscience Research I Keynote 🎤 I X-Microsoft I Captain ⛵

$20k Monthly Brain Based Sales System Without Chasing the "Yes"

You know the feeling:
😳 Your brain lights up with “What if they think I’m pushy?” the second you open a DM.
😬 You’d rather post and pray the right people find you than risk being ghosted.
😅 You tell yourself that if you were really good, clients would just show up.

You don’t want to fake connection just to pitch.
You want sales that feels human. Real conversations, not pressure tactics.

You’re not bad at sales.
Your brain is just protecting you.

The amygdala flags rejection as danger.
Your prefrontal cortex freezes.
And boom hesitation, overthinking, silence.

That’s where my work comes in.
I teach the Neuroscience of No-Pressure Sales so you can sell with calm confidence instead of fear.

No scripts. No manipulation.
Just science, psychology, and simple tools to retrain your nervous system so selling feels natural again.

When your brain is relaxed, your authenticity returns.
You stop pitching and start connecting.
Outreach stops feeling like an intrusion and starts feeling like service.

This is sales made easy for coaches who hate selling.

✨ Ways to get started with me:

✅ If you're a coach DM me "Butter"
✅ If you're a business owner DM me "Butter"
✅ If you're a sales leader DM me "Butter"
✅ Attend my next workshop for FREE BRAIN BASED SALES SECRETS. https://forms.gle/HvTRDEZEuu7bgQEF8
✅ Subscribe to the Be Like Butter Bugle: Weekly brain hacks for resilience and influence. https://synaptic-solutions.kit.com/newsletter

Personal interests: 
- Captain ⛵️ 
- Recovering Sugar Addict 🍭 
- Trash TV consumer 🗑️

Sales Coach | Toxic Boss Coach | Neuroscience Coach | Executive Coach | Master Behavioral Strategist | Speaker | Advisor | Expert | 7 figures | Virtual Speaking | Sales Performance Brain Hacker | Mindset Coach I Corporate Trainer I Influence I Key Note Speaker

🧠 Shannon Smith, J.D., M.S. 🚀

Your answers are already in your head.

You just have to slow down long enough to hear them.

Your brain holds ideas you have not discovered yet.
But it cannot reveal them when you never pause.
Creativity needs space.
Insight needs quiet.

Most people overwork their minds.
But the brain solves problems when you stop trying.
Silence activates deeper networks.
Boredom lets ideas rise to the surface.

Here are 3 ways to access the answers inside you 👇
1️⃣ Give your brain boredom time
✔️ Take short breaks without your phone
 Boredom activates the default mode network
 This is where creativity lives

2️⃣ Use quiet as a tool
✔️ Sit still for a few minutes
 Quiet reduces noise in the prefrontal cortex
 Your thoughts get clearer and sharper

3️⃣ Let your mind wander
✔️ Go for a slow walk with no agenda
 Wandering boosts pattern recognition
 Your brain connects ideas without force

You are not stuck.
Your mind just needs room to speak.
When you rest it, it reveals what you need.
The answers show up when the noise drops.

P.S. When is the last time you surprised yourself?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

Video Credit: Unknown

----------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain based insights
♻️ Repost if your best ideas hit you in the quiet moments

The hard things you avoid 

Are the exact things that free you

Most people avoid the hard stuff.
Not because they are lazy.
Because their brain is trying to protect them.

The prefrontal cortex wants long term wins
But the amygdala wants immediate comfort
So every hard task feels like a threat
And your brain tells you to delay it
Even when it hurts you later.

Here is how to flip the switch
So your brain stops fighting you
And starts working for you.

1/ Reduce the threat signal
 Big tasks feel dangerous
 So your brain freezes
 Break the task into the smallest next move
 Science: Small steps lower amygdala activity
 And increase dopamine for starting

2/ Front load the friction
 Do the hardest task first
 Before your brain is overloaded
 Science: Your decision making power is highest early
 And cortisol rises as the day goes on

3/ Create a reward loop
 Your brain needs a reason to try
 Pair the hard task with a positive cue
 Tea, music, a small celebration
 Science: Dopamine releases faster
 When a reward is tied to effort, not outcomes

When you train your brain to face hard things
You stop leaking energy
You build momentum
And the tough stuff becomes automatic

P.S. Whats your best procrastination buster? 

Learn how to build a $20k No Chasing the Yes Sales System
Apply here → https://lnkd.in/eZRF_jZe

Video Credit: Unknown

-----------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon  to get more brainy tips
♻️ Repost to help more people train their brain to thrive

I used to shrink parts of myself to fit into corporate.

It quietly drained the life out of my ideas (and me).

At the time, I thought success required self-erasure.
I hit every goal on the board.
But I felt empty.

 🧠 Promotions
 🧠 Pay raises
 🧠 Prestige

None of it mattered.
My spark was gone.
And so was my creativity.

Have you ever noticed how your brain invents ideas
When you’re not even trying?

Your imagination lights up your neural networks
Like a synchronized light show.

Brain imaging reveals that
Most of your regions activate during visualization.

Here’s what fuels your imagination 👇

1/ Your Brain’s Creative Engine
 ↳ Default Mode Network turns on as the PFC steps back
 ↳ Memory blends with emotion to create new associations
 ↳ Your brain recombines patterns without limits

2/ The Moment Insight Strikes
 ↳ Gamma bursts peak during big realizations
 ↳ Hippocampus sends raw material to the DMN
 ↳ New pathways strengthen the more you play with ideas

3/ Your Creativity Enhancement Tools
 ↳ Take short intentional pauses for DMN activation
 ↳ Change scenes to trigger fresh circuitry
 ↳ Welcome boredom because it sparks innovation

Creativity is not magic.
It is a neural process you can train.
All you need is the space and permission to
Reconnect with curiosity and let your mind roam.
Don’t lose your spark chasing goals that dim you.

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

PS: When does your imagination run wild?

Video Credit: Unknown

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share to help others reclaim their creativity
➕ Follow Shannon for more brain-based growth insights

Your brain won't save you.

Your heart will. 

For two weeks, I volunteered to help rescue animals.
Feeding, cleaning, comforting the scared and the broken.

They had nothing to give back
but showing up still felt right.

Because giving changes you.
It pulls you out of fear and back into purpose.

And right now, the world needs more of that.
 💔 People are hurting.
 💔 Jobs disappearing.
 💔 Markets spiraling.
 💔 Stress levels through the roof.

Everyone’s doing their best just to stay afloat.
But when everything feels unstable,
most people grip tighter.
They try to control.
They chase.
They push harder for the “yes.”

That’s exactly why it stops working.
The brain senses pressure and shuts down trust.
You can’t sell, serve, or lead from scarcity.
You can only do it from calm generosity.

That’s why I’m giving away what I’ve learned.
The exact framework that helped me break free from corporate,
build consistency on my own,
and stop chasing clients who weren’t ready.

It’s called Stop Chasing the Yes.
A workshop to help you
 – Build your own predictable client system
 – Shift from pressure to presence in every conversation
 – Lead with calm confidence instead of fear

If you’ve been giving everything and still feel stuck,
this is your next step.

Because giving works best
when you give to yourself too.

Learn how to build a $20k - No Chasing the Yes - Sales System
Apply here --> https://lnkd.in/eZRF_jZe

P.S. Do you volunteer, if so where?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow Shannon for more neuroscience tools for calm influence
♻️ Repost to help others give without burning out

The only true failure in life is quitting. 

Success is never a straight line. It certainly wasn't for me.

I've had many failures and setbacks along my path.
Layoffs.
Failed ventures.
Bad investments. 

Life is messy. 
Mess is a part of life.

Enjoy the messiness. 
And, your brain kinda likes it messy too.

Why your brain craves zigzag paths 🧠

(The science of why progress feels so messy) 👇

Your neural pathways aren't built in straight lines
And neither is your path to greatness
Here's what's really happening in your brain:

1️⃣ The Neural Reality
↳ Growth pathways form through trial and error
↳ Each "failure" strengthens neural connections
↳ Your brain requires contrast to learn

2️⃣ The Resilience Loop
↳ Setbacks activate problem-solving networks
↳ Stress actually enhances memory formation
↳ Recovery periods boost cognitive flexibility

3️⃣ The Growth Paradox
↳ Progress activates dopamine reward system
↳ Plateaus create new neural foundations
↳ Breakthroughs happen during apparent standstills

Your "messy" journey is how your brain is designed to learn and grow.

P.S. What was your latest messiness?

Learn how to build a $20k - No Chasing the Yes - Sales System
Apply here --> https://lnkd.in/eZRF_jZe

Video Credit: Unknown

-------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if you're ready to embrace the zigzag
➕ Follow Shannon for more brain-based insights

Most people’s LinkedIn strategy: grind harder and hope

Mine: close clients while living life on my own schedule

I’ve wandered through the Greek islands
- Boat rides to hidden beaches
- Mornings working with seaside views
- A weekend in Skopelos without realizing it was a movie set

I spent a month in Athens
- Day trips to Agistri, turquoise blue waters
- Afternoons coaching clients

Why am I sharing this?
 Because your brain says “that’s not for me”
 Because it tells you to stick with the familiar
 (It’s called comfort bias and it keeps you stuck)

But here’s what no one will tell you:
If you want it, this life is closer than you think

Here’s how your brain makes it happen:

1️⃣ The Belief Reset
 ↳ Your brain avoids what feels out of reach
 ↳ Turn “impossible” into doable with simple shifts
 ↳ Stack wins until change feels normal

2️⃣ The LinkedIn Advantage
 ↳ Know what your ideal client looks for before they decide
 ↳ Post and message in ways that feel safe and personal
 ↳ Use a system that works even while you’re away

3️⃣ The Lifestyle Flywheel
 ↳ Every yes starts before the offer is made
 ↳ Match your approach to their decision process
 ↳ That’s how I work from coastlines and mountain trails

The point?

It’s not about more work
It’s about the right work for the brain

I am offering a once in a lifetime DONE FOR YOU SYSTEM
For One Month, I will revamp your LI system
- ICP Subtext Discovery 
- LI Optimization
- DM Framework that gets sales calls
- 1 month of content that gets inbound leads
- Engagement that builds your reach

I will only take ONE client. 
If you want me to build your system,
the way I went from 3k to 50k followers, then DM me
"DFY Butter" and we'll chat.

P.S. Where would you take your laptop first?
P.P.S. Pic from Poseidon's Temple (10/10)
-----------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if your goal is freedom without the hustle
➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain-based sales strategies

One more trip around the sun.

It's been a doozy.

Every birthday, I pause and reflect on my last year.
This year was the year that stretched me in every direction.

I lost my favorite person (my Belley Bean)
That loss began an 8 month walkabout across the globe.

I found my spiritual side.
I found strength I didn't know I had.

I escaped 3 typhoons
I sailed the Mediterranean
I ate the most amazing food 
I chopped a bajillion bananas
I swam in the Blue Cave in Croatia
I cared for 140 elephants and 700 dogs
I got bit and headbutted by deer in Nara
I moved what felt like a million watermelons
I spoiled myself at a Japanese Onsen regularly
I calmly navigated a stalker sitch right up to my airplane 
I lost a toenail trying an advanced yoga post in Cabo San Lucas

I missed my family.
I missed my friends.

I grew.
I grew so much.
I think I grew more this year than any year before.

I admired the precision of Japanese trains.
I learned Thai people do not use chopsticks.
I went from a 3k to 50k community in 8 months.
I was stunned by the beauty of the Greek islands.
I made new friends in the most unexpected places.
I built a predictable, brain-based revenue machine.
I helped countless clients do the same for their businesses.

This year was not easy.
It was not predictable.
But it was deeply transformative.

Here is to another year of becoming.
Here is to letting go, leaning in, and staying open.

And if you are reading this…
Thank you for being part of my journey.

P.S. Today, I am Seattle celebrating!
Wanna celebrate with me?

I am offering a once in a lifetime DONE FOR YOU SYSTEM
For One Month, I will revamp your LI system
- ICP Subtext Discovery 
- LI Optimization
- DM Framework that gets sales calls
- 1 month of content that gets inbound leads
- Engagement that builds your reach

I will only take ONE client. 
If you want me to build your system,
the way I went from 3k to 50k followers, then DM me
"DFY Butter" and we'll chat.

-----------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if your goal is freedom without the hustle
➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain-based sales strategies

Lighting someone else's candle doesn't dim yours.

It just makes the room brighter.

Helping others shine doesn't dim your light.
Your brain actually glows brighter when you lift people up.

Most people think helping drains energy.
Neuroscience shows it does the opposite.
Your brain rewards contribution.
It expands your capacity, not shrinks it.

Here are 3 ways helping others strengthens your brain 👇
1️⃣ Your reward system lights up
✔️ Kindness boosts dopamine
 Dopamine lifts motivation and focus
 Your flame grows, not fades

2️⃣ Your connection circuits strengthen
✔️ Support boosts oxytocin
 Oxytocin builds trust and safety
 Your brain gets more resilient

3️⃣ Your creative networks open
✔️ Giving lowers stress chemicals
 Lower stress frees the prefrontal cortex
 Ideas flow easier when your heart is open

Lifting others isn't self sacrifice.
It's self expansion.
Your brain shines brighter
every time you help someone rise.

P.S. What's the last time someone lit your flame?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain based insights
♻️ Repost to help someone light up today

The real threat to your number isn't the market.

It's the things your reps never say.

Everyone talks about activity.
Everyone talks about coaching.
Everyone talks about pipeline discipline.

But nobody talks about the truth gap.

The space between what your reps say...
...and what is actually happening.

That gap is where bad quarters grow.

😱 The rep who says “all good” while confidence tanks.
😱 The pipeline that looks clean but is full of dead deals.
😱 The silent fear that turns into quiet quitting.

You see these problems too late.
You take the hit.
You carry the blame.

And you never get the early signal
that could have saved the quarter.

Your top threat is not performance.
It is blind spots.

Sales Sage closes them.
Ten minutes.
A simple pulse.

✅ Signals you will never see in a meeting.
✅ Patterns no CRM can surface.
✅ Emotional shifts that predict misses

BEFORE they show up in your number.

If you want to know what your team is really telling you
before it becomes a fire you have to put out

Take advantage of the 14 day free trial
https://salessage.co/
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud 
(before it blows up your number)

You will never manage your team the same way again.

P.S. The pic looks like a mix of me and Data from Star Trek, right?

----------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if you are tired of surprise misses
 ➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain based sales insights

"Get out of my head."

That is what I hear a LOT. 

It's also what my clients hear.
If you want to win in business
Learn to enter your ICP’s mind.

Not their surface answers.
Their unspoken thoughts.
The quiet stuff they never say out loud.

Your ICP is thinking about risk, safety, and reputation.
Their nervous system scans the world for certainty.
Your job is to understand the subtext they hide.

Here are 5 ways to read your ICP’s real inner world:

1️⃣ Listen for the pause
 When they hesitate, note the silence.
 Write down what fear that pause might signal.
 Ask one gentle question to explore it.

2️⃣ Name the problem better than they can
 Say the thing they hint at but avoid.
 Use words they have not said yet.
 Their brain relaxes when it feels understood.

3️⃣ Track their emotional patterns
 Notice where their tone shifts.
 Spot excitement, tension, or doubt.
 These shifts reveal what they truly value.

4️⃣ Map their failed attempts
 Ask what they have already tried.
 Look for frustration in their answers.
 This reveals hidden pain they rarely voice.

5️⃣ Reflect their vision back to them
 Repeat their goals in simple language.
 Show them the future they want.
 The brain trusts what it can picture clearly.

When you understand the thoughts they never say,
your ICP feels seen at a deeper level.
They think you can read their mind.
And trust becomes the easiest part of the sale.

P.S. When is the last time you thought someone was in your head?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

-------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share to help others build resilient minds
➕ Follow Shannon for more brain-based growth insights

The number 1 reason you’re invisible on Linkedin...

You aren't breaking through the RAS filter

Your prospect never sees most of what you say.
Their brain deletes it before it gets inside.

The Reticular Activating System filters everything.
It looks for relevance, novelty, safety, and clarity.
If your message feels routine, it gets ignored.
If it feels vivid and personal, it gets through.
Here are ten ways to pass the filter fast.

1/ Pattern breaks win
Don’t start predictable
Do open with novelty
Science: RAS flags newness first

2/ Short lines keep attention
 Don’t write long blocks
 Do use simple spacing
 Science: Low load keeps thinking open

3/ Make it about them
Don’t lead with yourself
Do mirror their world
Science: RAS checks for self relevance

4/ Signal credibility fast
Don’t over explain
Do give one strong proof
Science: Fast heuristics shape trust

5/ Use micro commitments
Don’t push for yes
Do ask tiny questions
Science: Micro wins open dopamine

6/ Use visual outcomes
Don’t stay vague
Do paint clear images
Science: RAS tags vivid scenes

7/ Match their energy
Don’t push your pace
Do mirror tone
Science: Mirror neurons sync fast

8/ Validate their words
Don’t jump to fixes
Do echo their phrasing
Science: Neural validation needs match

9/ Create safety, not pressure
Don’t force urgency
Do slow the tempo
Science: Threat shuts attention down

10/ Give one next step
Don’t dump info
Do guide clearly
Science: Sequence reduces neural noise

When you speak to the brain instead of the ego
You stop sounding like everyone else
You bypass resistance
You increase trust
And your message finally lands

P.S. Which one has worked for you??

Learn how to build a $20k No Chasing the Yes Sales System
Apply here → https://lnkd.in/eZRF_jZe
Dec 15 - 11am - 2pm PST

----------------------------------------------------------------
➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon  to get more brainy tips
♻️ Repost to help more people train their brain to thrive

Persuasion isn’t pressure.

Persuasion is helping someone feel safe.

Here are 8 ethical persuasion swaps that actually work 👇

Most people try to persuade with logic or force.
But the brain listens to safety signals first.
When you protect autonomy and reduce threat,
People open up, not shut down.

Here are the 8 upgrades:

1️⃣ Regulate before you relate
❌ Don’t say: 
“Let me just explain why this makes sense.”

✅ Say this:
“Before we dive in, take a breath. I want this to feel clear.”

🔬Science:
 A calm nervous system sends safety cues.
 Their mirror neurons match your steadiness, lowering resistance.

2️⃣ Lead with curiosity
❌ Don’t say:
 “Here’s what you need to do.”

✅ Say this:
 “What feels hardest about this right now?”

🔬 Science:
 Curiosity keeps the amygdala quiet.
 Questions activate the prefrontal cortex, the part that evaluates options calmly.

3️⃣ Validate before redirecting
❌ Don’t say:
 “I understand, but…”

✅ Say this:
 “It makes sense you’d feel that way.”

🔬 Science:
 Validation reduces cortisol.
 It signals “You’re safe to express hesitations,” which reopens trust pathways.

4️⃣ Protect autonomy
❌ Don’t say:
 “You should really move forward.”

✅ Say this:
 “Want to explore this together?”

🔬 Science:
Autonomy is a core human need.
When someone feels in control, dopamine rises and decision-making improves.

5️⃣ Reframe with clarity
❌ Don’t say:
 “You’re overthinking this.”

✅ Say this:
 “What might shift if this were already solved?”

🔬 Science:
Reframing widens cognitive perspective.
It moves the brain out of threat mode and into problem-solving mode.

6️⃣ Align intentions
❌ Don’t say:
 “I just want you to see my point.”

✅ Say this:
 “We both want a solution that actually works for you.”

🔬 Science:
Shared goals increase oxytocin.
Oxytocin boosts collaboration and reduces defensiveness.

7️⃣ Match energy before guiding
❌ Don’t say:
 “Relax, it’s not a big deal.”

✅ Say this:
 “I hear how this feels for you. Let’s slow it down together.”

🔬Science:
Attunement regulates the nervous system.
The brain trusts what feels familiar before it trusts new direction.

8️⃣ Close with clarity, not pressure
❌ Don’t say:
 “So… are you ready or not?”

✅ Say this:
 “Here’s what the next step looks like. Does this feel right to you?”

🔬 Science:
Clear choices reduce cognitive load.
When the brain knows the path, uncertainty drops—and commitment rises.

Ethical persuasion is simple:
 🧠 Lower threat
 🧠 Raise clarity
 🧠 Protect autonomy

That’s how influence becomes trust.

P.S. Ever notice how pressure makes you want to run?

My workshops are open again.
Learn how to build a $20k No Chasing the Yes Sales System
Apply here → https://lnkd.in/eZRF_jZe

----------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain-based sales tools
♻️ Repost to help more people influence with integrity

Selling gets easier the moment you stop trying to sell.

Pressure never closes the deal. Safety does.

People think the only way to sell on LinkedIn is to push harder.

👀 More messages.
👀 More follow ups.
👀 More asking for the call.

But pressure is the fastest way to shut a buyer down.
When someone feels pushed, their brain shifts into protection mode.

✅ Amygdala fires.
✅ Trust drops.
✅ They stop listening.

You’re not getting ignored because your offer’s weak.
You’re getting ignored because the pressure makes people pull back.

Here’s what actually works:
The best sellers stay calm.
They make buyers feel understood early.
They create safety before they ever talk about the offer.

A regulated seller creates a regulated buyer.
It’s how the brain works.
Most people spiral here:
I don’t want to bug them.
But I need clients.
Maybe I should push a little.

And that energy leaks into your content and your DMs.
People can feel it instantly.

You’ll sell more when you stop trying to convince.
Curiosity beats pressure.
Clarity beats force.
Safety beats scripts.

When buyers feel safe, they move on their own.
If you want to close more without pushing,
Drop BUTTER and we’ll have a chat

P.S. When’s the last time selling felt easy for you?

-------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Share if you’re done chasing
➕ Follow Shannon for more brain based sales psychology

Most deals don’t die from budget.

They die from your buyer’s FOMU.

Fear of Messing Up kills more deals than price ever will.

If a prospect stalls, it’s not about money.
It’s not about timing.
It’s about fear.

FOMU freezes the nervous system.
The buyer pulls back to stay safe.
Not to avoid you.

The Silent Freeze

Buyers don’t vanish because they’re not interested.
They vanish because the choice feels dangerous.

Do this:
Check in with safety, not pressure.

Say this:
“Feeling unsure is normal.
Want to walk through what feels unclear?”

Why FOMU Helps You
Hesitation shows you where clarity is missing.
It’s not rejection.
It’s guidance.

Do this:
Treat hesitation as data.

Say this:
“Where does this feel unclear or risky right now?”

What The Brain Does
The amygdala fires at the risk of regret.
The prefrontal cortex fogs.
The insula recalls failure.
The ACC flags uncertainty.

They’re not blocking you.
They’re blocking pain.

Do this:
Name the feeling to lower threat.

Say this:
“It sounds like this feels heavy.
That’s completely normal.”

Safety Sells
Buyers calm when they feel attuned to.
Not pushed.
Not rushed.

Do this:
Slow down.
Mirror their tone.
Give space.
Stay curious.

Say this:
“I’m here to make this easy.
Take your time.”

FOMU On LinkedIn
Fear starts before the call.

They lurk on your posts.
They reread your content.
They check your profile often.
They click but don’t submit.

Not apathy.
Fear of choosing wrong.

Do this:
Use repeatable clarity cues.

Say this:
“Here’s the path from first call to final result.”

What FOMU Sounds Like
"It’s not the right time.”
“I need to think.”
“We’re reviewing budgets.”

These phrases mean one thing:
“I’m scared to mess this up.”

Do this:
Speak to the fear, not the words.

Say this:
“Want to walk through what feels risky here?”

Bottom Line
FOMU is not a block.
It’s an invitation.

When safety rises, clarity rises.
When clarity rises, trust rises.
When trust rises, decisions get easy.

Safety is the real close.

P.S. What’s the biggest deal you’ve seen stall to FOMU?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
https://salessage.co/

-----------------------------------------------------------------

♻️ Repost if you want more buyers to feel safe saying yes
➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for brain-based sales mastery

Overcome Your Buyer's FOMU

People who seem fearless aren’t certain.

They just learned to move while afraid.

Technology is moving fast than imagined.
New tools appear every week.
New systems shift every month.
New AI applications we never thought of.

If your brain isn't bendy, you fall behind quick.
Not because you lack talent.

But because your neural pathways favor comfort.
Most people resist change.
But your brain can be trained to welcome it.
Despite any fear you feel.

Neuroplasticity is the answer (for all of us). 
Here's how you can keep your brain bendy

1️⃣ Practice daily discomfort
✅ Try one thing that feels unfamiliar
 A new skill.
 A new feature.
 A new creative method.
 Novelty boosts dopamine and strengthens learning loops.

2️⃣ Reframe overwhelm into opportunity
✅ Ask what if this makes my work easier
 This simple shift reduces threat.
 A calm brain learns faster and adapts faster.

3️⃣ Use ten minute micro learning
✅ Study one small skill for ten minutes
 Explore a tool.
 Test a workflow.
 Short bursts build stronger neural pathways.

Thriving today isn't about knowing everything.
It's about staying flexible.
A bendy brain wins in a fast world.

P.S. What's the last thing you learned?

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

Video Credit: Unknown

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow Shannon for more brain based sales tools
 ♻️ Repost to help more people train their brain to adapt

A like is not a buying signal. 

99% of you get that wrong. 

Buying signals are precise.
Buyers drop clues long before they commit.
Most sellers chase the wrong ones.

A like isn’t intent.
A compliment isn’t commitment.
And “great post” doesn’t mean “I want to buy.”

Here are the 8 way to tell the difference:

1️⃣ Passive Likes vs Patterned Attention
❌ Random likes on your content.
✅ Repeated and thoughtful comments and DMs
🔬 Science:  Patterned consumption = dopamine-driven curiosity.
 That’s early-stage intent.

2️⃣ “Sounds Interesting” vs Ownership Language
❌ “That’s cool” or “I’ll think about it.”
✅ “How would this work for my team?”
🔬 Science: Ownership language activates planning circuits.
 The brain is rehearsing the decision.

3️⃣ Talking in Circles vs Clarity Moments
❌ Telling long stories about their company with no point.
✅ They articulate the problem clearly and connect it to outcomes.
🔬 Science: Clarity = PFC engagement.
 That’s when decisions begin.

4️⃣ Information Hoarding vs Micro-Commitments
❌ “Send me more info.”
✅ They attend your event, answer questions, or complete a short action.
🔬 Science: Micro-commitments create consistency bias.
 Once the brain starts saying yes, it prefers to continue.

5️⃣ Surface Engagement vs Depth Engagement
❌ A quick DM reply or emoji reaction.
✅ They ask specific questions that reveal internal problem-solving.
🔬 Science: Specificity = cognitive effort.
 The brain only invests when it cares.

6️⃣ Random Compliments vs Risk Reduction Questions
❌ “Love your work.”
✅ “How do you handle onboarding?”
🔬 Science: Risk questions mean their amygdala is evaluating safety.
 They’re preparing to commit.

7️⃣ Friendly Vibes vs Monitoring Behavior
❌ They seem nice, polite, or responsive.
✅ They quietly check your LinkedIn daily, revisit your DMs, or watch old content.
🔬 Science: Monitoring = pre-decision due diligence.
 The brain is gathering safety data.

8️⃣ “Just Exploring” vs Timeline Talk
❌ “I just wanted to learn more.”
✅ “We’re planning for Q1.”
🔬 Science: Timeline activation reduces uncertainty and accelerates commitment.

Buying signals are simple:
 🧠 Depth over noise
 🧠 Patterns over one-offs
 🧠 Specificity over compliments

Once you know the difference,
You stop chasing and start closing.

P.S. Ever notice how the real buyers talk very differently?
My workshops are open again.

BIG NEWS! SALES SAGE IS LIVE!
See the truth your reps won’t say out loud (before it blows up your number)
Taking 100 beta testers - 14 day free trial
Minority Report for Sales Teams
https://salessage.co/ 

------------------------------------------------------------------

➕ Follow 🧠 Shannon for more brain-based sales tools
 ♻️ Repost to help more people read buyers clearly

Your biggest risk is the rep who says they're "fine."

Your rep's "fine," is eerily similar to your spouse's "fine."

TL:DR It's definitely not "fine."

You don't lose a quarter in one moment.
You lose it in tiny blind spots.

A rep who says they're fine.
A pipeline that looks clean.
A deal that feels safe until it slips.

Then your forecast cracks.
Your VP starts asking questions.
And you wonder what you missed.

What every manager thinks but never says out loud:

You're managing stories, not data.
Your team tells you what feels safe to say.
Not what protects your number.

Sales Sage shows you the parts they leave out.
A simple 10 minute pulse surfaces early risk.

😶‍🌫️ Stress signals. 
😶‍🌫️ Confidence drops.
😶‍🌫️ Hidden struggles that turn into missed targets...
If you catch them too late.

We give you visibility your dashboards say they give you
But can't

The minority report for sales teams. 
14-day free beta: https://salessage.co for early adopters

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🧠 Shannon Smith, J.D., M.S. 🚀

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The Battle

Archita Fritz

🧠 Shannon Smith, J.D., M.S. 🚀

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Archita Fritz's LinkedIn Performance

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