Cameo Doran

Cameo Labs

Most founders don’t struggle with ideas. They struggle with getting them built.

You know the feeling:
→ Customers are demanding features your team can’t deliver fast enough.
→ Competitors are launching what you’ve had on the roadmap for months.
→ Investors are pressing for traction while your team is still planning and complaining about tech debt

It’s frustrating. Every month of delay feels like you are slipping further behind: burning runway, missing deals, losing confidence.

That’s where we come in.

At Cameo Labs, we specialize in building the software that founders need shipped yesterday. Using a process we call Insight Driven Development, which combines AI acceleration with senior engineering talent we can turn urgent product ideas into production-ready platforms in 4–6 months. 

And because our process bakes customer insight into every stage, what we deliver isn’t just fast, it’s software your customers actually adopt and stick with. The kind that drives revenue, not churn.

The result isn’t another fragile product that crumbles under real use, or months of your team still stuck in planning. It’s real, revenue-driving software your business can put in front of customers right away.

Proof?
✔ An EdTech founder closed $3M in contracts on a platform we delivered in under 5 months.
✔ An infrastructure company saved $6M after we migrated 1,000+ servers with zero downtime.
✔ An AI training company hit $1.5M ARR in 9 months after we built their custom education platform.

We’re not a typical agency. We’re the partner founders trust when the stakes are high, the team is stretched thin, and the clock is ticking.

If you’ve got a product that can’t wait, let’s talk.

Founder

Nerd United

Nerd United is a Web3 venture studio focused on building blockchain enabled startups that solve real world problems. 

As SVP of Product for the Studio, I lead a high-caliber product team responsible for bringing highly innovative blockchain products to market.  We teach brands to accelerate the pace of product ideation and leverage concept validation methods to evaluate new product ideas and ensure the success of product launches and the startups as a whole. 

At Nerd United, we are systematizing innovation. I am responsible for building processes that allow teams and founders within our incubator to be learning and discovery focused. We teach repeatable processes for problem and solution validation, user discovery, market research, and other aspects of new opportunity evaluation.
I also work with individual brand product leads and founders to define and own product vision and strategic roadmaps. I act as a strategic partner and advisor to both the brands in the incubator and our portfolio companies, and I'm always looking for ways to create value and support the growth of our startups.

SVP of Product - Venture Studio

Theory of Anything Podcast

Co-Host

LeadingAgile

Leading Agile is company that specializes in agile and digital transformations for Fortune 50 companies. As a Managing Consultant, I was responsible for consulting with executive teams at enterprise companies on implementing agile processes and moving towards a product-driven model. 

I coached C-suite executives and their teams on best practices for modern product management, including design thinking tools and lean startup methodologies. I also trained executive teams on OKRs and leveraging an OKR mindset to empower product teams and create more successful outcomes.

Managing Consultant - Product Management & Strategy

SolutionStream

As Head of Product and Delivery, I focus on building innovation & agile development processes that help our clients create world class products.  With our SolutionMap™ process we keep clients laser focused on building the most valuable product features and exploring potential issues and roadblocks before we start writing code. 

I manage and deliver large, complex products from initial engagement to production launch and ongoing enhancement.  I provide product strategy and agile & lean operations training to our clients and employees while focusing on rapid delivery and top-notch user experience.  

I have helped clients from small startup to enterprise implement agile in transformative ways. I guide and train organizations on cutting-edge product management process. I also coach executives and product teams on strategy and process to deliver products that drive business results. 

I have built a framework that uses rapid agile product development processes and focuses on market research, user testing, refining and validating product ideas based on market and user data.

VP Product & Innovation | High-Growth Product Strategy | Worldclass Execution

LogMeIn

Recruited by the CTO as the first VP of Product, I owned all product-related activities including market definition, Product Strategy, User Experience (UX) and User Testing, and product roadmap and planning activities.  I was responsible for improving and managing product management processes speed up product time to market, deliver enhancements that improved user experience and ensure ROI on product development investments. 

▷ Directed a unified product team including product managers, UX/designers, and agile coaches.
▷ Collaborated with executive leadership to evolve product roadmap to match the overall product strategy.
▷ Introduced Design Thinking methodologies to enhance development processes.
▷ Ensured predictable delivery of features/products by using internally published roadmaps and measurable value of product department work
▷ Managed product planning processes with internal and external stakeholders
▷ Collaborated with customer/partner stakeholders to validate the effectiveness of the product team and communicate upcoming priorities
▷ Analyzed and prioritized future product opportunities based on Jive’s unique software platform
▷ Conducted tactical product management functions as needed - including gathering high-level requirements, developing user stories, etc.

VP Product Management ☆Product Innovation | Culture Transformation | Execution Strategy

Kartiva 

We make videos instantly shoppable. 
The future of everything is video and we make the technology that allows consumers to shop directly inside live video.

Advisory Board - Product

As the director of Product Management & Operations, I provided strategic advice and technology expertise to deliver the products and solutions our clients need to be successful. Oversaw strategy, design, development, production, and execution of complex programs for this well-known custom software development firm.
▷ Managed all development and production for Modere.com, a $2.5 million program introducing an all-new name and brand, but also a complete overhaul of their e-commerce system. 
▷ Oversaw creative, account, client, and technical teams to develop comprehensive products and product campaigns for various B2C and B2B clients
▷ Created budgets and maintain dynamic timelines for multiple interactive advertising campaigns simultaneously for various brand/agency clients
▷ Responded to proposal requests; Generate competitive bids, estimate level of effort and technical requirements, and develop project scope to create comprehensive statements of work for clients

Director of Product Delivery | Product Management & Strategy | Agile/Scrum Mentor

OrbSix Software

As a founder of this SaaS startup, I wore many hats. Since we were bootstrapping, every dollar was vital. I was responsible for almost everything that touched Product management and Product Strategy. I was also responsible for Project Management and Customer Experience.
As part of my role, I had to learn how to successfully manage projects and products and teams. In an attempt to develop more successfully, we implemented XP as an agile methodology. This was my first introduction into agile and it changed my perspective on how software should be built. 
I developed and implemented project and product Management guidelines and policies across the organization and monitored effectiveness and geared changes to optimize budget and time and ensure success.

Orbsix Software specializes in Loyalty Programs and Compensation Management software for the Retail and Network Marketing Industries.

Co-Founder | Head of Product 

FedEx Office

Worked directly with Project stakeholders to define project requirements and success criteria.  Coordinated with project teams to ensure on time project delivery.

Sr Project Coordinator

Chief Product Officer ⇢ Fractional Prices with Full-Time Impact ◆ Digital Transformations ◆ Advising Startup Founders and Executives Building Innovative Products ⇢ AI / XR / Web3

I’ve always been fascinated (and a little frustrated) by how many great companies can’t seem to ship great software. I’ve sat inside teams where brilliant ideas died in Jira backlogs, and I’ve watched the opposite too: features rushed out fast, only to flop because they were poorly executed or customers didn’t care. Both hurt. Both waste time and burn cash.

Cameo Labs is my answer to that problem. I started it because I couldn’t stand watching founders lose momentum on ideas that should have changed their business and their lives. 

My mission is simple: help founders build the right product, fast enough to matter.

Since starting, I’ve led projects that:

- Shipped an EdTech platform that closed $3M in contracts in under five months.
- Migrated 1,000+ servers with zero downtime, saving $6M.
- Built an AI training platform that scaled to $1.5M ARR in 9 months.

I’m dorky about this stuff. I love the messy early product conversations, poking at assumptions, figuring out where speed really matters, and then helping a team pull off what feels impossible. That’s what gets me up in the morning.

If you’re a founder under pressure to ship something that can’t wait, I’d love to hear about it.

Chief Product Officer / Fractional Product Management

As the owner and founder of Cameo Labs, I am dedicated to helping CEOs and executives of $100M - $500M businesses in the Edtech, Fintech, and SaaS sectors achieve rapid and transformative innovation. 

At Cameo Labs, we understand that staying competitive in today’s market requires more than just innovative ideas—it demands strategic execution and a customer-centric approach.


I founded Cameo Labs to empower our clients by streamlining their product development processes, aligning their business strategies with technological advancements, and fostering a culture of continuous innovation.

We operate differently than most agencies. 

Our holistic approach combines technology, strategic foresight, and customer insights to create cohesive and impactful product visions. Our clients have experienced faster innovation cycles, improved product success rates, and higher customer satisfaction.

With a proven track record of success, we are committed to turning your challenges into opportunities for growth and success. Our goal is to be your trusted partner, helping you achieve your business vision and lead your industry.

Let’s Connect:
Discover how Cameo Labs can transform your business. Visit http://cameolabs.com or reach out to me directly to explore how we can work together to drive your business forward.

Everyone wants AI, but almost no one is ready for it. 

And it's not just one thing holding companies back. It's a whole laundry list of problems. 

Companies are rushing as fast as they can to implement AI.
Add it to development. Embed it in the application. 
Hell, embed it in everything and use it to replace headcount.

But so far, the data is pretty clear. Most companies struggle to see tangible, long term impact. I mean beyond more causing dysfunction and confusion

Because AI depends on how well your system already works.
It's the well-worn phrase, "Garbage in, garbage out" at scale and lightening speed. 

the companies seeing the greatest impact are the ones with good foundations. 

If you want to compete seriously with AI, you have to fix the flow of data, decisions, and ownership first.

li_at

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Talks about #agile, #innovation, #leadership, #leanstartups, and #productmanagement

From Vision to Execution | Faster Products, Better Results, Bigger Impact | SaaS Companies | Strategic Software Partner

"If you continue to improve a product enough, eventually you'll ruin it."
- David Pogue


What’s your favorite product that got ruined by improvement?

So many teams fall into the trap of new feature chasing and the. they don’t understand why customers stop using their product..

Friendly reminder:
The code was never the bottleneck

Did you know that even before AI, as much as 60% of code was never used?
Complete waste!

And now AI can spit out code in minutes. But that speed doesnt make it inherently useful. No matter how quickly you can debug it. 

The hard part in product development is:
--> Identifying a clear urgent problem
--> Making real product decisions
--> Keeping your code flexible enough to allow for change
--> Closing the loop between what you ship and what your customers actually want/use

If you want AI to be a multiplier instead of a mess, Treat code as the cheapest part of the system and discipline as the real scarce asset.


Are you using AI to actually improve your product development process, beyond “we make more code faster”?

When everything is #1, nothing is. 
Everyone knows it's true. 

But I bet your organization is still guilty of this: Trying to make everything a top priority.

“But it’s all critical” you say. Sorry friend, it just doesn’t work that way. 

Balancing multiple critical projects seems like the way to get ahead. And especially with AI, everyone is convinced that they can add more and more and more work into the queue.

It almost always results in everything moving slower. 

It’s why effective prioritization is critical. 
It's why the key responsibility of leadership is to effectively decide and communicate what is the most important thing. 

Instead of spreading your resources thin, focus on what truly matters. 
Remember, clear priorities lead to clear outcomes. 

Choose wisely.

AI doesn’t hallucinate. 

It is working as designed. 






Hi, I am Cameo👋

I help transform “we just added AI” into 
”customers now pay more for this.”

No alternative text description for this image

I guess this is an effective way to know your meeting could/should have been an email. 

At least people read emails still (mostly) 
No one is even going to skim the meeting summary.

Sampling bias is the quiet killer of product decisions.

The people who answer surveys are almost never “customers.” They are a specific personality type with spare time, strong opinions, or a grudge.

So a team builds and ships a new feature because: “We asked 200 users and 92% wanted it.”

No you didn’t.
You asked the 200 people who felt like answering.

Meanwhile, the silent majority:
	•	ignores the survey
	•	never opens the feature
	•	churns with zero explanation
	•	complains to peers instead of your inbox

That is how feature bloat happens.
That is how AI turns into product clutter.

What I often see is a bit different. 

The CEO announces a bold AI vision and tells the CTO to make it happen, but refuses to allocate any additional budget and insists that they can make do with Copilot. 
The CTO knows this won't work but can't push back because the CEO already made the announcement at the last all-hands.

Meanwhile, there's no training, but everybody is still using it in the day-to-day, but usually only ChatGPT, and they hide it because they're supposed to be using Copilot. They are sharing prompts in Slack DMs, and getting shit done despite the lack of support. 

They're not hiding because they're rebels. They're hiding because admitting they need better tools means admitting the company's "AI strategy" is a joke.

The real problem isn't that we need more Jacks. It's that Jack is forced to work around a leadership team that thinks AI transformation happens through proclamation instead of investment. 

You can't transform a company with vibes and a press release.

🤖 Generative AI Lead @ AWS ☁️ (150k+) | Startup Advisor | Public Speaker | AI Outsider | Founder Thinkfluencer AI

The real reason AI is failing inside companies (and nobody wants to say it)...

Here’s what the org chart looks like in most companies “going all-in” on AI:

- The CEO announces a bold AI vision and tells the CTO to make it happen.
- The CTO nods, shifts priorities, and hands the CIO the budget to “become AI-first.”
- The CIO gets excited and starts building a brand-new AI empire:

A Chief of AI? Of course.
An AI Center of Excellence? Mandatory.
An AI Ethics Officer? Absolutely.

And yet… you already know the punchline.

Everyone is talking about AI.
Almost no one is building with AI.

Except Jack.
The intern.
The only person actually shipping anything.

And then leaders wonder: “Why isn’t our AI strategy working?”

The answer is simple.
We don’t need more AI committees.
We need more Jacks.

#ai

You know what kills trust faster than a bad product? A great pitch followed by a mediocre product.

I bet you have seen it again and again. 
Sales overpromises. Product underdelivers, and the customer suffers.

And here is what I rarely see mentioned: Sales overpromises because the product is already underdelivering.

The sales team is out there trying to close deals with a product that doesn't meet customer needs. So they start selling what they wish existed. Because what does exist isn't good enough.

So why are companies building products that are so obviously underwhelming in the first place?

Companies waste 69% of their development investment on features customers don't use. And AI is making this worse. 

Sales teams are pitching AI capabilities that don't exist yet or wildly overstating what the technology can actually do. Product teams are scrambling to deliver on promises that were never realistic in the first place.

But the problem isn't Sales. The problem is companies are building the wrong things and wondering why nobody's excited about them.

Your customers deserve better than this.

Next week I'm running a training for founders who are tired of wasting capital on products their customers don't want. Come learn how to validate what to build before you build it.

Send me a DM if you want an invite.

Everyone is optimizing for speed.

And believe me, I think that speed matters more than ever. 
But dont mistake picking which way to build the wrong thing faster as a strategic choice.

Hey, that new feature was cheap to build with AI, right?

Cheap code almost always has an expensive outcome.
- A surge in support tickets.
- Feature bloat in your app
- Disgruntled customers churn.

And now your team gets to babysits a feature nobody wanted anyway....forever

Just my weekly reminder:
Code was never the bottleneck. Value still is

In the professional world, Is it ok to say, “I am learning something new. I am still bad at it.”?

The rise of AI is crazy. I don’t think we’ve ever had a moment where so many experienced people have to pick up something new at the same time. 

Lots of people talk like they are experts. Most people quietly feel like beginners.

Most business cultures still reward polished confidence over honest, in-progress learning. So people fake it and quietly fall behind while AI is reshaping how real work happens.

So I am am here to tell you, if you want to truly learn and grow, you have to do new things even when you are still bad at them.

With AI, you cannot wait until you feel ready. Be willing to learn in public. It is okay if you feel you are not ready or lack the in-depth experience. 
That is still true of almost everyone. 

What are you going to push yourself to be bad with AI at this weekend?

AI isn’t the problem...
The shoddy way you’re trying add it to your product is the problem.

Slapping AI onto your software doesn’t make it innovative, it is just a gimmick unless it actually solves a real customer problem. 

It seems like most every company is using AI as a buzzword to impress investors or check a trendy box. 
I guess they think that we the customers are too stupid to realize when something's crappy

LinkedIn is the poster child of crap AI products.

Is there anyone releasing innovative solutions anymore? 
Why is the AI age so mediocre?

I will say the exception to this for me is Wispr Flow, which I absolutely love.

What are you seeing out there? Are there products that you feel are going to change the world, or have we entered the "mid" era of the internet? 🎙️

Hey! That's not my music! This is all wrong! 

That was my immediate thought when I saw my Spotify wrapped. 
I suspect that a lot of parents with younger kids had a similar reaction. 

But then I remembered how every time my 13 year old gets in the car she asks, "can I put on music?" And of course I say yes and hand her my phone. 

And so we drive to and from school, or to run errands, or up the canyon late at night while we eat ice cream and listen to the music she loves and for a few precious minutes a day she lets me into her world. 

Of course my Wrapped would reflect that. 

I see the same thing with companies and their data all the time. 
They do not trust it. They argue about it, or second guess it. 
They say, “That cannot be right,” anytime the numbers do not match the story in their heads.

But data remembers the small moments we forget. 

So yeah, maybe those arent the songs I would have chosen, but I wouldnt change them for the world. 

Where are you looking at your data and saying, “That cannot be right,” when it absolutely is?

Trusting Spotify_Cameo Doran

2018: Our Development teams are slow, we need to add more developers.

2025: Our development teams are slow, we need to add more AI
Different moment in time, same organizational mistake.

Executives keep assuming that more engineering firepower solves slow delivery.

Wrong ⚠️ 

Without changes to systems and process, more code generation usually slows you down because you just run into the same constraints, faster.

Instead, look at the real roadblocks:
↳ No real customer feedback loops
↳ Vague requirements and shifting scope
↳ Stakeholder chaos and unclear ownership
↳ Release anxiety and brittle delivery pipelines
↳ Governance bottlenecks (security, legal, compliance)

Fix those problems instead. And watch productivity soar.

“Stop mining our souls”

Fiery speech by Utah Governor Spencer Cox today at Utah AI Summit. 

“We will not continue to allow big tech companies to abuse us. 

We own our data and can take it anywhere we want

We are going to tell you (big AI companies) what we will and won’t allow.”


I don’t always approve of the Utah political landscape, but I like the vision of the Utah Pro human AI initiative he announced today.

Albert Einstein famously said, “It is not that I’m so smart. But I stay with the questions much longer.”

When we are building products, success doesn’t require that we have all the answers, 
But it is critical that we are asking the right questions.

The best leaders and teams embrace curiosity. 
They dig deeper when something doesn’t feel right. They ask “why?” Over and over when others stop at one.

Ultimately our goal in product development is to: 
- Discover root causes
- Challenge our assumptions
- and Find insights and opportunities others miss.

The truth is most breakthroughs don’t come from what we know. 
They come from what we’re willing to uncover by asking better questions.

How do you approach curiosity in your work? Do you push past the obvious to find the real insight?

This headline cracks me up. 

I am glad to see Spotify is the benchmark for successful subscriber growth.

Interestingly Open AI currently has 35 million subscribers after 3 years and is giving themselves 4 years to get to 220 million (not quite the 280 million that Spotify currently has)

I would be curious how Spotify classifies users on their family plan. It allows 6 users for $19. 
Do they count those as 6 different subscribers? Or one? 

Will OpenAi try and create a comparable family type plan to drive up their subscription numbers to reach this milestone? 

A lot of people are claiming that we are only a couple of years away from AGI or ASI or whatever name for artificial super intelligence they are using. 

But apparently they think super intelligence will happen before this Spotify subscription milestone is achieved. Lol

Maybe their super intelligent version of ChatGPT can help OpenAI figure out increase subscriber count fast. 

What do you think? 
Will Open AI drive a Spotify level of growth over the next 4 years?

Do you want a key to more happiness?

Start with gratitude.

It is Thanksgiving, so hopefully you are already thinking about what you are grateful for. But gratitude changes your entire life, not just your mood for one day. 

Years ago during a dark time, I started a purposeful gratitude practice, and now being thankful is a constant mindset that has transformed my life. 

Being appreciative of the goodness in my life opens me up to joy. 
Gratitude helps me refocus on my blessings rather than my trials or frustrations. 

People who regularly practice gratitude: 
- Sleep better
- Feel more alive
- Have stronger immune systems.
- Experience more positive emotions
- Express more compassion and kindness

Here are some simple ways to incorporate gratitude into your life:

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲.
- Focus on the present moment without judgment 

𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹. 
- Try and be specific about the sensations you feel when good things are happenings.

𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸-𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲.
- Find excuses to formally express enjoyment and appreciation to the people around you. 

Lastly… on a day dedicated to gratitude, make sure to openly express thanks to the people around you and to your creator for your blessings and fortune. 

Have you incorporated a practice of gratitude into your life? I am curious to hear how it has impacted you.

Did yall get your ChatGPT wrapped yet?

mine just dropped and its a little unhinged. 

- 87,502 minutes with ChatGPT
- 129,247 prompts
- 6,879 “try again” requests
- 1,119 “finally, yes” moments
- 824 hallucinations caught

What do your stats look like? Did you use AI the way you wanted to? 
What were you most surprised about? 


No...
This isnt real. There is no ChatGPT wrapped. LLMs dont work this way. 
In fact, as I was making this, I asked ChatGPT if it could provide me with any of this data, and it told me:

"Usage stats live on OpenAI’s side, not inside me.
I don’t have a memory of “being” the same agent across your sessions or any direct access to account data, logs, or billing. 
Each conversation is basically a fresh brain that only sees what’s in the current thread plus whatever you explicitly share or store as “memory.” 
So I literally don’t know."

Cameo's 2025 ChatGPT Wrapped

Helping Founders Break the $10M Ceiling | Strategy, Cash Flow & Leadership Systems | Scaling CFO

Scaling Founders Beyond $10M with Strategy, Financial Clarity, and Leadership Expansion

Most companies stall not because of lack of effort—
but because the founder has outgrown the systems, strategies, and financial models that once worked.

At Ascend Growth Ventures, we partner with CEOs of $3M–$10M companies to implement Scaling Up, strengthen financial infrastructure, and elevate leadership teams—building businesses that scale profitably and predictably, without burning out the founder.

By integrating Scaling Up, Exponential Organizations, and CFO-level financial insights, we deliver a complete, battle-tested system for sustainable, high-performance growth.

🔹 We Work With CEOs Who Want To:
✔️ Scale revenue and profits without chaos
✔️ Build self-managing leadership teams
✔️ Unlock hidden cash flow and improve financial decision-making
✔️ Sharpen their strategy for exponential growth
✔️ Prepare for capital raises, acquisitions, or exits

🔹 Our Core Focus Areas:
  * Strategic Scaling Up Implementation

  * Financial Strategy & Cash Optimization

  * Leadership Team Development

  * Systems for Predictable Growth

  * Valuation Prep and Exit Strategy

✅ Why Work With Me?
25+ years of experience scaling businesses from the inside out:
➡️ Regional CFO, GE Gas Power (LATAM, +1.5GW record year)
➡️ Strategic finance and underwriting leadership at GE Capital
➡️ Business/project development for 8-figure ventures
➡️ Trusted advisor to founders scaling past $10M and beyond

✅ Industries We Specialize In:
✔️ Clean Energy & Decarbonization
✔️ Industrial Goods & B2B Services
✔️ Impact-Driven Companies
✔️ Scaling Coaching & Consulting Firms

🧠 If You're Ready to Scale Intelligently and Sustainably

Let's have a strategic conversation about where you are—and where you can go.

Easiest way to work with me?

Book a 30 min call and let's see if we are a fit.
https://calendly.com/cruzagamboa/call-with-cruz-ascend-30min

Cruz Gamboa

The market tells stories. Your financials & metrics tell truth.

In 2001, Amazon's stock cratered from $113 to $6.

Wall Street declared it dead.

Let's be clear: that had to be terrifying. Even for Bezos.

Watching 95% of your valuation evaporate. Hearing the whispers. Feeling the pressure from every direction.

But here's what separated him from founders who fold in those moments, he kept coming back to his dashboard:

Customer acquisition costs...improving. 

Fulfillment efficiency...improving. 

Contribution margin per unit...improving. 

Defect rates...declining.

The stock price reflected fear. 

The operating metrics reflected reality.

Confidence isn't the absence of fear. It's choosing to trust what you can measure over what you can't control.

This is Financial Intelligence: knowing which numbers actually predict your future, especially when everything around you is screaming that you're losing.

Watch the video. Bezos is calm. 

Not because he wasn't scared, but because he had clarity.

He knew exactly what was true inside his business.

That's how you survive what looks like a reversal, and come out the other side stronger.

That's how $6 becomes $1.7 trillion.

So here's my question for you:

What would it be worth to have that kind of clarity the next time everything feels like it's falling apart?

To know—not hope, not guess—that you're on the right track?

That's the game worth playing.

Check out comments for details

#founder #growth #ceo #scalingup

At 40, he’d lost everything.
His company. His savings. His confidence.
Most people would’ve walked away.

But Aaron Krause wasn’t “most people.”

He went back to the garage.
Back to tiny problems no one cared about.
And from that… came a smiling sponge the world didn’t see coming.

Stores rejected him.
Investors laughed.
The idea sat on a shelf for years.

But he didn’t quit.
He took one uncomfortable shot: Shark Tank.

He walked in with a box of sponges.
He walked out with Lori Greiner.
$200,000 for 20%.
Momentum activated.

Then the episode aired…

Overnight demand.
Shelves cleared out.
Factories overloaded.
Scrub Daddy everywhere, from Walmart to Bed Bath & Beyond.

A simple sponge became a billion-dollar brand.
Not because it was cute.
Because he executed when life said “stop.”

Here’s the truth:

👉 He didn’t need a perfect plan: he needed one more attempt.
👉 He wasn’t chasing validation: he was chasing resilience.
👉 He proved the principle every founder forgets:
A small idea + relentless execution can beat a big idea that never ships.

Critics mocked the smile.
Then watched it become one of Shark Tank’s biggest wins ever.

The ones who win?
They push past rejection.
They build through uncertainty.
They keep going when almost everyone quits.

Because billion-dollar outcomes don’t happen in comfort, 
they happen right after the moment you think it’s over.

#resilience#scalingup#founderstory#entrepreneurship

Stephen Schwarzman built Blackstone into a global giant…
without using calculus.

Why?
Because the game he played didn’t reward equations.

It rewarded judgment, negotiation, and understanding people.

Those were the leverage points.

Charlie Munger said the same thing:

Simple thinking beats complicated math in most investing.

But here’s what most people miss:

It’s not about whether calculus matters.
It’s about whether it matters in the arena you choose.

Private equity = people, decisions, patterns.

Quant trading, derivatives, risk modelling = math, models, precision.

Different games.
Different skills.
Different leverage.

People fail because they try to be good at everything…
and end up great at nothing.

The real move?

👉 Pick the game you want to win.
👉 Identify the skills that game rewards.
👉 Get insanely good at those, and ignore everything else.

That’s how you scale.
Not by doing more.
But by mastering the few things that actually move the needle.

#scalingup #growth #ceo #founder

At 22, he was rejected by Toyota.
At 38, his factory was bombed. Twice.
Most people would’ve accepted defeat.

But Soichiro Honda wasn’t “most people.”

He went back to the workshop.
Back to broken engines and scraps no one wanted.
And from that… came a machine the world didn’t see coming.

Japan had no money.
Fuel was scarce.
Factories were rubble.

But he didn’t quit.
He bolted a tiny motor onto a bicycle 
not pretty, not perfect, but powerful enough to move people again.

Stores ignored it.
Critics dismissed it.
He kept building anyway.

Because he wasn’t chasing applause.
He was chasing motion.

Then came the breakthrough…

The Super Cub.
Light. Reliable. Unbreakable.
The bike that took Japan and then the world by storm.

A simple motorbike became a $100B legacy.
Not because it was glamorous.
Because he refused to stop when everything told him to.

Here’s the truth:

👉 He didn’t need perfect conditions: he needed one more rebuild.
👉 He wasn’t chasing status: he was chasing solutions.
👉 He proved what most innovators forget:
Small beginnings + relentless persistence beat rejection every time.

Toyota turned him down.
Life knocked him down.
But he got back up again and again until the world couldn’t ignore him.

The ones who win?
They rise after failure.
They create after chaos.
They build when everyone else quits.

Because billion-dollar stories don’t start with luck
they start with someone who refuses to give up.
#scalingup #founder #CEO #boston

They emailed eBay 200 times.
eBay ignored every single one.
Most people would’ve given up.

But Marc, Oliver, and Alexander Samwer weren’t “most people.”

They cloned eBay.
Launched it in Germany.
Executed with speed and perfection.
Within months… eBay bought it back for $43 MILLION.

Then the brothers doubled down.
They built Rocket Internet, the company that turned cloning into a billion-dollar machine.

They copied.
They improved.
They scaled.
And they sold again, and again, and again.

Here’s the truth:

👉 They weren’t chasing approval, they were chasing execution at scale.
👉 They didn’t wait to be discovered, they created their own leverage.
👉 They mastered the one principle most founders overlook:
Doing it better beats doing it first.

Critics called them “copycats.”
But behind the noise, the Samwer brothers built an empire worth billions.

Most people stop when they hear “no.”
The one who succeed?
They push when it’s uncomfortable.
They build when others hesitate.
They turn rejection into momentum.

If you want outsized results, do what most won’t:
Step past comfort.
Step past doubt.
Step past fear.

Because the biggest payoffs live right beyond the point where almost everyone quits.

#scalingup #growth #ceo #bostonfounders

He built a dating site that generated exactly zero activity.
No users. No traction. No revenue.

Most leaders call that a failed model.
I call it an early audit.

Three ex-PayPal employees launched “Tune In Hook Up,” expecting market fit.
What they got was silence.
Operational cost? Rising.
User acquisition? Non-existent.
ROI? Negative from day one.

But here’s what mattered:
They reviewed the data instead of reacting to the emotion.

They noticed users trying to upload videos
Not for dating, but for everyday moments.
Unintended behaviour, but real demand.

So they executed the smartest financial move any early-stage team can make:
A low-cost pivot.

Same infrastructure.
Same upload system.
Zero additional burn.
Just a shift in positioning:
Share any video.

And that decision changed their entire valuation trajectory.

Users scaled exponentially.
Cost per acquisition plummeted.
Engagement skyrocketed.
Suddenly, they weren’t running a dating site…
They were running the internet’s first true video platform.

By 2006, their risk profile had flipped
High growth. High virality.
And high legal exposure.

Enter Google.
They offered $1.65B in stock for a business that still had no established monetisation engine.
From a financial lens?
That’s called derisking the future.

Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim accepted.
Smart move.
They transferred operational liability…
And secured generational wealth.

Today, YouTube contributes over $40B in yearly ad revenue
and sits at a valuation north of $500B.

All from a product that started as a complete miss 
until the data told a different story.

Lesson:
You don’t scale perfection.
You scale what the market proves it wants.
Listen to the numbers, not the narratives.
And never underestimate the ROI of a well-timed pivot.

#CFOInsights #Leadership #Strategy #Scalingup

He went to Texas to buy a bank.
He walked out owning a hotel.

Most people would’ve gone home.

Conrad Hilton didn’t.

1919. Cisco, Texas.
Oil boom town. 
Money everywhere.

Hilton arrived with $40,000 and one clear plan.

Buy the local bank.
That was the dream.

He studied the deal for months.
Location checked out.
Customers were guaranteed.

Then the last meeting happened.
The owner doubled the price.
Take it or leave it.

Hilton left. Furious.
Plan A was dead.

That night, he needed a bed.
The only option was the Mobley Hotel.
40 rooms. Run down. Forgettable.

But something didn’t add up.

Every room was full.
Not just full.
Overfull.

Beds were rented in 8-hour shifts.
Same room. Three guests a day.

It wasn’t pretty.
But it worked.

The owner wanted out.
“I’m chasing oil,” he said.

Hilton didn’t see a bad hotel.
He saw demand screaming for supply.

So he did the unthinkable.
He spent his banking money on beds.

$40,000.
Deal closed.

A banker became a hotelier by accident.

He rebuilt everything with one rule.
Minimum cost. Maximum comfort.
Every square foot had to earn.

Profits bought the next hotel.
Then another.
Then another.

Banking faded away.
Hospitality took over.

Years later, he bought the Waldorf Astoria.
From a 40-room flophouse
to the most iconic hotel in the world.

Today?
7,000+ Hilton hotels globally.

Here’s the real lesson:

👉 The rejection wasn’t a setback. It was a redirect.
👉 The failure wasn’t the end. It was the entry point.
👉 He didn’t find his calling by planning harder. He found it by paying attention.

Most people quit when the plan breaks.
Builders look around and ask,
''What’s working?''

Sometimes the wrong deal saves your life.
Sometimes Plan B builds the empire.

Because the stories we admire don’t start with perfect plans
they start with someone who refuses to walk away empty-handed.

#entrepreneurship #founder #businessstories #resilience #scalingup

Security Verification | LinkedIn

He got fired.
The company he built said, “We don’t need you anymore.”
Everyone forgot him.

But Steve Jobs didn’t stop.

He poured tens of millions into a failing company called Pixar.
Everyone thought he was crazy.
Most would have quit.

12 years later… that gamble sold for $7.4 BILLION.

Here’s the thing:

👉 He wasn’t chasing money. He was chasing vision.
👉 He embraced risk when others ran from it.
👉 He bet on what he believed in, even when the world said no.

Most people quit right before the payoff.
The real winners? They push through when it’s hardest.
They see opportunity where others see failure.

If you want massive results, you need to do what most won’t.
Step past comfort. Step past doubt. Step past fear.

Because the biggest payoffs live just beyond the point where almost everyone quits.

#scalingup  #growth #ceo

Steve Jobs

He built pole barns to pay for college.

Decades later, John Menard Jr. built Menards, an $18B home improvement empire.

Most people call that luck.

I call it financial discipline.

He opened a small lumber yard in 1964…

Kept prices rock-bottom by building his own factories…

And built every store with cash, not debt.

No investors. No loans. No noise.

While others chased speed and Wall Street, John chose control.

He knew his margins by product line. He tracked cash flow like a pilot tracks altitude. He made the numbers his single source of truth.

Store by store. State by state. Slow, steady, unstoppable.

When 2008 hit, he didn't scramble; he expanded.

Today?

340+ Menards stores. $13B+ revenue. 3rd third-largest home-improvement chain in America. Still 100% private.

The lesson?

You don't need to grow fast. You need to grow right.

That means: 
→ Knowing your profit margins by service line 
→ Tracking cash flow weekly, not just at tax time 
→ Building systems so the business works, not just you

Financial clarity isn't about being a "numbers person."
It's about building simple, repeatable habits that let you scale with confidence.

Have the courage to own every decision, starting with your numbers.
#founder #growth #businessmindset #financialclarity #scalingup

Most people think success comes from working harder, dreaming bigger, or thinking smarter.

Here's the truth: none of that matters if you don't act.

In one simple test, a $50 bill was up for grabs. 

Everyone wanted it. 
Everyone talked about it. 
Everyone wished they had it…

Except Debbie.

She stood up. She walked forward. She took it.

That's it. 

That's the difference between winners and everyone else.

While everyone else burns time and money chasing online strategies that become less effective every day…

The smartest entrepreneurs thriving in 2025 are walking away from their screens and adding an extra 7-figures through live events.

Real humans. In-person communities. High-profit partnerships.

The ultimate advantage in the age of AI isn't replacing humanity with efficiency; it's experiences that are deep, connective, transformative, and profitable.

Getting face-to-face with your ideal clients AND peers is the most consistent solution to the Trust Recession.

I'll be at Event Profit Engine in Austin (December 10-12)...and I still have 4 discounted tickets.

If you're ready to get clarity on the financial blind spots keeping you from scaling, this is your moment.

Don't sit in the room wishing. 

Be Debbie.

P.S. Stop waiting for perfect timing. The money, the deal, the break… it's waiting for the first person who moves. Will it be you? DM me AUSTIN for ticket details.
#scalingup #CEO #founder #growth

Passion isn’t happiness.
It’s pain.
It’s grinding when no one is watching.
It’s suffering through every mistake, every rejection, every late night, just to build something nobody thought was possible.

Jensen Huang didn’t follow the market.
He didn’t wait for AI to be big.
He invested 10,000 engineer-years ahead of demand.
He pivoted Nvidia from graphics chips to AI dominance.
That’s vision. That’s first-principles thinking. That’s suffering smarter than everyone else.

Breakthroughs aren’t born in comfort zones.
They’re born when you refuse to quit, when you embrace the grind, and when you’re willing to suffer today for what the world will celebrate tomorrow.

Extraordinary isn’t given.
It’s earned.
Through struggle.
Through relentless work.
Through being willing to do what everyone else won’t.

If you want to be great, get comfortable being uncomfortable.

#scalingup #growth #ceo #founder

He was dropped at an orphanage at seven.
No food. No money. No choice.

By 14, he was on a factory floor, making metal frames.
One wrong move crushed part of his finger. Permanent injury.

Most people would quit. Most people would settle.
He didn’t.

He watched. He learned.
Every machine. Every process. Every decision.
Night classes. Every penny saved. Knowledge accumulation.

At 26, he opened a tiny eyewear shop in the Italian Alps.
Nothing fancy. No connections. Just him, a few employees, and an obsession with understanding the craft end-to-end.

Most competitors sold parts. He had a different idea: make complete frames. Control the product. Own the market.

By the 1980s, he was making designer frames for fashion houses.
By 1995, he bought LensCrafters—suddenly he controlled both the product and the retail.

Then came Ray-Ban.
Everyone said he overpaid $640 million for a dying brand.
He didn’t see risk. He saw opportunity.

Ray-Ban wasn’t just glasses anymore.
Movies. Celebrities. Fashion statements.
Value multiplied. Brand exploded.

He kept buying. Oakley. Sunglass Hut. Prada. Versace. Chanel. Pearle Vision.
Vertical integration? Check. Market dominance? Check. Monopoly? Almost.

When he died in 2022, Leonardo Del Vecchio had $25.8 billion.
One orphan. One factory worker. One relentless learner.

Lesson:
You don’t need luck. You need mastery, observation, and relentless execution.
Start small. Learn everything. Then own the ecosystem.

#ceo #scalingup #growth #founder

Most founders don't fail because of competition.
 They fail because of the blind spots they never see coming.

Cash looks fine… until it doesn't. Revenue grows… but profit disappears. You hire fast… and spend months fixing mistakes. You work harder… but scale refuses to unlock.

I spent 20+ years at GE Capital navigating these exact challenges at a corporate level.

Closing an $800M+ power plant deal? That taught me cash flow precision. Managing international transactions? That revealed the profit leaks most miss. Building high-performance teams? That showed me the cost of hiring fast vs. hiring right.

Those frameworks didn't just help me lead deals—they gave me the blueprint for scalable growth.

Now I help founders apply these same battle-tested systems to their businesses.

The 7 blind spots in this carousel? They're the ones holding 90% of founders back from predictable, profitable scale.

If you want to go deeper… Download my free ebook in the comments. 

Fix the blind spots. Scale with clarity. Build a business that runs like a pro—because you learned from one.
#scalingup #founder #ceo #growth

7 Blind Spots

Most people think scaling a business is about speed.

Jeff Bezos once reflected on Warren Buffett’s approach and said the real reason it isn’t copied more often is simple: it’s slow.

Not because it’s complicated, but because most people aren’t willing to wait.

Scaling, growing profits, and building something lasting work the same way.

It’s about thinking 7 years ahead instead of 3.

It’s about delaying gratification when everyone else is chasing quick wins.

It’s about obsessing over operational excellence and the tiny details nobody else notices.

It’s about doing the hard things quietly, consistently, and with pride.

That discipline?
That patience?
That’s the real unfair advantage.

Fast growth might make headlines, but slow, intentional scaling builds businesses that last and profit sustainably.

I help founders and leaders harness that mindset, turn operational excellence into financial clarity, and scale profits with impact.

🔗 Start scaling with impact: https://lnkd.in/epcnGuXE

#ceo #founders #scalingup #growth

Most founders grind hard for years… and never hit $10M.

Here’s the brutal truth: it’s not about working harder. It’s about thinking differently.

The founders who scale don’t chase approval. They hunt reality.
They don’t run the machine they build the machine.

They don’t wait for perfect conditions, they turn constraints into leverage.

Scaling isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the few things that actually move the needle.
It’s about creating systems that work without your mood, decisions that multiply impact, and alignment that accelerates everything.

You can keep grinding, or you can flip the mindset switches that separate founders who stall from founders who explode past $10M.

Which one are you?

#scalingup #founder #ceo

Most founders don’t fail because they’re lazy.
They fail because their goals are small.

Small goals keep you grinding.
Big goals force you to rebuild the system.

When you raise the target to 10x, everything changes:
your strategy, your thinking, your standards, your circle.

You stop playing in the crowded middle
and start operating where very few people dare to go.

10x isn’t harder.

It’s cleaner. 
It’s clearer. 
It’s smarter.

Stop playing safe. Start playing big.

I learned this lesson the hard way.

I wanted to grow my LinkedIn presence to 100K in a year.
I had 2k followers. 

A few people said that it would take years and that I was unrealistic.

Maybe they would have been right - if I'd believed them

I tried anyway. 
I took a course to learn from others who were ahead of me.
I showed up here every day.
Continuously improved my content (and my mindset)
Hired people to help me.

Did I accomplish my goal?
NO. 

I am still at 72k followers today, a year into that challenge.
But I am still grateful for the results. 

Can you imagine what would have happened if I had played small?
I may be at 15K followers at best. 

And that's the whole point. 

Even if you miss the 10X mark, it beats linear thinking. 

This same principle is why I help founders identify the 7 financial blind spots killing their scale - because small thinking about money keeps you grinding, while 10x financial clarity forces you to rebuild the system.

Want to apply 10x thinking to your finances? 

I've identified the 7 blind spots most founders miss. 

Download the guide; link is in the comments. 

#founder #ceo #growth #scalingup

10X Thinking = 10 X Results

He started with $5,000 and a pizza shop paycheck.
Nobody cared. Nobody believed.

Most people would’ve stayed broke.

Dan Gilbert didn’t.

He looked at a broken mortgage industry slow, complex, full of middlemen and said: “There’s a better way.”

He worked 18 hours a day. Seven days a week.
He studied every inefficiency.
He simplified the impossible.
He moved online when the internet was “just a fad.”
He ignored the naysayers.

It all started with Rock Financial. 
And eventually
Rock Financial became Quicken Loans.
Applications went from weeks to minutes.
Rates went from hidden to transparent.
Customers went from frustrated to obsessed.

Then he didn’t stop.
He bought the Cleveland Cavaliers, poured money into the city, and turned it upside down.
Downtown boomed. 
The team won a championship. 
The city transformed.

Here’s the lesson most people miss:

👉 You don’t need a perfect idea.
👉 You don’t need permission.
👉 You need to see broken systems, fix them better, and move faster than everyone else.
👉 And then, reinvest the wins into something that actually matters.

From pizza shifts to $28.5B, Gilbert’s story isn’t luck.
It’s obsession, timing, and execution.

Most people quit at “too hard.”
The few who succeed? 
They see the gap, go first, and keep building while others sleep.

If you want outsized results, do what most won’t:
Step past the “impossible.”
Step past the doubters.
Step past comfort.

Because fortune isn’t at the starting line, it’s at the point where everyone else stops.

#growth #scalingup #entrepreneurship #CEO #execution

He bought a bankrupt textile factory for $15 million.
Forty years later, Bernard Arnault built a $500B luxury empire.

Most people call that impossible.
I call it vision.

He didn’t invent anything.
He didn’t design a product.
He didn’t chase trends.
He just saw what others couldn’t.

Buried inside that dying company was a forgotten gem: Christian Dior.
Everyone overlooked it.
Arnault didn’t.

He sold everything except Dior.
Bet the house on one iconic brand.
And rebuilt from zero.

Then he made an even crazier move
He went after LVMH.
Louis Vuitton. Moët. Hennessy.
The crown jewels of French luxury.

The elite hated it.
The media mocked it.
It was the most hostile takeover France had ever seen.
Arnault didn’t blink.

He bought the shares quietly.
Took control boldly.
And turned LVMH into a global machine.

One acquisition at a time.
Fendi. Tiffany. Givenchy. Sephora.
Dozens of brands reborn under one ruthless strategy:

Let creators dream.
But keep the business razor sharp.

While tech giants chased disruption…
Arnault chased timelessness.

While others discounted…
He raised value.

In 2023, he became the richest man on Earth.
Quiet. Precise. Unshakeable.
He outplayed every tech titan without writing a single line of code.

Lesson?
You don’t need to invent.
You need to see the hidden gem
And have the courage to bet everything on it.

#entrepreneur #growth #businessstrategy #founder #scalingup

Most people obsess over predicting the next 10 years.
Wrong game.

Real builders, real investors, real wealth-creators?
They ask a different question:
“What’s NOT going to change?”

Because the things that never change…
are the things you can compound for decades.

In business AND in finance.

Think about it:
People will ALWAYS want

➡ Lower prices
➡ Faster delivery
➡ Higher value
➡ Better convenience

And most importantly…experiences.

And in finance, the same truths hold:

✅ People will always chase returns
✅ Risk will always exist
✅ Cashflow will always matter
✅ Compounding will always win
✅ Discipline will always outperform prediction

No one in 2035 is saying:
“Please increase my fees.”
“Give me slower growth.”
“Charge me higher interest.”
“Help me stay at home so I don’t connect with others”

Not happening.

You don’t get rich predicting trends.
You get rich betting on constants…
and repeating the same right actions for years.

Business rewards consistency.
Finance rewards patience.
Both reward those who stop guessing and start executing.

Find the truths that never change
and go all-in until the rest of the market wakes up.

#scalingup #ceo #growth #founder

While everyone's fighting over TVs today, I'm fighting for your 2026.

One stage does what 6 months of content can't.

That's why I'm speaking in Austin December 10-12.

Here's what I've learned:

You can spend hundreds of hours posting content, cold DMing event hosts, vetting podcast opportunities, and hoping something sticks...

Or you can walk into one room where the work is already done.

That's Event Profit Engine.

Hosted by Alex Moscow ($130M in client results) and Eben Pagan (built 10 seven-figure companies, 3 over eight figures).

200 founders doing $500K-$2M+ in one room.

The kind of people you'd normally pay $25K to join a mastermind just to meet.

But this isn't networking. It's deal flow.

On Day 3, they run facilitated sessions where they literally pair you with:

→ High-caliber stages for 2026 
→ Aligned promotional partners 
→ Sponsors for your events (I am one of the sponsors for this event)

Not "hope you meet someone cool at the cocktail hour."

Strategic. Intentional. Partnerships that lead to revenue.

The stages you actually want to be on in 2026? They're in this room. The relationships that would take 6 months to build? Done in 3 days.

I'll be speaking on why most founders are operationally excellent but financially blind—and how to fix it.

This is for you if:
→ You're a founder doing $1M-$10M 
→ You want stages and partnerships locked in for 2026 
→ You're tired of cold outreach that goes nowhere 
→ You'd rather be in the right room than grind online for 6 more months

This is NOT for you if:
→ You're just getting started (under $500K) 
→ You're not ready to invest in growth 
→ You think "networking" means collecting business cards

Here's my Black Friday deal for you:

$1K tickets (normally $4K, goes to $5K on Monday).

I only have a few left. First come, first served.

You can fish with a pole for the next 6 months.

Or you can grab a net and walk into this room.

Comment "AUSTIN" or DM me and I'll send you the code before they're gone.
This is the only deal worth buying today.

See you in Texas.
#scalingup #CEO #founder #growth

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