CJ Follini

My father was a decorated NYFD firefighter who then founded a company that helped build New York landmarks like Idlewild Airport and the US Open Tennis Center. He taught me that durable things—buildings, companies, careers—are built on grit and discipline, not hype.

He built New York’s skyline. I build go‑to‑market engines and capital stacks.
As Founder & CEO of NOYACK, I operate at the intersection of fintech, AI, and fundraising—designing GTM systems that acquire customers efficiently and capital strategies that actually close.

What I Do Best
GTM for Complex Fintech  
I turn confusing products into clear value propositions, then build narrative-led funnels that compress CAC and accelerate payback. Content → community → conversion → capital.

Fundraiser & Capital Strategist  
I’ve raised capital from institutions, family offices, and 17,500+ retail investors. I led the omnichannel campaign for Pacaso’s $72.5M Reg A+ raise and know how to position deals that clear investment committees and close.

Fintech & AI Founder  
I built and scaled NOYACK’s agentic AI platform to 130,000+ users while pioneering “one core, multiple agents” architecture for personal wealth management. I don’t just market AI—I architect and deploy it.

How I Help Companies
•	Clarify the offer so buyers instantly understand the value
•	Build GTM motions that lower CAC and increase LTV
•	Design capital campaigns that bring in aligned investors
•	Translate between product, marketing, and finance so teams execute in lockstep

If you’re building fintech, AI, or financial infrastructure and need a founder-level operator who can help you acquire users, raise capital, and tell a story the market can’t ignore—let’s talk.

Professor of Real Estate

I teach in the NYU Masters Program specifically about Real Estate Investment Trusts, Financing and Investment

It takes 4 years of hard work to be an 'overnight success'


We just hit Wefunder’s "Most Raised" list. $250k+ secured in under a week.

Not hype. Just the hockey stick moment of the $199B Agentic AI opportunity.

We aren't just riding this wave; we spent years building the infrastructure for it.

To the hundreds of new investors: Welcome to the cap table. To everyone else: The round is moving fast.

Don't sit on the sidelines while others cash in on the AI boom- Own it.

Secure your allocation  today starting at $250                                                 👉 https://lnkd.in/ez-X34KM 👈

Charles Follini

Building agentic AI for digital finance | Alternative investment expert and financial commentator - Bloomberg, CNBC, Barron’s | Nonprofit Founder/CEO | Proud dad

Ever felt sticker shock at the grocery store checkout—even with a good salary?


Here’s why your wallet feels squeezed, and what you can actually do about it.

The other day, I watched a Millennial ahead of me at the cashier quietly wince as the total flashed on the screen—eggs, rent, a recent hospital bill. 

“Everything’s up except my savings,” she joked. But she’s not alone.

As the founder of Noyack Wealth Club, I meet countless high-earning Millennials facing the same reality:

Essentials are skyrocketing, but tech is cheaper than ever.

The data proves it:
🏥 Hospital services: +275%
🎓 College tuition: +196%
🏠 Housing: +111%
🍲 Food: +104%

Meanwhile:
📺 TVs: -98%
💻 Software: -75%
📱 Cellphone service: -43%

No wonder we feel stuck in place—even with growing paychecks.
How do you break out of this cycle?

At Noyack Wealth Club, we empower Millennials to:
Invest smarter, aiming to beat inflation
Dodge lifestyle creep (and cashier shocks!)
Build wealth that stands up to today’s economy
Want real, actionable financial insights in your inbox?

Join our free newsletter 👉  https://bit.ly/493fTA6

Let’s build a community that understands money—and wins the game.
#FinancialLiteracy #Millennials #Inflation  #WealthBuilding

Agentic AI builder | Alternative investment educator and media contributor | Financial education non profit Founder/CEO | Proud dad

This is Mike Repole...


Son of a waiter and a seamstress in Queens. Blue-collar kid from Queens. I can relate because I grew up working construction in Whitestone Queens

First in his family to go to college. GPA? 2.20.

Nothing about his resume said “future billionaire founder.” In fact, a self-taught entrepreneur 

After school, it took him 18 months just to land an entry-level job at a small beverage company.
​
No connections. No fast track. Just hunger and determination
​
He clawed his way up to VP of Sales at Crystal Geyser.
​
Then he made the move that changed everything.
In 1999, Mike co-founded Glaceau, the company behind Vitaminwater and Smartwater.
​
Early on, they launched products that didn’t work. They failed, adjusted, and kept swinging.
​
Then the flywheel hit:
Year 1: $1M in revenue
​
By 2007: $1B in sales
​
Coca-Cola buys the company for $4.1B
​
Most people would retire. Mike hit reset.
He saw a massive gap in sports drinks.
Gatorade was old. Powerade was a follower. The category was ripe.
So he built BodyArmor from the ground up to go right at them.
​
Better product. Better brand. Better story for athletes.
In 2021, Coca-Cola came calling again.

This time, the deal valued BodyArmor at $5.6B.
​
Two companies.
Nearly $10B in exits to the same buyer. Now he buys thoroughbred horses.
​
This Mike isn’t a “once-in-a-generation genius.”
He’s what happens when:

👉 You ignore the pedigree game.
👉You outwork your résumé.
👉You treat every failure as R&D.
👉Your GPA, your first job, your last mistake — none of that is the final word.

So the question is:  Do you want to be like Mike?

Then invest in Agentic AI - https://lnkd.in/ez-X34KM

Builder of AI agents to help you manage your finances & invest smarter | Nonprofit Founder/Leader | Alternative investments & private markets expert | Proud Dad

Wealth management is heading from information to action. 

At NOYACK, we’re building ProphitAI to do exactly that: Understand your full financial picture. From your cash to your life insurance and optimize it based on the same strategy my late mentor, David Swensen, used to make Yale the #1 endowment in history.

He believed in alts before it was popular. Now we’re bringing that playbook to individual investors — with an AI that acts like your own CIO, not just a dashboard.

I'm inviting you all to take part of our seed round, and invest in the very AI Agents that you use and will elevate your financial plans. 

Don't limit yourself to just be a consumer, become an investor as well 👉 https://hubs.ly/Q03-sthW0

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🚨 40% of agentic AI pilots fail. Here's why most companies get it wrong:
• They set unrealistic expectations
• Feed agents bad or fragmented data
• Change management failures
• Integration failures / drop agents into outdated, brittle systems

These aren’t tech failures. They’re execution failures. And they’re precisely why most enterprises stall in “pilot purgatory” while a select few move to scale.

At NOYACK, we’re not experimenting with AI. We’re building agentic systems designed to work in the wild, at scale, with real people and real outcomes.

Our agents don’t just answer questions. They learn, plan, and act — helping users manage money, cut taxes, and build wealth across every life stage.

One reasoning core, multiple specialized agents:
• NoyackAI: Your personal wealth mentor, turning learning into action.
• ProphitAI: Portfolio modeling, tax-aware strategy, and automated “Plays.”

This is your chance to get in early on the infrastructure behind financial autonomy for the next generation.

EARLY BIRD TERMS AVAILABLE — 💸 Min investment: $250

👉 Join us in the next wave of investing, into the AI agents reshaping personal wealth: https://hubs.ly/Q03_Pglv0

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Open article: Invest in NOYACK LLC: NOYACK builds AI agents to help you manage money, build wealth, and cut taxes. by hubs.ly

Invest in NOYACK LLC: NOYACK builds AI agents to help you manage money, build wealth, and cut taxes.

2026: The Year of Agentic AI, and a New Era for Finance

This is the year AI stops answering questions—and starts making decisions.

Agentic AI is not an evolution of Generative AI. It’s a complete reframing of intelligence:
➡ Systems that act autonomously
➡ Orchestrate complex workflows
➡ Make real-time financial decisions
➡ And integrate across APIs, data, and legacy infrastructure

It’s not just faster. It’s foundational. And it’s already redefining the core operations of major institutions — from customer interactions to fraud, portfolio management, even engineering.

At NOYACK, we saw this shift coming. That’s why we’re building agentic systems designed specifically for personal wealth — starting with AI agents that execute financial strategies end-to-end.

This isn’t the next productivity tool. It’s the new financial backbone.
And just like every platform shift before it, those who invest in the rails, not just the apps, win big.

🤝 We’re opening access to our current raise. The deck is live, DOWNLOAD FOR FREE and learn more: https://hubs.ly/Q0409jm_0 

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Over the next 12 months, most companies won't be debating whether to invest in agentic AI — they’ll be deciding how much more to allocate:

🔹The biggest group is planning a 10–25% AI budget increase.
🔹Another meaningful chunk is moving 26–50%+.

This is huge, because budget is the loudest signal in business. When dollars move, behavior follows.

Agentic AI is crossing the line from “innovation project” to operating expense—the same transition cloud went through. And when a category becomes a line item, the winners aren’t just the flashiest demos… they’re the platforms and products that enterprises standardize on and renew year after year.

That’s exactly where NOYACK is focused.

We’re building a portfolio to capture the shift from AI experiments to AI at scale—backing the infrastructure, platforms, and applied agent products that will absorb these expanding budgets.

Big companies have already decided that agentic AI is a budget line item, make sure you are too. Our seed round has already raised over $200k. If you want to invest early check out our fundraise here 🔗 https://hubs.ly/Q040YdWd0

Or comment “Agentic” below and I’ll send you details.

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If you're a parent, you’re already thinking about the future — the question is, are you investing in it?

AI is reshaping every industry our kids will work in — from medicine to law, logistics to entertainment. It won’t just change the tools they use — it will redefine the careers they pursue, the skills they need, and the way they contribute to the world.

As parents, we plan for college funds, tutoring, and enrichment programs — but few of us consider the economic infrastructure that will shape our children’s world.

This is the moment to invest not just for growth — but for relevance.

At NOYACK, we’re focused on agentic AI — the layer of AI that goes beyond automation to make independent decisions, optimize outcomes, and augment human talent.

💡 The best gift we can give our kids? A stake in the systems that will define their future.

Become an early investor in the foundation of tomorrow. Learn how you can invest in Agentic AI with NOYACK here 👉 https://hubs.ly/Q03_b8hd0

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Most companies will use AI agents. A few will own the infrastructure that makes them indispensable.

We’re at a tipping point — not hype, not theory, but measurable value. AI agents aren’t just experiments anymore. They’re driving real outcomes: higher productivity, lower costs, faster decision-making.

But here’s what the headlines won’t tell you:
 👉 The companies that stop at surface-level AI pilots? They’ll be replaced.
 👉 The ones rethinking entire workflows with agentic AI? They’ll lead.

And the investors who back that shift now? They’ll win.

At NOYACK, we’re not chasing AI trends. We’re building the physical and digital infrastructure to support this next era — the hardware, the data centers, the edge compute. Agentic AI needs more than code. It needs a foundation.

This is the real economy of AI. And we’re making it investable.

Join us in the next wave of investing — agentic AI infrastructure, built for exponential value.
 
👉 Learn more about NOYACK's current raise: https://hubs.ly/Q03WvGvn0

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WealthMindset #07: Wealth isn’t earned. It’s engineered.

If your income depends on your output, you don’t own your time—you’ve leased it.

Stop chasing raises. Start acquiring leverage. That means placing capital where it compounds without your constant energy.

Right now, I’m watching one frontier closely: Agentic AI. Not just automation—agency. Systems that make decisions, adapt, and run workflows autonomously.

This isn’t about betting on the next shiny tool. It’s about owning the infrastructure behind the next productivity revolution.

The opportunity isn’t obvious yet (that’s why I like it and you should too 😉).

👉 I’m investing early. If you’re serious about positioning your capital where the world’s moving, start here: 🔗 https://hubs.ly/Q0408L0H0

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We are entering a zero-barrier era for entrepreneurship and it’s about to rewrite how wealth is created, captured, and distributed.

Thanks to agentic AI, one-person startups are going from idea to revenue in record time. No team, no code, no outside capital — just a founder and a few well-trained agents.

That’s a complete reordering of how companies get built… and who benefits.

I’ve spent my career backing overlooked opportunities before they go mainstream. This is one of them.

Agentic AI is bringing this ownership revolution to scale. By aligning capital with autonomous agents, we can empower entire workforces (not just executives) to participate in value creation from day one.

At NOYACK, we’re building the financial rails for an economy where everyone can be an owner — not in theory, but in structure. And we’re inviting investors to help accelerate this evolution before it becomes inevitable.

Because the next wave of capitalism won’t be legislated, it’ll be engineered!

👉 Want to learn how you can invest in Agentic AI with NOYACK? Find out more information here 🔗 https://hubs.ly/Q03ZWlxw0

Or ask me a question below, let’s talk!

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Now that everyone’s finally shaken off the holidays and is actually back at their desks, let’s talk about the year that’s really going to matter for your balance sheet: 2026. 

The last two years I’ve put out some pretty aggressive predictions and more than a few hit the mark. This year, I’m not dialing it back. I’m doubling down.

Here’s the through-line: 2026 will reward the Architect, not just the User.
If you are still using AI to “chat” and public markets for “safety,” you are running the 2022 playbook. In 2026, the game shifts to Agentic Engines and Liquidity Engineering.

I just graded my 2025 calls like a grumpy professor (spoiler: I failed the Rangers prediction again). Now, I’ve mapped out your 2026 Wealth Blueprint (see the slides attached)...

Which 2026 shift scares (or excites) you the most? Let me know in the comments below 👇

2026 Wealth Predictions

We quietly opened our community round right before New Years and raised $26K the first day. Thank you to all our new investors and cant wait to meet you all. 

Come join our journey as we revolutionize personal wealth management through agentic AI

Open article: Invest in NOYACK LLC: We don’t give financial advice; we build AI agents that help you personal finance and grow your wealth. by wefunder.com

Invest in NOYACK LLC: We don’t give financial advice; we build AI agents that help you personal finance and grow your wealth.

Trump proposed a cap on credit card rates, what does that mean for you? 👇

If passed, the 10% cap would upend a trillion-dollar industry overnight. Banks would scramble to protect profits, rewards would shrink, and everyday consumers (especially those with less-than-perfect credit) would lose access and benefits first.

Why? Because the game is rigged. The financial system prioritizes institutions, not individuals.

The winners won’t be those waiting for the next policy shift,  they’ll be the ones building wealth outside the system entirely.

That’s why I’m betting on Agentic AI. Autonomous software that works, learns, and scales like a digital workforce. The companies that master it will cut costs, compound margins, and move faster than legacy incumbents.

At NOYACK, we’re not offering another rewards card. We’re offering equity in the future of AI itself.

💰You don’t need perfect credit to start. Just $250.

Join us in the next wave of investing 👉 https://hubs.ly/Q03-_rMR0

Don’t let shifting laws decide if you earn more — take control. Give yourself the ultimate reward: invest in Agentic AI early.

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What do you think of our pitch video for our community fundraising round on Wefunder ?

Lmk in the comments below and be honest... I can take it... I think 🙄

Now that everyone’s back to work from the holiday season, let’s look at what I beleive is coming in 2026…


I’ve made some bold predictions the last two years — and many of them came true! But this year? I’m going even further.

Here's the through-line: 2026 will reward builders who automate, audit, and own their entire financial ecosystem end‑to‑end.

Think:
👉 Tokenized alternatives you can actually use, not just read about.
👉Agentic commerce that negotiates, allocates, and rebalances while you sleep.
👉Wealth compounding quietly in the background so you can live a bigger, louder life in the foreground.

One prediction I deliberately left on the cutting‑room floor: prediction markets.

Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi have the raw ingredients to become the most addictive form of gambling we've seen — the financial equivalent of the opioid crisis in terms of damage to families and communities. I also expect they'll be heavily regulated or throttled within the next two years as regulators wake up to the fact that we've financialized "being right on the internet" and wrapped it in a casino.

I didn't include this in my 2026 calls because the timeline is probably longer, but the collision between markets, speculation, and public health is coming — and it's not going to be pretty.

Which of these feels "too far" to you — and why? Tell me in the comments, or throw your own wild prediction on the table. 

That's how this community gets sharper.

If you're serious about turning this from theory into practice, subscribe to Your Wealth Blueprint 👉 https://bit.ly/493fTA6

It's the #1 financial education newsletter in your inbox every Sunday — and where you'll see, in real time, which of these 2026 calls actually play out.

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Can Agentic AI be designed to build wealth ethically? Yes — if it's built with intent, not just intelligence.

At NOYACK, we believe Agentic AI should serve people, not replace them. That means designing AI agents to educate before they automate, to prioritize financial wellness, and to unlock access — not reinforce exclusion.

We’re addressing a $2.3 trillion gap in unrealized millennial wealth, as 72 million Americans inherit $4.8 trillion in the coming years. These are digitally native investors underserved by traditional finance.

That’s why we built NoyackAI and ProphitAI — autonomous agents that guide users from financial literacy to portfolio execution. Always-on, data-smart, and ethically aligned, they empower users to act with confidence, not confusion.

This is how we design AI to build wealth ethically: by democratizing elite-level tools and embedding trust into every interaction.

📈 The agentic AI market is projected to 38x this decade — and NOYACK is your first-mover opportunity to invest at the infrastructure level.

🤝 Join us in the next wave of investing. Our Wefunder raise is now live 🔗 https://hubs.ly/Q03_CDKy0

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We’re not building another fintech feature. We’re building the system that replaces it. 👇

At NOYACK, our AI agents are designed to learn, plan, and act—closing the wealth guidance gap that’s left over $2.3 trillion in potential on the table.

Too many Americans, especially Millennials and Gen Z, are stuck navigating a fragmented, paywalled financial system. We’re changing that—with agents that do, not just advise.

Here's what we've built for you so far:

🔹 NoyackAI — a 24/7 financial mentor that educates, budgets, and plans.
🔹 ProphitAI — a portfolio copilot that models strategy and automates execution.

Together, they form a seamless engine — from financial literacy to real investing action. And with $4.8T in generational wealth already in motion, timing matters.

This isn’t a vision. It’s operational. And we’ve moved fast: $5M → $50M valuation in 90 days.

🤝 If you’re looking to invest in the rails of Agentic AI (not the apps riding them) join us. The raise is open. Starts at $250: https://hubs.ly/Q0409F7Z0

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Agentic AI isn’t the future, it’s the present. And the window to invest early is HERE!

In my 25+ years building platforms across real estate, media, and tech — few moments have felt as transformative as this one. Agentic AI isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a seismic shift in how we manage money, build wealth, and make financial decisions.

At NOYACK, we’ve built AI agents that do what traditional financial tools can’t:
➡️ Automate tax planning
➡️ Personalize portfolio strategy
➡️ Turn complex data into clear, actionable advice

🔥 Over $200,000 invested so far
🕒 Less than $50K left in early bird terms
💰 20% discount on a $40M valuation cap

Join us in the next wave of investing. Let’s reshape the financial system — together 🤝 https://hubs.ly/Q040pFfC0

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One provides care to #veterans in their final hours, working double shifts. 
One calls veterans "losers."     See if you can tell which one is which...

Howard W. Lutnick Russ Vought

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

I help founders simplify scaling.

You started your business. You pushed past $1M. Now you're stuck somewhere between $3M and $10M, working harder than ever but not moving faster.

The problem isn't effort. It's complexity.

Too many priorities competing for attention. Financials that don't tell you what to do next. A team that still needs you for everything. Growth that feels like grinding instead of building.
I fix that.

I'm Cruz Gamboa, founder of Ascend Growth Ventures. I combine Scaling Up methodology with CFO-level financial clarity to help founders cut through the noise and scale with confidence.

Before this, I spent 25 years in corporate finance - including Regional CFO at GE and strategic finance leadership at GE Capital. I've seen what works at scale. Now I bring that to founders building something that matters.

I work best with CEOs in professional services, coaching, SaaS, and service-based businesses who are ready to scale profitably without burning out.

One conversation can change your trajectory: calendly.com/cruzagamboa/call-with-cruz-ascend-30min

Cruz Gamboa

Scaling isn’t about being nice.
It’s about being clean.

Clean with roles.
Clean with standards.
Clean with truth.

You don’t fire people.
You outgrow misalignment.

As the Netflix CEO puts it:

“If I wouldn’t fight to keep you, I owe you honesty—and a generous exit.”

Not because someone failed.
But because one of three things is true:
•	The role evolved faster than the person
•	The seat was wrong from the start
•	The bar moved—and the company didn’t move it back

High-performing companies don’t drag this out.
They decide early and act with dignity.

No drama.
No ego.
No moral stories.

Just:
•	Radical clarity
•	Respectful exits
•	Fair severance
•	Clean energy left behind

Dragging misalignment is the real cruelty.
Clarity is the kindness.

Scaling isn’t loyalty to individuals.
It’s loyalty to the mission, the team, and the future.

Right people.
Right seats.
Right standards.

And when someone no longer fits?
You don’t shame them.
You set them free.

If you want to scale, stop managing discomfort.
Start architecting teams.

Managers hesitate.
Leaders make room.

#scalingup #founders #growth #ceo

Most businesses don’t fail because they’re bad.

They fail because they’re trying to be someone else.

Burger King copied McDonald’s for 30 years.
Same audience.
Same positioning.
Same “family-friendly” nonsense.

And they kept losing.

Because you can’t beat the market leader
by playing their game better than them.

By 2004, Burger King was dying.
So they asked the only question that actually matters:

“Who is already buying from us?”

Not who they *wanted*.
Not who looked good in presentations.

The truth.

The answer?
Men aged 18–34.
Heavy fast-food users.
People who came back again and again.

And those customers didn’t want:

➡️ Safe
➡️ Cute
➡️ Corporate

They wanted:

➡️ Flame-grilled food
➡️ Control
➡️ Edge
➡️ Personality

So Burger King stopped pretending.

They brought back “Have It Your Way.”
Not as a slogan.
As a strategy.

They built everything around that one customer.

Marketing got bold.
Messaging got raw.
Campaigns got polarizing.

Subservient Chicken.
Whopper Freakout.

Not for everyone.
Exactly the point.

What happened next?

Same-store sales jumped.
Franchises grew.
And net income increased 2860% in three years.

That’s not a pivot.
That’s a resurrection.

Burger King didn’t beat McDonald’s.

They sidestepped them.

McDonald’s owned families.
Burger King owned young men who wanted control.

Different customer.
Different lane.
No direct competition.

Here’s the real lesson:

If you try to serve everyone,
you get ignored by everyone.

The fastest way to grow isn’t copying the leader.

It’s finding the customer they don’t care about
and building obsessively for them.

Specific beats broad.
Always.

#ceo #founder #growth

Most businesses don’t fail from lack of effort.

They fail from listening to themselves instead of the market.

Dunkin didn’t pivot loudly.

They pivoted quietly by watching what people kept paying for. 

Then they let the data rewrite their identity.

That’s the real upgrade:
✅ Feelings → Facts
✅ Ego → Evidence
✅ deas → Income that repeats

The market is always talking.

Your sales are the language.

So here’s the uncomfortable check:
What do people come back for again and again?

And are you building more of that… or still pitching what you’re emotionally attached to?
#scalingup #CEO #founder #growth

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cruzgamboadrive

patagonia-solar-llc

Your First Product Is Not Your Last

The first $5M? Brutal.
The next $5M? Still hard.
After $10M? Growth accelerates.

Here’s the scaling truth Kevin O’Leary calls out:

The first $5M is about survival. You’re learning how to deploy capital, take smart risks, and build systems that work. 

Most entrepreneurs quit here.

The next $5M? 

Execution matters. You’ve survived the grind, learned what works, and can now scale with confidence. Decisions compound. Efficiency improves. Strategy becomes your edge.

Beyond $10M? You’re playing a different game. Capital works for you, not the other way around. Systems, processes, and disciplined execution create leverage.

Lesson: 

Wealth and business scales the same way. 

Master the first phase. 
Build discipline. 
Then scale.
#scalingup #founder #growth #ceo

Bill Gates could have flown First Class every day or flown on his own plane, even as a billionaire, 

But he chose to fly Economy until around 1997.

Why?

Because it wasn’t worth the money.

Same plane.
Same arrival time.
5× the cost for a tiny upgrade.

That’s how smart people think about scale.

Most people make money and immediately upgrade their lifestyle.

Smart operators upgrade what makes money.

More spending doesn’t equal more growth.
It usually equals more noise.

When you’re scaling, ask one question:
👉 Does this change the outcome?

If it doesn’t:
Cut it.

A fancy office doesn’t increase revenue.
A luxury car doesn’t improve execution.
Premium tools don’t fix broken systems.

Wealth has one real job:
Buy back your time.

Once you have enough, the goal isn’t more stuff.
It’s fewer constraints.

Less distraction.
More focus.
More leverage.

Scale isn’t about looking successful.
It’s about building something that works without you.

That’s real wealth.
#scalingup #ceo #growth #founder

He was 78 years old
…when he launched a vodka brand
…with no distillery
…in an industry that laughed at him

Sidney Frank.
The man behind Grey Goose.

No product breakthrough.
No secret formula.
No startup hype.

Just one insight most people missed:
People don’t buy vodka. They buy status.

Sidney didn’t make better vodka.
He made a better story.

France on the label.
Luxury in the bottle design.
A price so high it forced belief.

While others chased volume,
he chased perception.

He didn’t market to the masses.
He placed Grey Goose in elite bars first.
When bartenders poured it,
the world followed.

He moved slowly.
Protected exclusivity.
Ignored trends.

8 years later:
➡ Grey Goose became the default “premium vodka”
➡ Competitors copied the look
➡ Bacardi paid $2.3 BILLION

No overnight success.
Just disciplined positioning.

Lesson most builders miss:
Innovation gets attention.
Positioning creates power.

Experience didn’t slow him down.
It sharpened him.

Long vision.
Clear narrative.
Unshakeable belief.

#founders #scalingup #businessstrategy #longtermthinking

Most people think Starbucks’ rewards program is about free coffee.

It isn’t.

It’s about cash flow.

Starbucks Rewards is not a loyalty perk.
It’s a prepaid deposit system.

When a customer loads money into the app, Starbucks gets paid before any coffee is made.
Accounting-wise, that money sits as deferred revenue.

But operationally?
It’s usable cash.

That’s the move.

Instead of waiting for daily transactions, Starbucks created a system where millions of customers fund operations in advance.

No interest.
No bank fees.
No dilution.
No debt.

Every preload improves:
✅ Working capital
✅ Liquidity
✅ Balance sheet strength

And Starbucks holds that cash until the customer redeems it.

Some never do.

Unused balances.
Forgotten cards.
Abandoned apps.

That “breakage” flows straight to profit.

Multiply this behavior across ~29 million users and you don’t have a rewards program anymore.

You have a deposit base.

This is why Starbucks scales so efficiently:
▶ Stores expand faster
▶ Cash flow stays predictable
▶ Capital stress stays low

They didn’t out-market competitors.
They re-engineered when money moves.

The lesson:-

Growth isn’t always about selling more.
Sometimes it’s about getting paid earlier.

Starbucks didn’t build loyalty.
They built a financial engine and wrapped it in a green apron.#ceo #scalingup #growth #ceo #founder

Most companies scale faster by cutting people.
Publix scaled stronger by owning the opposite.

95 years. Zero layoffs.
Not luck. Not culture posters.
A Scaling Up system done right.

➡ Promote from within
➡ Clear succession planning
➡ Everyone thinks like an owner
➡ Leaders built, not bought
➡ Long-term value over short-term savings

When people own the outcome, execution compounds.
When leadership is grown internally, trust scales.

This isn’t a feel-good story.
This strategy may not be your strategy. 
For Publix, It’s a people strategy that beat Walmart.

You have to find what it's true for your company. 

Scale isn’t about size.
It’s about who owns the results.

#scalingup #growth #CEO

No Layoffs?

ADIDAS LOST €1.5 BILLION.
NOT TO NIKE.
NOT TO THE MARKET.
BUT TO ITS OWN BUREAUCRACY.

January 2023:
Dead Yeezy stock.
First loss since 1992.
Slow teams. Scared decisions. Broken speed.

9 months later?
Profitable. Faster. Sharper. Beating Nike.

The turnaround wasn’t magic.
It was leadership.

One CEO did 3 things most companies avoid:
→ Cut layers
→ Killed approvals
→ Simplified what already worked

No hype.
No noise.
Just speed, clarity, and conviction.

Big lesson:
You don’t lose because you’re small.
You lose because you’re slow.

Sometimes the fix isn’t more strategy.
It’s less nonsense.

#scalingup #CEO #founders #growth

ADIDAS Story

He didn’t fail for 10 years.
The market just wasn’t ready yet.

Hwang Dong-Hyuk sold his $675 laptop to buy food.
Lived with his grandmother.
Got rejected for a decade.

Studios said:

➡️ Too weird
➡️ Too violent
➡️ Not commercial
➡️ Too complex

Same script.
Same idea.
Same “no”.

Here’s the part most people miss 👇

This wasn’t a talent problem.
It was a timing + distribution problem.

He had the product early.
The market came late.

In 2018, Netflix expands globally.
Needs bold, non-safe content.
Needs local stories with global emotion.

One exec reads the script and says:
“This is exactly what we need.”

$21.4M invested.
Zero marketing push.
No homepage love.

Result?

✓ #1 in 94 countries
✓ 1.65B viewing hours
✓ $900M+ value created
✓ Best ROI in Netflix history

Scaling lesson most founders ignore:

Great ideas don’t die.
They wait.

If you’re early:
Don’t dilute the vision to get small yeses.
Build proof elsewhere.
Survive long enough to meet the right platform.

Scaling isn’t about changing your idea.

It’s about finding the right leverage.

One right distributor > 1,000 wrong pitches.

Ten years of “weird”
became a global empire.

Sometimes the world just isn’t ready yet.

Stay in the game long enough… and it will be.
#scalingup #founderstories #growth #CEO

The World Isnt Ready

Growth without cash flow is just noise. 📉
Dives deeper into why founders who master cash strategy scale faster, stay resilient, and win long term.

Full Cash Is King podcast episode premiering Friday 🚀

🔔 Turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next clips—and the full conversation.

👉 Set your reminder & watch the premiere here:
https://lnkd.in/eBnXhnie

#CashIsKing #DevinSizemore #PodcastShorts #BusinessPodcast
#CashFlowManagement #ScalingBusiness #FounderMindset
#SustainableGrowth #WealthStrategy #EntrepreneurLife
#YouTubePremiere #PodcastReels

GIANTS don’t fall overnight.
They fall one comfortable decision at a time.

They built the category.
Owned the market.
Had money, talent, and trust.

Then they did one thing wrong 👇
They stopped adapting.

Motorola. 
Intel. 
Netscape. 
Borders.

Not stupid.
Not unlucky.
Just late.

The market doesn’t punish failure.
It punishes complacency.

Scroll through this carousel if you want a reminder of one brutal truth:
➡️ Past success is not future security.
➡️ Comfort is more dangerous than competition.
➡️ If you’re not improving, someone else is preparing to replace you.

Stay hungry.
Or become a case study.
#SCALINGUP #CEO #FOUNDER #GROWTH

CRITICAL MISTAKES

Most people don’t need a new year.

They need a new operating system.

2026 won’t reward louder marketing, more hustle, or more tools.
It will reward founders who build clarity early and compound it fast.

What I’m seeing with founders between $3M–$10M is consistent:
• When financial visibility improves, decisions slow down in the right way
• Leadership shifts from reactive to intentional
• Teams stop guessing and start executing
• Growth becomes calmer, not heavier

Breakthroughs rarely come from doing more.
They come from removing noise and tightening the system.
That’s the mindset I’m taking into 2026.

Less chaos. More leverage. Fewer moves. Better ones.

If you’re also thinking about how you want to operate differently next year, I wrote a short piece on what actually creates momentum at this stage.

DM me or write "2026", and I will share the memo I wrote for my clients and friends with you.

#ceo #founder #scalingup

He refused to touch a $1.50 hot dog, and it helped build a ~$250B business.

Jim Sinegal.
Costco co-founder.

Inflation hit.
Costs rose.
Wall Street pushed the obvious move:

“Raise prices.”

Jim’s response was blunt:

“If you raise the price of the hot dog, you’re done.”

No slides.
No consultants.
No narrative gymnastics.

Just a rule.

So Costco did what most companies won’t:

They redesigned the system.
* Built their own production capacity
* Reduced supplier dependency
* Ruthlessly simplified SKUs
* Absorbed costs where trust mattered most

Instead of passing pain to customers, they owned it.

While others:
→ Blamed inflation
→ Shrunk products
→ Optimized short-term margins

Costco:
→ Held the line on iconic prices
→ Added ~5M new member households
→ Sustained ~92% renewal rates
→ Scaled to ~$250B in annual revenue

Here’s the part most founders miss:

They weren’t protecting a hot dog.

They were protecting trust.

And trust compounds faster than margins ever will.

Most companies raise prices to survive.
Strong companies redesign economics so prices don’t have to.

Boring moves.
Brutal discipline.
Unfair long-term advantage.

So what’s the one price, promise, or principle in your business that you refuse to break, no matter the pressure?

#scalingup #founders #leadership #pricing #ceo

A Sony engineer watched his daughter play Nintendo in 1984 and thought “the sound on this thing is garbage.”

Ken Kutaragi secretly built a better chip and gave it to Nintendo. Sony almost fired him for it.

Then he convinced Sony to partner with Nintendo on a CD-ROM console called the “Play Station.”

June 1991. Sony announces the partnership at CES.

Next morning? Nintendo takes the same stage and dumps Sony for Philips.

Sony’s board wanted to quit gaming entirely. Called it a “toy business.”

Kutaragi stormed into the president’s office. “Are you going to be a laughing stock to Nintendo for the rest of your life?”

The president’s response: “Just do it.”

They had to exile Kutaragi’s team to Sony Music because headquarters refused to house the project.

Then Kutaragi pitched Sega on a joint console. Their board laughed: “That’s a stupid idea. Sony doesn’t know how to make hardware.”

Betrayed by Nintendo. Rejected by Sega. Nearly killed by his own company.

December 1994. PlayStation launches. 100,000 units sold day one.
At E3, Sega announced the Saturn at $399. Sony’s Steve Race walked to the mic, said “$299,” and walked off. Standing ovation.

By 1998, PlayStation was 40% of Sony’s total profit. 563 million PlayStations sold across all generations. The PS2 is still the best-selling console ever.
The prototype’s codename? “PS-X.” Everyone knew the X was a reminder of who crossed them.

Most founders think this is a story about revenge. It’s not.
Kutaragi’s biggest fight wasn’t Nintendo or Sega. It was his own organization that thought the vision was beneath them.

That’s usually the real constraint. Not your competition. The blind spots inside your own company that nobody’s willing to name.

#scalingup #founder #ceo #growth

In 1997, Jeff Bezos was stressed for all the right reasons.

Amazon was losing money.
Online retail wasn’t proven.
Most investors thought he was wrong.

Here’s the part people miss:

Stress doesn’t come from working hard.
It comes from knowing what to do and not doing it.

So Bezos acted.
Packed boxes himself.
Made the calls.
Shipped anyway.

No fancy office.
A door for a desk.
A Honda Accord in the parking lot.

Fast forward to amazon have $2.6 TRILLION market cap.

Lessons for founders:

▶️ Action kills anxiety
▶️ Clarity is earned through execution
▶️ Fancy setups don’t build big companies
▶️ Ignore opinions, obey the math
▶️ The long game compounds quietly

If something is stressing you out right now,
it’s probably your to-do list calling you out.

#scalingup #founder #ceo #growth

If everything is a priority, nothing scales.

That’s why most companies don’t stall from lack of ideas.
They stall from lack of focus.

The Power of One fixes that brutally fast.

Here’s the rule:

At every level of the business, there is ONE thing that matters more than everything else.

Not a vision board.
Not 12 KPIs.
One outcome that moves the needle now.

Company:
→ One #1 priority for the quarter that makes growth unavoidable.

Leaders:
→ One measurable result they own. No hiding. No excuses.

Teams:
→ One clear objective that directly supports the company's priority.

Individuals:
→ One commitment that, if done daily, makes execution inevitable.

Why this works (and why most won’t do it):

➡️ Focus beats intelligence
➡️ Clarity beats motivation
➡️ Ownership beats meetings
➡️ Execution beats strategy decks

Scaling isn’t about adding more people, more tools, or more plans.

It’s about removing everything that doesn’t matter
until what’s left cannot fail.

That’s the Power of One.

What is the one thing in your business that is calling for your full dedicated attention?

What are the things you are willing to pause so that you can fix it and remove the constraint?

#scaling #founders #growth #ceo

This is Why Companies Fail

Most founders do not have a growth problem.

They have a strategy stacking problem.

That is what the 7 Strata of Strategy solves.

It is a framework created by Verne Harnish to force clarity on the 7 layers that actually drive scale, profitability, and differentiation.

Not vision statements.
 Not buzzwords.
 Real strategic leverage.

What is the 7 Strata?

A practical checklist for building a strategy that compounds.

It answers one question:

“Why should the right customer choose you, pay you more, and stay longer?”

When to use it

Use the 7 Strata when:
• Revenue has stalled between $3M to $10M
 • Sales feels harder than it should
 • Margins are thin
 • Marketing sounds generic
 • The team cannot clearly explain why you win
 • You are scaling but complexity is rising faster than profit

It is especially powerful during:
• Annual planning
 • Strategy resets
 • Go-to-market changes
 • Repositioning
 • Pre-scale phase

What each Stratum means

Words You Own
 The category in the customer’s mind.
 If you do not define it, the market will.

Sandbox
 Who you serve and where you win.
 Focus creates power.

Brand Promise
 The measurable result customers can expect.

Brand Promise Guarantee
 How you reduce risk and increase trust.

Differentiating Activities (3 to 5)
 What you do differently that competitors cannot easily copy.

X-Factor
 Your 10x to 100x structural advantage.
 Process, data, network, cost, or ecosystem.

Profit per X + BHAG
 Your economic engine and long-term target.

This is where strategy meets money.

Why 7 Strata?

Because advantage is layered.

Most companies operate with 2 or 3 layers.

Strong companies stack all 7.

Each layer multiplies the others:

Positioning
 → Focus
 → Trust
 → Differentiation
 → Structural advantage
 → Profit engine
 → Long-term dominance

Miss one, and growth leaks.

The founder truth

If your strategy cannot be explained on one page, it cannot scale.

Clarity is not a branding exercise.
 It is a profit lever.

If you are operating between $3M to $10M and growth feels heavier every year, your next breakthrough is probably not more hustle.

It is a sharper stack.

If you want, I can share the worksheet I use with founders to map this in under 60 minutes.

Just DM SEVEN

#scaling #growth #CEO #founder

Cash flow isn’t optional—it’s the #1 rule behind sustainable business growth 💸
In this episode, Devin Sizemore breaks down how smart cash strategy fuels scale, stability, and long-term success.

Full podcast episode premiering 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝟳𝗔𝗠 𝗘𝗦𝗧 🚀

🔔 Turn on notifications so you don’t miss the next reels and the full episode.

👉 Set your reminder & watch the premiere here:
https://lnkd.in/eBnXhnie

#CashIsKing #DevinSizemore #BusinessPodcast #PodcastReels
#CashFlow #EntrepreneurMindset #ScalingBusiness #FounderTalk
#SustainableGrowth #WealthStrategy #StartupGrowth

Most founders brag about revenue.

That’s a mistake.

I’ve seen companies doing millions a year…
and the owner is still stressed, still stuck, still one bad month away from panic.

Why?

Because revenue doesn’t buy freedom.
Profit does.

More revenue without profit just gives you:

• More people
• More complexity
• More risk
• Same lifestyle

That’s not growth.
That’s leverage working against you.

Here’s the truth:

Growth does not start with selling more.
It starts with a profitable system.

There are only 3 levers that matter:

1. Price – Are you charging what it’s worth?

2. Volume – Are these the right customers?

3. Cost – Are you efficient without breaking delivery?

Everything else is noise.

Fix those three, and profit shows up.

Profit gives you:

➡️ Margin for mistakes
➡️ Proof the model works
➡️ Room to breathe

Profit turns into cash.

Cash pays the team.
Cash pays you.
Cash funds growth without stress.

Then you reinvest:
Better people.
Better systems.
Better clients.

That feeds the engine.

The engine creates more profit.

And now growth funds itself.

Stop asking:
❌ “How do we get more revenue?”

Start asking:
✅ “How do we make this system more profitable?”

Revenue is movement.
Profit is power.

If your business feels fragile, it’s because it is.

Fix the system.
The money follows.

Are you focused on more revenues or more profit in your business?  What would your business look like if you had more profit with the same amount of revenue?

#scalingup #growth #Ceo #founder

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