Co-founder & CEO @ Ritmoo | Growth Advisor | Leadership Catalyst | GTM Strategist | Led growth in startups from €1 to 100m

I've spent my career helping businesses scale with purpose, transforming ambition into execution and building teams that don't just grow, but thrive.

With a track record of taking companies from €1M to €100M+ in revenue and scaling teams from 10 to 700 people, I've learned that sustainable growth comes down to clarity, trust, and relentless focus. 

Most notably at EVBox, where I served as Chief Growth Officer from 2015 to 2022, I helped lead the business from a small industry player into a global category leader, building a scalable go-to-market engine and a culture of growth.

Today, I'm a fractional growth operator, partnering with high-growth scaleups to architect their go-to-market, sharpen their narrative, and build resilient, high-performing teams. 

I work with companies like SIG, CLEVR, Frends, Dott, vaylens, and more, bringing clarity to chaos and focus to scale.

I'm also the founder of Ritmoo (recently acquired), where we combined expert-led strategy services with lightweight goal management software for fast-moving teams. I'll continue as an advisor through 2026 as Ritmoo enters its next chapter under new leadership.

And I'm the author of Teams in Hell – How to End Bad Management, a practical playbook for building trust, clarity, and adaptability inside modern teams. Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Teams-Hell-How-End-Management/dp/9090401318/

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🚀 Highlights
• Fractional Growth Operator | Supporting scaleups like SIG, CLEVR, Frends, Dott, vaylens, and more
• 1x Exited Founder | Co-founded Ritmoo (acquired 2025), continuing as advisor through 2026
• Former Chief Growth Officer, EVBox | €5M → €100M+ revenue, 10 → 700 people
• Head of Product Growth, Talentsquare | Built growth strategy through to exit in 2015
• Former Global President, AIESEC | Leading the world's largest youth-led organization
• Angel Investor & LP | Backing early-stage founders via StayingBee, Pal, and Shilling VC
• Author | Teams in Hell (2025), a book on fixing modern leadership from the inside out

🏓 Fun Facts
• Former pro table tennis player with several championships in Portugal
• Proud dad to two daughters with Duracell-level energy

Hugo Pereira

AI won't replace you if you're great at what you do.
𝗕𝗨𝗧... 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗔𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂.
 
I'm seeing this play out in real time with my fractional clients.
 
Most of the time they confuse motion with progress.

Instead of shipping 10 things, to focus on the 2 things that could actually drive revenue and retention.
 
The pace increased with AI. 
We're building faster than ever. 
But now we're selective about what we build.
 
Think about it: 
AI can write 10 blog posts in a week. 
Build three email sequences overnight. 
Generate dozens of social posts in an hour.
 
But volume without impact is just noise.
 
AI automates the busy work. 
What's left is either real value creation or nothing.
 
---

Here's what AI won't replace:

→ 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
Deciding which 2 things matter more than the other 10 

→ 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
The insight that shifts how people see the problem.

→ 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The trust that makes deals happen. I just tried out an AI-video SDR, horrible experience. Felt mechanic.

Teams that evolve these skills become unstoppable. 
AI just becomes their lever.
 
Teams hiding behind activity metrics and endless output get exposed fast.
 
Use AI to focus on what actually matters. 
Everything else is just noise.

---

I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+).
 
Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Fractional Growth (CMO/CGO) | Author “Teams in Hell – How to End Bad Management” | 1x exited founder (Ritmoo)

I'm not the biggest fan of tradeshows, but damn... do I miss attending CES in Las Vegas! 😅

I went 3 times in a row for EVBox between 2017 and 2020, and it was always such a blast. The reason why it worked so is because a lot came together:

1. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀
Even if we were feeling a bit of that new year vibe and not ready to get to work, that event would just get tons of us pumped up. 

2. 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵
Sales, marketing, product all in one place. Dry runs, pitch practice, late-night dinners debating the future of our industry. You can't replicate this kind of sync easily.

3. 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 
CES is massive. You barely see 1/3 of it as an exhibitor. Most of us got about half-day off to explore it and it was always worth it. 

4. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽
2-3 days before the show, a few of us would fly in early. Road trips, deep conversations, inside jokes. This wasn't just team building, we were forming culture.

5. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿
Our messaging, product positioning, objections were all tested live in the first week of January. We'd adjust campaigns and priorities on the fly. There wasn't a need to wait for Q2 data.

---

Now, was it expensive? Hell yes!

Hundreds of thousands of euros. 
The stress of shipping hardware from Europe months in advance.
 
But some of our biggest deals started there. 
Context mattered. 
Timing mattered. 

Being present when the industry was exploding... mattered.

---
 
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘀:
 
We try too often to calculate ROI on everything we do. 
 
But some of the most critical investments can't be measured in advance.
 
𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵? 
Can't forecast that.  

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 200 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 4 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴? 
Not in the model.  

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬? 
Priceless.
 
A lot of CEOs/CFOs l hate this. 
They want proof before investment.
 
But growth doesn't work that way.
 
You can't A/B test belief. 
You can't pilot commitment. 
You can't run a controlled experiment on culture.
 
The companies that win understand this. 
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿. 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁.

---

I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+).
 
Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

The 1M to 10M ARR journey is not a straight line.
 
A lot of times you read about scaling from 1M to 10M like it's a smooth climb. It isn't.

I've seen companies spike to 5M on momentum, then spend two years stuck there because they never stopped to figure out their actual ICP. 

I've seen others grind through the early millions, then explode once they cracked distribution.

Growth happens in bursts, not steady increments. And those bursts depend entirely on which GTM motion you've mastered.

-

Here's what the journey actually looks like:
 
𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲, 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻. 
Early on, you're having deep conversations. Every customer is a case study. 

You're learning who actually needs what you're building. 
Speed doesn't matter (yet) as much as insights do.
 
I made this mistake with my own startup. 

I was obsessing over conversion rates at 80 demos. 

Completely wrong focus. 

I should have been on calls with the 10 best-fit customers, not optimizing funnels.

-
 
𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗰𝗵. 
This is where you commit to one channel, one ICP, one repeatable motion. 

Most companies get stuck here because they refuse to walk away from revenue that doesn't fit.
 
You have five use cases. Seven personas. Three markets. 

The board loves the growth. 

But your CAC is climbing and churn is creeping up. 

Nobody wants to make the tough call to say no.

-
 
𝟯. 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵. 
Once you crack repeatability, growth compounds fast. 

But only if you built the right foundation. 

This is where community, partners, and deep customer relationships become your flywheel.
 
The companies that made it here didn't get there by doing more. 

They got there by doing less—but doing it better.

---
 
Your GTM motion changes at each stage too:
 
→ At $5K ACV, it's all about velocity and content 
→ At $50K ACV, it's thought leadership and events 
→ At $500K ACV, it's brand and expertise of your people 
→ At $1M+ ACV, it's pure relationships and CxO referrals
 
Trying to run a high-touch motion at low ACV kills your margins. 

Running a low-touch motion at high ACV kills your close rates.
 
Most founders try to scale what got them to 1M. 

That's the mistake. 
What got you here won't get you there.
 
The jump from 1M to 10M isn't about working harder. 

It's about knowing when to pause, when to pivot your motion, and when to stop chasing every deal that comes your way.
 
Growth isn't linear. 
Momentum is.

---

I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+). 

Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

If B2B marketing advice feels comforting, be worried.
 
Comforting usually means it wasn't written for you, it was written for everyone. 

And what works for everyone works for no one.
 
Last week, I joined Dreamdata with Casper (agency founder, 100+ B2B SaaS clients) and Francesca (demand gen director at Legora, legal AI scaleup) to discuss what worked in Marketing in 2025 and will 2026 be about.

Agency view, fractional view, operator view. 

Here're my main highlights summarized 👇
 
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱
• Francesca nailed the current context: "everything, everywhere, all at once." 
• AI let teams ship faster, however standout teams do it without sacrificing quality. 
• The luxury problem for some is when your entire market is in-buying mode, it's about demand capture, not generation.
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸
• Big trade shows. Done. 
• We all moved budget to owned events where you control the narrative, the audience, and the ROI. 
• Side events next to big conferences can be a good place to test out guerrilla marketing, which still works.
• Traditional paid search is declining hard. Google Ads spend down 70% for some of us. LinkedIn up 120%. The shift is real.
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘄
• Thought leader ads on LinkedIn, but evolved. Not just employee posts anymore. Get customers and prospects to post about you.
• Reddit is undervalued, even if tough to make it work.
• YouTube is massive but no one talks about it. 
• TikTok works if you can stomach the creative investment.
• Influencer marketing in B2B. Yes, really. Some of us are paying B2B creators to post about products. It's not cheap, but it works.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲'𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴
• 90% of AI talk is about content workflows. The real win seems more around proactive insights and signals.
• Simple wins in AI can be practical agents (we built a bunch at Frends) that research prospects before meetings, auto-fill lead context when they come in, and push win-wire analysis into Slack. Simple, yet effective
 
𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
• Personalization beats volume. 
• The companies stuck between PLG and enterprise are struggling. Pick a lane.
 
Full conversation on Dreamdata's Attributed podcast, link in comments.

Worth the listen.

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I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+). 

Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Your content team produced 247 pieces last year.
Your best prospects read 3.

That's not a content problem. 
That's a strategy problem.
 
Most GTM teams are stuck in a volume trap. 
More blogs. 
More case studies. 
More webinars. 
More LinkedIn carousels. 

The machine keeps running because stopping feels like quitting.
 
Chances are that your buyer or ideal customer scrolls past 90% of what you publish. 

Not because it's bad. 
Because it's not for them.
Not right now. 
Not precise enough to stop their scroll.
 
𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 
𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁.
 
Not another "5 trends in [your industry]" post. 

The one answer to the specific problem keeping them up at night. From someone who's solved it before.
 
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻:
→ Kill half your content calendar  
→ Talk to 10 customers about their actual questions  
→ Answer those questions with brutal precision  
→ Publish when it matters, not because it's Tuesday
 
Volume is a vanity metric disguised as discipline.
 
Precision is how you build trust.
 
This year, publish less. 
Matter more.
 
---

I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+).
 
Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

I've seen three types of horrible managers in my career:
1) the Controller, 2) the Ghost, 3) the Firefighter.
 
You've probably worked for at least one of them.
 
- 

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 is the micromanager. 

Wants updates constantly. 

Reviews every PPT slide down to the font size.
 
He doesn't come from a bad place, he likes being in the details. 

But he confuses being in the details with controlling the output.
 
That makes people anxious. 

They stop thinking for themselves because everything gets second-guessed anyway.
 
He simply doesn't know when to let go.

-
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 disappears when you need him most. 

Only shows up to take credit.
 
The team works on a big project for months. 

When it's time to present to leadership, he pops up: "I'll handle this one."
 
He might think he's giving freedom. 

But what he's actually doing is abandoning the team without guidance or direction.

-
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 treats everything like an emergency. 
Every deadline is yesterday. 
Every task is urgent.
 
He's the one driving burnout. 

Always pushing, pushing, pushing, and never setting the right pace.
 
Sometimes you need high speed. 

But you also need space to rest, step back, and see if what you're doing actually matters.
 
These three managers show up everywhere. 

I've worked with all of them. 

I've coached leaders who were all of them without realizing it.

---
 
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲:
 
→ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳: Ask for clear decision-making authority in specific areas so you can own outcomes, not just tasks. 

→ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵: Create regular check-ins and document decisions, make visibility a system, not a favor. 

→ 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳: Push back on urgency by asking, "What's the cost if this waits 24 hours?". Most fires aren't real fires.

Bad management isn't about bad people. 
It's about unexamined patterns that destroy teams. 
Recognize the pattern, break the cycle.

---
 
I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+).
 
Follow me for straight talk on leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

There’s no shortage of B2B marketing advice for 2026. Clarity is the scarce resource, and tomorrow you might get some.
 
Tomorrow I'm joining Dreamdata for a live session on what's actually working in B2B marketing, and what's quietly dying.
 
An honest conversation with Francesca (Legora), Casper (SparkForce), and Steffen (Dreamdata) on what worked in 2025 and what B2B marketing trends, tactics, and bets to place for 2026.
 
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Here’s a preview of the takes I’ll be bringing up 👇
  
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 
Teams complain about MQL quality or focus, yet keep hiding value behind forms. I’ll share when to gate (rarely) and why value-first beats friction every time.
 
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗕𝗠 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁 Frends 
Industry-specific content, owned events, and employee/expert-led thought leadership, backed by targeted sponsored ads to ICP. Executed by buyer, region, and context. (Case here, thanks TGS: https://lnkd.in/efCuChDq)
 
𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝗽. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 
Most content won’t matter, and you’ll still produce it. Accept that. The real question: will you bet on 1–2 pieces with enough care that people actually want to read?
 
𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 
AI doesn’t win by mass-producing listicles or scaling lazy outbound. AI wins when it 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, not when it replaces it.  When it helps teams spot patterns faster, pressure-test ideas, sharpen POVs, and move from insight to execution with less friction. 
 
𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 
Partner ecosystems, customer communities, and expert visibility are the backbone of pipeline creation. In any B2B SaaS model. Now, more than ever.
 
If you're a GTM or marketing leader tired of recycled takes and want to hear what's breaking, what's working, and what to bet on in 2026, join us.
 
Link in comments.

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I'm Hugo Pereira, fractional growth operator (CMO/CGO), 1x exited founder, former CGO at EVBox (€1M → €100M+). 

I write about leadership, growth, and scaling through clarity. Author of 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭 – 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Product leader with experience building and scaling consumer products in complex, fast-moving tech environments.

Proven at turning ambiguous problem spaces into clear product direction, aligning teams around hard tradeoffs, and shipping under real constraints. Time, scale, and business pressure.

Experience spans the full product lifecycle: early validation, growth, platform maturity, and the less visible phases where systems, processes, and decisions matter more than new ideas.

Known for directness, pragmatism, and leading teams through growth, reorganization, and sustained system level complexity, with a focus on long-term product health over short-term wins.

Jelena Radic

Spotify, Strava, Duolingo… and a bank app. What do they have in common?

At the end of the year, they turn your data into a story about yourself.

Spotify Wrapped is the obvious one, a brand in itself.
Strava tells you who you were as an athlete.
Duolingo shows your learning persistence (or lack of it).

But in December, when I saw Avanza Bank do a yearly recap, I really paused. What’s in it for a financial investment app?

Free organic marketing, disguised as self-expression is usually the main reason apps build these recaps. People don’t share to promote the app, they share because it says something about them. 
But with a financial app… who actually wants to show off their investment statements?

Marketing aside, there are other reasons companies build these recaps:
- Reinforce user identity to drive loyalty: “This is the kind of person I am.”
- Spark an emotional peak during reflection season and build a positive association with the brand.
- Boost perceived value without adding new features.
- Nudge retention: “Let’s see what next year looks like.”


And that last feature is why I think Avanza did it. In their recap, the final sliders let users set how much they plan to invest monthly in 2026, and a graph immediately shows a 10 year projection. Put in 5000 kr, and it shows one outcome, 10000 kr, and it shows another. You can adjust and commit right from that screen. Smooth. 


No wonder this trend is spreading far beyond music and fitness. The apps that tap into that narrative create loyalty that’s more emotional than rational.

Think about it, if your product could tell a story about its users, what would it say?

Product Leader | Consumer Apps & SaaS at 20M+ MAU | Scaling Product Teams & Platforms

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