LiquidWealth™ System → Helping Middle & High-Income Canadians & Business Owners Slash Taxes and Grow Wealth Tax-Free–without Losing Liquidity | Ex-TotalEnergies | Ex-Schlumberger | Ex-Drilling Fluids & Cementing Engineer

If you're a high-income earner or business owner in Canada…

You’re stuck in a system designed to maximize what you owe.

✔︎ Corporate taxes eat into your profits.
✔︎ Personal taxes shrink your take-home income.
✔︎ Investment gains? The CRA takes its healthy share of that, too.

The more successful you become, the bigger the tax bill.

Sure, your accountant follows the rules. Keeps you compliant. Files your returns.

But do they have a real strategy to stop the bleeding?

Because if they did, you wouldn’t be reading this right now.

The ultra-wealthy play by a different set of rules—because they know the system inside and out.

And I’m going to let you in on a little secret…

They use little-know insurance-based vehicles as powerful tax shelters—one that allows them to grow their wealth tax-free while keeping full access to their money.

You should be playing the game with their rulebook. And that’s precisely why I developed the LiquidWealth™ System.

A proprietary strategy designed to:

→ Slash corporate and personal tax exposure.
→ Turn your business into a tax shelter – instead of a tax-target.
→ Create a tax-free retirement income stream
→ Protect and grow your wealth tax free—without losing liquidity.

Look, the government isn’t going to call you up and tell you how to pay less tax.

That’s on you.

And if you want to see how this can work for your specific situation, the next move is simple.

Connect and message me here on LinkedIn to start a conversation.

Because the less you give to the CRA, the more you have to invest, grow, and enjoy.


Shoot me a direct message here on LinkedIn or connect with me at:
☏ +1 (403) 861-3613
✉ ikenna.affam@mygreatway.ca
https://www.greatwayfinancial.com/

Insurance | Financial Independence | Investing in Happiness | Connecting People, Information & Opportunities

Disclaimer: The information presented is for educational and general informational purposes only. It should not be interpreted as financial or investment advice. Each individual must evaluate their unique goals, risk tolerance, and circumstances before making any decisions. The author bears no responsibility for any outcomes based on this information.

Ike AFFAM

You’re not behind. You’re being prepared.

In a world that glorifies speed, it’s easy to feel late.

You scroll and see people “ahead.”

New jobs. New houses. New milestones.

And suddenly, your pace feels like punishment.

But here’s what no one tells you:

Delay isn’t denial.

It’s development.

The roots grow first — unseen, uncelebrated, underground.

Then the fruit appears.

Maybe you’re in your root season right now.

The quiet building season.

The unseen progress.

You’re not stuck. You’re being strengthened.

And that foundation you’re building? 

It’s what will hold the weight of your future.

So don’t curse the slow days.

They’re your preparation days.

🌱 Keep building. You’re closer than you think.

♻️ Repost this for anyone feeling behind in a world obsessed with speed.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

When a competent employee gets fired for something trivial…

It says more about the leadership than the employee.

Some companies don’t lose talent —

They push it out because excellence made someone uncomfortable.

Here’s what usually happens:
 🔹 A strong performer speaks up.

 🔹 Someone insecure feels exposed.

 🔹 A minor issue becomes a major offence.

 🔹 And suddenly, a “replacement” shows up — cheaper, inexperienced, compliant.

Short-term comfort.

Long-term chaos.

Because when you trade competence for control:

📉 Productivity drops

📉 Culture fractures

📉 Trust evaporates

And leaders wonder why everything feels harder.

The truth?

If you can fire your best people over small things,

You weren’t protecting the company —
 
You were protecting an ego.

♻️ Repost this if you believe leadership without fairness is just management with panic.

💡 Follow Ike AFFAM for sharp insights on leadership, legacy, and LiquidWealth™.

#WednesdayWisdom #Leadership #EmployeeRelations #IkeAffam

Solomon never asked for wealth.

He asked for wisdom.

And wealth came looking for him.

That’s the divine principle most people miss:

Money follows mastery.

Influence follows insight.

Here’s the truth:

🟢 Wisdom creates what money can’t buy — sustainability.

🟢 The rich chase returns. The wise build systems.

🟢 When you understand value, wealth becomes a byproduct, not a pursuit.

Solomon didn’t inherit prosperity — 

He engineered it through understanding.

Your greatest investment isn’t in markets.
 
It’s in mindset.

Don’t pray for more — prepare for more.

Because wealth without wisdom is just a countdown to waste.

♻️ Repost this if you believe wisdom is still the highest form of wealth.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#BusinessPrinciples #SundayThought #Leadership #BuildBetter #IkeAffam

He walked into the office on Monday. 

No applause. No spotlight. 

No special attention.

By Friday, the team had delivered a project three days ahead of schedule.

Why?

He didn’t talk about his position.

He didn’t demand attention.

He did small things:

✅ Checked in with people before problems got big.

✅ Recognized effort quietly, but consistently.

✅ Removed obstacles instead of adding rules.

Leadership isn’t about visibility.

It’s about making people perform without you needing to shine.

♻️ Repost if you believe leadership is about results, not recognition.

💡 Follow Ike AFFAM for sharp insights on leadership, legacy, and LiquidWealth™.

#MondayMotivation #Leadership #IkeAffam

Morgan Housel once said,

“The most powerful form of wealth is not needing to impress anyone.”

Read that again.

Wealth isn’t just a number in your account —

It’s peace of mind that can’t be taxed.

It’s the calm that comes from knowing your money serves you, not your image.

Too many people go broke trying to look rich.

The truly wealthy? 

They build quietly — protected, tax-efficient, and long-term.

They don’t chase validation.

They chase freedom.

Because real financial confidence doesn’t shout.

It rests. It plans. It compounds in silence.

Build the kind of wealth that doesn’t need to be seen — only sustained.

♻️ Want to learn how to manage your wealth? Book a FREE 1:1 wealth management consultation with me here: https://lnkd.in/gT9ZfKXe

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#ThursdayThoughts #Wealth #Freedom #IkeAffam

Most people aren’t drowning because life is hard.

They’re drowning because they said “yes” too many times.

You don’t need a new planner.

You need a new priority list.

You can’t do deep work if you’re addicted to being available.

Every “yes” divides your focus.

Every “no” protects your power.

Let’s be real - burnout isn’t a badge of honor.

It’s proof that boundaries were never built.

So this week, ask yourself:

👉 What can I say no to — so I can say a stronger yes to what truly matters?

Because success isn’t about doing more.

It’s about doing what matters without apology.

♻️ Repost this to remind someone: peace is a productivity strategy.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#MondayMotivation #Focus #SuccessPrinciples #IkeAffam

The loudest voice isn’t always the strongest leader.

Some lead with noise.

Others lead with clarity.

The truth?

Your people don’t follow sound.

They follow stability.

Leadership isn’t about being the first to speak in the room —

It’s about being the one people look to when the room goes silent.

Because anyone can direct.

Few can truly anchor.

Great leaders don’t rush to prove they know.

They pause long enough to understand.

So, if you’re leading, remember this:

Your calm is your credibility.

Your character is your communication.

💡 Loud control might intimidate people into silence.

But quiet confidence inspires people into greatness.

♻️ Repost this to remind leaders: calm isn’t weakness — it’s mastery.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#MondayMotivation #Leadership #IkeAffam

Nehemiah didn’t pray for walls.

He built them.

When he saw ruins, he didn’t host a conference about vision —

He picked up bricks and started work.

That’s the difference between dreamers and builders:

Dreamers talk about what could be.

Builders create what should be.

Here’s the truth:

🟢 Vision means nothing without execution.

🟢 Prayer fuels purpose — but action fulfills it.

🟢 Opposition doesn’t stop real leaders — it sharpens them.

Nehemiah didn’t need applause.

He needed completion.

Because success isn’t found in starting projects —

It’s found in finishing them.

♻️ Repost this if you believe God blesses builders — not just believers.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on faith, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#BusinessPrinciples #SundayThought #Leadership #BuildBetter #IkeAffam

Insecurity is loud because it needs an audience.

Confidence is quiet because it doesn’t.

You don’t need to prove what’s already true.

You don’t need to perform when you’re grounded.

Insecurity shouts.

Confidence shows.

Here’s how insecurity exposes itself:

 ❌ Overexplaining simple wins.

 ❌ Competing with everyone.

 ❌ Needing constant validation.

 ❌ Mistaking noise for influence.

And here’s how confidence responds:

 ✅ It listens more than it talks.
 
 ✅ It praises others without feeling smaller.
 
 ✅ It chooses calm over chaos.
 
 ✅ It is unmoved by comparison.

The strongest people in the room rarely dominate the room —

they stabilize it.

When you stop trying to appear powerful,

you finally become it.

♻️ Repost this to remind someone that true leadership doesn’t shout — it shows.

💡 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

Legacy is built in private long before it’s seen in public.

Every late night.

Every small correction.

Every choice you make when nobody’s watching —

that’s the real investment account of your life.

Legacy isn’t a monument.

It’s a pattern of integrity.

Don’t chase visibility.

Build credibility.

When your name carries weight, 

It doesn’t need volume.

♻️ Repost this to remind someone that legacy is built long before it’s seen.

💡 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#WinningWednesday #Legacy #IkeAffam

Here’s the truth most leaders ignore:

Your ego costs you:

📉 Top talent who leave quietly.

📉 Teams who only do the minimum.

📉 Opportunities that die in silence.

Because ego whispers:

“Control everything. Protect your turf. Be the smartest in the room.”

Wisdom says:

“Distribute authority. Multiply impact. Celebrate others’ strengths.”

The difference between weak leaders and great leaders?

✅ Weak leaders hoard power.

✅ Great leaders create power for others.

Christine Caine said it best: “See someone else’s strength as a complement, not a threat.”

♻️ Repost if you believe leadership is measured by what you give away, not what you keep.

💡 Follow Ike AFFAM for sharp insights on leadership, legacy, and LiquidWealth™.

#TuesdayThoughts #Leadership #IkeAffam

Don’t chase approval.

Don’t build your life on applause, likes, or recognition.

Here’s the truth: God never works that way.

He calls, equips, and blesses before anyone notices.

He honors faithfulness in the unseen.

Take Noah, for example:

 ✅ He built an ark when it made no sense.
 ✅ He obeyed when everyone doubted.
 ✅ He trusted a promise bigger than the problem.

Faithfulness doesn’t depend on recognition - 

It depends on alignment with purpose.

Your work, your calling, your mission -

It’s seen by the One who matters.

What’s one step of obedience you’ve been postponing because the crowd hasn’t applauded yet?

♻️ Share this to remind someone that faithful action always precedes breakthrough.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on faith, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#SundaySense #BiblePrinciples #IkeAffam

The best leaders don’t create followers.

They create stability in the middle of chaos —

and there’s no better time to practice that than a new month.

New months expose leadership gaps.

Some teams start energized.

Some start confused.

Some don’t even know what the goals are.

That’s where leadership shows up.

Great leaders do what most people overlook:

 1️⃣ They set clear priorities—not vague wishes.

 2️⃣ They communicate expectations before problems arise.

 3️⃣ They clear old conflicts so momentum stays clean.

 4️⃣ They refocus the team and remove unnecessary pressure.

 5️⃣ They reward consistency, not noise.

 6️⃣ They give direction without controlling every step.

 7️⃣ They fix the processes that slowed last month.

 8️⃣ They model the discipline they expect.

 9️⃣ They create a plan—and the calm to execute it.

 🔟 They make sure everyone knows: we’re moving forward together.

People don’t thrive under pressure.

They thrive under clarity.

And clarity is a leadership skill — not a personality trait.

♻️ Repost this if you believe leadership is a responsibility — not a role.

💡 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#MondayMotivation #Leadership #IkeAffam

I once worked with a manager who never raised his voice — 

but everyone respected him deeply.

One day, I asked him why.

He said:

“Because the moment you have to use fear to lead,

you’ve already lost influence.”

That hit hard.

Too many leaders mistake pressure for power.

But leadership isn’t about proving dominance —

It’s about protecting dignity.

When people trust you enough to be honest,

to fail safely, to disagree respectfully —

That’s when you’ve built something worth following.

True leadership isn’t loud.

It’s consistent, calm, and quietly confident.

The ones who roar the least…

Often lead the best.

♻️ Repost this to challenge the idea that louder means stronger.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#TuesdayThoughts #Leadership #IkeAffam

Your team isn’t lazy. 

They’re Lost.

Most people don’t wake up deciding to underperform.

They just don’t know what winning looks like.

Leaders love to talk about “ownership”…

but forget that ownership requires clarity.

If your people don’t know:

 ➡️ what success means,

 ➡️ how it’s measured, and

 ➡️ why it matters —

Then they’re not unmotivated. They’re unguided.

You can’t hold people accountable for expectations you never made visible.

💡 Great leadership isn’t about shouting louder — it’s about showing clarity

Define the win.

Communicate the goal.

Then get out of their way.

Because when vision is visible, momentum becomes natural.

♻️ Repost this to remind leaders: clarity beats control every time.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#WednesdayWisdom #Leadership #IkeAffam

The wealthy don’t work harder.

They work smarter — especially with taxes.

Here’s the real difference between high income and real wealth:

1️⃣ The average earner pays taxes first, then lives off whatever remains.

2️⃣ The strategic earner uses structures that let money grow tax-free and uninterrupted.

3️⃣ The LiquidWealth™ client keeps liquidity, protection, and peace of mind — all at the same time.

You can’t outwork a broken system.

But you can outsmart it.

And the moment you change how you structure your finances,

you change the trajectory of your entire financial future.

♻️ Share this with someone who’s ready to upgrade how they think about money.

💡 Want to manage your taxes better? Book a 1:1 Wealth Management Consultation with me here: https://lnkd.in/g7HkRfct.

People don’t buy what you do.

They buy why you do it.

Simon Sinek said it best —

And it still holds true in business, leadership, and legacy.

You can sell insurance.

You can sell strategy.

You can sell systems.

But if people don’t feel your why, they’ll never buy your what.

Because humans don’t follow transactions.

They follow trust.

The most powerful brands and leaders in the world all have one thing in common:

A crystal-clear conviction that answers:

👉 “Why does this work matter?”

When your purpose is loud, your marketing doesn’t have to be.

💡 Don’t just sell services.

Sell beliefs that outlive you.

♻️ Repost this if your brand’s “why” still beats louder than your product.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

If you only hold others accountable when they fail…

You’re not a leader — you’re a supervisor.

True leadership starts with the mirror, not the megaphone.

Because here’s the truth:

🟢 You can’t demand discipline you don’t model.

🟢 You can’t preach excellence from a place of excuses.

🟢 Your habits become your team’s standard.

People don’t rise to your expectations —

They rise to your example.

Control gets compliance.

Accountability builds culture.

Leadership isn’t about making people move.

It’s about moving first.

Before you correct the team, correct the tone.

Before you point the finger, check the mirror.

The best leaders lead from within — and it shows without.

♻️ Repost this if you believe real leadership starts with personal accountability.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

#WednesdayWisdom #Leadership #IkeAffam

Wealth without liquidity is stress disguised as success.

You can’t call it freedom if you can’t touch it.

You can’t call it growth if you can’t access it.

And you can’t call it wealth if you’re waiting for permission to use your own money.

Most people focus on earning more.

The wealthy focus on structuring better.

Because true wealth isn’t about the size of your income —

It’s about how smoothly your money can move when life or opportunity shows up.

Liquidity is what keeps you flexible.

It’s what keeps you protected.

It’s what keeps you in control.

So let me ask you: Is your money truly yours to use… 

Or just yours on paper?

♻️ Repost this to help someone build smarter wealth.

💡 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on legacy, leadership, and LiquidWealth™.

High achievers don’t burn out because they’re weak.

They burn out because they’ve been strong for too long.

The silent ones.

The dependable ones.

The ones who carry the weight no one sees.

If this year drained you, it’s not because you lacked discipline.

It’s because you carried responsibility with no room to breathe.

As the year wraps up, do this:

✔ Rest before you break.

✔ Reflect before you repeat.

✔ Realign before you restart.

Strength isn’t only about going harder.

Strength is also knowing when to pause.

♻️ Repost this to remind someone that it’s okay to rest, reflect, and realign before restarting.

📘 Follow Ike AFFAM for bold truths on leadership, legacy, and LiquidWealth™.

#MondayMindfulness #Leadership #IkeAffam

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

JSESSIONID

li_at

Security Verification | LinkedIn

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

She sold her engagement ring for $10,000.
Ten years later, Vicky Tsai built a $500M skincare empire.

Most people call that crazy.
I call it commitment.

She walked away from a six-figure job…
Moved back into her childhood bedroom at 30…
Got rejected for 18 months straight…
And kept going anyway.

1,000 units.
Her last $5,000.
No safety net. No backup plan.

Month one? $2,000 in sales.
Most people quit here.
Vicky didn’t.

She packed every order by hand.
Wrote thank-you notes to strangers.
Built trust one customer at a time.

Then the internet found her.
Demand exploded.
Sephora called.
And the bedroom startup became one of the fastest-growing skincare brands in America.

In 2019, Unilever bought Tatcha for $500 million.
The $10,000 ring she sold?
It turned into 50,000x.

Lesson?
You don’t need permission.
You need conviction.
And the courage to burn Plan B. 

#ceo #founder #growth #scalingup

Strategy & Finance Executive | Scaling Impact-Driven Companies Beyond $10M | Strategic CFO | Certified Scaling Up Advisor

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

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

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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

𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.

Most founders know Pinterest.

Almost no one knows Paul Sciarra, the guy who paid early salaries out of his own pocket, skipped taking income, and carried the company when no one else believed.

He wasn’t a “supporter.”
He was the architecture.

And then the quiet part of startup life happened.
Not a blow-up.
Not a fight.
Just… inches.

One meeting he wasn’t invited to.
One decision he didn’t have visibility into.
One board conversation that happened without him.

By the time Pinterest crossed millions of users and raised over $100M…
Paul was out.

He walked away with ~$15M.
Not nothing.
But painful when your original idea becomes a $25B enterprise.

This isn’t a story about betrayal.
It’s a story about leadership, governance, and identity.

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆.
They lose it when:
 • they stop owning the financial strategy
 • they delegate governance without understanding it
 • they avoid hard conversations
 • they let investors define the path
 • they disconnect from the role of architect

You can build something extraordinary…
and still get written out of your own success if you don’t stay in the seat you were meant to own.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 $𝟯𝗠–$𝟭𝟬𝗠 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻.
The product works.
The company has traction.
Teams are growing.

 But governance, capital strategy, and leadership identity aren’t keeping pace.
That’s the real risk.

𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻:
Your idea can change the world,  but only if you stay in the role of architect as it scales.

Own your equity.
Protect your seat.
Upgrade your thinking.
Build with intention.
The threat isn’t being pushed out.
The threat is drifting out of your power.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
 Are you building like the founder…
 or leading like the architect?

#ceo #founder #scalingup #growth

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

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

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

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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