Nick Telson

Founder DesignMyNight (Acquired '19) 🍹 | Co-Founder trumpet 🎺 | Investor in 55+ Startups (Currently not investing in new deals) 😇 | Podcaster 🎙️| 🏳️‍🌈

Hey!

I’m a London entrepreneur, currently living in Boston.  Also an angel investor, podcaster, startup mentor and public speaker, whose speciality lies in talking no-nonsense founder/investor advice and help. I'm currently co-founder of new B2B sales tool, trumpet, host of Pitch Deck podcast and co-founder of an angel investing venture-arm, Horseplay Ventures

I previously co-founded DesignMyNight, back in 2010 and managed to grow that over 7 years with minimal angel funding, to 100+ employees, 15,000 SaaS customers and 8m monthly uniques on the website. We exited to Access Group in 2017.

I live for the early stages of startups - building the brand, finding product market fit, iterating quickly and building out a team. Most of my content is centred around this, as well as tips from an angel investor. Even after exiting to financial freedom, I caught the founder bug again and have co-founded my next startup, trumpet, in 2022; looking to disrupt B2B sales and kill the sales pdf deck. Follow me on here while we build out this new journey in public.

Please feel free to ask for any advice or help, whether a founder, startup employee or investor and I will always endeavour to do what I can. I'm also a regular guest on podcasts, startup speaking gigs and webinars, so feel free to reach out to me if you are looking for guests/speakers. 

I do respectfully ask not to be pitched for investment in my Linkedin DMs and instead go through Horseplay Ventures. Hopefully my podcast is also a treasure trove of information for those looking to raise early-stage investment, thinking about it or just interested in it - search for Pitch Deck by Nick Telson.

Co-Founder

Nick Telson-Sillett

Big news at team trumpet 🎺as we finally say what all our customers already know and move into our next era.

We are way more than just a digital sales room. It's a feature now, not the product.

While our DSR remains #1 globally and will continue to be so, we felt it was time to create a new category.

🎺 Rory Sadler explains it best in the short video....

Over the last 40 years we have seen sales tech change from CRM to Sales Enablement to Rev Enablement to Rev Intelligence and we now have a tonne of siloed products...

Trumpet's next chapter aims to combine all of these into one AI-powered workspace where Enablement, Collaboration and Intelligence all work together.

We are the Intelligent Go-To-Market Layer for Revenue Teams 

...combining CMS, Sales Rooms, Workspaces, Collaboration (internal and external), Org Charts, Proposals/Quotes, Buyer Engagement Intelligence, Actionable Intelligence, Coaching, 10+ other AI features plus 55+ integrations....

One connected, collaborative and intelligent tool.

Over to you Rory....👇

Co-Founder trumpet 🎺 | Founder DesignMyNight (Acquired '19) 🍹 | Investor in 55+ Startups 🤑 🏳️‍🌈

Being a second time founder is wild.
You are still guessing, but you know exactly which guesses nearly killed you last time.

With DesignMyNight I learned plenty the hard way.
This time round with trumpet 🎺 I have been very deliberate about changing some of my defaults.

Here are the 5 biggest changes I have made.

1) I designed the business model before the product

First time I was obsessed with the product idea. The model was an afterthought. Now I start with ACV, margin, sales cycle, who actually pays and how often. If the numbers did not work on a simple spreadsheet, I do not build it.

2) I am ruthless on people quality, not people quantity

First time I hired for relief. Too busy, drowning, just get someone in.
Now we hire very slowly with scary high bars. One great operator beats three people we need to manage every day. 

3) We optimised for distribution from day one

Before, product was the obsession and distribution was an afterthought.
We built, then hoped. Now we only build things I already know how to sell. Audience, channels, partnerships, content. If I could not see the path to customers, we did not build it

4) I was far more intentional with investors

First time I was just happy anyone said yes. Wrong. This time we reference checked investors harder than they reference checked us. Values, speed, how they behave when things dip etc. Money is a commodity, behaviour is not.

5) We run the company on a clear operating rhythm

Last time it was vibes and firefighting. Some weeks we were busy but not actually moving. Now we have monthly metrics, clear priorities, operating playbooks and clear owners for each area. t is a lot harder for the business to drift without anyone noticing.

Second chances are rare.

The trick is always be learning and not wasting the pain from the first

At trumpet 🎺 we recently told a big paying customer no.
To a chunky custom build that would have made us hit Q1 quota already.

On the surface it looked perfect
Huge logo
Excited champion
Budget approved

But here is what actually went on behind the scenes as there are learnings for all I think...

- The request would have dragged us off our ICP
- The use case was cool but miles away from our core users
- It would have pushed trumpet toward being an agency not SaaS
- The feature did not compound
- No clear path to reuse across our base
- No way it made the core product better for everyone

Sales loved it for the wrong reason
 
It made the deal bigger
But it would have slowed us down

❌ High implementation cost
❌ High support cost
❌ Low reusability
 
So we told them no
Respectfully
Explained why
Offered a trimmed version that kept us closer to our main product and kept them happy

We did lose some short term revenue

But we kept something more important

A product that gets better for most of our customers and keeps us bang-on focus across the board

From the outside it is easy to assume growth comes from every yes

At our stage it can also come from choosing the right no.

We just crossed 1000 reviews on G2. F**k yeh! 🥳
And we are still sitting at number 1 in our category globally

I am proud of that
But I'm even prouder of how we got there

Every single review is treated like a product slack message from our team
• The glowing ones show us what not to break
• The brutal ones show us what to fix next
• The detailed ones end up as product specs

We read them ALL
We tag them
We turn them into roadmap decisions and UX changes

This is not a vanity metric for us
It is a feedback engine

So THANK YOU to every customer who took time out of a very busy day to write one line or ten paragraphs about us

You helped us get to 1000 reviews
You will be the reason we earn the next 1000

Relentlessly customer centric is not a tagline for us
It is one of our trumpet values and we stick to it religiously.

Having observed over 50 founders that I've invested in. Here is a list of 50 characteristics I think make a good founder:

1) Obsession with the problem
2) Ability to hear no ten times and not take it personally.
3) Writing things down clearly
4) Knowing when a tiny ugly experiment is better than a beautiful strategy
5) Hiring people because they are better than you
6) Firing fast when your gut has already decided
7) Saying I do not know without flinching.
8) Caring more about cash in the bank
9) Being honest in investor meetings
10) Being able to sell
11) Protecting deep work time
12) Admitting when the market does not care about your idea
13) Treating customer complaints as free consulting
14) Knowing the difference between a bad week and a broken business.
15) Letting your team ship work that is not perfect
16) Making clear quick decisions in meetings
17) Staying calm when numbers are bad
18) Being able to explain what you do to a kid or parents
19) Choosing boring consistent progress over heroic all nighters
20) Talking about money openly
21) Saying no to cool opportunities that do not move the core metric
22) Giving credit to the team in public and feedback in private.
23) Knowing when your own ego is the real blocker
24) Treating investors like partners not parents.
25) Keeping your personal burn rate low
26) Asking your best people what they really want and actually listening
27) Being willing to walk away from mis-aligned money
28) Staying curious about competitors instead of obsessed
29) Realising culture is set by your actions not what you simply write down
30) Checking the numbers yourself
31) Becoming less important to daily operations as the company grows
32) Being honest when someone great has simply outgrown the roles you have
33) Keeping a small circle of people who will tell you when you are being an idiot
34) Turning complex plans into one simple next moves
35) Not confusing being busy with making progress
36) Knowing which metrics actually matter at your stage
37) Staying kind when you are stressed
38) Being able to pitch with the same energy at all times
39) Choosing long term trust over short term wins in every deal
40) Protecting your sleep
41) Not needing to pretend things are amazing when they are not
42) Giving your team context instead of random orders
43) Letting go of old decisions when new information arrives
44) Knowing when you are not running toward a clear goal
45) Saying I messed that up so the team feels safe to own their mistakes too
46) Caring about the lives your team beyond their output
47) Choosing a simple product/feature that actually ships
48) Being willing to be misunderstood for a while when you take a non obvious bet
49) Designing your work around your energy
50) Wanting the company to win more than you want to be the hero of the story

Which do you nail? 
Which could you improve on? 
What's missing?

Planning a year as a founder is not about a big strategy offsite and a shiny Notion page.

It is about a few hard decisions you are willing to live with for twelve months.

Here is how I now plan my year.

1) Start with the uncomfortable question - What has to be true in twelve months for this year to have been a success?
- Revenue
- Team
- Product
- Your own life

Write the answers in one sentence each. If it does not fit in one sentence you aren't getting to the core

2) Pick 3-5 non negotiable company priorities/themes

Not ten. 
Every project must map to one of the three. If it does not, it dies.
This is how you protect your team from chaos and yourself from distraction.

3) Turn priorities into bets not tasks
Instead of writing "Launch new pricing"
Write "Double expansion revenue by testing three pricing models by June"

Good bets have a clear outcome, a deadline, an owner, and a maximum spend.

4) Build a stop doing list
- Which customers will you stop serving
- Which features will you stop maintaining
- Which meetings will you cancel

Good strategy is also choosing what you will ignore.

5) Decide your personal rules up front
- Maximum hours you want to work
- Non negotiable time with family or health
- What you will say no to even if your ego wants to say yes

If you burn out the plan does not matter.

Your strategy is not what you write in January
It is what you refuse to compromise on in November

Having exited a company after a decade building, there is something about the exit planning I wish I was told earlier.

Your real exit plan is not a number
It is your life

We obsess over valuation, equity, secondaries etc but it hides a simple question - What do you actually want your life to look like before and after any exit?

For a long time my own plan was basically...
Work as hard as possible
Build something big
Sell
Life will somehow sort itself out

We design all aspects of our business and products in detail but treat our own life like an afterthought slide at the end of the deck

What did I want after an exit? What did I want my life to actually look like? What would I need to make this happen?

The shift for me was treating life design as seriously as a startup strategy
Very practical things

- Energy map
 When in the day do you feel good
 Do you want long deep work blocks or variety
 Could your role reflect that

- Relationship map
 Who are the people that truly matter
 Who gives you energy and doesn't drain it
 With who do I get genuine enjoyment with
 Who do I learn from

- Work map
 What parts of the game do you still love
 Selling, coaching, product, content
 Can your next chapter be mostly that, instead of owning everything again

- Money map
 What does enough actually mean for you
 Not for the tech press
 For you
 What would financial freedom look like?
 If you wrote that number down, you would probably act differently

Life design is not a fluffy vision board
It is a set of constraints you choose on purpose

If you're lucky enough to be ready to build for a second time, make sure you stop and think what you REALLY want out of it this time around.

You get plenty shots at building companies but only one shot at life 🤷

Building a startup is loud
But what if you're an introverted founder?

I am not the loudest person in the room
Never have been

For a while I thought that meant I was not the type of personality to be a founder

So I did what most introvert leaning founders do
Forced the big energy
Over prepared every social situation
Came home absolutely wiped

Over time I realised I did not need to become more extrovert

I needed to design the company around how I actually work best

Here is what that looked like in practice:

- One to one as the default
 Big networking events or founder events drain me
 So I stopped going 
 I would message people 1 on 1
 Have one good conversation
 Fewer people
 Better relationships
 More deals
 Less acting

- Writing as a superpower
 Extroverts often win in the room
 Introverts often win in the follow up
 I leaned hard into clear written updates for investors
 Thoughtful emails to partners
 Long form documents for the team instead of endless meetings
 It gave me time to think
 And it made decision making cleaner

- Designing my calendar like a battery
 Back to back calls all day
 No chance
 I started blocking recovery time after anything high stimulus
 No other meetings straight after
 Even thirty minutes to reset made me far better in the next conversation
 Leaned into async collaboration - emails and looms instead of meetings

- Hiring my social opposite
 Instead of worrying that I was not the big energy founder
 I hired people who were
 Commercial leaders who loved being out there
 Co-founders who enjoyed the spotlight
 Team leads who could shine without needing me all the time
 Their natural state was my unnatural state
 The mix worked


None of this means introverts get a free pass on the hard stuff

You still need to sell
You still need to pitch
You still need to have tough conversations

The difference is you can choose the format and the rhythm that suits you instead of copying the loudest founder you know

Some of the best companies I have seen were built by founders who do not dominate the room

They listen longer
They think deeper
They pick their moments

You do not have to change your personality to build a big company

You just have to stop building a company that constantly fights it.

And the band keeps growing 🎺

Following stronggggg recent growth in the States, we’re building trumpet’s Customer Success presence een further and looking for someone who wants real ownership from day one.

You’ll own your own book of customers end to end.
Onboarding. Adoption. Renewals. Expansion. Advocacy.

You’ll work closely with Russell Mitchell - Head of Customer Success, Alison Prator - Founding US CSM and the wider GTM team to help customers get real, measurable outcomes from trumpet and to help us build the CS playbooks we’ll scale with.

You’ll love this role if you:

• Care deeply about customer outcomes, not just activity
• Enjoy commercial conversations and helping customers grow
• Want to help establish a startup’s presence in the US
• Thrive in fast-moving, high-ownership, chaotic environments

This is not a feet-up on the desk role answering support questions that come in! If you want the easy-life this job isn't for you.

If you want real influence over how we serve customers, how we retain and expand accounts, and what Customer Success looks at trumpet as we scale, then this is for you.

If that sounds like you apply here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eim5uFBS

Tech Video Marketing Expert | I helped 200+ startups achieve their goals through effective video strategy | Co-Founder and CEO at Burnwe | Let's Have a Virtual Coffee Chat ☕️😊 Check Features for New Videos 🎥🎙

👋 I’m Anush, a Video Marketing Expert, and here’s my story in a nutshell:

- Built my company at 24, turning it into a global brand with 450+ clients across 38 countries.
- Helped leading SaaS, AI, and Tech brands simplify complex products through storytelling.
- Featured on multiple podcasts, webinars, and global tech events.

What you’ll get by following me 👇

👉 #AnushVideoTalks - actionable tips, tools, and strategies to elevate your video content.
👉 Behind the scenes of working with top global tech brands.
👉 Leadership & personal branding lessons from running a creative business.
👉 Real insights on scaling agencies - without losing quality or creativity.

Just real stories from building a global agency - one video at a time.

✨ Let’s connect:
Schedule a call → calendly.com/anushburnwe
Email → anush@burnwe.com
Explore → our fully animated burnwe.com

Follow me and hit the 🔔 notification button to join my LinkedIn network.

Anush Mnatsakanyan

I’m the CEO of Burnwe, and while I’m not involved in day-to-day client work,
I make one thing very clear: I’m reachable.

If something ever feels stuck or unclear, our clients should feel confident reaching out to me directly, and it will be handled fast.

Not because my team can’t solve it.
They absolutely can.

But because access to leadership creates a different level of trust.
It sends a clear message: you’re not just working with a company, 
you’re working with people who care.

And here’s a note to fellow founders and CEOs:

Don’t isolate yourself from your clients.
You don’t need to solve every problem, but being accessible builds trust, 
loyalty, and insights you can’t get from reports alone.

Trust isn’t promised.
It’s proven.

#CEOdiary #businessleadership

Top Voice in Tech Video Marketing | Co-Founder and CEO at Burnwe | 450+ Tech Clients from 38 countries | Building the biggest Video-Savvy Tech Community | Let’s Have a Virtual Coffee Chat ☕️

I’ll be spending the next 3 weeks in Armenia 🇦🇲

Flight right now - posting this from the airport because apparently boarding gates are the new office desks ✈️

Flew in for one mission: set up Burnwe's 2026 strategy and hit the ground running.

The goal? Align the team, prioritize the right initiatives, and accelerate growth.

Here’s the game plan:
👉A lot of team meetups, group and 1:1s to set KPIs for each department and leader
👉Meet new team members we hired last year - finally in person
👉Solve top issues to remove blockers
👉Meet Armenia-based clients and discuss 2026 partnership strategies

Most importantly: celebrate big at the annual Corporate Party 🎉 

If you’re in Armenia and building something ambitious, let’s connect while I’m here.

#CEOdiary #Founderjourney

No alternative text description for this image

Today marked Elgaretta’s last day at Burnwe.

And this one truly feels different.

Elgaretta is one of those rare people you feel genuinely grateful to have worked with.

She is incredibly kind, open-minded, and always eager to listen to feedback and improve herself every single day. Even during times of transition and while I was on maternity leave - she stepped up and stayed committed.
Watching her grow has been truly inspiring.

She’s leaving us to join her family business and honestly, that’s probably the only reason I’m okay with her changing paths. I genuinely thought we’d work together forever… but who knows 😄

Literally, 2 minute ago I suggested her to become Burnwe’s first Ambassador 😃

Elgaretta, I’m so thankful you were part of our team. 
I’m extremely proud to have been your mentor, especially knowing Burnwe was your very first workplace. 
I’ll be following your journey and cheering for your growth, wherever it takes you.

Forever a Burnwe team member. ❤️

We’ve started a new rule.

Before work.
Before Discord.
Before meetings.

A cup of coffee with Rob ☕
Usually somewhere nice.

For those who don’t know yet
Rob is my co-founder and husband.

Sometimes we talk about business.
Sometimes about life.
Sometimes, about dreams we haven’t said out loud yet.

It’s easy to forget how important it is to pause before jumping into execution mode.

That 30-40 minutes changes everything.

We start the day calmer.
Clearer.
More aligned.

Same workload.
Completely different energy.

Small habits don’t look productive on paper.
But they often make the biggest difference.

Highly recommend it. ☕

#FoundersJourney #CEODiary #businessleadership

If I had to build my company from scratch today and focus purely on outbound,
Here’s exactly what I’d do:

I’d focus on:
👉 High-intent lead discovery
👉 Personalized outreach at scale

⬇️ Here’s the simple stack I’d use:
• AI to find ICP-fit leads, write sequences, and optimize campaigns
• Cold email + LinkedIn automation
• One place to track, optimize everything

A few years ago, this meant duct-taping 6-7 tools

Today, all of this now lives in one place with Salestarget.ai
It's built for people who actually sell

Now here’s the multiplier most people still ignore 👇

🎥 Add a short, personalized video into your outbound

Nothing fancy
30-60 seconds
Clear message

The result?

More replies. More trust. Faster conversations.

The explainer video below was created by the Burnwe team for Salestarget.ai, and we’re incredibly thankful to partner with Kartikeya Mishra & Sankardas k that are genuinely helping change how modern sales is done

If you’re building outbound in 2026
This is the direction

#anushvideotalks #videomarketing #salesvideo #outboundsales

13,000 of you - in my community. Thank you 🙌 
This is my Road to 100K on LinkedIn.

3 Reasons why you should start it too:

1. Personal branding attracts opportunity
2. Public goals = accountability
3. Community is the most valuable business asset

Bonus 💡 
LinkedIn growth is unmatched right now.

If you’re building your name, business, or future 
Follow me and let’s grow together. 💙

#anushvideotalks #RoadTo100K #LinkedInCreator #PersonalBranding #FoundersJourney

For early-stage tech founders in my network 👋

If you’re still experimenting, iterating, or launching your new product
You’ll want this in your toolkit.

We wrapped another awesome video with the Socialtrait team.
Big thanks to Vivek Kumar and Anna Safonova for your patience and guidance 🙌.

Why it’s worth your attention:
👉 SocialTrait lets you predict audience reactions before launch.
👉 Pre-test campaigns, validate messaging, and make confident decisions in minutes.

Check out the promo video for more info
Or save it for later 🎬 ⬇️ 

#anushvideotalks #videomarketing #techproducts #productlaunchvideo

A founder told me: I didn’t think videos could make selling easier… until I saw yours.

That made me stop and think.

So I put together 6 reasons why video can make selling a lot easier.

Disclaimer: I’m talking about the videos we create at Burnwe  - I can’t vouch for other videos, because not all are made strategically.

1️⃣ A video sells instead of you - while you sleep
The moment you publish, your video starts working: explaining, convincing, generating leads - nonstop. While you’re busy doing something else… or resting.

2️⃣ A video communicates your benefits in the most compact way
You’ll never explain your product this clearly, even if you gave the same 60-second pitch a hundred times.

3️⃣ A video speaks for you - not from you
Which makes it more trustworthy. Especially when you include testimonials and real use cases.

4️⃣ A video lets you talk to thousands in one minute
You can’t speak to 1,000s or 10,000s of people in a day. Your video can be even in a single minute.

5️⃣ A video builds familiarity before the first call
People already understand your product and come with questions. Trust starts early. Calls become easier.

6️⃣ A video guides people to action - without pushing hard
Sales can feel pushy in person, but a call-to-action in a video feels natural. Leads respond better.

Video isn’t about being viral.
It’s about being strategic.

That’s when selling gets easier.

Part of "The Road to 100K Followers" Journey
→ 12,9K 🚀

#anushvideotalks #salesvideo #videomarketing #saasexplainer

Here are 9 proven YouTube Subscriber growth strategies you can use right away.

Save this so you don’t lose it or repost ♻️ to help others.

1️⃣ Your channel trailer is your pitch
Use it to clearly show why someone should subscribe

2️⃣ Ask people to subscribe to EVERY video
At a minimum, include it in the description
Also, bring followers from your other platforms

3️⃣ Link your YouTube channel everywhere
Website, social media bios, about pages, and even your email signature

4️⃣ Announce every new video to your email list
Your email subscribers are your warmest audience

5️⃣ Share videos consistently across other platforms
Distribution matters more than posting once

6️⃣ Embed videos inside relevant blog posts
Increase watch time and subscriber intent

7️⃣ Use end screens strategically
Promote another relevant video

8️⃣ Answer questions on Forum, Reddit & Quora
Add real value and link your video when it helps

9️⃣ Use YouTube Shorts for faster reach
Shorts make it easier to engage non-followers.

💡 And most importantly - stay consistent.
Expect at least 6 months before seeing meaningful results.

If you’re already posting but not seeing subscriber growth, your strategy likely needs a few tweaks.
DM me - let’s get your channel growing.

#anushvideotalks #Youtubesubscribers #videomarketing

If I were a tech founder planning video content for 2026
I’d follow this exact playbook.

3 Must-Have Videos in 2026:

– Product Explainers: 
Short. Clear. Value-focused. Your product should sell itself in 60–90 seconds.

– Customer Testimonials / Case Studies: 
Real results. Real people. Nothing convinces prospects more than proof from your own clients.

– Founder-led / Vision Videos: 
Share your perspective and plans. Builds trust. Builds connection. People trust people.

3 Mistakes to Avoid in 2026:

– Missing your USP / core value: 
Generic videos get ignored. Make sure each video shows why you’re different.

– Ignoring repurposing: 
Each video should fuel multiple channels. Don’t leave content on the shelf.

– Ignoring distribution: 
Great content doesn’t matter if no one sees it.

3 Trends to Implement Immediately in 2026:

– AI-Generated Videos: 
Fast. Scalable. Amazing quality. Replace high-budget live-action shoots.

– Podcast + Short-Form Snippets: 
Share educational and valuable content everywhere. Maximize reach.

– Interactive / Personalized Sales Videos: 
Hyper-relevant videos drive replies and conversions.

If you implement this during 2026, you'll see immediate results.

But to maximize growth, you need a plan tailored to your goals, marketing strategy, and budget.

For the first 30 people who DM me
I’m offering a FREE video strategy planning session
Plus… a gift 🎁

2026 is waiting.
Are you ready? 🚀

taplio

The Battle

Nick Telson-Sillett

Anush Mnatsakanyan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreNick Telson-Sillett's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreAnush Mnatsakanyan's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Nick Telson-Sillett

Anush Mnatsakanyan

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

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

Performance ScoreAnush Mnatsakanyan's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreNick Telson-Sillett's LinkedIn Performance