Noemi Kis✨

Founder, CEO

Serial Entrepreneur / AI enthusiast / TEDx speaker

Hey there! 👋

I write about ideas for building a microbusiness.

I used this model to build a 7-figure company and grow a community of 160K+ on LinkedIn. Now, I help non-techie execs and founders do the same.

Get the 50 high margin business ideas FREE when you join.

Join here: https://stan.store/NoemiKis

Brands & sponsorship inquiries: hello@noemikis.com

AquaQuote is a global digital marketplace for buying and selling industrial water treatment products in the aftermarket space.  Brands have an opportunity to digitize their catalog and offer their products to a wider audience, while end users can easily find and purchase products via a self-service dashboard.  We focus on fast and excellent customer service and sourcing products from the best suppliers with the shortest lead times. 

Society taught us to value time over expertise.

But we’ve been measuring value all wrong.

We’ve always been taught:

→ Count the hours, not the skill
→ Pay for the process, not the outcome
→ Fast usually means carelessly done

I used to have a similar mindset before I got into business. 

That if something didn't take hours, it wasn't valuable.

But when I actually started hiring people who were both good AND fast at their job, I realized how wrong I was.

I once hired a developer who fixed a problem in 20 minutes that I'd been stuck on for 3 weeks.

And those 20 minutes weren’t just 20 minutes.

They were years of him:

→ Breaking things
→ Fixing them
→ Breaking them again

…until he could spot the issue before I even finished explaining it.

I wasn't paying for 20 minutes. I was paying for the 10 years it took him to solve my problem that fast.

So next time you hire an expert:

1. Pay for the outcome, not the hours. 
2. Ask about problems solved, not time taken.
3. Value the years of expertise, not the speed of delivery

When someone solves your problem in 30 minutes, you're not paying for 30 minutes.

You're paying for every hour they invested before you showed up.

You owe them for those years, not the minutes.

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Microbusiness Ideas / AI enthusiast / TEDx speaker

Most people avoid risk because they overestimate the risk.

They don't start that business.
They don't apply for their dream job.
They don't ask out someone they're interested in.

But here's what they miss:

The downside is temporary discomfort.
The upside can change your entire life.

Think about it:

You apply for your dream job and get rejected?
→ You feel bad for a week. Then you move on.

But if you get it?  
→ You build a career you actually want.

You ask someone out and they say no?
→ Awkward for a day. So what.

But if they say yes?
→ You could meet your future partner. Build a life together.

You start a business and it fails?
→ You learn and try again smarter.

But if it works?
→ Financial freedom. Purpose that makes you excited to wake up.

This is clear:

Worst case: temporary pain, valuable lessons, you try again.
Best case: life-changing results.

Most risks aren't risky at all.

They're asymmetric bets with minimal downside and unlimited upside.

So why not just go for it.

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The hardest part of growing isn't the work.

It's leaving people behind on the way.

I've had friends criticize me for hiring a coach. 
Make judgements about "always working." 
Comment about me "changing".

The criticism is almost never coming from people ahead of you.

It's coming from people who feel left behind.

Sometimes you outgrow people and life takes you in different directions.  

You know who your people are when:

• They cheer you on when you win.
• They push you to keep going when you want to quit
• They celebrate your growth instead of feeling threatened by it.

Protect those relationships with everything you've got.

And the ones who judge you for trying?

Wish them well. And keep moving.

Your growth is a gift, and your true friends will celebrate it with you.

♻️ Share this if you needed to hear it today.

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Hard pill to swallow:

The room you're in determines the person you become.

Most people think growth is about working harder.

But growth isn't about effort. It's about environment.

→ Sit with people who gossip, you'll start gossiping
→ Sit with people who complain, you'll start complaining
→ Sit with people who dream small, you'll shrink your vision

But sit with people who:

→ Talk about ideas, not people
→ Discuss growth, not drama
→ Build futures, not excuses

And suddenly, you're not the same person.

The conversations you're in shape the thoughts you think.

The thoughts you think shape the actions you take.

The actions you take shape the life you build.

Most people are stuck because they're in the wrong rooms. I used to be same 10 years ago.

Talking about:

→ Who did what
→ What went wrong
→ Why things are unfair
→ Who's to blame

Meanwhile, the people actually winning are in rooms talking about:

→ What's possible
→ How to execute
→ Where to invest
→ What to build next

Same 24 hours.

Different conversations.

Different outcomes.

But you can't grow in rooms that talk small.

You can't build big surrounded by people who think small.

So if you want to level up, here's what to do:

1/ Audit your rooms:

↳ Where do you spend most of your time?
↳ What are the dominant conversations?
↳ Are people building or just talking?

2/ Exit the wrong rooms:

↳ Stop showing up where gossip is the currency
↳ Leave group chats that drain your energy
↳ Distance yourself from people who only discuss problems

3/ Find bigger tables:

↳ Join communities where your goals are normal
↳ Invest in rooms where growth is the baseline
↳ Surround yourself with people 5 steps ahead

Your network isn't just who you know.

It's who you become by knowing them.

So stop sitting at tables that make you smaller.

Find the room that talks about God, universe, growth, money, dreams, and goals.

Not people.

That's where your next level lives.

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Every idea has three audiences.

And only one of them ends up successful.

The Critics:
→ Point out what's wrong
→ Explain why it won’t work
→ Wait to say “I told you so”

The Talkers:
→ Love debating the plan
→ Always have advice
→ Rarely take their own

The Doers:
→ Start before they’re ready
→ Learn by trying
→ Adjust as they go

Guess which group changes the world?

While critics analyze and talkers strategize, doers are already three steps ahead.

Here’s what they do differently:

Critics need proof before they believe.
Talkers need certainty before they begin.
Doers create proof by doing.

Doers understand this:
→ Done is better than perfect
→ Feedback from action beats theory
→ You can’t steer a parked car
→ Mistakes teach faster than meetings
→ Progress lives in the doing, not the discussing

But the problem is:
Most people would rather look smart than make progress.
They’d rather be right than rich.
They’d rather critique than create.
But the market doesn’t reward opinions.
It rewards execution.

So while everyone else is getting ready to get ready… start.

Your first try won’t be your best.
But it’ll be better than no try at all.

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Taking things personally is exhausting.

For years, I did it constantly.

Someone didn't text me back? I assumed they were mad at me.

This is called cognitive distortion where your brain convinces you of something that isn't true.

Here's what helps to break the pattern:

1. Label your story

↳ It's not the event that upsets you. It's the story you tell yourself about it.

2. Questioning isn't rejection

↳ When someone challenges you, your ego translates it as an attack. Reframe it.

3. Use the 2-second buffer

↳ Give yourself space between someone's reaction and your response.

4. Focus on what you control

↳ You can't control if someone replies. You can control your next move.

Their reaction is about their world.

Not yours.

♻️ Repost if this hit home.

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Underrated growth hack:

Make mistakes at full speed.

That's where you learn to drive.

Here's what separates people who grow from people who stall:

→ Fast learners make 100 mistakes in a year
→ Slow learners make 10 mistakes in a year
→ Non-starters make zero mistakes in a year

Guess who's furthest ahead in 3 years?

The one who failed the most.

Because every mistake is a lesson you can't unlearn.

Every failure is data you didn't have before.

Every crash teaches you what the theory never could.

Think about it:

→ You don't learn sales from reading. You learn from the 50 calls that went wrong.
→ You don't learn leadership from books. You learn from managing badly and adjusting.
→ You don't learn business from courses. You learn from launching, failing, and trying again.

The pattern is always the same:

Do the thing → Fail → Learn → Do it better → Repeat

But most people get stuck at step one.

Because they're terrified of looking stupid.

Of being wrong.

Of failing publicly.

So they wait.

They prepare.

They research.

They plan the perfect approach.

And while they're perfecting their strategy in the parked car...

Someone else already crashed twice, rebuilt, and is miles ahead.

So if you want to grow faster, here's what to do:

1/ Set a failure quota:
↳ Commit to 10 failures this month
↳ Track each one and what it taught you
↳ Celebrate hitting your failure goal

2/ Build a rapid testing system:
↳ Launch weekly, not monthly
↳ Get feedback within 48 hours
↳ Iterate immediately based on what broke

3/ Stop researching, start doing:
↳ Give yourself 1 week max to plan
↳ Ship the messy version
↳ Learn from real users, not hypothetical ones

The businesses that scale fastest aren't the ones with perfect launches.

They're the ones that launched 10 times while everyone else was still planning version one.

The creators who grow aren't the ones with flawless content.

They're the ones who posted 100 times while others were perfecting their first post.

The people who win aren't the ones who never failed.

They're the ones who failed fastest and learned the most.

So stop waiting for the perfect moment.

Stop trying to avoid mistakes.

Start making them at full speed.

Because you can't learn to drive in a parked car.

You learn by crashing a few times and figuring out how not to.

That's the game.

Play it fast.

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It's easy to confuse motion with direction.

You're on a path. It's moving fast. You feel productive. 

You are going somewhere.

But you never stopped to check if it's taking you where you actually want to go.

People stay in jobs that drain them because they're "making progress" in their career. They're getting promotions, raises, new titles.

It feels like progress.

People stay in relationships that don't fit because they've invested so much time. 

They're building a life together, checking boxes, moving forward.

But movement isn't the same as progress.

Progress means you're getting closer to where you want to be. 

Movement just means you're going somewhere.

The hardest thing to do is stop a moving train.

It feels like failure. It feels like starting over. It feels like admitting you were wrong.

But staying on the wrong path doesn't get easier. It just takes you further from where you need to be.

I've done this. Stayed in situations way too long because I confused momentum with meaning.

The real question isn't "Am I moving?"
It's "Am I moving toward something I actually want?"

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is to switch direction.

P.S. Save this for later.

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I'm 12 years in to my business, and I'm not "successful" by traditional standards.

I don't wake up at 5am.
I don't have 50 employees.
I don't feel like I've made it.
I don't know my 5-year plan.
I don't have a $10M in revenue.
I don't have a morning routine.
I don't always focus on the right things.
I don't have a fancy office... I work from home.

My business and life isn't what I imagined.

But in many ways, it's better.

Because I am...

The most peaceful I've ever been.
I take vacations without guilt.
I built something that runs without me.

This is your reminder:

Build the business & life YOU want.
Not what others expect you should want.

♻️ Repost if this resonates.

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Bamboo can grow 35 inches in a single day.

But before that, it spends years underground.

Just building roots.

This is exactly how growth works in life.

---

Phase 1: The Invisible Work

You're showing up. Doing the reps. Taking action.

But nothing is happening above the surface.

Just tiny roots spreading underground where no one can see.

Most people quit here.

---

Phase 2: The Small Wins

A sprout breaks through.

You land a client. A new opportunity opens up.

Not many people notice yet. 

But you keep watering. Keep doing the work.

---

Phase 3: Explosive Growth

The big client comes through.
The investor calls back.
The opportunity you've been building toward finally lands.

People call it "overnight success."

They didn't see the time underground.

They didn't see the tiny roots.

They only see the "overnight success"

Growth is never linear.

It's invisible, then slow, then all at once.

If you're in the underground phase right now, keep building roots.

The surface will come.

♻️ Repost if this resonates

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The Japanese have this art called kintsugi.

When a ceramic bowl breaks, they don't throw it away.

They repair it with gold-laced lacquer, turning the cracks into something more beautiful than the original.

The breaks become the most striking part.

I think about the people I love most. It's never their perfection that draws me in.

It's their quirks. 
The way they stumble over words when they're nervous.
How they laugh too loud at their own jokes.

The scars from things that broke them.

That's what makes them real.
That's what makes them human.

We spend so much energy trying to hide our cracks.

Pretending we have it all together.
Smoothing over the rough edges.
Presenting this polished version of ourselves that doesn't actually exist.

But your imperfections are your story.

↳ A business failing publicly
↳ Burnout that forces you to stop everything
↳ Realizing you wasted years on the wrong path

The good that comes out of that:

• Clarity on what actually matters
• Confidence because you survived it
• A story that inspires others
  
Those aren't flaws to hide.

They're best part.


Liked this?  Save for later.

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A top life skill is getting along with people you don't like.

And most people never develop it.

Stanford professor Robert Sutton studied this for years.

His finding: dealing with difficult people drains your cognitive resources.

That's energy you could use for creative problem solving. 

You can't avoid difficult people. But you can learn to work with them.

Here's how to actually do it:

1. Find common ground in shared goals

↳ You don't need to like someone to work well together
↳ Focus on the outcome, not the personality

2. Separate personality from competence

↳ Someone can be annoying and still be good at their job
↳ Respect their skills even if you don't enjoy their company

3. Focus on what you can learn

↳ Every difficult person teaches you something
↳ Communication. Patience. Conflict resolution.

4. Keep things professional without being fake

↳ You don't have to pretend to be best friends
↳ Just be respectful and direct

Your network isn't just the people you like.
It's the people who can help you grow.

And growth rarely happens without conflict.

And that's how you level up.

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What changed my life wasn't waiting for the perfect moment.

It was starting messy.  Getting uncomfortable.

Here's what I've learned:

The gym is uncomfortable.
↳ But so is being out of breath climbing stairs.

Asking for a raise is uncomfortable.
↳ But so is watching others get promoted.

Starting a business is uncomfortable.
↳ But so is wondering "what if" for 20 years.

Having hard conversations is uncomfortable.
↳ But so is a relationship built on things left unsaid.

Just show up. Made mistakes. Learn. Repeat.

You're going to suck at first.  
Everyone does.

But here's the thing: that awkward phase where you feel like an imposter is where the growth happens.

You're learning faster than you ever have before.

The first 90 days are brutal.
You'll want to quit. 
You'll wonder if you're cut out for this.

Keep going anyway.

Picture yourself December 2026.

You've built something real. 
You've become someone different.

You're not the person who "wanted to" anymore. 
You're the person who did.

2026 is your year if you decide it is.

------

Save this for later.

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Ryan Rouse

Growth advisor to consumer businesses with a focus on every line of the P&L | Previously, Co-Founder at Factor Meals (acquired), CEO at Highkey

Growth-minded CPG leader with deep experience across finance, brand building, and operational leadership.

After more than a decade in finance—culminating in an eight-year tenure at Merrill Lynch—I co-founded Factor_, a ready-to-eat meal delivery company that went on to be acquired by HelloFresh for $277M in 2020.

I joined HighKey Snacks as Chief Marketing Officer and later CEO, guiding the low-sugar snack brand through rapid expansion and an acquisition in 2024.

I'm currently the President of MALK Organics, a fast-growing, near nine-figure brand redefining the plant-based milk category with its commitment to clean, organic ingredients and uncompromising quality.

And I write a newsletter about what it really takes to grow—your company, your mindset, your tolerance for chaos:
​
​• The unfiltered truth about building a brand
• Why “strategy” isn’t always strategic
• What to do when everything feels on fire
• Mindset shifts that keep you sane(ish)​
• Founder mistakes, market moves, and lessons I’m still learning​
​
​Part playbook, part perspective shift.
For anyone trying to grow something—and keep their head on straight.

Sign up using the link here (or below my profile pic above): https://ryanrouse.me/

Vice President | Partner

Data driven investors in early stage consumer brands. 

The best people I've hired never complained about the workload.

Or the pressure.

They thrived on it.

They're burning out from the culture.

High performers can handle a lot. They're wired for it. They manage their time, stay focused, and actually like the work.

They don't leave because they're tired.

They leave because they're drained.

There's a difference.

Tired comes from hard work.

Drained comes from bad leadership, unclear priorities, and politics.

One recharges with rest.

The other doesn't go away until the environment changes.

If your top talent is checking out, don't assume they can't handle the work.

Ask yourself if they can handle the culture.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

We just launched a line of coconut-based creamers and they absolutely slap.

(Shout out to my kids who would cringe hard at that.)

No gums, no oils, no natural flavors. 

Just real, recognizable ingredients and a texture so creamy it'll make your coffee blush. 
​
🥥 Available in 3 flavors: Vanilla, Sweet Cream, and Unsweetened (for the purists)​
🥥 USDA Organic, non-GMO, glyphosate residue-free​
🥥 Clean label, full flavor: proof you don’t need additives to taste good ​
​
Hitting refrigerated shelves across the US as we speak. 

You should try them. For real.

Promoted two people today.

It's the best part of leadership.

Not the title changes. Not the org chart updates.

The part where you give great people room to run.

You watch them take ownership. Make decisions you wouldn't have made. Push ideas further than you could have alone.

And when you realize they didn't need you to tell them what to do.

They needed you to get out of the way.

That's the job.

Find people who are better than you at what they do.
Give them space to prove it.
Then watch them show the world what they're capable of.

Jayme and Barrett - you earned it many times over. I'm just happy to be a part of your journey and grateful you are part of mine.

I couldn't do any of this without you. 

Thank you 💙

The fastest way to get promoted?

Make yourself replaceable.

Sounds backwards. It's not.

I've watched talented people get stuck in roles for years. Not because they weren't good. Because they were too good at one thing.

They hoarded knowledge. Built processes only they understood. Made themselves "essential."

And their boss couldn't promote them.

Because who would do their job?

Meanwhile, the people who got promoted were doing the opposite:

Documenting everything.
Training their backup.
Building systems that worked without them.

They made it easy to backfill their role.

Leaders don't promote bottlenecks. They promote people who can be moved.

The employee who says "only I know how to do this" thinks they're proving value.

They're actually proving they're stuck.

The employee who says "here's the playbook, anyone can run this now" just showed they're ready for bigger problems.

Your job isn't to be irreplaceable at your current level.

It's to make your current role so transferable that promoting you becomes obvious.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

Entrepreneurs should think in two time frames:

30 years
90 days

I read this in a book by the legendary Dan Sullivan over a decade ago and it hurt my brain.

Because the more common advice is to regularly map out 1/3/5 year plans.

But the older I get and the more time I spend in early stage companies, I've moved more and more towards his away of thinking.

Cast a long term vision.
Execute what's in front of you.

It can be as simple as that.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails. No BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it’s free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

Social media will have you believe if you haven't made millions by 30, you're late.

It's bullshit.

Warren Buffett made 99% of his wealth after 50.
Ray Kroc was 52 when he started McDonald's.
Vera Wang was 40 when she entered fashion.
The list goes on and on...

Know what those extra decades give you?

Pattern recognition. You've seen enough cycles to know which ones matter.

Scar tissue. You've failed enough to know it won't kill you.

The pressure to achieve young is manufactured. 

By people selling courses. By media celebrating outliers. By your own impatience.

You're not late. The game is longer than they tell you.

Good thing too. 

Because big moves develop over decades.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails. No BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it’s free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

Your mood is not private.

It's broadcasting to everyone around you.

Show up to a meeting stressed, and watch what happens.

People tense up. Conversations get shorter. Ideas stop flowing.

Show up calm, and the opposite happens.

People relax. They think clearer. They bring solutions instead of panic.

I used to think emotions were personal.

Something I could feel without affecting anyone else.

I was wrong.

Every time I showed up frustrated, my team got quieter.
Every time I showed up anxious, my team got nervous.
Every time I showed up scattered, my team got confused.

They weren't reading my words.

They were reading my energy.

And matching it.

As a leader, your emotional state isn't just yours.

It spreads.

Like a cold. Like a yawn. Like panic in a crowded room.

The question isn't whether your emotions are contagious.

They are.

The question is: which ones are you spreading?

Because your team is catching whatever you're carrying.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

I used to think being intense was the problem.

It's not.

Letting other people control that intensity is.

I'm wired hot. Always have been.

It's helped me build things, push through walls, and get results most people won't.

But I also let it burn bridges I didn't need to burn.

The shift came when I stopped waiting for someone else to tell me to dial it down.

I learned to own the dial myself.

Still intense. Still emotional.

But now I decide when to turn it up and when to pull it back (most of the time, not perfect).

It's been the difference between intensity being an advantage vs. a liability.

Self-awareness isn't about changing who you are.

It's about controlling how you show up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails - no BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it’s free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

I've never been the smartest person at any company I've been at.

But I'm always the fastest.

At Merrill Lynch, I was 1 of 75,000 employees. Could've been the best analyst on the floor. Still replaceable.

At a startup? Different game.

My superpower wasn't an MBA or some fancy framework.

It was knowing how to find shit fast.

When my co-founder at Factor_ asked "How do other meal delivery companies handle returns?"

Everyone else: "Let me schedule some calls."

Me: Ordered from 3 competitors. Submitted returns. Pulled their policies. Built a framework. Done.

Couple of hours, tops. 

Founders already know how to find answers. That's how they got this far.

They're not asking you because they're lazy. They're drowning.

The employee who says "I researched this, here are three options, I recommend X because Y" - and did it FAST - becomes indispensable.

The one who says "I don't know, what do you think?" becomes overhead.

At early stage companies, resourcefulness and urgency beat credentials every time.

No waiting. No deferring. No "I was waiting for you to give me the go ahead."

Run. It. Down. 

And do it quickly. 

Leaders will notice. 

Trust me.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

5 things founders get wrong about employee motivation:

(From someone who got all 5 wrong)

1. Expecting owner-level commitment from employee-level equity.

You own 40% of the company. They own 0.1%.
You'll make millions if it works. They'll make rent.

Stop acting surprised when they work less hours.

2. Thinking your sacrifice is their baseline.

I worked for no salary for three years. Maxed out credit cards. Emptied my 401k. 

That was my choice. Not theirs.

Your personal bet doesn't become their obligation.

3. Using guilt instead of respect.

I used to send passive-aggressive Slack messages when people left on time. "Must be nice to have work-life balance."

Real asshole moves.

Then one of my best employees quit.

In his exit interview, he said: "Ryan, you chose to mortgage your house for this company. I didn't."

He was right.

4. Believing more equity will change how people work.

I once gave someone more equity expecting it to change their output. It didn't.

That's because everyone has a "work MO." A default gear.

If they're a killer, they'll be a killer.
If they do the bare minimum, they'll do the bare minimum.

Equity won't flip that switch.

(It will help retain the killers, tho.)

5. Confusing presence with productivity.

The person cranking until 9pm isn't always your best performer.

Sometimes they're just slow. Or inefficient. Or avoiding something at home.

Judge output, not hours.


The fix isn't complicated.

Find people who give a shit about doing good work.
Pay them well.
Respect their time.

They won't work until 10pm unless it's truly necessary.

But when it is necessary, they'll be there.

Because you hired people who are wired for it. 

And earned their trust.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

I used to think hustle meant force.

Push harder. Work longer. Make it happen.

That mindset nearly broke me by the time I turned 37.

I was always pressing, always grinding, convinced that if I just worked hard enough, success would come faster.

But the thing I learned watching people who actually win long term is they don't force it.

They create the conditions for success, then let it unfold.

They work hard, but they're not desperate.

They're confident things will work out because they've done the work.

So I stopped trying to control every outcome and started trusting the process more.

I still show up every day. I still put in the work. I'm still wildly ambitious.

But I'm not white-knuckling my way through life anymore.

And since I stopped forcing everything, more opportunities started showing up.

Better opportunities. Clearer decisions. Less stress.

Turns out, there's a difference between working hard and working anxious.

One builds momentum.

The other burns you out.

I'm playing the long game now.

And it feels a hell of a lot better than the sprint I was running before.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

I used to think winning arguments made me smart.

It didn't.

It made me insufferable.

Healthy debate has respect and curiosity.

Ego-driven arguing has neither.

One sharpens you.

The other isolates you.

In healthy debate, you ask questions to understand.
In ego-driven arguing, you ask questions to trap.

In healthy debate, you say "I hadn't thought of that."
In ego-driven arguing, you say "Yeah, but..."

In healthy debate, you admit when you're wrong.
In ego-driven arguing, you double down.

In healthy debate, you want to learn something.
In ego-driven arguing, you want to be right.

Here are some things that helped me:

1. Pause before responding. Ask myself if I'm trying to understand or trying to win.

2. Repeat back what I heard. "So what you're saying is..." Forces me to actually listen.

3. Find one thing I agree with first. Even in disagreement, there's common ground.

4. Ask "What am I missing?" Instead of explaining why I'm right.

5. End conversations with "That gave me something to think about." And mean it.

The shift won't be immediate.

But people will start engaging with you differently.

Conversations get richer.

Ideas get better.

Relationships get stronger.

If you catch yourself needing to have the last word, you're probably arguing from ego.

If you walk away from a conversation thinking differently, you're probably debating with curiosity.

Took me way too long to learn the difference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails - no BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it’s free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.

This Picasso quote gets twisted constantly.

People think it's about tactics. 

But it actually means master the fundamentals so deeply that innovation becomes instinct.

In business, I see this constantly:

The CMO who never ran a P&L trying to "disrupt" pricing strategy.

The founder who skips unit economics to chase viral growth.

The exec who wants to "break the mold" before understanding why the mold exists.

The best leaders I know spent years in the trenches.

Learning why things work before reimagining how they could work better.

They got creative because they got good first.

Master the boring stuff first.

Then go be an artist.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails - no BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it’s free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

All senior leaders need to be numbers people.

Doesn't matter if they're in marketing, ops, or product.

If they can't read a P&L, understand unit economics, or connect their decisions to revenue, they're not ready for the seat.

Not "build a financial model from scratch" numbers people.

Not "debate GAAP accounting" numbers people.

But you need to speak the language of business.

Because every decision either makes money or costs money.

And if you can't see that connection, you're flying blind.


—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

In consumer, your customers don't care how smart you are.

They care that their order arrives on time.

That you're in stock when they need you.

That your quality doesn't fluctuate batch to batch.

They're not buying your IQ score.

They're buying your ability to deliver on expectations - some general to the market and some specific to your product and promise.

That's all execution.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails - no BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it’s free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

Your VP of Sales just quit mid-quarter.

No notice.

Just a call at 8am and a pile of deals in limbo.

That's when your team learned who you really are.

Your values aren't what you say in the good times.

They're what you do when everything's on fire.

You can preach respect all day long.

But if you lose your mind on someone when something goes wrong?

That's the real culture.

The version of you that shows up under pressure is the version that gets
replicated across your entire organization.

Not the polished one.

Not the prepared one.

The stressed one.

The frustrated one.

That's the leader your people will become.

So before you blame your team for losing their composure, poor communication or lack of ownership, ask yourself this:

What did I show them when things got hard?

Because they were watching.

And they learned.

—

I write emails. Unfiltered takes from 12+ years building brands.

It's free. Subscribe (or don't):

https://ryanrouse.me/

The most frequent question I get from entrepreneurs is "What advice would you give your former self?"

My answer: Pace myself.

They blow me off.

Not to my face, but I can tell.

I get it though.

I did the same thing when I was in their shoes.

Thought I was different.

That I could outwork the system.

That entrepreneurial fire made me feel invincible.

Until it didn't.

If you're putting in 80 hours a week consistently, it's not a matter of if you're gonna burn out, it's a matter of when.

Because you can't sustain that for the time required to play the long game. 

(Which is the only game in town.) 

Find your sustainable pace now before you're forced to. 

You're running a marathon, not a 100-yard dash.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails. No BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it’s free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

Hard work is table stakes, not a flex. 

Your competitors work hard. 

It's necessary, but not sufficient. 

You also need to think in ways others don't. 

Most people default to putting in more hours because thinking hurts. 

It's easier to stay busy than to sit with a problem until you crack it.

I wish success in business was just about working harder. That would be simple. 

But the world doesn't give a shit about your hours.

It rewards people who create the most value. 

Value comes from seeing what others miss. 

From connecting dots in ways that seem obvious after but weren't before.

From working hard *and* smart.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails. No BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it's free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

Your manager isn't thinking about you nearly as much as you think they are. 

I promise. 

And that's a good thing. 

Carry on.

Most people think they're either risk-takers or they're not.

But that's not really how it work.

Risk isn't something you have a fixed capacity for.

It's something you build tolerance to.

Like lifting weights.

You don't walk into a gym and deadlift 400 pounds because you "have it in you."

You start small. 

Then add weight over time. 

Each rep expands what you can handle next time.

Risk works the same way.

The person who quit their corporate job to start a company didn't wake up one day with superhuman courage.

They made a series of smaller bets first.

A side project. A conversation. A decision to stop playing it safe in one area of their life.

Each one stretched the muscle.

So if you think you're not a risk-taker, you're probably right.

But it's not because you can't be.

It's because you haven't trained that muscle yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you liked this post, you might like my emails - no BS musings from 12+ years in the trenches building brands.

You might not, but it’s free so WGAF:

https://ryanrouse.me/

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