Asim Amin's Linkedin Analytics

A couple of years ago, I received some feedback that completely shifted my perspective. Interestingly, it came from a few different people, all separate conversations, but with the same core message: "The way you treat someone you’re close to in group settings, it's different. It's harsher. And you wouldn't speak to anyone else like that." At first, it caught me off guard. I thought, "But that’s our relationship, it’s just how we are." But hearing it a few times, from different people, made me realise something important: Just because you have a certain dynamic privately, doesn’t mean it lands the same publicly. In group settings, perception matters. Awareness matters. Respect matters. That feedback as hard as it was to hear changed me. It made me more mindful. It made me reconsider how I give feedback, not just to the person in question, but to everyone. I'm sure I'm still not perfect. There's always more to learn, always more to improve. But that moment was a real turning point for me, a reminder that real growth often starts with uncomfortable truths. If you're lucky enough to have people brave enough to be honest with you, listen. It might just be the thing that helps you level up.

You don’t burn out because you’re tired. You burn out because you’re doing work that doesn’t matter to you. Let that sink in. We’ve wrapped burnout in soft language. We’ve medicalised it, spiritualised it, and in many cases, monetised it. But let’s be real: Burnout isn’t a workload problem. It’s a meaning problem. I’ve worked 16-hour days. Seven days a week. No holidays. No spa days. Just non-stop. Have I been exhausted? Of course. But burned out? Never. Because I love what I do. I find purpose in it. It matters. And when something matters to you, it fuels you even when it stretches you. You can sleep 8 hours a night, take every weekend off, have unlimited annual leave and still be burned out if your work is draining your soul and numbing your brain. And I know this will offend some, but let’s be honest: Work-life balance has become a polite way to say, “I can’t stand my job.” We glorify the weekend because we’ve made the week unbearable. We worship holidays because we’re not living lives we actually enjoy. So before you book your next wellness retreat or block your calendar for “me time,” ask yourself the uncomfortable question: Do I even like what I do? Most people don’t need a break from work. They need a break from the choices that led them there. You can work just four hours a day and still feel utterly burned out, not because of how much you’re working, but because of what you’re working on. Those four hours can feel like a lifetime if they’re filled with tasks that drain you, bore you, or make you question your relevance. We keep blaming hours, pressure, and deadlines. But maybe, just maybe, it’s the soul-deep disconnection that’s burning you out.

What if your actions today could shape the future for five people? Would you show up differently? As a founder, this isn't just a nice idea, it's a responsibility I carry daily. I didn’t step into this journey to build something ordinary. I’m here to create something that matters. Not just for me but for the people around me, and the lives I have the privilege to influence. Because I believe success isn’t just measured by revenue or reach. It’s measured by the positive, lasting change we help create in others. And change doesn’t have to be huge or dramatic. In fact, it often begins quietly By listening more deeply. Making a hard decision with integrity. Backing someone’s potential before they fully see it themselves. That’s where real impact starts. When I think of five people my team, my partner, a friend going through a tough time, someone I mentor, a client I don’t see numbers. I see lives. Each one capable of creating their own ripple once they’re reminded of what’s possible. That’s the kind of leadership I believe in. It’s not about saving the world. It’s about shifting your corner of it consistently, intentionally, with heart. So the question I ask myself is simple, but powerful: Whose future can I help shape today? And what action will I take to do that? Small choices. Deep impact. Infinite potential.

The system wasn’t built for immigrant founders. We weren’t supposed to win.   The statistics already counted us out before we started: • 90% of startups fail. • 90% of funding goes to people who don’t look or sound like us. • 90% of rooms don’t expect us to stay.   Good.   We’re used to building in places where no one expects anything from us. That’s where we learned to outwork, outthink, and outlast. You don’t scare easy when you’ve already rebuilt your life once.   At Immigrants Building Companies Accelerator, we don’t teach you how to fit into a system that never planned for you. We teach you how to beat it and build something too powerful to ignore.   Get access to real strategies, real community, and real tools to raise money, navigate visas, and scale your startup in the UK. This isn’t about surviving the stats. It’s about rewriting them.   If you’re tired of playing by someone else’s rules and ready to build on your own terms, the waitlist is open.   Join the waitlist for IBC Accelerator: https://lnkd.in/ekfkygfw

Let’s stop pretending global teams are easy. They’re not.   Everyone wants to go global until time zones clash, no one’s online when you need them, and your project dies in a Slack thread. Remote isn’t freedom without structure. It’s chaos in disguise.   At Plumm, we’ve got team members in the UK, India, and South Africa. It works but only because we’ve made tough decisions early.   We serve UK clients. So we work UK hours. No “core hour” illusions. No async fairy tales. Just actual alignment. That’s not micromanagement. That’s clarity.   And the surprising part? A lot of people prefer it. They get their mornings back for family, errands, breathing room and log on when the real collaboration happens.   And holidays? Every country has its own calendar. If we followed them all, we’d be off every other week. So we simplified it. Everyone at Plumm gets the same number of days take them when they matter most to YOU. Global teams don’t collapse because people are in different places. They collapse because no one wants to lead with structure.   Go global, sure. Just don’t expect it to work if you’re afraid to draw a line.

Two young people in the UK will die by suicide today.     That’s ~850 bright futures erased every year, the #1 killer of young people, outstripping road accidents, cancer, anything.   Pause on that. Imagine an entire lecture hall emptied, every single year, by quiet desperation.   Now the uncomfortable question:   When we lose a teammate, do we grieve the person… or race to raise the requisition to refill their seat?   Most companies will sign off five-figure recruitment costs within hours, yet “Can we increase the mental-health budget?” still triggers procurement reviews, board decks, quarter-end delays. The admin to back-fill a role is smoother than the path to get someone help before crisis hits.   World Mental Health Week is trending. Company feeds are full of pastel graphics and “check in on a friend” posts. Nice sentiment, until you realise checking in without backing it up with real support is just another task on someone else’s overflowing to-do list.   If you lead people, here’s what meaningful commitment looks like:   → Funding therapy, coaching, and crisis lines with the same urgency as you fund laptops and software licences. → Making those services instant, confidential, and stigma-free, no forms, no waiting lists, no asking permission. → Measuring uptake and outcomes, not just ticking a wellbeing box on an ESG slide. → Talking openly about mental health from the boardroom down, so silence doesn’t become policy.   If you’ll spend £30k to replace someone after tragedy, spend a fraction of that to keep them alive.   Two young lives are on the line today. Let’s make sure tomorrow still has their names on it.

1 in 3 tech founders in the UK wasn’t born here. But you wouldn’t know it. Not when you’re sitting in a scrappy rented flat, filling out visa forms and trying to open a business account with no clue what HMRC even stands for. I remember thinking I must be the only one doing this. That I was mad to even try. Turns out, I wasn’t. And neither are you. Starting up as an immigrant is different. You’re not just building a business, you’re learning how the system works as you go. You waste days on government websites. You second-guess every form. You chase people for help and still end up guessing. Everything takes longer. Everything feels harder. And no one hands you a playbook. That’s why I started the IBC Accelerator. Not a shiny bootcamp. Just real support for people like us. Inside, we cover the stuff no one explains properly → How to register the right legal entity, → How to structure your visa around your business → How to set up with HMRC and get your finances in order → How to raise money as a immigrant founder → How to build local credibility when you don’t have a network You’ll be learning from people who’ve moved to the UK and built businesses here. And you’ll be surrounded by others doing the same, facing the same challenges, asking the same questions, and moving forward together. If you’ve been trying to build in the UK and you’re tired of doing it alone, this is for you. Join the waitlist: 👉 https://lnkd.in/ePnFhJUc I’ll see you on the other side!

Most people chase success. Raj Thiruchelvarajah chased meaning. And it led him to space. Literally. He’s the co-founder of Hytro, a wearable blood flow restriction product used by Premier League athletes, Tour de France riders, and NASA astronauts. But this isn’t a startup fairytale. It’s a story about pressure. Not just physical but emotional, cultural and existential. Before all this, Raj spent 16 years doing what was expected. PwC. Barclays. Consulting. The “good South Asian boy” path. Safe, stable, successful. Until it wasn’t. He left it behind to build something real, something that made him feel alive. And then came the hard part. Here’s what stood out from our conversation on Immigrants Building Companies: → Belonging isn’t always given. Sometimes you have to build it. → Empathy is the edge, especially when you’ve always felt like the outsider. → Purpose won’t make the risk smaller. But it makes the pain count. → You can lead with heart and be taken seriously. And the line that stuck with me? “Stress is a privilege. Because it means what you're doing matters.” This isn’t just about building tech. It’s about breaking patterns and betting on who you really are. 👇 Full episode in the comments.

The most common Go-To-Market failure I see isn’t strategy. It’s self-deception.   A team of smart founders sits in a room, convinced they’ve cracked it. But if you’re saying things like: “We don’t really have strong competition” “Everyone is going to want this once they see it” “It’s relevant across every industry”   That’s not validation. That’s assumption. The hard truth is, your belief in the product means nothing if the market doesn’t agree. This is where most early-stage teams go wrong. They’re not testing ideas, they’re protecting their egos. And ego is expensive.   It stops you from asking the right questions. It convinces you that feedback is wrong. It clouds your ability to see what's not working.   To early-stage founders, do this instead: - Do a deep, unbiased competitor analysis - Test your value proposition on people who owe you nothing - Get specific. If your product is “for everyone,” it’s probably for no one   It’s not about being in a garage or having a small team. It’s about having the self-awareness to challenge your own assumptions.   Confirmation bias is a quiet killer. The more you ignore the data that doesn’t support your narrative, the harder the landing will be.   Great founders don’t have all the answers. They ask better questions.

Being an immigrant founder teaches you to operate without a playbook. And that turns out to be your biggest asset, if you know how to use it.   Here’s what I’ve learned building in a country that wasn’t mine to start with:   1. You don’t have legacy bias. 2. You’re not tied to “how things have always been done.” That gives you clarity. You can build cleaner, faster, and with less ego. You think in systems. 3. Immigrant founders are constantly decoding how things work, whether it’s legal structures, tax codes, or industry networks. That mindset becomes a superpower when scaling a business. 5. You build resilience by default. 6. Every unfamiliar conversation, every closed door, every “no”, you learn to turn that into fuel. And resilience compounds more than talent ever will. 7. You value what others take for granted. 8. Whether it’s access, capital, or just a warm intro you treat it with care. That awareness builds better culture and better leadership.   But there are also challenges: - You’ll have to work harder to build trust. - You might get underestimated. Often. And the loneliness hits different when your family’s thousands of miles away. The key is to stop waiting to feel "ready." You won’t. But start anyway. Because building as an immigrant isn’t about fitting in. It’s about building something strong enough to stand out.

10 years ago, if you wanted to build something big in tech, the advice was simple: go to the US. Today? That playbook’s expired. When I landed in the UK, I didn’t arrive with a warm intro list or a VC on speed dial. I came to build, not network. What followed wasn’t luck. It was years of graft, reinvention, and doing the work others overlook. 5 years on we've turned Plumm into a scalable business with real traction. And we did it HERE... in London. What’s happening in the UK tech scene isn’t a trend. It’s a transformation: → £880 billion: The UK tech sector’s market valuation in Q1 2024 (the highest in Europe.) → £13 billion: Capital raised by UK startups in 2024, nearly double that of Germany and France combined. → 2.13 million: People employed in tech across the UK, making up 6.4% of the total workforce. → 171: The number of UK tech unicorns, leading Europe by a wide margin. → £150 billion+: Annual contribution of tech to the UK economy, growing faster than any other sector. The UK isn’t trying to be Silicon Valley and that’s its strength. We’re building differently: more sustainable, more diverse, more focused on solving real-world problems. Less about blitz-scaling, more about resilience and actual product-market fit. If you’re a founder here: keep going. You’re not in the waiting room anymore. You’re in the arena.

*TRIGGER WARNING* I’m gripping the rail of a fifteenth-floor balcony. Debt is crushing me. I’ve lost everything. I rehearse the fall. Will I clip another balcony? Smash a car roof? Hit the pavement and wake up broken or never wake up at all? I’m terrified of heights, yet the drop feels easier than another day of shame. Friends have drifted. Family hover, already carrying my weight, I can’t load them with more. One thread keeps me there: Mum’s climb back from her own depression. Throwing her victory away would undo everything she fought for. So I step back. Therapy. Meditation. Tiny, stubborn breaths. From that edge, an idea takes root: If I can hurt this deeply in silence, so can millions of others. That thought becomes Plumm, a place where no one has to white-knuckle a railing alone. If my story hits a nerve, talk to someone. If you can’t talk, text. If you can’t text, breathe and hold on. I’m still here. You can be, too. Today marks the end of Mental Health Awareness Week but let it not be the end of the conversation.

Everyone praises the “big leap” of moving countries. Fewer talk about the small gifts that make the leap worth it. Here are three that make building a life and a startup in the UK feel like winning the jackpot: 1. Access to green space England and Wales maintain about 221,000 km of public rights-of-way, many of which begin near train stations, so a short ride can move you from city streets to countryside trails. 2. Culture (and care) that respects your budget National museums are free to enter, and schemes such as London Theatre Week sell West End seats from £15–£35. Meanwhile, the NHS still provides healthcare free at the point of use. 3. Everyday inclusion Roughly 17 % of residents in England and Wales were born outside the UK in 2021, so workplaces are naturally diverse. Why this matters for people leaders: When newcomers experience green spaces, cultural access, and genuine welcome, they settle faster, innovate sooner, and stay longer. I came for the opportunity; I stayed for the community

Growing up as an immigrant means growing up asking for permission. “Can I stay?” “Can I study here?” “Can I work here?” Even when I was building Plumm, I was waiting for permission without realising it. Permission to call yourself a founder. Permission to show up confidently. Permission to take up space.   I have to let you in on something...   In entrepreneurship, no one gives you permission. You claim it.   You claim it every time you send that first invoice. You claim it every time you introduce yourself as a founder even when you’re your only employee. You claim it every time you bet on yourself before anyone else does. That’s why I built the Immigrants Building Companies Accelerator. To help people like us stop waiting and start building confidently and loudly, in the UK. - You’ll be surrounded by a community of immigrant founders who get it. - You’ll learn directly from experts every week in live sessions. - You’ll get the frameworks, the mindset shifts, the legal setup, the funding know-how. Visa process? Covered. Accountability? Baked in. No theory-only nonsense, this is about doing, not just dreaming. The waitlist is now open: https://lnkd.in/eeuyTNwt Let’s build without asking for permission.

Every time I talk about building a business in the UK, I get the same reaction: “Why? Isn’t everything broken over there?” I get the skepticism. Yes, the UK has had its challenges. The headlines don’t lie. But neither do the numbers. - In the first half of 2024, 846,000 new businesses were launched. - London startups raised $3.5B in AI funding alone, more than any other city in Europe. - Over 2.1 million people now work in UK tech, making it one of the most skilled digital economies in the world. And if you’ve ever tried to start a business elsewhere, you’ll know this matters: Company setup in under 24 hours Corporate tax as low as 19% Access to top global talent from world-class universities A stable legal and regulatory system that supports growth All of this, with direct access to the US, EU, and Asia, geographically and economically. The UK may not be perfect. But perfection has never been the requirement for building something great. Founders thrive where others hesitate. And right now, the UK is full of momentum that many people are missing. So instead of asking: “Why build a business in the UK?” Maybe ask: “Why not?”

If your company budgets for software but not for mental health, your priorities are broken. Mental health isn't a luxury. It’s the foundation everything else is built on. Yet too often, companies invest in CRM systems, office chairs, and laptops but hesitate when it comes to real human support. If your people aren’t well, your business won’t be either. Work is where most stress begins. It’s also where stigma runs deepest. People stay silent because they fear being judged, overlooked, labelled and that silence costs more than anyone realises. When mental health is normalised at work: Trust becomes the default, not the exception. People ask for help earlier. Recovery happens faster. Performance rises. Loyalty deepens. That’s why Plumm exists. Not as a “perk.” Not as an afterthought. But as part of the core infrastructure of truly human workplaces. When all is said and done, I don't just want Plumm to be a service people used. I want it to have made a dent in the way the world sees mental health. From a place of luxury to a basic human right. As fundamental to a workplace as a laptop or an internet connection. One day, mental health support will be a given inside every company. Not a debate. Not an extra. And when that day comes, Plumm will have played its part.

My first startup never launched.   I was 14, sweating in a Dubai garage. We thought we’d change how people discovered cities.   We didn’t. But I started building, and never really stopped.   That instinct followed me to the UK. A place where founders move fast and don’t wait for perfect.   → 60% of startups already use AI → Greentech jumped from prototype to boardroom priority → Visas, grants, and startup-friendly rules are speeding things up   For all the immigrant founders out there: You don’t need to have it all figured out. Build before it’s polished. Launch before it’s perfect. Keep moving, that’s the edge.   Not technical? Good. Focus on what people need. Spot the gaps. Pull in the right talent.   There’s never been a better time to build in the UK.   Still waiting for permission?   This is it. Join the waitlist for Immigrants Building Companies Accelerator A high-impact accelerator that helps immigrant founders raise, grow, and scale in the UK. Mindset. Strategy. Community. Everything I wish I had when I started.   Join the waitlist: https://lnkd.in/ePnFhJUc

“You’ll never make it. Your English isn’t good enough.”     That’s what an MD told Elisabetta Torretti to her face during her first year in the UK.   She was already pushing herself, learning a new language in her mid-twenties, navigating rejection, and trying to build a career in a country where she didn’t know a soul.   But instead of breaking her, that moment became fuel.   She went on to become Head of Sales and Customer Success at Plumm.   And today, she’s the founder of Mint & Lemon, a personal branding agency helping immigrant founders use LinkedIn to build global influence.   Here’s what stood out from our conversation on Immigrants Building Companies: → Your accent isn’t a weakness, it’s your signature. → Learning a language late doesn’t make you less capable. → LinkedIn isn’t just about impressions. It’s about building trust at scale. → You don’t need a website to start a business. You need clarity, connection, and consistency.   And maybe the most powerful idea Elisabetta shared? “What was once my insecurity has become my superpower.”   She went from doubting if she belonged, to helping others find their voice. This isn’t just a business story.   It’s a story of reinvention and the power of betting on yourself.   👇Listen to the full episode, links in the comments

Apparently, to build a unicorn you need an MBA, a clean LinkedIn, and a desk at a WeWork in Zone 1. Cool story. Just not a true one. Because most of the founders actually building billion-pound companies didn’t follow the script. They didn’t get tapped on the shoulder at some leadership programme. They weren’t polished products of perfect systems. They were people who got scrappy. Got knocked down and kept going. I didn’t finish high school. Didn’t have a network. Didn’t tick the “founder” boxes. But I kept figuring it out. One problem, one mistake, one hard-earned lesson at a time. And it turns out, I’m not alone: - Half of UK unicorns? Built by people not born here. - 39% of the UK’s fastest-growing companies? Immigrant-led. - Globally, 1 in 3 unicorn founders in emerging markets? Immigrant or second-gen. You think that’s a coincidence? No. It’s what happens when people don’t have the luxury of following a map so they learn to build their own. Different perspectives build different businesses. And those of us who’ve had to fight for a seat at the table? We often end up flipping the whole table over. So if your background doesn’t look “founder ready,” maybe that’s your unfair advantage. You don’t need permission to build something extraordinary. Just the guts to start without it.

I’ve been building something behind the scenes for almost 2 years… And today I can finally talk about it.   When I landed in the UK I had no network, no shortcuts, and just enough cash to keep the lights on. Fast-forward to today Plumm scaled   We’re generating millions in revenue Hired brilliant team members in three countries   And helping tens of thousands of people across the world with mental health and HR   Those first steps, though? Brutally lonely. Decoding visas, navigating regulations, convincing investors that an immigrant founder deserved a seat at the table, every win felt like threading a needle in the dark.   But I didn’t want the next wave of immigrant founders to go through that same fog.   So I built something I wish I had.   IBC Accelerator: Immigrants Building Companies An accelerator created by an immigrant founder, for immigrant founders ready to scale in the UK.   → Move smarter – legal & immigration clinics that save months of guesswork.  → Pivot faster – strategies with operators who understand the UK market. → Raise confidently – mindset, skills, and tools to raise without connections.   Immigrants build 39% of startups in the UK. Not because it’s easy. But because survival isn’t luck, it’s a skill we’ve already mastered.   We go live in the next 2 weeks. Join the waitlist to build something extraordinary in the UK! https://lnkd.in/ekfkygfw