MettaStartup Studio

Co-Founder

MettaCOaching

IxSA

IxSA is a global community of practitioners working in the intersection of innovation and sustainability.

Member & Endorser of IxSA Manifesto

Wayfair

- Category management and development of a highly branded supplier portfolio within Tabletop Category;
- Responsible for UK revenues and profit growth;
- Recruiting & managing a team;
- Building partnerships with key suppliers / brands, incl. establishing direct relationships with CEOs;
- Collaboration with key cross-functional stakeholders in pricing, site merchandising, promotions, operations and marketing to drive supplier portfolio strategies.

Team Lead

adidas

Senior Product Manager adidas Originals Kids FTW

- Development of online merchandising strategies and range management for 17 European markets ($50+ mln OTB)
- Delivery of financial and range efficiency targets, maximizing sales, margin, profitability, inventory turnover and customer experience
- Historical/in-season data and trends analysis to identify risks & opportunities
- Leading planning, forecasting, and buying process
- Driving relationships with marketing activation, product content, demand planning, and in-season management teams to ensure smooth and on-time online Introductions
- Providing feedback to improve customer acquisition and retention
- Collaboration with the web development team to improve site usability, customer experience, merchandising enhancement, and updates on both the front-end and back-end of the site
- Leading of cross-functional projects for online product roll-outs

Senior Category Manager in European eCommerce

adidas group

- Development of strategic global marketing plans 
- Product Range segmentation 
- Delivery of impactful sell-in and sell-out tools to key markets / channels
- Support and guidance to the markets/channels in building category business plans and landing key brand priorities as well as reaching financial targets and KPI’s
- Ensure proper implementation of marketing strategies (distribution strategy, channel segmentation, price harmonisation)

Go-To-Market manager adidas Originals in Global Headquaters

- Development of CIS Sport Style brand communication strategy (adidas Originals, Fashion Labels)
- Planning and control of Marketing Working Budget (above 20mio euro)
- Management of PR, creative and media agencies
- Driving brand’s digital activities
- Content & CRM projects management
- Development and management of  brand events (up to 7000 people)
- Close work with Retail marketing group to develop own stores' windows and instore marketing tools as well as consumer activations/promo actions/retail tagged ATL plans (800 concept stores)
- Other multiple projects leading

Senior Brand Communications manager adidas Sport Style in adidas CIS

Brand Communications Manager (Sport Performance, Sport Style) in adidas CIS

Brand Communications Coordinator (Sport Performance, Sport Style, Reebok) in adidas CIS

Personal Assistant to Marketing Director in adidas CIS

Stolichnaya Torgovovaya Kompaniya (STK)

ATL and Event-marketing, PR Communications, Budget Control, Retail Support

Marketing Manager

Hediard

Office Manager

I spent over a decade in business across Marketing, Business Strategy, E-com & Sales.

And to be honest, I did well. I headed up teams and managed up to $2bn businesses within the likes of adidas and Wayfair. 

But regardless of how "successful" I was in the office, that's just not what I wanted from life. And it's the same for you, right?

Frankly, I just wanted to have more time for my partner and our daughter. We wanted a second child but couldn’t get pregnant for almost 2 years because of burnout and anxiety. Almost every vacation and Xmas break we would get sick. 

I just couldn’t take any more of that meaningless shit I was doing at work. So I quit. And spend all my savings on a coaching study.

Together with my partner we started our own coaching business in 2020. In the middle of a global pandemic, with 2 kids at home and no support. 

In 15 months we grew this business to consistent 6K months. Without a website. No email list. And with 400 followers on Instagram. 

Yep, not “6-figures in 2 months” or whatever the wild west of the internet offers you. But with 8 months of the year spent traveling with our kids, flexible schedules and the highest amount of energy we ever had. 

We discovered a different path. And, well, it's easier than you think to take it.

There’s a startup founder you need to know about.
Daniel Varga,  MBA.

Daniel’s building something unusual:
An app that promotes kindness and doing good for others.

And I think it’s worth following his journey because…
We’ve forgotten how to be kind to each other.

Not in a “the world’s terrible” way.
But because we’re exhausted.
Buried in Slack notifications, deadlines, KPIs, and performance reviews.
And the small stuff, the human stuff, gets lost.

Someone stays late to help you fix a broken presentation.
A colleague calms you down when you’re spiralling before a big pitch.
Someone actually listens instead of waiting for their turn to speak.

There’s plenty of research showing that kindness, giving it or receiving it, has a measurable impact on wellbeing, job satisfaction, and how connected people feel at work.

In some cases, these things matter more than salary increases or perks.
Not because money doesn’t matter, but because humans are wired for connection and belonging.

Which brings me to Daniel’s biggest challenge:

“How do you make sure it stays real?”

Because the moment you add points, badges, or a leaderboard of “most helpful person,” it stops being kindness.
It becomes performative.
A way to signal virtue instead of actually giving a damn.

Daniel knows this. He’s not naive.
Doesn’t make the challenge easier, though.
Same for finding sustainable ways to monetize the platform.

Right now, volunteers have come together to build the app.
But everyone needs to eat, right?

I don’t know if Daniel and the team will crack all of this.
But I really hope they do.

Because we need something that reminds us we’re human.
That the person on the other side of the Zoom call is struggling too.
That a bit of real kindness can change someone’s entire day.

If you want to support Daniel with ideas, investor intros, or HR connections…
Give a bit of your time and effort today, so all of us can have a kinder tomorrow.

Plus, I'm sure Daniel can light up a star on the night sky for your act of kindness 😉 


P.S. Daniel knew we were going to meet at the Web Summit, so he brought along this lovely jar of kindness for us 🥰  Every morning, we pick a note. 
Not the worst way to start your day, right?

Olga Kirillova

Rent-a-Cofounder service for early-stage businesses | Expert in Founder-led Marketing, Sales, and Content that Converts | Co-Founder @mettastartupstudio & @mettaleads.ai | Might F around & live up to my potential😏

My good friend Richard Lucas says:
"If everyone gives more than they take... everyone gets more than they give".

That's why I dearly love Richard.
He has a big heart and a burning desire to help others.

“Everyone was a beginner once,” is another of his sayings.
Which is why I see him treating VCs, successful entrepreneurs, students, and newbie founders with the same care and respect.

I also see him talking to my kids like they’re his equals.
And this is the same person who runs multiple B2B businesses and employs 700 people across Europe and the US.

Social entrepreneurship is at the heart of his mission: tackling social isolation and loneliness.

As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy when he was starting out. 
That's why he calls himself a real expert in failure and rejection.

In his desire to help others, he founded the Open Coffee meetup. 
And it's one of the best formats I've witnessed at networking events.

It’s designed around participants who become the stars of the meeting.
And maybe that’s why it’s so popular all over the world.

Local chapters thrive in Shanghai, Tokyo, Lisbon, Krakow, Sydney… and yes, Ericeira (where I host the meetup for over two years now) 🤷‍♀️

All events are powered by volunteers. 
We negotiate free spaces in local coworking hubs and business incubators, partner with local cafés to serve coffee, and invest in cookies and good vibes.

I love co-hosting with Richard. 
It’s the humor, the warmth, and the structure that make these events special.

So if you think your town could use an entrepreneurial meetup, reach out to Richard or me. 
We’ll happily share materials, tips, and guidelines.

So more people could come together, talk about their businesses, ask for help, and offer support to others.

It's easier to build together than in isolation, don't you think?

Not all of us start with the same opportunities.
I’m sure, our CTO, Ilyes Ali Jeridi, will agree.

 
He’s extremely talented, reliable, and hardworking. 
The kind of person any founder would be lucky to have on their team.

And yet, because of where he was born, the world makes it so much harder for him to access the opportunities his talent deserves. 

Even with winning tech competitions, grants, and job offers… visa process can hold your life in limbo.

Which is why we’re so happy his visa finally came through!
And he’ll be joining us in Portugal in January to help us build our AI CO-founder SaaS tool in person. 

⸻

When I look at Ilyes, I see my younger self.

High standards. 
Crazy work ethic.
Taking on too much when others drop the ball.
Carrying the weight because he cares deeply about the quality of deliverables.

It’s leadership in its raw form.
It needs a bit of guidance and a bit of polish.
But even in his early 20s, he shows undeniable potential to lead successful teams. 

⸻

I hear so many leaders these days complain about “Gen Z work ethic.”
But when I look at Ilyes, I see drive, kindness, integrity, and a genuine hunger to create outstanding results.

If this is Gen Z, then our future is in really good hands😉

No alternative text description for this image

A friend recently asked: “Why don’t my friends support my business? They don’t like my posts, don’t share them, don’t refer customers.”

I get it. It s*cks.

But most people in your network have no idea what it’s like to bootstrap a business.

Your cousin who’s never missed a paycheck doesn’t get the risk, the sleepless nights, the bills you pay from money you earned yourself.

And, if it makes you feel any better, their likes won’t pay your bills anyway.
Waiting for the applause and getting bitter when it doesn’t come is the biggest waste of your time and energy. 
Trust me. Been there, done that.

Your mom’s LinkedIn likes won’t close your B2B deals.
So channel that disappointment into something that matters:

- Make another sale
- Improve your service
- DM someone who needs what you built

People will come around once you have results. 
Until then, they’ll be watching to see if you make it. 
And when you do, they’ll proudly tell everyone they know.

So keep going. 
Show results. 
Let all that energy fuel action.

And one day… some of these people will ask to be on your payroll 😉

Anyone at the Web Summit in the next days?


Carsten and I are keeping it focused this year:

- One evening event tonight
- Half a day at the Summit tomorrow
- Maybe a few hours on Thursday

What we want the most is to connect with cybersecurity founders. 
We're exploring this space to future-proof our business, and we want to learn from people building in this niche.

We'll also catch a few talks on the creator economy (since founder-led marketing is our specialty), check out what's trending (two years ago: marketplaces, last year: SaaS), and soak up the energy of people creating and building.

If you're around, let's grab a coffee 🫰

People I meet at networking events: 
“What do you do for a living?”

Me:

“Take random weekdays off! You’re your own boss!”

I saw this advice in 3 different post yesterday.
And I look at myself.

This week, I’ve worked till 2am almost every night.
I won’t be taking the full weekend off. Just one day.

Because our business is growing like mad.

✅ Onboarded a new client last week
✅ Signed another this week
✅ Two offers waiting on start dates
✅ Currently already serving 11 high-touch clients…
…with a skeleton crew of 4.5 people (Carsten counts as half cause we need to share him with the SaaS crew😂)
✅ Plus, building a SaaS tool with another 2.5


We also spent this week at Web Summit, 
one of the biggest tech conferences in the world.
And you know what every founder and scale-up CEO says when you talk to them?
They’re all working 50-60 hour weeks.

So maybe we’re the idiots. 
Because apparently, the LinkedIn gurus have figured out how to make money in their sleep.

Although… Carsten’s cousin actually does make $50K/month from on-demand courses.
Sounds dreamy, right?

Except, for two years straight he skipped friends’ birthdays, hangouts, and weekends,
because he was locked in creating content.
And guess what? He still works 50-hour weeks today.

So yeah… the “freedom lifestyle” looks a bit different up close🤓


📊 Reality check:
→ 84% of business owners work more than 40 hours a week
→ 31% of founders clock over 60
→ 70% feel guilty taking time off


So when I see posts about taking Wednesdays off… I can’t help but wonder... Who’s actually sponsoring those days off?🧐


By the way, we’ve got one of those on-demand courses sitting somewhere in our library too. Created in early days of launching our business.

Wanna buy it? 
I could really use a nap this week💀

Yesterday I worked past midnight.
So today, I could go and get my nails done💅(girls will be girls😆)


I also took an hour to sit in the sun by the ocean, drink a coffee, and think.

Think about clients. Strategy.
And the bigger picture that you can’t see when you’re buried in tasks.


You see, having your own business doesn’t give you time freedom.
At least, not in the sense most people would imagine it.
But it does give you time flexibility.

It gives you the ability to choose:
	•	when you work
	•	how you work
	•	with whom you work
	•	and what you prioritise
without asking for permission.


Last Friday, there was a school strike.
This Friday, teachers are out again.
My girls will be home, and I want to be present for them.

That means carving out time, reshuffling projects, and yes, sometimes working late or making up hours at “inconvenient” times.

Because, sure, you can have it all.
Just not simultaneously🤷🏻‍♀️


P.S. Entrepreneurship isn’t freedom from work.
Unlike burnt-out corporate professionals would love it to be.
But it’s freedom from meaningless pressure and doing things you disagree with just because someone on the top said so.

P.P.S. There’s no such concept as something for nothing.
Most things in life require hard work. 
Relationships. Business. Raising kids. Having a healthy body.
But you have the freedom to choose your hard😉

We went to Web Summit this year with one intention:
Talk to cybersecurity folks and just… listen.

Cybersecurity is a booming sector, and we want to future-proof our business by working with cybersecurity consultants and startups.


But Carsten and I are NOT cybersecurity experts.

I took a basic cybersecurity training. 
Learned about Zeus and GOZeus (banking trojans), and that you can apparently slip ghost employees into payroll systems for passive income 💀

That’s about the extent of my “cyber expertise.”


So we did what we always do when we enter a new space.
Start with people.

We went to the Cybersecurity Meetup at the Web Summit and just sat down at a table. And people started gathering around us. 

Our biggest highlight was definitely meeting Sean McDermott.
Charismatic, generous, an amazing storyteller, plus, has an epic beard 😎 🙌  

Sean generously shared his experience, his views on where the industry is going next, the difficulties, the insights into one of the startups he's investing in, and his own non-profit.

Along with other conversations at that meetup, this was one of the best experiences we had at the Web Summit.


So you see, you don’t need to know everything before you begin.
You can just be honest about what you don’t know. 
And curious enough to ask questions.

People love talking about what they’re passionate about.
They just need to feel you’re genuinely listening.


This matters because next month, we're onboarding a cybersecurity expert launching their consultancy. To refine their niche and positioning, build a GTM plan, and promote the business through their personal brand as a founder.

Even as experts in founder-led marketing and buyer psychology at MettaStartup Studio, we're students when it comes to understanding the language and nuances of a new industry.

So big shout-out to Sean and everyone who shared their time and knowledge with us last week 🙏  
Really grateful to all these amazing people we meet along the way! 🖤

In the last 12 months, we've grown to a team of 7 remote employees. 
 
And we've never asked any of our people to fill out a time sheet. 
 
Nor have we: 
 
Made them stick to a 9-5 routine. 
Forced them to take holidays at certain times. 
Prohibited them from running their own businesses (having a business is actually a requirement to get hired).
Told them when they can and can't take breaks. 
 
The funny thing: 
 
Everyone here pulls their own weight. 
We maintain good communication. 
Our clients get results. 
The work gets done. 
  
Both Carsten and I believe in aligning visions, learning goals, and values with our team members.
 
And giving them: 
 
→ Freedom 
→ Flexibility 
→ Guidance 
→ Ownership
 
They'll work hard no matter the environment. 
 
But if they're not aligned with the mission and vision of the business, have nothing to learn, feel restricted and micromanaged... 
I believe in that case, you'll struggle to get any results together🤷‍♀️

Or do you have different experiences?

When a business owner wants to show appreciation to his team…

But the other co-founder is Slavic😮‍💨

Happy weekend!


P.S. sound on for my lovely accent😜

This week, we had a few tough conversations with clients. 
One in particular brought stress and low vibes.

The irony is that we tried to be "nice".

We were extremely accommodating. 
Made exceptions and bent our processes. 
And in the end, that flexibility turned the founder into the bottleneck.

We couldn't move. 
Deliverables stalled. 
They got frustrated. 
We got stressed. 
And now we're having hard conversations that could've been avoided if we had been firmer from the beginning.

It's an unpleasant lesson to learn. 
But I do take it with gratitude.


When you're growing a business, you're constantly holding the tension of:
- wanting to deliver above and beyond
- protecting your processes
- supporting your team
- improving your product
- doing sales, delivery, and leadership at the same time
- and trying to stay sane while doing it

And something else that adds to the founder's mental and emotional load:

1️⃣ When your team delivers great results, it's the team. 
When they underdeliver or make mistakes, you're always the one taking the hit.

2️⃣ Once clients pay you, they sometimes forget you're human. 
You become their emotional shock absorber. 
And someone to blame, even when they're the bottleneck.


Beyond that, this week was full of ad-hoc requests and last-minute "can you take 15 minutes to review this?"
It's rough for my slightly autistic brain. 
It can't easily switch context. 
I need to start and finish one task at a time. 
So when everybody wants a "quick review" all at once, it gets overwhelming.
Also, it rarely takes 15 minutes 🫠 


It all spilled over.
Tension between me and Carsten.
Not about the business, but because we were both exhausted and overstimulated. 
And the worst part is that the kids felt it, too.


So this weekend, we're slowing down. 
Breathing. 
Stepping back. 
Re-centering as a family. 
Letting our nervous systems recover.

I know I'm not alone in this.

Have you ever said 'yes' when you should have said 'no'? 
Or did you bend your process to be "nice" and end up creating inefficiency? 

If you're further than us on this journey:
How do you stay flexible without losing your structure? 
And generous without sacrificing your capacity? 

If you've cracked this code, I'd genuinely love to hear what's worked for you.

In the last couple of days, I’ve been sleeping on the couch.

Not because of relationship issues.
Relax, Linda🙄

It’s an anti-germ strategy😏

The whole fam is sick.
Carsten is down with high fever.
Kids are in pain.
And somehow… 
I’m the only one still standing😮‍💨


So this week has been:

– Strategy calls with clients (I show up dressed up and with my makeup on, but there’s an ungly pile of laundry screaming at me from the corner🫠)
– Cooking, cleaning, endless dishes (of course, I told the cleaning lady not to come so she doesn’t get sick.. cause I’d like to think of myself as a decent human😅)
– School drop-offs for tests of my older one, then pick-ups in 2-3 hours🤦🏽‍♀️
– Making sure everyone eats, hydrates, takes their meds
– Comforting the younger one in the middle of the night
– Running on almost no sleep and strong coffee


All while knowing:
This Sunday we travel to the south of Portugal.
Then we fly to Germany on Tuesday for 3 weeks.
Which means packing, prepping, logistics… on top of everything🤯


And this morning…
I’m also hosting a networking event.

I’m endlessly grateful for my partners who have my back. Really, love them to bits!!
But OH BOY… this is a lot!


And today my throat feels… suspicious.
You know that feeling😒


It also reminded me how, in my corporate days, I always got sick between Christmas and New Year.
The moment my system finally felt safe enough to crash.

Part of me feels like:
If I don’t get sick now… it’ll hit once we land in Germany😩


So here’s my ask:

If you have any immune-boosting tips, rituals, voodoo, supplements, grandma wisdom, or unicorn magic…

👇 Drop them below. 
I’m f*cking trying them all!

Because your girl is determined to make it through this season standing💪🏼

People told me I’m promoting toxic hustle culture.
For saying you need to work hard to build a business.

Look, it would be nice if we could collect money without doing anything, right?
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

Even “passive income” requires a massive amount of active work upfront. Anyone telling you otherwise is lying.

____________________

What bugs me the most about this conversation is the assumption that hard work automatically equals burnout.

It doesn’t.

Scientific facts about what causes burnout:

1. Lack of control: working hard, but having no autonomy over how or when you do it.
2. Lack of reward: putting in effort but not seeing results.
3. Lack of meaning: doing work that feels pointless.

Notice what’s missing? 
Hard work itself.

What burns you out is working hard on something you don’t control, that doesn’t give results, and that you don’t believe in.

_________________

Building something meaningful is different.

Yes, it’s challenging.
Yes, there are rough patches.

But when you see progress, when you’re in control of your decisions, and when it aligns with what you care about… it becomes energy fuel.

__________________

And for the critics, I live a full life while building my business:

- I spend present, quality time with my kids. My business grows slower than it could, but that’s my conscious choice.
- I travel. Not constantly, but enough to feel free. Plus, we moved to live in a holiday destination.
- I do aikido twice a week with my oldest. I run in the forest, walk on the beach, hike the Atlantic coast, play tennis with my family, and do Tabata workouts on our sunny terrace.
- I work with a health coach to maintain sustainable energy without pushing myself over the edge.

As someone who’s had a functional burnout, I know my body.
I know where I can push and where I need to step back.

_____________________

I’m not promoting hustle culture for the sake of being busy.
But I have massive respect for people who hustle to make things happen.

And I get frustrated when I see people in my community complaining about how hard it is to get clients while spending most of their time surfing and at ecstatic dance parties.

Do those things if they make you happy. 
Genuinely, no judgment.
We need rest, hobbies, and a change of activities.

But if you do these things INSTEAD of doing sales, please don’t complain about having no money.

_______________________

I say this because I’ve been on the other side.

I know what it’s like to buy your kids Too Good To Go food because it’s all you can afford.
To calculate if you have enough gas to drive them to school.

Your nervous system goes into way more overdrive in that moment than it ever does when you’re busy working with clients.

Because that’s the ultimate lack of control and reward.

___________________

I don’t want to discourage anyone from enjoying life.

But I also don’t want people entertaining fake dreams that will eventually crash down on them.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, look what you made me do…

LinkedIn randomly suspended my account yesterday😩

One minute I was answering messages…
The next minute I was staring at an “account restricted” screen and clicking through an endless “select every square with a bus” and verifying my identity.


So learn from my experience:

1️⃣ Don’t build your business on one platform.
One glitch, one algorithm hiccup, and all your hard work can disappear overnight.

2️⃣ Trust is fragile.
People immediately assume the worst. 
Bots? Automation? AI content? 
Suddenly warm conversations turn into… bad blood🤷🏻‍♀️

3️⃣ Humor helps.
Now know I can identify all types of public transportation on pixeled pictures and under stress😆



Anyways… I’m back, account restored, only three followers less, and a tanked post.

Let’s rock-n-roll, baby👯‍♀️



P.S. If posting AI content was grounds for suspension, LinkedIn would be a wasteland🤫

P.P.S. The picture taken back in the days at adidas, when corporate culture was still fun😏

Carsten had difficulty sleeping because he couldn’t guess who sent us the gift🤣


Turns out, Rea-Kriezl Modin decided to surprise us on the last day of her internship😭 

And Olesia Leshchuk with her beautiful brand The Local Story stepped in as Rea’s partner in crime.

So the next thing we knew, we were unpacking a box with lovely Portuguese products.

All the things we love.
Specialty coffee.
Quality olive oil.
Orange jam and healthy crackers to put it on.
Portuguese ceramics.


Thank you Rea-Kriezl🥹
This is such an unexpected and lovely surprise!
We’re sending you huge virtual hugs!!! 

It’s difficult to imagine the team without you. 
But I already told you that you’re always welcome to join the team huddle😆

All the best with wrapping up your journey with Hyper Island this month🫶🏼

And as said, let’stalk in the new year about possibilities to have you back with us🤗



P.S. Our clients appreciate the love and the care you put into doing market research for them, creating their speaker kits for conferences, and preparing them to be more visible in the marketplace🙏🏼

P.P.S. You have a stellar work ethic, incredible learning mindset, and hunger for feedback and growth. We’re really proud you got to be a part of our team for 4 months!

I became the first person ever from adidas CIS invited to work in the global headquarters.


At 23, I was the marketing lead… well, for everything.
adidas Football, Training, Running, Swimming, Originals, NEO, SLVR… even Reebok when it was acquired and there was no one to run it locally.

I lived with my suitcase half-packed.
Every month, I was traveling.
Global Headquarters in Germany. Reebok’s European office in Amsterdam. The US. The UK. 

Discussing strategy.
Presenting.
Negotiating marketing budget.

If someone from HQ or European org came visit, they were handed to me.
Because I had good English and vast expertise in communications, media buying, PR, Retail, Design...

So when Global needed a Retail expert with a strong background in marketing…
Whom do you think they approached?

Of course, me.
They just didn’t know anyone else🤣🤷🏻‍♀️


I’m telling you this old story because I believe that:

1. Excellence is not what gives you opportunities, promotions, or clients. Being excellent at your job is a baseline. And it’s expected from you. Nobody’s coming to hand you money just because you’re doing a “good job”.

2. Visibility (especially the one that comes with building your personal brand) is a must. Especially, right now and in this economy. And, preferably, done strategically and not by chance (like it happened to me at that time😆).


In the last two months, we’re seeing more corporate professionals reaching out to us. 

Because in a world of layoffs, restructures, and uncertainty, people want to create safety nets. 

They want help with personal brand building, positioning, and being seen by more people as experts because it helps with:

— recruiters reaching out
— promotions
— building their own businesses (that act as a safety net)

I believe it’s very smart to protect your future this way. 
But, obviously, I’m biast😏


P.S. the pic is from 2010😅 wearing adidas Originals by Originals piece. Designed by Jeremy Scott. How the eff I’m so vintage?😱

In the video, I say: “This is a cybersecurity meetup”.
Spoiler: it was NOT a cybersecurity meetup😆🤷🏻‍♀️


1. It was a meetup for Polish founders (who invited us in even though we came for another event)
2. We did find the cybersecurity meetup
3. We didn’t meet any cybersecurity founders😆 They weren’t at the meetup😶‍🌫️
4. We met absolutely lovely people building regtech, edtech, an events marketplace, running a coffee business, marketing peeps, and community builders
5. We had fun🥳


How’s your Web Summit going so far?

Had a sales call last week where the founders kept saying:

“We’re scaling.”

But once we ran the diagnostic, it was clear that they’re about 18 months away from being ready for scale.

——————

Somehow, it’s really common that founders get their first few clients and assume it means the business is in growth stage.

But having first clients = early traction.
And early traction ≠ growth.

Early traction = proof of concept.
You validated that your business idea and model are viable.
It’s not growth.
Not scale.
Not even a stable recurring revenue stage yet.

——————

Scale requires:

• A clear offer stack
• A mapped out buyer journey
• Funnels behind every offer
• A/B tested messaging with hard data on what converts higher
• A smooth automated backend

When all of these are tested organically and are repeatedly converting with decent metrics at each stage, then you can think about scale.

Now, you can buy ads and pump traffic into your funnels. 

Until then, ads make zero sense because you’ll be just throwing money out of the window.

——————

From experience, hitting your first $100K in revenue can be done without any of the above.

But what gets you to a $100K won’t get you further.
You need a different approach if you want to hit multiple 6 figures.

——————

I believe a huge part of our work is showing clients where they actually are… versus where they believe they are.

Then stripping away the noise.
Refocusing them on the one thing that already works.
And making it work consistently, predictably, and repeatedly🤷🏻‍♀️



P.S. Doing a stupid walk for my stupid mental health in the woods behind the house before jumping into the workday. With a cup of specialty coffee brewed at home by Carsten🫶🏼

Got a LinkedIn DM last night.


“We’re gathering CROs, CMOs and CEOs for an expert roundtable to share the revenue strategies, hacks, tips, wins, losses…”

It sounded legit. Almost flattering.

So I did what every normal human does.
Clicked → profile.

And instantly: Nope. Absolutely not. Abort mission🚨

AI-generated headshot.
AI-generated posts.
AI-generated B-roll videos with generic business people pointing at generic graphs.

Not a single trace of a real human, real thought, or real story anywhere.

And suddenly the “expert roundtable” invite felt a lot less like an opportunity…
and a lot more like a ⚠️ please don’t click this link ⚠️ situation.


So listen close, kiddo:

❕You can’t do cold outreach without content.
And you can’t do content without cold outreach.
They’re a power combo and are not meant to be used in isolation❕


Your content is your digital business card.
It’s the thing people check before they ever consider connecting to you.

And when your profile is optimized, human, and talks to your expertise and experiences…
your cold outreach becomes 10x more effective because people go:
“Oh cool, this person is real, and actually knows their stuff.”


But the reverse is also true:

Content alone rarely creates predictable revenue.

Cold outreach, on the other hand, is something you can track and reverse-engineer.

For example:
•Send ~200 targeted invites/week
•40–60% accept (with a strong profile)
•10–25% reply to a thoughtful message
•10–20% of those book a call
•10–25% convert into clients, depending on your offer

Suddenly, you can forecast your pipeline with math😉


Either way, don’t copy this dude🤦🏽‍♀️

taplio

Olga Kirillova's Linkedin Analytics

Olga Kirillova

Performance ScoreOlga Kirillova's LinkedIn Performance

Olga Kirillova's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

.css-6ytdur{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39, 43, 72, 1) 0%, rgba(33, 47, 183, 1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Olga Kirillova's Linkedin Analytics

Olga Kirillova

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);}Olga Kirillova's LinkedIn Performance

Olga Kirillova's Best Posts .css-1emoo84{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:400;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);}(last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Olga Kirillova's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreOlga Kirillova's LinkedIn Performance

Olga Kirillova's Best Posts (last 30 days)