if you're a founder read this most companies can get to $1M ARR with only two channels the channels you should pick from are - paid ads - cold email - cold DMs - yt influencer marketing + affiliate the channels you should not pick from are - SEO - email newsletter - organic social - video podcast why you need revenue tomorrow, list one makes that happen list two makes revenue happen in the future, they are long term investments that pay off 12 months from now this is the most common mistake i see founders make the framework to think about this with is how you think about personal finance when you're young, 80% of resources go to surviving and 20% to investment when you're old, 80% goes to investment and 20% to surviving apply this same idea to your young company gl hf

My Long list of scaffolding words for Weak Positioning THE “PLEASE TRUST ME” WORDS (Used when they have next to no credibility) • Proven system • Time-tested method • Industry-leading • Best-in-class • Cutting-edge • State-of-the-art • Game-changing • Revolutionary • Breakthrough • Next-level • World-class • Award-winning Translation: I don’t know what I’m doing, so I’ll pretend someone stamped me with authority THE “I DON’T KNOW THE PROBLEM” WORDS (Used when they don’t understand pain) • Unlock your full potential • Become unstoppable • Get to the next level • Achieve limitless growth • Step into your greatness • Transform your life • Scale with ease • Elevate your success • Step into alignment • Expand your capacity Translation: I’m scared to get specific because I don’t know where the pain lives THE “I’M HIDING A SALES PITCH” WORDS (Used when they want to pitch but won't admit it) • Breakthrough session • Value call • Clarity call • Discovery session • Strategy session • Expansion session • Synergy call Translation: Please get on a call so I can pitch you, I swear it’ll be painless. THE “CORPORATE BROCHURE” WORDS (Used when someone has zero tone or personality) • Innovative • Dynamic • Robust • Seamless • Holistic • Comprehensive • Integrated • Multifaceted • Full-service • Cutting-edge • Multi-disciplinary • Tailored solutions Translation: I talk like an annual report because I don’t know how humans speak. THE “LOOK I CAN WRITE BUZZWORDS” WORDS (The AI-output sounding stuff) • Optimize • Maximize • Strategize • Amplify • Synergize Translation: I’m hoping verbs will make you forget I haven’t said anything meaningful. Weak positioning = weak language. Weak language = fear of addressing real pain. Fear of addressing real pain = zero sales ability. Do better.

My new SaaS is live It helps you find proven Ads for SaaS & Mobile Apps, and spy competitors on multiple platforms. Find proven winning ads = Get more sales Here is how it works

Distribution >> Tech

"Sell the alpha, not the feature": The enterprise sales playbook for $1M to $10M ARR with @jjen_abel Jen is GM of Enterprise at @StateAffairsUS , co-founder @jjellyfish_co , and one of the sharpest minds I've ever met on all things enterprise sales. In this follow-up to our first chat two years ago (covering the founder-led sales zero to $1M phase), we focus on what founders need to know to grow from $1M to $10M ARR. We discuss: The dangers of pricing your product $10K-$20K Why tier-1 logos counterintuitively make the best early customers Why the “mid-market” doesn’t exist How to find and work with design partners Why you need to vision-cast instead of problem-solve Why services are the fastest way to get your foot in the door with enterprises When to hire your first salesperson and what profile to look for Much more Listen now • YouTube: https:// youtube.com/watch?v=37fKFW drMyA … • Spotify: https:// open.spotify.com/episode/29WRTO clMiqAILT077dPe5 … • Apple: https:// podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sel l-the-alpha-not-the-feature-the-enterprise/id1627920305?i=1000735957465 … Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting the podcast: @WorkOS —Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs: https:// workos.com/lenny @Lovable —Build apps by simply chatting with AI: https:// lovable.dev @coda_hq —The all-in-one collaborative workspace: https:// coda.io/lenny

Knowing how to send great cold emails is a superpower. My learnings over the years: • 2-3 sentences max, reads like a text • have a clear ask • feels personalized • punchy subject line • avoid vague requests like "pick your brain" • keep it casual • no signature

Startup revenue by founder’s 𝕏 follower count: - 0 - 1K followers: $864 - 1K - 10K followers: $5,268 - 10K - 100K followers: $100,373 - 100K - 1M followers: $750,337

the best founders don’t sell ideas, they show fake MRR

New experiment for b2b founders: If you’re selling to other tech companies and have more than 5,000 followers on X, DM me a list of up to 10 companies on your lead list. I might be able to make a warm intro.

Every entrepreneur should read this. Because what @antonosika did is incredible. And it’s something I’ve been telling everyone for years. You don’t start a business with a product. You launch it with the idea. My number one rule of sales is: Sell the sizzle, not the steak. And you don’t need a product to do that. Anton has built the fastest-growing tech product in Europe. But do you think he launched his business with this product? No. He launched… a snake game. And a waitlist. That’s it. From that, he built hype. Gathered proof. And that gave him the green light to build the product. Which became @Lovable , an incredible platform that lets anyone build websites and apps with no code. If a billion-dollar company can launch with nothing but a waitlist, an idea, and a snake game… You can too. You can watch the full episode I recorded with Anton and copy exactly what he did to turn his dream into a billion-dollar business. Here’s the link - https:// youtu.be/Hwn_ThgWduw

Building a startup is really hard. Finding product market is hard. Figuring our sales is hard. Standing out from competition is hard. Staying in the game is hard. All of it is hard but also rewarding. So I hope you go for it regardless.

We're launching Lightfield today. It's a CRM designed for founders going zero to one—shaped in the past year by hundreds of founders who took a bet on us and now use it daily, and a waitlist of 20,000 more. When starting out, it takes countless hours of talking to customers to figure out what works. From day zero, Lightfield builds and updates itself from your unstructured conversations with customers. It becomes your customer memory: helping you execute deals, communicate without missing details, and understand patterns across your business. It's free to try. Would love to hear what you think: http:// lightfield.app

re: product vs distribution argument “If your product requires advertising or salespeople to sell it, it’s not good enough: technology is primarily about product development, not distribution.” - @peterthiel in addition, if @naval @elonmusk are also on the same page, wtf are people still arguing for?

You can get rich by focusing on these 3 things: 1) Sales 2) Delivery 3) Marketing Everything else is a distraction.

Assume people will watch 5% of the stuff I put out. 5% of the content. 5% of the video. Might as well just make an offer early