FourthWall’s Post

Our competitors were better on all fronts. They had it all: → Large funding, while we were bootstrapped. → Media spotlight, while we were quietly building. → Prestigious accelerators, while we refused to join. → Large teams, while we were a handful of founders. → An array of features, while we focused on the core. → Dedicated sales teams, while I was on double duty. → Generous salaries, while we couldn’t pay ourselves. → Top-tier execs, while we were multitasking endlessly. → Lavish marketing, while we relied on word-of-mouth. On paper, we shouldn't have stood a chance. Yet, here we are, while most can’t tell their side of the story. They ran out of money, or they simply gave up. If you’re worried about competition, just stop. Focus that energy into building a business that lasts. And when you do, you’ll be the one beating on all fronts. Do you agree or disagree? I’d love to hear your competitor stories. — I'm Pierre Sabbagh, a tech founder. Follow me for weekly stories from my journey.

I don’t post much here – but I make an exception as the occasion deserves it, and more importantly, as our exceptional team demands it!   Fairvue’s 10-year anniversary next week is a moment of immense pride and sense of achievement for us all. Fairvue was founded on the belief that Investor Relations is more than the execution of a programme or advanced financial communications; it is a strategic function. Born as a spin-off from a major stakeholder communications conglomerate, we faced scepticism about whether a standalone IR consulting firm could truly compete with larger multi-stakeholder advisors, especially in an increasingly interconnected world.   Fast forward ten years. With the help of a talented team, unwavering trust from our clients and remaining true to our values in everything we do, we have built an exceptional consultancy that bridges Investor Relations with Corporate Strategy to enhance the capital markets positioning of our clients. Our results speak for themselves – the Fairvue difference is real, and it delivers.   Whilst I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished on our journey so far, we are only getting started. If you build the foundations right, you can keep going higher – hence we look forward with excitement and confidence.   To kick off the next phase of our journey, we have launched a new website – learn more about us and get in touch. We would love to hear from you – Potential clients, Industry partners, Talent – all are welcome!  www.fairvuepartners.com #strategicIR #investorrelations #corporatestrategy #valuation #consulting #fairvue #teamworkmakesthedreamwork

"What is NEXT Ventures?" - a question many of you might have 💭 . Take a look at our very first edition of our Newsletter (Next Letter) and check out our successes for the last year's Q3 period 📰 . Whether it be hitting milestones, recruiting new talent, or taking steps to Changing Lives, we've done it all 🚀 ! All you need to do is take a look 🔍 : https://lnkd.in/gASKS89S

Been a wild 60 days at ClosedWon Talent. Here's my top 4 lessons (so far): 1. Our incredible community is a major X-factor. You are all helping us grow faster while giving us the confidence that we CAN and WILL be successful. Couldn't imagine building a business any other way! 2. Divide & conquer. I own new business and Jake owns recruiting which give both of us authority over our realms along with the flexibility to jump in and help each other as needed. This enables 💪 results. 3. Create processes early. When building my last recruiting agency, I ran *too* fast and didn't lock in standards for the first few years...which hurt. We've already set up Notion and are documenting our secret sauce to ensure every client gets the same incredible experience & our future team members are in a position to WIN. 4. Everything can change in 30 days. We rolled into March with 5 active clients with early signs of momentum...but I wasn't convinced (yet). We exited March with 10 active clients and another ~5 in the hopper to come online soon. We put our heads down and delivered, setting up the potential for a 🔥 Q2. Can't wait to report back on our results 90 days from now! If anyone else has tips on what they did in the "early days" to build a strong & successful business, would love to hear! 🙏 Q2 - LFG!!

Learning how to recruit and hire the right people are critical skills for any successful entrepreneur. Allison Bruce will be giving a master class on the topic through the Meridian Chamber of Commerce on March 26. Come join us in the Entrepreneurs Studio to learn more. Sign up link in comments. #talentspark #recruiters #hiring #masterclass #boise #idaho #saltlakecity #utah #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurstudio #boiserecruiters

Really enjoyed the first Maxwell Bond® round table of 2024 last night with Andy Holt. Thank you to all that attended and for being so open to share your experiences, ideas and advice to the rest of the group! Three of the key talking points were around:- 📢 How do businesses embed strong company values that the whole company can live and breathe? 📢 Do hiring managers require candidates to have degrees or are tech bootcamps more relevant? 📢 How best to manage hybrid working and why are some businesses/hiring managers expecting more time in the office? These sparked off some great debate and it was so interesting to see how different companies are approaching these challenges. Keen to understand whether my network are discussing similar topics and what are your opinions. #roundtable #manchestertech #hybridworking #companyvalues #techbootcamp

CICP's tech and innovation initiative TechPoint is actively working each and every day to attract top tech talent to Indiana. Learn more about the work they are doing in this WISH-TV story!

A message to my fellow W2 employees on here: We’re not as cool as the founders We’re not anticipating a multi million dollar exit We don’t have forbes articles written about us But, it’s not all as rosy as it seems I know a founder who’s had his power turned off for not paying his electric bill I know a founder who feels like a failure because his wife still has to work a job to help them pay the bills I know a founder whose card got declined at a restaurant, so he had to borrow $100 from his employee and he never paid that employee back So, don’t fall into the trap of thinking the grass is always greener on the other side. This week, try to appreciate that you’re getting a paycheck on Friday, no matter how the company performs between now and then. Appreciate turning off your laptop at 5, or 7, or even 9… because the founder might not be able to yet. Appreciate the freedom you do have to quit your job whenever you want and get a new one, or call in sick one day, or take a vacation… because a lot of the founders can’t I’m not sure when, but one day I’ll go all-in on launching my own thing. I’ll have a decade or two of experience helping founders grow their start ups. I’ll have seen hundreds of mistakes, wins, losses, and everything in-between and I’ll be better off for it. But for now, I’m grateful to be an employee.

Since Xmas, I've struggled with whether to stick or twist with my business, IMPACT EVOLVE. On the one hand, twisting means expanding the team, which can bring more headaches and worries about salaries and additional admin. On the other hand, sticking means a small, friendly team with no worries about salaries but doing things that I don't enjoy and, quite frankly, know I'm not very good at. Right now, I'm feeling a little lost and need to pick a direction to get me firing on all cylinders again. Despite the challenge, I'm sadistically enjoying the dilemma. It's given me a great perspective on the challenges other founders face. Have you ever been in a similar position? How did you handle it? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Help a brother out! #entrepreneurmindset #smallbusinesstips #decisionmaking

I'm tired of the Europe vs Silicon Valley narrative. I agree with Tom and others that there ARE problems with the UK & European ecosystem and it's incredibly frustrating: (1) A complete lack of Series-A plus #deeptech capital. (2) Many investors who still don't understand how venture really works or who themselves have a scarcity mindset. (3) Founders who are too timid of ambition (or lack the support or knowledge around them to run at their vision no holds barred; see my previous point) to go big or go home. BUT we will never be The Bay area. The rest of the USA is not generally like The Bay area. Meanwhile there is plenty we can change about the UK and in Europe to leverage the amazing brains, engineers and technical IP we have. We just need to find the ambition and the will to do so. To vote in politicians who get it (can someone tell me where they are please? 😁 ) and in the case of the UK, dig up that Victorian "can be done" spirit and stop this wallowing in self pity "it's everyone else's fault" mentality and "woe no Empire" narrative. I did my first start up in 1997. I raised my first angel tickets by sending faxes. Around 2012 I switched to investing because I was sick of dealing with VC's in UK and Europe who clearly didn't get it: they were all capital and no venture. But if you are fed up with the status quo - do something about it. Saul has been doing so for years, so should you. There ARE investors like LocalGlobe, 7percent Ventures and many others who will back the crazy ideas. If you're a founder, go find investors who have an abundance mindset...and put the phone down on those who don't.