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This time last year, my life looked very different.
To the outside world, it sounded impressive. I was running 4 businesses and could call myself an entrepreneur—it gave the appearance of success. But behind closed doors, I was:
Burnt out
Trapped in a business that wasn't working
Making about half of what I'd earned the previous two years
Forced to turn down a job offer at a flashy start-up because of my other commitments
I worked every single day, often in 12+ hour shifts.
I was on the proverbial hamster wheel, pushing as hard as I could without getting anywhere. After spinning in a traction-less abyss, I didn't feel motivated to work for the first time in a decade. This was scary. My identity was fixated on being a "successful tech entrepreneur," and becoming a "failed entrepreneur" wasn't in the 10-year plan.
But in the wise words of Mike Tyson, "everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face" (read about the time I actually got punched in the face here).
Fast forward 12 months:
We made the failing start-up profitable and sold it within 2 months
I am engaged to the woman of my dreams
I started a new business that already has early product–market fit
I'm on track to 2–3x my income this year
I'm working on the biggest M&A deal of my career (so far)
I'm more energized to work than ever and grateful every single day
I was sharing this recently and someone asked me what changed. The biggest change I made in 2025 was becoming intentional with my time.
For too long, I had put myself second when it came to life and business:
I skipped payroll to extend our runway and keep team members on staff. If I had simply focused on growing revenue, I could have made more money and gotten us to profitability.
I stopped having a million and one side projects at any given time. Focus is powerful.
I learned to recognize when I was doing "busy work" instead of actual needle-moving work. Time constraints help prioritize what matters.
Shoppers are adding to cart for the holidays
Over the next year, Roku predicts that 100% of the streaming audience will see ads. For growth marketers in 2026, CTV will remain an important “safe space” as AI creates widespread disruption in the search and social channels. Plus, easier access to self-serve CTV ad buying tools and targeting options will lead to a surge in locally-targeted streaming campaigns.
Read our guide to find out why growth marketers should make sure CTV is part of their 2026 media mix.
idea of the week 💡
Credit: ideabrowser.com
Problem: Medical equipment cleaning logs are still tracked manually with clipboards and spreadsheets, making audits stressful, error‑prone, and risky for fines.
Idea: A compliance platform that integrates with existing cleaning systems and IoT sensors to automatically capture cleaning data, generate real‑time audit reports, and flag potential violations before inspectors arrive.
How it makes money: Subscription pricing of roughly $200–$500 per facility per month (around $300 on average), scaling with equipment volume and compliance complexity.
Why it might fail: Integrations with diverse equipment and hospital IT systems could be complex and slow, sales cycles in healthcare are long, and larger incumbents might bundle similar tools into broader compliance suites.
friday fitness
at‑home
12‑minute EMOM (every minute on the minute) x 3 cycles:
Minute 1: 12 push‑ups
Minute 2: 15 air squats
Minute 3: 10 burpees
If you finish early, rest for the remainder of the minute. If you fall behind, cut the reps slightly and keep moving.
gym
4 rounds, focusing on clean form:
6 heavy dumbbell or barbell bench press
8 Romanian deadlifts
12 seated cable rows or ring rows
Rest 90 seconds between rounds. Finish with a 5‑minute easy bike or walk to cool down.
outdoors
“steps + sprints” 25‑minute session:
10 minutes brisk walking to warm up
Then 10 × 20‑second relaxed sprints on flat ground
Walk back to your start point between sprints
tweet of the week
I agree with the take on Cardone but man this killed me 😂
join the 7-day founder fitness challenge [free]
Want to build habits that match the size of the business you want to run? Join the 7‑day founder fitness challenge HERE
Here’s what you get:
A short story + physical challenge + founder challenge in your inbox each day for a week.
Access to my WhatsApp group for resources and anonymous Q&A.
All 100% free. Don’t wait —> start day 1 here
video of the week
The $550K Mistake: What This Landscaping Owner Did Wrong When Selling His Business 👇
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