I made every mistake as a first-time founder.

Here are the 10 big ones you absolutely shouldn't make 👇 1/ Hiring terrible people

One of my first hires was not just mediocre, but really terrible.

This person lied to our faces, was passive-aggressive, and demotivated everyone else.

Company survival is at stake - The first few employees that join a company really matter.

Within 3 years at Yembo:

A former bartender → Leading our software design
A former personal trainer → VP of Customer Success

How did they do it?

Here are 7 characteristics that I see in people who skyrocket their career: 1/ Use hard work as a competitive advantage

In a startup, time is the enemy, so hard work is a potent weapon.

"Work smart, don't work hard" is terrible advice.

If you are a knowledge worker, ambitious & building the future, there is no reason why you can't do both.

7 reasons why I see talented people stumble in their careers: 1/ Being a pessimist

Pessimists will always find a reason why things won't work and hence don't put in the effort

They make their beliefs self-fulfilling. Other smart people don't want to work with them

Reflections on 2021. My top 5 successes and top 5 regrets: 1/ Speaking to my mom & grandfather every other day

We speak on the Facebook portal during my 3. y.o's dinner time. Has been great having them watch their grandson grow

I grew Twitter followers from 0 → 5,000 in 2 months (despite a brutal work schedule)

Surprisingly, I only tweeted ~once/week.

Here are the 8 leveraged activities that helped me get there (that anyone can replicate)👇 1/ Answer your "The Why" Question. Make it your north star.

Many people don't have to build an audience (and that's ok)

Some people do.

Find your clear reason why you need to and write it down. Here is mine👇

https://twitter.com/siddharthm83/status/1442133770161643520

SaaS revolutionalized how software is built, delivered, and consumed.

But, 99% of the people in SaaS don't realize SaaS itself is getting disrupted.

Huge career implications.

Here is what anyone working in software should know 👇 Most of the SaaS companies today are Horizontal SaaS (hSaaS).

In 10 yrs, many such companies will be disrupted by Vertical SaaS (vSaaS).

✅ Pick Vertical SaaS for career growth

Here's why👇

"How to Get Rich (without getting lucky)" from @naval 10x'd my career and life.

I've shared the thread and podcast with several of my friends.

Here are 10 lessons that I incorporated (and you should too!) 🧵... 1/ Stop consuming content from zero-sum people.

This is equivalent to eating junk food.

On Twitter, I UNfollowed all politicians, trending topics. You should too!

https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002103627387813888

Sales People: I love getting great cold emails 💌

But many of you are making cringe-worthy mistakes.

Here are 5 mistakes you should absolutely avoid (or you will never become effective) 👇 1/ Dropping a calendar invite in the cold outreach

OMFG! Seriously? There are NO scenarios where this is appropriate.

I block the entire email domain when I get this. Not only are you hurting yourself, you are hurting your team too.

I had a panic attack during my first ever presentation due to stage fright.

It crushed my self-confidence.

Today, I can deliver a great presentation even at 2 a.m.

Here are 7 steps that I took (and you can too!) to present with confidence 🧵... 1/ Find intrinsic motivation

The panic attack incident created a chip on my shoulder.

I thought - if another person can do it, why couldn't I?

I now had something to prove ... to myself. This was a strong motivator.

So, you want to

• Close sales deals
• Get hired
• Make great exec presentations
• Book demos
• Stand out

Here is a tactic used by the top 1% of people:

Create a S.T.A.R ("Something They'll Always Remember") Moment

It works 100% of the time!

Let me show you 👇 S.T.A.R Moment from one of our star engineers

Her technical interview went well (credibility established)

But what she did after blew our minds!

She hand sketched the Yembo AI robot in her thank you note.

Was so unique, we stopped interviewing others, made offer the same day!

As CEO, I've read 1000's of job applications.

But 99.9% of these applications suck - they are undifferentiated, boring, and irrelevant.

Follow these 7 steps for a guaranteed interview call 👇 1/ Quality over quantity

Biggest mistake I see: Mass applying to jobs with 0 research. This is the fastest way to get blocked.

Spend a minimum 30 minutes per app researching the company.

Learn the problem they are solving.

Learn how they are solving.

The Twitter header photo is the most underutilized asset

I’ve followed many within seconds - solely due to their banner

I realized, I am losing opportunities without a customized header photo

Put your header photo to work!

Here are 7 banners I learnt from to create mine...🧵 1/ @dharmesh

Why I followed within seconds -

• Established credibility immediately
• Content topics clearly visible (and relevant to me)
• Super friendly/approachable tone

Bonus: Have a lot of inspiration for my V2 header banner!

After my last post, many people asked why I'm suddenly active on Twitter

I'll credit this to someone I haven't met - @balajis

I'm kicking myself for not building on Twitter earlier.

🧵 Here are the 3 main reasons why I started and why everyone (especially founders) should... 1/ "Failure to build an audience is like failing to build a website. It's a necessary task" - @balajis

Share your message unfiltered by going direct.

Become your own champion.

I've seen too many founders misquoted, for another's individual benefit.

https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1395035231040663555

5 years ago, Zach Rattner and I started Yembo. Incredible journey so far!

• Grew to $1,000,000 ARR and lost it all in 2018 😞
• Company almost died 😱
• Grew back to $1M ARR within 1yr, and $4M ARR in the next two 😌

Next step: $20M ARR.. 🚀

Here is how we did it 🧵 1/ First - What is Yembo?

We are the leader in AI-based “virtual survey” products for home services.

Home services - movers, painters, etc send a trained person onsite to give a quote. The process is slow and inaccurate.

Yembo uses video and AI to eliminate the onsite visit.👇