[View in browser â]( Listen to our full conversation on [Spotify]( or [iTunes]( Meet my ex-CEO, Ayman Al-Abdullah. He joined AppSumo in 2016, and took the company from $5M to $70 million per year in revenue in only 6 years. Now, as a CEO coach, [Ayman]( helps 7-figure CEOs get to 9-figure by working less. Hereâs his story: [image] Struggling entrepreneur Before joining [AppSumo](, Ayman had started a few businessesâbut struggled to get them off the ground. âNone of them had taken off,â he said, so he took a traditional 9-5 job. This was in 2008, and everybody was getting their job offers rescinded. The only jobs that were out there were in Accounting. So Ayman interned at an accounting firmâbut immediately knew it wasnât for him. âI remember them telling us they were increasing our billable hours from 50 to 60 hours (which meant we had to work longer days). The guy sitting next to me literally broke down and started crying at his desk. I remember going, âHoly shit is this going to be my next 40 years?ââ Luckily, [Ayman]( parlayed that experience into a position at Microsoft, where he worked for 3-4 years. He was part of a rotational program and loved that he got to learn new skills. But eventually, the pull of entrepreneurship was too strong to ignore⦠The big decision âI had saved $50,000 and was planning to move to Thailand to stretch it out a few years,â Ayman said. âBut I also recognized that I lacked the skills to launch and scale companies.â âIf you want to be an entrepreneur,â Ayman said. âThe best way to learn is to go work for an entrepreneur you respect and admire. Itâs better than any MBA or what you can learn on your own.â Before leaving Microsoft, Ayman recorded two pitch videos. First, to be Sam Altmanâs chief of staff (he was CEO of YC at the time), and second, to me (Watch Aymanâs pitch video [here](). Unfortunately, by the time we jumped on a call, the position Ayman applied for had been filled. But I told him the whole team was moving over to run SumoMe (our new email capture tool), so we needed someone to run AppSumo. His eyes lit up and I remember him telling me, âHey, I think AppSumo has a ton of meat left on the bone.â Early days at AppSumo We started Ayman on a 2-week trial. He had to close 2 deals in 2 weeks. We still have people do trials to this day. Even though he was still working at Microsoft fullâtime, he crushed the trial and we hired him. Ayman was living in Seattle at the time, and moved to Austin with just the stuff in his backpack (this was in 2015, before moving to Austin was the cool thing to do). âIn the first year, our only goal was survival,â Ayman recalled. âEvery profit we made at AppSumo went straight to funding SumoMe. It was just me running the show, and hiring help seemed impossible.â So Ayman got creative. He paid an intern $15/hour out of his own pocket to take repetitive work off his plate. He then used that free time to focus on sales. âThat decision alone doubled our business,â Ayman said. âThereâs always an undiscovered talent out there who can grow with your company. Nothing wrong with hiring college kids who are eager to learn.â After a year, SumoMe became self-funded and Ayman could finally start reinvesting back into AppSumoâs growth. Aymanâs proudest accomplishments Before [Ayman](, we were stuck around ~$5M in revenue. Under Aymanâs leadership, AppSumoâs revenue skyrocketed from $5M to $70M in six years. But Aymanâs proudest accomplishment is the team. âMost tech companies have an 18-month turnover. At AppSumo, we have a leadership team thatâs been in place for over 6 years,â Ayman said with a grin. âWeâve been able to build something incredible, but also have a ton of fun along the way.â [image] And in 2021, we were rated the #1 place to work in Austin for tech. [image] Now Ayman is a CEO coach helping 7-figure CEOs get to 9-figures. When I asked Ayman for his advice to founders who want to scale their businesses, he half-jokingly said, âDonât do it. Sell the business, and get out as quickly as you can. There are better ways to live your life.â ð Aymanâs Advice for aspiring CEOs 1- Get clear about what you want The truth is starting a business (0-1) and scaling a business (1-n) are completely different ball games. Most founders are better off selling their companyâand sticking with what theyâre best at (starting and launching companies) or hiring an operator to run them. [image] The different stages of a company If youâre determined to keep your company, Ayman advises first defining what success means to you. âToo often, founders build companies they end up hating,â he warns. Know your end goalâwhether itâs growth, a lifestyle business, or an IPO. 2- Know who youâre serving When Ayman started working at AppSumo, we were serving everyone from Solopreneur Sally to Enterprise Ethan. But when he analyzed our top customers, it was actually Marketing Agency Matt. This was someone running a business full-time (not dabbling in entrepreneurship), who wanted to reduce monthly expenses to fixed costs. âThe decision to make lifetime deals for Marketing Agency Matt alone tripled the business nearly overnight,â Ayman said. Revisit your customer base to see: ⢠Who actually loves you the most? â¢Â Whoâs not a pain in the ass? â¢Â Who spends the most? â¢Â Who refers the most? âThe most common pitfall I see CEOs make is building for the wrong avatar,â Ayman said. âCEOs try to sell as much as they can to everyone. But when you sell to everyone, you sell to no one.â 3- Keep the main thing the main thing Another mistake early founders make is having shiny object syndrome. I know, I know⦠weâve ALL heard this before. But cliches are cliches for a reasonâbecause oftentimes theyâre true! Many founders go into this feast or famine mode (a great month followed by a horrible month) because they keep getting sidetracked by distractions. Ayman shared an old parable with me about the power of focus: [image] First-time founders try to serve everyone in the world, have dozens of features, integrate AI, and dominate multiple markets all at the same time. Second-time founders focus on becoming the go-to solution in a specific niche. 4- Focus on cash flow Apple was founded in 1976. The iPhone didnât come out until 2008. âPeople like to look at Apple as an overnight success. But when I was growing up, they were the blue computers that the weird kids bought,â Ayman said. âIt took 31 years for them to become mainstream.â [image] One of Aymanâs favorite lines is: âYou can recover from a bad strategy or hire. But you canât recover from running out of cash.â Few companies make it past a decade, let alone three. The longer the game, the fewer players there are. Think about cash flow. Focus on survivability. 5- Keep the team lean When should founders start hiring? According to Ayman, as late as possible. âYou should not be bragging about your headcount,â Ayman said. âHiring is a sign of failure. Eliminate, automate, then as a last resort delegate.â At AppSumo we had a rule of 1 hire for every $1M in revenue. If you donât do that, youâre hiring for the wrong roles. âWhen you do hire, hire A players,â Ayman said. âYes, they cost 50% more. But you need less of them. They require less hand-holding.â Being cheap with talent is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make. Another great line from Ayman: âYouâre one good hire away from cutting your costs in half and two good hires from a completely different company.â CEO Resources When I asked Ayman what he does to learn how to be a great CEO, he replied, âI love looking at past founders and CEOs who have succeeded for decades.â A few books Ayman recommends: â¢Â [Good to Great]( â¢Â [The Hard Thing About Hard Things]( â¢Â [The Ultimate Sales Machine]( â¢Â [Exploring Life (Thomas Edison)]( â¢Â [Wells Fargo]( â¢Â [My Life And Work (Henry Ford)]( [image] âBooks were my original coaches. I remember buying business books at 13-14 years old for my used car business at the library.â Aymanâs story is a testament to the power of resilience and constant learning. â¢Â He realized he wasnât where he wanted to be long-term at Microsoft â¢Â He identified his weaknesses (and sought out those who were great at those skills) â¢Â He didnât make excuses and got creative when he hired a college intern Itâs been amazing watching him grow into the incredible leader he is today. Rooting for you, Noah ð® Ps. Ayman shares more [entrepreneurship nuggets on Twitter](. Follow him to learn how you can build a multi-million-dollar company! ð Sumo Group Inc. 1305 East 6th Street Suite #3 Austin, TX 78702 USA
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