In December I ran a $55 experiment. Could a group of technical founders build a $5k strategic offer in 5 days? That was the stated goal. $55, 5 days, 15 people joined. My private question was bigger : would anyone actually sell it? Two months later, I got my answer. And by the way ... it's been a months I didn't write to you here, šš¼ I've been busy collecting case studies and enough results to have something worth sharing, however small it is ... I have more to share, but let's start with the...
4 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 4 min read
I went all-in writing for several days in a row then pfffssshhh ...šdeflated ! My 30-day writing challenge back in June (writing every day on my newsletter + LinkedIn posts derailed on day 19). So it's a 63% success, nothing glamorous, but not as disastrous at it felt. A few consecutive unsubscribes set me on a panic š± so I pressed the red button šØ. Old demons š¹ returned, I tried to fight it while experimenting a few things this summer, and now I am back for another round š„. š¢ What worked (in...
11 months agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Pick one. Anyone, but pick one. I learned from our cousins the ācreativesā that my biggest obstacle to build a profitable service business lays in āmy creativityā what ?? Entrepreneurial engineers are a form of creative entrepreneurs. We are so ācuriousā we canāt help but when facing several doors, we want to open every single one of them. Itās almost compulsive. Which curious mind can live with themselves leaving one stone unturned ? We proud ourselves into being āsolution-orientedā,...
about 1 year agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Unlike Professor X, we can't get into people's head and tell them what to do. But there's something else we can do. My first job as an avionics engineer was to update the embedded software of an Fighter's Electronic Warfare Equipment so it would store and manage data in FlashPROM instead of EEPROM. Sounds easy, just replace an electronic component with another, and boom it's done. Well, that system was an existing and robust one, built more than a few decades back, and I could not use all the...
about 1 year agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
We've created this amazing solution, how do we sell it ? As AI takes center stage, Iām seeing a flood of firms churning out āamazing solutionsā for problems that might not even exist. š¤Ø This made me think of Eric Ries's "The Lean Startup", when I read that book in my early years of avionics software development, and up to that point I lived under the impression that we were at the top technological advancement ... that's when it hit me. "No Othmane, you are working on a known solution, for a...
about 1 year agoĀ ā¢Ā 2 min read
A few years back I had to return my credit card š³ physically to my Bulgarian bank and get a replacement new one. I was travelling 2 days later abroad so I asked to the customer agent as I was returning the old one, to have the new one for tomorrow. To which he replied in a firm and convincing way āthatās not possibleā. Surprised, I asked while pointing at a brochure on his desk - āThen why it says 24h express renewal?ā. - āAaah but thatās 20 Leva (10ā¬)ā he replied. At that point I didnāt...
about 1 year agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Ever wondered how to find your niche? your ideal customer profile? your unfair advantage ? your unique differentiator ? your mission ? the right problem to solve ? Data is important, but It's not only about "data", here are my favorite 3 go-to sources for insight and how we can extract those nuggets of gold. 3ļøā£ "within" extracted through a good question that makes you peel all the superficial onion layers to get to the core. My go-to question: The Dan Sullivan Question, he wrote a whole book...
about 1 year agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
If you ask me what the one thing you learned in the past 10 years that everyone should know. I would cite Jonathan Stark : "By trying to turn-off no one, we end up turning on no one" š¤Æ This made me realise, that by trying to address everyone in our sales and marketing copy, we create the complete opposite of the desired effect : on the receiving end, the other doesn't feel concerned by the message. It's so diluted, their brain doesn't register that as worth paying attention to. I strongly...
about 1 year agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
Let's be honest, we engineers were meant to be engineers. Not entrepreneurs. In other words, to : Build Robust Infrastructures. Reduce Risk. Make Efficient Systems. Yes, there were a few industrial-era entrepreneurial who built big businesses, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison to name a few. The word "engineer" originates from the Latin word "ingenium," meaning "cleverness" or "native talent" It's only in the past decades, that access to information and entrepreneurship became a thing for...
about 1 year agoĀ ā¢Ā 1 min read
