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Could your cloud costs be silently destroying your startup's profitability? This is a case study on that exact problem. Our AWS Bill Hit $95000/Month. Here's How We Halved It. Nick Jordan, CEO of the data-intensive startup Narrative.io, shares the unfiltered story of how his company's cloud costs spiraled out of control and the diligent process they used to get them back in line. This is a masterclass in efficiency for tech founders. You'll learn the step-by-step story of how they cut their AWS bill in half while simultaneously doubling revenue, dramatically improving their gross margin. The conversation also covers other "salty" truths about the unglamorous, real-world challenges of being a CEO. Check out the company: https://narrative.ioBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - I Never Wanted to Be an Entrepreneur06:14 - A CEO's Confession: "This Job Isn't Fun"09:16 - Why I'm a "Wartime CEO" Who Likes the Pain15:39 - The Moment Our AWS Bill Hit $95,000 in One Month18:36 - How We Halved Our Cloud Costs While Doubling Revenue24:50 - The "Jack of All Trades, Master of None" CEO Dilemma28:03 - The Dream: A 3-Week Vacation With No Tech31:21 - The Hardest Thing for Me to Do as a CEO34:38 - My #1 Piece of Advice: Don't Listen to Anyone📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the conversation about new motherhood that you won't hear in a parenting book. It's A Mompreneur's Confession: Postpartum is a Form of War. In this deeply personal interview, author and Kahlmi CEO Elina Furman gets brutally honest about her experience with postpartum depression, where the severe sleep deprivation is horrible.This is a raw and unfiltered look at the realities of balancing a career and a newborn. You'll learn about the profound identity crisis that can happen when an ambitious woman becomes a mother, the unspoken challenges of working without a support system, and the hard-won wisdom that eventually inspired her to launch a family wellness brand. Check out the company: https://kahlmi.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - The Unspoken Challenges of Being a Mompreneur03:44 - My Expectation vs. The Brutal Reality of New Motherhood07:02 - "Sleep Deprivation is a Form of War"10:39 - Why Moms Are Still the "Default Parent"14:09 - The Shocking Loss of Control for a Type-A Founder17:43 - The Terrifying Decision to Have Kids (Or Not)24:59 - The Identity Crisis: When "Founder" is Replaced by "Mom"31:48 - How My Postpartum Struggle Inspired My Wellness Brand35:16 - Are We Creating a "Cauldron of Anxiety" for Our Kids?38:40 - My #1 Piece of Advice for Expecting Parents📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are you a Western founder expanding into Asia? Your job title might be more important than your product. This video reveals The Job Title "Hack" You Need to Know Before Entering Asia. Ex-Googler and Tablevibe co-founder Mathieu Sneep shares his on-the-ground experience navigating the region's large power distances, where decisions are made top-down and your title can make or break a deal. This is a practical guide to scaling in one of the world's most diverse markets. You'll learn the "mini games" framework for solving complex problems one at a time, why hiring local "boots on the ground" is critical for remote scaling, and the expensive $10,000 mistake he made on a marketing video that became outdated before it was ever used. Check out the company: https://tablevibe.coBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - An Ex-Googler's Plan to Save Restaurants from High Fees03:34 - The #1 Mistake Westerners Make When Selling in Asia07:10 - Why Your Sales Team Should All Be "Co-Founders" in Asia10:24 - How to Scale in Asia Without Being Physically Present13:50 - Why Our First Product Was a Failure (And How We Found Product-Market Fit)20:39 - A Google Exec's Guide to Solving Problems Like "Mini Games"24:10 - Think Local First: A Lesson in Asian Diversity27:33 - The 24/7 Work Culture in Asia (And How to Survive It)30:43 - Our First Marketing Video Was a $10,000 Mistake📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could a simple vendor decision cost your company millions? For one bank, it did. This video breaks down the true story of How a Simple Mistake Led to a $20 Million Ponzi Scheme. Anders Lillevik, a 25-year procurement veteran and founder of Focal Point, uses this shocking real-world example to illustrate the critical importance of a structured procurement process. This is a masterclass in corporate risk management. You'll learn the full story of how a seemingly logical vendor choice spiraled into a multi-million dollar disaster, a practical framework for conducting proper due diligence on new suppliers, and why "Excel is not a management tool" for any business that wants to scale safely and efficiently. Check out the company: https://getfocalpoint.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - "Excel is Not a Management Tool": A Procurement Manifesto03:33 - What is Procurement? (A Simple Guide)06:42 - The #1 Mistake That Grinds Businesses to a Halt09:54 - The $20 Million Ponzi Scheme Caused by One Bad Vendor13:06 - A Masterclass in Due Diligence: How to Vet a New Supplier16:06 - The Real Cost of a SOC 2 Certification for a B2B Startup19:16 - How Modern Auditing Finds the Problem25:34 - Inside a $5.5M Seed Round: From Product to Scaling28:41 - Why Our B2B Sales Cycle With One Client Took 14 Months31:45 - Why "One-Size-Fits-All" Software is Obsolete📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could your government's messy, outdated data be the foundation for your next startup? This video is a case study on How We Built a Fintech on Top of Government Tax Data. Sebastian Carlsson, a Swedish expat in Mexico City, shares the story of how his company, Syntage, created a modern data layer on top of the Mexican tax authority's "extremely, extremely rich" but inaccessible database. This is a masterclass in spotting hidden opportunities. Learn how Sebastian's outsider perspective allowed him to identify a massive "market failure" rooted in a lack of public trust and data availability in Latin America. The conversation also includes a fascinating look at how radical transparency in countries like Sweden, where you can look up your neighbor's tax records, creates a completely different business environment. Check out the company: https://syntage.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - A Swedish Expat's Journey to Mexico City03:42 - Why I Left Corporate Banking for the Startup World07:17 - The Untapped Goldmine in Government Tax Data14:38 - After Living in 7 Countries, I've Learned This One Truth17:55 - The Surprising Reason Americans Are So Easy to Talk To35:09 - Why Immigrants Often Make the Best Entrepreneurs38:32 - Why We Chose to Focus on Mexico (And Not Go Global)42:01 - The "Market Failure" Caused by a Lack of Trust45:21 - In Sweden, You Can See Your Neighbor's Tax Bill (A Lesson in Transparency)📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could your greatest struggle actually be your greatest strength? This video tells the story of How My Dyslexia Became My Entrepreneurial Superpower. Euan Cameron, the founder and CEO of the video hiring platform Willo, shares his journey from a struggling student who thought he was "stupid" to a successful founder. This is a deep and vulnerable conversation between two neurodiverse founders, as host Sean Weisbrot also shares his experience with ADD. Learn the powerful coping mechanisms, like extreme organization, that can turn a learning disability into a massive advantage in the chaotic world of startups. This episode also explores why the traditional hiring process is broken for neurodiverse individuals and includes a surprising discussion on using microdosing for mental clarity. Check out the company: https://willow.videoBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - Why Hiring Based on a CV is Broken03:39 - My School Days: "I Thought I Was Stupid" 06:47 - A Founder's Story of Living with ADD10:02 - How a Diagnosis Changed My Life & Unlocked My Strengths13:15 - Finding Role Models & The Power of Making Lists19:51 - How Dyslexia Makes Me a BETTER Entrepreneur 26:15 - Microdosing Psilocybin to Quiet a Chaotic Mind 32:11 - How the Hiring Process Fails Neurodiverse People 38:26 - Using Our Own Product to Build a More Inclusive Team📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could one C-suite change be the key to 8x growth? This video is a real-world case study explaining How Firing My CFO Took Us From $11M to $80M. Ryan Niddel, CEO of the e-commerce brand MIT45, shares the unfiltered story of how he inherited a company with broken processes, including $1.6 million in uncollected revenue. This is a masterclass in scaling. You'll learn the tough realization that the team who gets you to seven figures often can't get you past it. Discover the full story behind the difficult decision to replace a key executive, the framework for "firing gracefully," and how building a world-class C-suite allowed them to create an employee-centric culture with benefits like a 6.5-hour workday. Check out the company: https://mit45.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - From a Repossessed Truck to an $80M Company06:07 - The Truth About Our Controversial Product (Kratom)15:32 - The First Fix: Finding $1.6M in Uncollected Revenue21:21 - The Team That Gets You to $11M Won't Get You to $80M24:12 - Why I Had to Fire Our CFO (The Full Story)27:13 - The "Domino Effect" of Hiring a World-Class C-Suite30:05 - The Next Bottleneck: Outgrowing Our Manufacturing33:00 - How Jeff Bezos's Framework Helped Us Decentralize41:45 - Why We Give Every Employee Stock & Free Meals44:40 - Why We're Moving to a 6.5-Hour Workday📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the dark side of the internet most of us never see until it's too late. This is the story of how I Got Ads for Cancer Cures After My Wife Died. In this deeply personal interview, Dan Frechtling, CEO of the security firm Boltive, shares how his family's health crisis exposed him to the predatory world of surveillance advertising, a journey that led him to change his career and fight back. This conversation goes beyond personal privacy and into the urgent issues of our time. You'll learn how your personal data has become a national security threat through apps like TikTok, how new US privacy laws are changing the game for consumers, and the practical steps you can take to protect yourself from being tracked and targeted online. Check out the company: https://boltive.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - Introduction03:33 - The 250 Billion Daily Auctions Trading Your Personal Data07:07 - How to Comply With New US Privacy Laws10:23 - How We Scan the Internet for Malware and Data Leaks13:53 - My Personal Story: Ads for Cancer Cures After My Wife Died17:15 - How Your Search History Can Be Used to Prosecute You20:38 - Data Privacy is Now a National Security Threat24:25 - The Real Reason Governments Are Banning TikTok27:49 - The History of Cookies (And How They Became a Monster)31:02 - The 2018 "Great Collision" That Changed The Internet Forever34:28 - The Future: When Neuralink Can Read Your Thoughts📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do so many startups end up with teams that all look and think the same? This video explores the real reason Why Founders Keep Hiring People Just Like Them. Simon Schillebeeckx, a European founder building a global impact-tech company from Singapore, gets vulnerable about the "homophily trap", our natural tendency to hire people who are similar to us, and how it can sabotage our diversity goals. This is a masterclass on the human side of building a company. You'll learn about the intense debate on whether skills or culture should come first in the hiring process, why the Golden Rule ("treat others how you want to be treated") is bad advice for modern leaders, and the powerful "My Biggest F-Up" meeting format they use to build a culture of trust and vulnerability. Check out the company: https://handprint.techBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - Forget Your "Footprint," What's Your "Handprint"?14:28 - The Billion-Dollar Problem of "Double-Selling" Impact25:00 - How We Avoid the "Fundraising" Trap (And Why It's Critical)32:12 - The "Homophily Trap": Why We Hire People Similar to Us39:25 - Should Culture or Skills Come First? (A Founder Debate)49:52 - Why "Treat Others How You Want to be Treated" is Bad Advice56:37 - Why Asian Employees May Not Speak Up (And How to Help)59:55 - How "My Biggest F-Up" Meetings Build a Culture of Trust📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do you do when you build a game-changing feature, but your paying customers don't use it? This video is a case study on that exact problem, telling the story of how Our Customers Paid For Our Product, But Ignored Its Best Feature. Vaibhav Tiwari, CEO of the mobile development platform Buildpan, shares how his team discovered a critical user adoption issue with their main selling point: an automated bug reporting tool. This is a must-watch for any SaaS founder or product manager. Learn the simple but highly effective email strategy they implemented to change user behavior and dramatically increase adoption of their core feature. The conversation also covers the future of no-code platforms vs. custom development and key advice for founders on when—and when not—to raise venture capital. Check out the company: https://buildpan.comBook a 1-on-1 advisory session with me to apply these principles to your business: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory👀 CONNECT WITH SEANSubscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@seanweisbrotLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/seanweisbrotInquiries: welivetobuild@gmail.com🕒 CHAPTERS00:00 - The 45-Day Headache of Mobile App Updates03:44 - Why We Moved Our Startup From India to Singapore to Raise Funds14:43 - Our "Secret Weapon": Auto Bug Reports & Suggestions18:11 - The Problem: Our Customers Ignored Our Best Feature28:55 - The Simple Email That Fixed Our User Adoption Problem21:59 - Can No-Code Really Compete with Custom Development?32:21 - My Advice on Raising Money For Your Product📈 WORK WITH ME▶ Book a Paid Advisory Session: https://calendly.com/wltb/advisory▶ Sponsor the Channel: https://www.welivetobuild.com/collaborate▶ My AI/Automation Agency: https://optimai.ai Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.