Saturday inspiration: This guy 'stairstepped' to a $10M exit!

Cyril Gupta
2 replies
I like reading about people who start from nothing and make amazing achievements all with their hard work and planning. It reminds me it’s possible to get there from here and validates my own ongoing journey. A couple of days ago I found a new book written by a guy who sold his business for $10 million after bootstrapping all the way to that level. In his former career, he was a construction worker, earning a blue-collar salary and now he has more money than he cares for. His journey is exceptional only in the sense of how few people are doing it. In principle, he progresses organically from one achievement to another in what he calls the ‘stair step method’. What’s the stair-step method? Every achievement you unlock has to set the stage for the next. Where are you in your business right now? Do you have a couple of clients already? Are you producing content? Are you creating products? That’s the first level of the journey. If you stopped here it’d be last. If you don’t stop it will eventually lead to a better opportunity. The only thing is, you have to learn and grow every day. Write better copy, run better ads, create better training, and do better outreach. Do everything slightly better the next time around. You do that for a while and you will begin to unlock better results. More clients, more opportunities, more connections. Keep building and eventually, you will reach a place that you didn’t even think was possible when you first started. It happened to me. I started down to my last $7,000 and no job, built all the way here, and working to go beyond. It happened to Rob Walling, the guy I have been talking about. He sees his journey as a stair step. Each one higher than the other. I see mine as a series of doors opening. You unlock one door to find the other. It’s the same thing. just different visions. Are you on your stairstep or open-door journey? Where do you stand today and where are you going?

Replies

Surya Manivannan
Your post really hit home for me. In the past, every startup I dove into felt like its own world. I was all in, trying to get users, make connections, and then, when things didn't pan out, I'd move on and start the cycle again. Now, with Yem, my latest project (and the first of its kind as a personal assistant), I feel a change. I'm not just connecting for the sake of the startup; I'm building for the long-term. Every connection, every effort, it's all adding up. So even if things take a turn, it doesn’t feel like square one. I’ve got a solid foundation from all the steps I’ve taken. Whether it's seeing the journey as stair-steps or open doors, I think it’s about realizing that every move we make counts towards something bigger. "You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards."
Cyril Gupta
@surya_manivannan1 Absolutely true Surya.. you can only connect them looking backwards... But the dots do exist. Keep it and much luck to you!