Sell First Build Second

Exploring the concept of effort through the careers of 22 grand slam winner and tennis great Rafael Nadal and Disney's silent driving force Marc Davis.

Pipeline building is as much about what you remove as it is what you add. A story on Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham Hotspur and the value of prioritising customers.

Jarron Tate is a 20 year sales veteran. Currently he works at HR Acuity a software company that raised a $40M at Series B to standardises how employee-related events are investigated, documented, and reported as Director of Enterprise Sales. In today’s episode, we get to learn a little bit more about Jarron’s journey into sales, the process of cracking enterprise sales as a startup and what it tak...

Part II of a collection of quotes and thoughts from history's greats.

9 sales lessons (for better and for worse) I gathered from the film Glengarry Glen Ross. This episode is sponsored by Docmost. To securely manage your company's knowledge, deploy on premises and migrate from Notion or Confluence with ease: https://docmost.com/

"Take the f**king money" - Logan Roy, Succession (TV series). Knowing when to exit is just as important as knowing when to enter. Reflections on business exits that worked and didn't work. Join the first ever Sell First Build Second Workshop on 14th November 2025 in London, here: https://tally.so/forms/w45x7B

"Life is hard, but its much harder if you are stupid" - John Wayne Diving into the science behind poor decision making and Ken Cunningham's view on how to sustain long term success in business by reversing these.

Life has its immutable laws, death and taxes. Business is no different. Distribute or die. Peter Thiel: “ Distribution should be part of product design ." This week we look at 6 startups that built distribution into their product.

Relentlessness and Taste might be the two most important skills in business today. "A Cooler wonders what’s going to happen. A Closer watches things happen. A Cleaner makes things happen.” - Tim Grover "The best founders understand that taste is a competitive advantage that compounds. It runs deeper than pixels — it’s in your codebase, your culture, your cap table." — Sarah Guo

"Despite decades of pretending our work isn’t to be taken personally, storytelling proves that if it isn’t personal, it doesn’t matter." - Annette Simmons This week, we explore the importance of storytelling in business, lessons from Gary Halbert and the 6 types of stories you can tell.

Origin stories aren't as clean as they are made out to be. A lot of the time you sell what you don't yet have and see who bites. So, how do you really get going early on? Stories from the Howard Schultz, Starbucks founder and more.

"A lot of would-be founders believe that startups either take off or don’t. You can’t wait for users to come to you. You have to go out and get them." - Paul Graham A story about Stripe's early user acquisition and 5 strategies to grow your early stage sales.

"I don’t play in a game where other people are wise and I am stupid. I look for a game where I am wise and they are stupid." - Charlie Munger A story about Charlie Munger, Costco and a sales tip.

"What often looks like talent is just great positioning" This week we look at why positioning is everything in business and your career. We spotlight...dragonflies.

Eloka Agu successfully founded and exited Keakie, a music streaming platform and today is building out Satellite Labs, a creative agency. We talk about why there's never been a better time to build in human history in the age of AI, the impact of technology on time, identity and so much more. You can find Eloka on his following socials: Instagram / Twitter (X) / LinkedIn: @elokaagu

"The smartest companies realise they are also in the distribution business" - Elad Gil. Today we look at how individuals and businesses in different industries have leveraged distribution to build a successful stream of income. Stories from Jay-Z, Amazon, Shane Parrish and more.

"Later, the coffee gets cold." An episode highlighting the power of speed and urgency. Stories and lessons from Noah Kagan, founder of AppSumo ($80 million a year business) and Mark Zuckerberg.

"Two obsessions is one too many" Exploring the lives of UFC Mixed Martial Artist, Conor McGregor and the world's best chess player, Magnus Carlsen to understand what obsession looks like and how it feeds greatness.

Can stopping a difficult task actually help you complete it better? This week we jump into the science of procrastination, rest and a story about the "I Have A Dream" Speech.

Success isn’t just about talent—it’s about grit. In Grit by Angela Duckworth, she reveals how passion and perseverance matter more than natural ability. Tune in to learn why staying committed to long-term goals is the real key to achievement and a story about Jensen Huang, Co-Founder and CEO NVIDIA.

An episode on how inaction can lend itself to success. Stories from Ted Williams, one of the greatest baseball players of all time and Warren Buffet, one of the greatest investors of all time.

"If I had behaved in a more professional way it would have taken me 20 years to arrive. I had neither the time nor the money to wait. I was poor, unknown and in a hurry." - David Oglivy Exploring the unconventional paths successful individuals like Steven Spielberg and Maya Angelou took to arrive at their destination.

"Facts are stubborn things, but our minds are even more stubborn" - John Adams What happens when our understanding evolves, and the once-reasonable facts no longer hold entirely true?

An episode speaking about how ideas which look simple on the surface disrupt world order. Why? Because of their value.

"May Your Road Be Rough" - Tai Solarin A history of road design and life lessons from a trip a to Lagos.