Mezi (acquired by American Express)

Most startups avoid complex customers. It makes sense. They’re hard to onboard. Hard to service. And they slow down your “scale engine.” So founders avoid them in the name of efficiency. Because consistency helps your team move fast, repeat patterns, and grow predictably. But here’s the hidden cost: Avoiding complexity means avoiding discovery. When you embrace those tough, high-maintenance customers, you start seeing the depth of pain in your market before anyone else does. You learn what’s truly broken, not just what’s easy to fix. If you can build solutions for that complexity, and then standardize those learnings across your broader customer base… You don’t just scale faster, you unlock a 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. That’s the real gold mine. ⚱️💡 It future-proofs your business. It strengthens your core operations. And it gives you an elixir for sustainable growth. So the next time a complex customer knocks, don’t avoid them. Study them. They might be the ones pointing you toward your next big breakthrough. 👉 Have you ever landed a “complex” customer who changed the trajectory of your product? Would love to hear your story.

Never lower your hiring bar. Especially for leaders. The cost? Millions in damage. Bad leaders destroy your culture. And the damage can be irreversible. Wrong hires don't just slow growth. They create internal battles. Battles that never existed before. Here's what really happens: → Your best people start leaving → Trust evaporates across teams → Politics replace performance → Innovation dies slowly → Your reputation takes a hit Most funded startups don't die from competition. They die from internal wars. Wars that get too ugly to win. When you lower your bar, you lose credibility. Yes, sometimes you hire a "necessary evil." You chase short-term results. You know the cost. But it almost always backfires. And when it does? Cut your losses fast. How to avoid this trap: • Keep your standards high • Trust your positive gut feel • Look for culture fit first • Check references deeply • Move slow to move fast Build for long-term wins. Always. Every founder learns this lesson. Most learn it the hard way. Don't be most founders. Have you ever hired someone who looked great on paper but destroyed your culture? What did you learn? Share your story below. P.S.: I have composed a more comprehensive essay on this subject, which is available on my Substack. The link can be found in the comments below. 👇

Zeni's AI Bookkeeper hit 90.81% automation. In just 4 months. How we proved AI can outperform humans in bookkeeping: We ran a real test. 20 customers. Every transaction tracked. June to September 2025. Here's what happened: Month 1 (June): → AI handled 61.83% of transactions → Humans processed 38.17% Month 2 (July): → AI improved to 74.45% of transactions → Humans processed 25.55% Month 3 (August): → AI improved to 80.37% of transactions → Humans processed 19.63% Month 4 (September): → AI jumped to 90.81% automation → Humans only needed for 9.19% The shocking part? Our AI Bookkeeper learned each customer's unique patterns. No two businesses are the same. But our AI Bookkeeper adapted to all 20 customers. Fast! Why this matters for your startup: • Less manual data entry • Fewer human errors • Faster month-end close • Lower accounting costs • Real-time financial insights • More time for strategy Your bookkeeper shouldn't be doing repetitive work. AI can now handle the boring stuff. Your bookkeeper can now dedicate more time to strategic tasks. This enables them to progress to Sr. Accountants more quickly than ever before. This isn't the future. It's happening right now. And your books deserve an upgrade. Ready to turbocharge your accounting with Zeni's AI Bookkeeper? Comment "AI Bookkeeper" below, and I'll invite you to see the future of bookkeeping in action.

Startups teach you the most brutal lesson. Focus on what matters, or die trying. After building 3 startups and selling 2 of them, I’ve learned this the hard way: • Every decision costs you. • Every "yes" means saying "no" a hundred times. • Every win comes after countless failures. • Every success demands sacrifice. • Every breakthrough follows sleepless nights. The pain is real. The struggle is constant. The doubt creeps in daily. But the other side of hardship is pure gold. Not just for you. For everyone on this journey with you. Keep fighting. Keep pushing. Keep believing. Because startup life isn't meant to be easy. It's meant to be worth it. ↓ Drop a ❤️ and share one brutal lesson from your startup journey. I’d love to learn from you, too. If this post resonated with you, I’ve shared a deeper reflection on my Substack. 👇 [Link to the full article in comments below]

🎃 Halloween at our Zeni Lehi office was a total blast! There’s something magical about celebrating as a team as it brings out sides of people you don’t always see: 💡 Creativity — how they think beyond the obvious 💪 Confidence — how they show up with boldness 🔥 Performance — how they commit fully to the role These were the three qualities we used to judge today’s costume contest and wow, the competition was fierce! Huge congratulations to Mason Charlesworth, Lauren Taylor Hammond, Kobe Hoffman 贺喆涛 and Abigail Patey for their incredible costumes and performances. You guys absolutely owned it! 👏 Moments like these remind me that great teams don’t just work well together, they play well together too.

🐅 You can either hire tigers or wild cats. Wild cats look impressive at first. They’re fast, loud, and full of energy. But eventually, they cause chaos, and you have to let them go. Tigers are different. They’re rare. They’re 10x employees. Insanely talented, fiercely independent, and 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦. They don’t just follow instructions. They rewrite the playbook. They know more about their craft than most of their managers ever will. And that’s the problem. You can’t 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 a tiger. You can only 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 one. The only people who can truly lead tigers… are founders. Because founders understand what it means to fight alone, take risks, and own outcomes. So no matter how big your company gets, tigers need a special place in your org chart. They must report directly to the founders, or they’ll be mistaken for wild cats and tamed to mediocrity. Tigers aren’t meant to be managed. They’re meant to 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘴. Everyone talks about hiring 10x employees. But very few talk about the courage it takes to 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 💬 What’s your experience? Have you ever worked with a tiger or 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 one? ✨ If this post resonated with you… I went a bit deeper on the idea in my latest Substack essay — “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐬.” I am including a link in the comments below. 👇 PS: The painting below is “Magical Skies” 🌌, my 8th painting from the “Evening In Africa” series. This painting portrays a graceful tiger approaching the calm waters. The moon is disappearing in the skies, leaving behind a magical effect with twinkling stars 🌟 and a phenomenal blue light. Hope you enjoy this peaceful scene from the jungles of Africa.