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Mastery comes before entrepreneurship if you want real results. I learned that the hard way. For 20 years I tried to build on titles and energy. I could pitch. I could plan. I could not deliver the same outcome twice. At 45, in Germany, with two kids and no network, I went back to basics. I did EMBA, learned Python and data science. Not for a certificate. For repeatable results. Business sits on a craft you can depend on. If you skip that, you try to buy fixes from outside. Marketing, sales, packaging. None of them fix a weak core. Here’s the readiness test I use now. ✅ Define your craft outcomes. Keep a simple results log with what you did and the result it produced. Action. Metric. Timeframe. ✅ Practice causal thinking. When something fails, write two changes you will make before you do it again. Then run it. ✅ Price for thinking. Scope analysis and decisions into the fee. Clients pay for judgment, not just hands. ✅ Stack accountable reps. Take work where you own a KPI. Predict it. Hit it. Then increase the scope. ✅ Do not use entrepreneurship to escape a boss. Use it to accept more responsibility. This is how I build Zaqlick. We turn real calls and market data into synthetic personas so founders and Product Managers can test messages before they build. I keep a live log. Prompts changed. Datasets updated. Acceptance rates. Time to insight. If it breaks, I change the pipeline first, not the landing page. I listen to data, but also to myself. If I cannot point to three results I can repeat, I keep training and take more accountable projects. Do the reps. Make your own calls. Earn it with craft. I’m not there yet. I’m still learning.

I keep seeing posts from founders hitting $...K MRR in a few months. They share their story, tactics, and lessons - all sounds great. But one thing's always missing. No one ever starts with: "I had a budget, and it changed everything". Not the amount, just the context. Because figuring out growth from zero isn't the same as doing it with $...K in your pocket. No one's lying. But that quiet omission makes it feel like the audience is being treated as a little naive.

I’ve built 4 companies, failed a few experiments, and learned Python at 40 because I was tired of waiting for “perfect conditions.” I write about founder psychology, customer discovery, and using AI to actually listen to users. If you’re building from scratch (again or for the first time), welcome - you’re in the right place.

Meet Ben-the-Founder 👋 He’s the face (and soul) of Zaqlick. Ben is that early-stage founder who’s trying to figure out: → What to build next → Which customers actually care → Why validation always takes forever Ben represents every builder chasing the signal over the noise. He’s curious. A bit skeptical. Welcome to Zaqlick, where Ben’s story begins.

Stop coding. You might be building something nobody wants. Too many founders spend months perfecting products that solve no real problem. Your idea isn't validation -- it's just a hypothesis until someone acts on it without being pushed. Here's the smarter way to start: 1️⃣ Write one clear hypothesis.  "Freelancers struggle to track projects fast and would pay for a simpler tool". 2️⃣ Run cheap tests - landing page, manual concierge, cold DMs. 3️⃣ Watch behavior, not words. Silence = no. Interest with real action = yes. Lessons I've learned: – Validation isn't "would you pay?" - it's real commitment, even small. – Early feedback is worth more than a perfect MVP. – A weekend landing page beats six months of blind coding.

Hired a company on Upwork to build my MVP. Didn't go cheap -- price was average. Specs agreed, everything clear. They missed the deadline. Ok, fine. Happens. Another week goes by -- bugs everywhere, app still not ready (and yes, we're working strictly by the agreed scope). I escalate. Then I get an email from the senior manager: “We'll fix the bugs for you for free.” Didn't even know what to say 🤯

I like this kind of humor.👍

I’ve built 4 companies, failed a few experiments, and learned Python at 40 because I was tired of waiting for “perfect conditions.” I write about founder psychology, customer discovery, and using AI to actually listen to users. If you’re building from scratch (again or for the first time), welcome - you’re in the right place.

"How many beta users do I need to know I have PMF?" You don't need 200. You need a small group (20-30 relevant people) to start seeing real signals. Ask them: "How would you feel if this disappeared?" If around 40% say they'd feel very disappointed and truly miss it, you’re getting close. Then look deeper: • they come back without reminders • complain when it breaks • tell others without incentives • start using it in ways you didn’t expect • push you for improvements, not discounts That's what early PMF really looks like.

Calling all content creators/ghostwriters: before you sell me and other startup founders your services, make sure your own feed shows high-quality content.

Love when some Twitter "guru" preaches "Always reply to everyone who comments on your posts". You drop a comment -- and guess what happens? Exactly… silence 😅

Motivation is fragile. Deadlines are forever.

I used to validate SaaS ideas by naming 3-5 "real people" who said they'd use it. Smart. Relevant. Interested. None of them converted. That's when I learned: real validation isn't about naming a person. It's about spotting repeat behavior across people who never heard of you.

Something strange just happened with Paddle, and I could use help from someone on their team. I had an onboarding call scheduled for my startup, but it was rejected because Paddle flagged us under "Human Services" in their AUP. That's just wrong: we're pure SaaS (no human services, no marketplaces, no adult content). Now I can’t get through to their CRM or support - only the website's AI assistant. It's worrying how easily a legit SaaS can be misclassified and how first-line sales can block progress. If anyone at Paddle or in the SaaS community can connect me to the right person, I'd really appreciate it. 🙏

Had a 1-hour call with an agency owner about an ML role for my startup. Next day, he sends me a $70k‼️"proposal". I open it… Clearly written by ChatGPT. Emojis, tables, contradictions - the whole thing. He didn't even read it. Didn't process the call. Didn't think. Just pasted and priced. Two lessons: 1️⃣ If you want $70k from a bootstrapper, at least understand the problem. 2️⃣ Using AI isn't a sin - outsourcing thinking is.

Hired a company on Upwork to build my MVP. Didn't go cheap -- price was average. Specs agreed, everything clear. They missed the deadline. Ok, fine. Happens. Another week goes by -- bugs everywhere, app still not ready (and yes, we're working strictly by the agreed scope). I escalate. Then I get an email from the senior manager: “We'll fix the bugs for you for free.” Didn't even know what to say 🤯

Mastery comes before entrepreneurship if you want real results. I learned that the hard way. For 20 years I tried to build on titles and energy. I could pitch. I could plan. I could not deliver the same outcome twice. At 45, in Germany, with two kids and no network, I went back to basics. I did EMBA, learned Python and data science. Not for a certificate. For repeatable results. Business sits on a craft you can depend on. If you skip that, you try to buy fixes from outside. Marketing, sales, packaging. None of them fix a weak core. Here’s the readiness test I use now. ✅ Define your craft outcomes. Keep a simple results log with what you did and the result it produced. Action. Metric. Timeframe. ✅ Practice causal thinking. When something fails, write two changes you will make before you do it again. Then run it. ✅ Price for thinking. Scope analysis and decisions into the fee. Clients pay for judgment, not just hands. ✅ Stack accountable reps. Take work where you own a KPI. Predict it. Hit it. Then increase the scope. ✅ Do not use entrepreneurship to escape a boss. Use it to accept more responsibility. This is how I build Zaqlick. We turn real calls and market data into synthetic personas so founders and Product Managers can test messages before they build. I keep a live log. Prompts changed. Datasets updated. Acceptance rates. Time to insight. If it breaks, I change the pipeline first, not the landing page. I listen to data, but also to myself. If I cannot point to three results I can repeat, I keep training and take more accountable projects. Do the reps. Make your own calls. Earn it with craft. I’m not there yet. I’m still learning.

I keep seeing posts from founders hitting $...K MRR in a few months. They share their story, tactics, and lessons - all sounds great. But one thing's always missing. No one ever starts with: "I had a budget, and it changed everything". Not the amount, just the context. Because figuring out growth from zero isn't the same as doing it with $...K in your pocket. No one's lying. But that quiet omission makes it feel like the audience is being treated as a little naive.

Stop coding. You might be building something nobody wants. Too many founders spend months perfecting products that solve no real problem. Your idea isn't validation -- it's just a hypothesis until someone acts on it without being pushed. Here's the smarter way to start: 1️⃣ Write one clear hypothesis.  "Freelancers struggle to track projects fast and would pay for a simpler tool". 2️⃣ Run cheap tests - landing page, manual concierge, cold DMs. 3️⃣ Watch behavior, not words. Silence = no. Interest with real action = yes. Lessons I've learned: – Validation isn't "would you pay?" - it's real commitment, even small. – Early feedback is worth more than a perfect MVP. – A weekend landing page beats six months of blind coding.

Love when some Twitter "guru" preaches "Always reply to everyone who comments on your posts". You drop a comment -- and guess what happens? Exactly… silence 😅

I've taken two different courses on growing an X account. Both instructors had 100K+ followers. Both seemed legit. One said: "Don't post or comment for an hour before and after your main tweet -- it will steal impressions". The other: “Warm up your account beforehand. Comment, reply, be active -- it boosts reach". Completely opposite advice. I know this probably doesn't matter much at my scale yet. But I'm curious: Have you tested this? Does pre-post engagement actually help (or hurt) impressions in practice?

"How many beta users do I need to know I have PMF?" You don't need 200. You need a small group (20-30 relevant people) to start seeing real signals. Ask them: "How would you feel if this disappeared?" If around 40% say they'd feel very disappointed and truly miss it, you’re getting close. Then look deeper: • they come back without reminders • complain when it breaks • tell others without incentives • start using it in ways you didn’t expect • push you for improvements, not discounts That's what early PMF really looks like.

Stop guessing what customers want. Ask them. Zaqlick does the asking.

I’ve built 4 companies, failed a few experiments, and learned Python at 40 because I was tired of waiting for “perfect conditions.” I write about founder psychology, customer discovery, and using AI to actually listen to users. If you’re building from scratch (again or for the first time), welcome - you’re in the right place.

Calling all content creators/ghostwriters: before you sell me and other startup founders your services, make sure your own feed shows high-quality content.

Had a 1-hour call with an agency owner about an ML role for my startup. Next day, he sends me a $70k‼️"proposal". I open it… Clearly written by ChatGPT. Emojis, tables, contradictions - the whole thing. He didn't even read it. Didn't process the call. Didn't think. Just pasted and priced. Two lessons: 1️⃣ If you want $70k from a bootstrapper, at least understand the problem. 2️⃣ Using AI isn't a sin - outsourcing thinking is.

Customer validation > investor validation. That’s why I built Zaqlick for founders, not VCs.

Early adopters are angels and demons. They arrive like heroes. They cheer. They write essays about missing buttons. One moment they love you. Next moment they question your existence. Diagnosis: Early adopter fever. Prognosis: survivable. If you remember - feedback ≠ truth.

Founders don’t fail from lack of effort. They fail from lack of proof. Zaqlick = proof.