If you're a founder, you've lived this moment.
Your team pitches an idea. You're nodding, but something feels off. You can't say what. So you say "let's think about it more" and everyone leaves frustrated - including you.
I watched this at Bitpanda for years.
Two Heads of Marketing during my time. The first got walked out in front of everyone one day - I still don't know exactly what happened. The second came in with a big reputation, had scaled his previous company, sold himself well. But he kept running the same playbook that worked there, calling it "testing." It wasn't testing. It was one trick on repeat. Gone after 18 months, like the one before.
The CEO wasn't difficult. He just couldn't articulate what he wanted until he saw it. So he stayed involved in everything - even at 400 people. And everyone was scared to show him anything.
One night during Covid, we were launching Bitpanda Stocks. I had an idea I really believed in. I was nervous - no one had tried what I was about to do. But I thought: everyone keeps pitching him with words, and he keeps killing it. What if I just show him?
So I made it real. Mockups. A billboard. The campaign as if it already existed.
I presented on a video call. Couldn't read his face.
Silence. A few seconds. Ten. Fifteen.
Then: "I love this."
A colleague Slacked me right after: "He's never said that about anything."
Here's what I learned:
Founders don't struggle with ideas. They struggle with reacting to ideas that stay abstract.
Strategists give you decks. Creative teams wait for direction. And you sit in the middle - frustrated, knowing something's off, unable to point at what.
That gap is where marketing gets stuck.
You built this company because you saw something no one else could.
Now growth is stalling - not because your vision got smaller. Because no one's made it tangible at the size you've become.
See you next week,
Easy setup, easy money
Your time is better spent creating content, not managing ad campaigns. Google AdSense's automatic ad placement and optimization handles the heavy lifting for you, ensuring the highest-paying, most relevant ads appear on your site.
That’s a wrap✨
If you liked this newsletter, let me know. Reading all my emails. 💌
If we’re not connected on Linkedin already - let’s do it right now.
If you wanna see me talking about this, I have instagram too.
Or if you want me to audit your brand quickly, here’s how to book a 15 minutes call.
P.S. If someone sent you this newsletter - I would love to know who!