Bahar Selman, PCC

Uphuman

Our mission is to inspire professionals to become agents of positive change in their workplaces and communities.

Become Uphuman: Unlock Your Human Capital!

We create energising coaching and training programs that move organisations and professionals forward so they become truly Uphuman.

We offer world-class corporate training and coaching programs that focus on Learning and Development, Professional Coaching, and Personal Coaching Programs. Our Corporate Training Programs help close the skills gap between your workforce and drive innovation, productivity, and efficiency. Our coaching services are evidence-based and tailored to your needs and goals, providing you with the results you need to see in your people and organization.

Our Personal Coaching Programs are designed to empower individuals to become Uphuman in their life and careers. Whether you need to recharge your career, boost your energy, or improve your communication skills, we offer coaching programs to help you achieve your goals.

If you want to maximize your human capital, foster collaboration and create a sense of unity within your team, or become better leaders and innovators, Uphuman is here to help. We understand that finding the right training and coaching program for your organization's needs can be difficult. That's why we offer customized solutions that will help you achieve your goals. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you achieve success.

Executive Coach, Team Coach and Trainer  - Founding Partner 

Confidential Government or Semi-government Entity

Trusted coach to top-tier UAE executives through the prestigious Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development (MBRCLD), guiding the nation’s future leaders toward impactful transformation

Executive Leadership Coach

Consultant 

Hayat Kimya

• Spearheaded the global diaper category (+1,2billion USD sales revenue) as the #1 priority within the organization, reporting to the Global Marketing Director.
• Directed 5 Local Marketing Teams comprising marketing managers, brand managers, and assistant brand managers (9 people).
• Executed global brand strategies and integrated commercial plans for subsidiaries (Turkey, Iran, Algeria, Nigeria, and Pakistan) for the Global Diapers Category.
• Formulated a global growth strategy for Molfix and Bebem brands, boosting consumer acquisition and retention across new and existing markets.
• Devised a global digital growth strategy for Molfix and Bebem brands in all social media channels.
• Developed E-commerce strategy for new and existing markets, with end-to-end responsibility.
• Led the global marketing research budget to unearth customer insights and trends, crafting a strategy to shape Molfix and Bebem as a brand.

Global Marketing Manager

Danone Dairy

Senior Brand Manager

Diageo

Brand Manager

Red Bull

Brand Specialist

Evyap

Brands: Arko Skin Care & Duru (all categories)

Assistant Brand Manager

Mondelēz International

Trade Marketing Assistant

Radyo ODTÜ 103.1

Broadcaster

⏩ Struggling to Get Recognized & Influence as a Leader?

Many highly skilled professionals especially in technical fields are overlooked in leadership discussions despite their expertise.

They bring results but struggle to:
-Command attention in high-stakes meetings
-Gain visibility and recognition for contributions
-Position themselves as influential leaders

Technical skills alone don’t guarantee career growth. To step into senior leadership, you need executive presence, charisma, and strategic influence—skills rarely taught in traditional education.

⏩ Why Influence & Charisma Matter

As AI reshapes industries, your ability to communicate, lead, and influence is your greatest asset.
✔ Hard skills open doors—your impactful presence keeps you in the room.
✔ Technical expertise makes you valuable—charisma makes you indispensable.

That’s where I come in…👇

I help ambitious professionals & corporate teams develop leadership charisma, personal brand, and influence so they can be recognized, promoted, and well-compensated for their value.

⏩ Who I Work With
✅ Mid-to-Senior Level Professionals & Technical Leaders Who Want To:
✔ Be seen, heard & respected in high-stakes meetings
✔ Develop leadership charisma that captivates & inspires
✔ Fast-track career growth & earning potential

✅ Organizations & Teams Seeking To:
✔ Develop high-impact leaders through coaching & training
✔ Enhance leadership charisma & executive presence
✔ Equip teams with skills for engagement, innovation & influence

⏩ Work With Me & The Outcomes You Can Expect

For Individuals:
✔ Speak with confidence, charisma & authority and  gain recognitio
✔ Influence decision-making & boardroom discussions
✔ Build a personal brand that commands attention

For Organizations:
✔ Stronger executive presence & leadership pipelines
✔ More confident, high-performing teams
✔ Improved collaboration & strategic influence

⏩ How We Can Work Together
1:1 High-Impact Coaching – Master influence, charisma & leadership presence.
Corporate Workshops & Training – Customized programs on executive presence & communication.
Team Coaching – Build high-impact leadership teams.
Keynotes – Executive presence, communication & branding.

⏩ Snapshot of My Impact
-500+ professionals coached, 2,500+ coaching hours, 10+ years leading Fortune 500 global marketing
-Trained 10,000+ professionals across 30+ countries
-Coaching and training professionals from companies including: NEOM, MoTF, HSBC, Google, Allianz, GSK, Pirelli, Unilever, Nestlé, L’Oréal & more

Corporate Inquiries: bahar@uphuman.co
For 1:1 coaching: DM me

Consultant

Bahar Selman

Just joined the Wirtschaftsjunioren – Young Leaders UAE Kick-Off Event tonight at SLS Dubai.

Dubai is full of ambitious minds, but it’s rare to find a space where business leaders, entrepreneurs and young professionals come together not to talk titles but to talk growth, collaboration and real impact.

That’s exactly what this community stands for.

Grateful to be part of a network that believes in building the future of leadership not individually, but collectively.

P.S: If we met yesterday, drop me a message and I’d love to stay connected beyond the room

Noelia Weber  Dr. Kim Dede  German Emirati Joint Council for Industry & Commerce (AHK) 
Kunyishu Lyu Khusshboo Mehta

Bahar Selman,PCC

The Personal Brand Architect for Corporate Leaders │ I Help You Build an AI-Proof Personal Brand That Turns Corporate Expertise Into Freedom │ Corporate Workshops & Keynotes @ Uphuman

No alternative text description for this image

Hard work is not a career strategy.
It’s a personality trait.
And confusing the two is why so many high-achievers burn out before they break through.

A strategy is a plan to get from A to B.

“Working hard” is not a plan. 

It’s just pedaling faster on a stationary bike.

You feel the burn, but you’re not going anywhere.

Strategy is what turns effort into recognition. 
Strategy is what turns your technical expertise into executive presence. Strategy is what turns your silent execution into visible value.

Here’s the brutal truth:
No one is going to give you a medal for your exhaustion.

Your overflowing inbox and back-to-back meetings are not a proxy for your value.

They are a sign of a broken system.
Your system.

Stop wearing burnout as a badge of honor.
Start treating your career with the same strategic intent you give your most important projects.

What if the one thing holding you back isn’t your ability, but your addiction to being busy?

The Personal Brand Architect │ I Help You Build AI-Proof Personal Brands That Turn Corporate Expertise Into Freedom │ Design Your Corporate Exit │ Ex-Fortune 500 │ 500+ Leaders Coached and 10K+ Trained globally│ Dubai

How to Speak Up in Meetings Without Hesitation: 

1.     Stop self-censorship

Don’t miss the opportunity to share your views by over thinking, jump in there and share your thoughts and ideas. You see that you‘ll soon automatically speak up more often. 

2.     Don’t forget to prepare

Review the agenda before, collect your thoughts in advance, think about the possible questions you will be asked.

3.     Ask Questions (But Clever Questions!)

Be an active participant by simply asking questions. “Where is that coming from?”
Don’t be afraid to leverage your knowledge.

4.     Use the Language of Declaration

Instead of opening up with “I think”, instead say “Here’s what I know…” or “My experience tells me…”

5.     Say the first thing that comes to mind. (Sometimes!)

Along with preparing to discuss a specific topic, commit to expressing one thought that comes to mind during the meeting. Do this at least once per meeting so that speaking without censorship becomes a habit.

Use these points in every meeting and observe the impact you create.

Summary 

1.No Self-Censorship
2.Be prepared
3.Leverage the Power of Questions
4.Use the Language of Declaration
5.Practise saying the first thing that comes to mind at least one time.

Hello, confidence.

Goodbye, hesitation.


#baharselman 
#speakup 
#confidencebuilding

I thought visibility meant louder.
Turns out, it meant smarter.
Here are the lessons that changed everything.

When I wanted that Marketing Leadership role: 
↳ I didn't just work harder and hope for the best 
↳ I mapped out the key stakeholders who mattered 
↳ I started communicating my strategic thinking, not just my results

When I left my corporate career to start coaching: 
↳ I didn't try to help "everyone with everything" 
↳ I focused on the specific problem I knew best: invisible expertise 
↳ And built my entire methodology around that one challenge

When I started building my presence on LinkedIn: 
↳ I didn't chase viral content or generic motivation 
↳ I shared real insights from my coaching sessions 
↳ And ignored the "post daily at all costs" advice


When I developed my coaching programs: 
↳ I didn't copy what other coaches were doing 
↳ I spent months understanding my clients' real struggles 
↳ And created frameworks that solved their actual problems

It's tempting to spray and pray rather than focus. 

It's easier to choose visibility over strategy.

But when you choose strategic precision 
Because you're willing to do the deep work, You create real impact.

And while that may feel slower, It's actually far more effective, long term.

Focused is fast. 
So go use strategic thinking. 

It's harder. It'll feel deliberate. 
But it gets the recognition you've been working for.

If you had to pick one thing to focus on right now for visibility and what would it be?

#executivecoaching #visibility  #becomeuphuman

P.S. Trust me, I've messed up plenty along the way. But when it mattered most, I finally got strategic about my visibility. Ready to do the same?
Check the comments below for more.

“Hard work pays off.”
It’s a half-truth. 
And half-truths are more dangerous than lies.

Hard work pays off… but only if people see the impact.

Otherwise, it’s just burnout with a different name.

For years, you’ve been running on an outdated operating system:
Effort → Results → ??? → Reward

That question mark is where careers go to die.

Here’s the new operating system. It’s not about working more; it’s about being strategic with your impact.

There are only 3 levers that matter:

1. Strategic Priorities: Are you working on the things that the business actually values, or are you just busy?

2. Strategic Visibility: Do the people who make decisions know what you’re working on and the impact it’s having?

3. Strategic Advocacy: Is there someone in a position of power who is telling your story when you’re not in the room?

Stop measuring your worth by the hours you put in.
Start measuring it by the strategic impact you create.

Which of these three levers have you been neglecting the most?
#ExecutivePresence #CareerGrowth #Mindset #Strategy

Imagine leveraging "Tell me about yourself" to land leadership roles at top companies. 
It's not a dream....
It's a strategy. 

Discover the elements that interviewers crave and learn how to make every introduction a showcase of your potential. 
How do you make your first impression count?

Kendini geliştirmek istiyorsun ama nereden başlayacağını bilmiyor musun?
Yılların deneyimine rağmen hâlâ “Acaba yeterli miyim?” diye düşündüğün oluyor mu?
O zaman bu videoyu izle 👇 

Cantekin Ertekin Nil Buyuksahin, MS, MCC

People-pleasing is not a soft skill.
It’s a form of self-sabotage disguised as helpfulness.

In the corporate world, it’s an epidemic.
And it’s killing the careers of the most talented people.

Because the person who always says “yes”...
↳ Is the person whose own priorities are always last. 
↳ Is the person who gets saddled with non-promotable work. 
↳ Is the person who is seen as a reliable “doer,” not a strategic “leader.”

Saying “no” is a strategic skill.

Protecting your time is a leadership move.

Having boundaries is a sign of self-respect that signals to others how you expect to be treated.

When you say “no” to the wrong things, you create the space to say “yes” to the right things.

• The strategic project that will get you noticed.
• The networking opportunity that will open new doors.
• The deep work that will actually move the needle.

Your goal is not to be liked. Your goal is to be respected.
And respect is a consequence of valuing your own time and expertise.

Stop trying to please everyone. 
Start serving your own ambition.

What’s one “yes” you regret from this past month?

#LeadershipMindset #Productivity #CareerGrowth #Boundaries

You're answering their questions perfectly, and you're still not getting the job.
It's because you're being likable, not memorable.
You're delivering facts, not chemistry.

After coaching hundreds of leaders for high-stakes roles, I see the same mistake repeatedly.

High-achievers think the interview is a test of their memory.
So they give perfect, factual, and utterly forgettable answers.

"I managed a team and we hit our targets."

That's not a story. 
It's a status update.

And it makes you invisible.

Winning the role isn't about having the right answers. 
It's about creating a connection that makes you the only choice.

Here's how you shift from being a candidate to being a strategic partner in the room:

1. Stop asking subordinate questions. Start asking strategic ones.
↳ Instead of: "What is the culture like?"
↳ Ask: "What are the biggest opportunities you see for this role in the next 12 months?"

One makes you a job seeker. The other makes you a leader.

2. Stop recalling facts. Start telling stories.
People don't remember data. They remember stories.

Your "greatest hits"...
Those 4-5 powerful stories of challenge, leadership, and results...
They are your most valuable currency.

They are data with a soul.

Your resume gets you in the room.
Your stories are what make them remember you when you leave.

So, let me ask you this:

Is your interview strategy designed to be forgotten, or designed to be remembered?

P.S. Watch the full breakdown in the video above. 
I show you exactly how to craft stories that make you unforgettable. 👆


#InterviewSkills

The Personal Brand Architect for Corporate Leaders │ I Help You Build an AI-Proof Personal Brand That Turns Corporate Expertise Into Freedom │ Design Your Corporate Exit │ Ex-Fortune 500 Marketing Leader

“Become more like that leader.”
“Adopt a new persona.”
“Change who you are if you want to get promoted.”

We’ve been told for years that to reach the next level we need to reinvent ourselves.
Become more like “that leader.”
Switch personalities.
Fit into a mold.

🚨 New Career Upgrade Newsletter just dropped.
If you’re tired of working hard in silence while others get ahead, you need to read this.

#CareerUpgrade #Uphuman

Welcome back to Career Upgrade — the place where we stop pretending, stop playing small, and finally talk about the real mechanics of career advanceme

Open article: Episode #18 — You Don’t Need to Reinvent Yourself to Advance by Bahar Selman,PCC • 3 min read

Episode #18 — You Don’t Need to Reinvent Yourself to Advance

"Tell me about yourself." 
A common interview question, but are you using it strategically?

Open article: Episode #19 — The IMPACT Framework: How to Master "Tell Me About Yourself" by Bahar Selman,PCC • 2 min read

Episode #19 — The IMPACT Framework: How to Master "Tell Me About Yourself"

Global Tech-Leadership Academy’nin tamamını 1 tam günde alacağınız yoğunlaştırılmış bir masterclass formatına dönüştürdük.

“Program harika ama 4 gün boyunca tam zaman ayırmak zor olabiliyor.”
“İçerik çok değerli ama bütçe olarak daha kompakt bir seçenek olsa keşke.” dediniz, biz de sizi dinledik.

Global Teknoloji Liderliği ihtiyaçlarına cevap verebileceğiniz aynı içerik → Daha odaklı, daha erişilebilir, daha hızlı tamamlanabilir.

📅 13 Aralık Cumartesi
⏰ 09:00 – 16:30 (Online)

Bu masterclass’ta:
🔥 Teknik uzmanlıktan stratejik liderliğe geçiş
🔥 İnsan odaklı iletişim, empati ve ekip yönetimi
🔥 Kişisel marka + sunum + storytelling 
🔥 Global kariyer stratejileri & headhunter görünürlüğü

4 modül → tek günde hap bilgiler + direkt uygulanabilir teknikler.

Eğitmenler:
Nil Buyuksahin, MS, MCC  
Cantekin Ertekin Elliott Cherneski  

📌 Detaylar ve ücret bilgisi için görseldeki QR kodu okutabilirsiniz.

Strategy & Finance Executive | Scaling Impact-Driven Companies Beyond $10M | Strategic CFO | Certified Scaling Up Advisor

Scaling Founders Beyond $10M with Strategy, Financial Clarity, and Leadership Expansion

Most companies stall not because of lack of effort—
but because the founder has outgrown the systems, strategies, and financial models that once worked.

At Ascend Growth Ventures, we partner with CEOs of $3M–$10M companies to implement Scaling Up, strengthen financial infrastructure, and elevate leadership teams—building businesses that scale profitably and predictably, without burning out the founder.

By integrating Scaling Up, Exponential Organizations, and CFO-level financial insights, we deliver a complete, battle-tested system for sustainable, high-performance growth.

🔹 We Work With CEOs Who Want To:
✔️ Scale revenue and profits without chaos
✔️ Build self-managing leadership teams
✔️ Unlock hidden cash flow and improve financial decision-making
✔️ Sharpen their strategy for exponential growth
✔️ Prepare for capital raises, acquisitions, or exits

🔹 Our Core Focus Areas:
  * Strategic Scaling Up Implementation

  * Financial Strategy & Cash Optimization

  * Leadership Team Development

  * Systems for Predictable Growth

  * Valuation Prep and Exit Strategy

✅ Why Work With Me?
25+ years of experience scaling businesses from the inside out:
➡️ Regional CFO, GE Gas Power (LATAM, +1.5GW record year)
➡️ Strategic finance and underwriting leadership at GE Capital
➡️ Business/project development for 8-figure ventures
➡️ Trusted advisor to founders scaling past $10M and beyond

✅ Industries We Specialize In:
✔️ Clean Energy & Decarbonization
✔️ Industrial Goods & B2B Services
✔️ Impact-Driven Companies
✔️ Scaling Coaching & Consulting Firms

🧠 If You're Ready to Scale Intelligently and Sustainably

Let's have a strategic conversation about where you are—and where you can go.

Easiest way to work with me?

Book a private power hour call and let's create your vision.
https://calendly.com/cruzagamboa/90-min-power-hour

Cruz Gamboa

Some companies don’t stall because of strategy.
They stall because of perception.

You can have the right model, metrics, and playbook—
and still struggle to scale
because trust isn’t in the culture.

We think scaling is about systems, KPIs, and offers.
But it’s really about energy, alignment, and belief.

Teams don’t reject initiatives.
They reject inconsistency.
They sense when the leader says one thing
and embodies another.

Every interaction in a growing company is a mirror—
it reflects the culture that’s actually being built.

Before you refine your next OKR,
refine your presence.

Because the best strategy in the world can’t fix a trust gap.

➡️ People follow clarity before they follow goals.
➡️ Integrity scales faster than intensity.


#leadership #scalingup #growth #trust #mindset

The market tells stories. Your financials & metrics tell truth.

In 2001, Amazon's stock cratered from $113 to $6.

Wall Street declared it dead.

Let's be clear: that had to be terrifying. Even for Bezos.

Watching 95% of your valuation evaporate. Hearing the whispers. Feeling the pressure from every direction.

But here's what separated him from founders who fold in those moments, he kept coming back to his dashboard:

Customer acquisition costs...improving. 

Fulfillment efficiency...improving. 

Contribution margin per unit...improving. 

Defect rates...declining.

The stock price reflected fear. 

The operating metrics reflected reality.

Confidence isn't the absence of fear. It's choosing to trust what you can measure over what you can't control.

This is Financial Intelligence: knowing which numbers actually predict your future, especially when everything around you is screaming that you're losing.

Watch the video. Bezos is calm. 

Not because he wasn't scared, but because he had clarity.

He knew exactly what was true inside his business.

That's how you survive what looks like a reversal, and come out the other side stronger.

That's how $6 becomes $1.7 trillion.

So here's my question for you:

What would it be worth to have that kind of clarity the next time everything feels like it's falling apart?

To know—not hope, not guess—that you're on the right track?

That's the game worth playing.

Check out comments for details

#founder #growth #ceo #scalingup

Helping Founders Break the $10M Ceiling | Strategy, Cash Flow & Leadership Systems | Scaling CFO

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.

Hamdi Ulukaya didn’t just build a yogurt brand, he redefined an industry.

No investors. No marketing budget. Just purpose, grit, and belief.

In 2005, he saw an ad.
An abandoned Kraft yogurt factory.

Everyone saw a money pit.
He saw possibility.

He didn’t have the money.
So he took a loan.

Bought the factory.
Kept 5 employees who believed when no one else did.

No income.
No sales.
No marketing.
Just faith, and a recipe from home.

Two years later, in 2007, Chobani was born.

No ads. Just bold packaging and pure taste.

Retailers hesitated.
But the people loved it.

Within 5 years, #1 yogurt in America.

Over $1B in sales.
The giants, Dannon, Yoplait, couldn’t catch up.

He stayed private.
Gave 10% of the company to his employees.

Hired refugees.
Put people before profit.

When asked why, he said:

👉 “Business is the strongest force for good, if it puts people first.”

From a shepherd in Turkey…
To a billionaire who still walks the factory floors.

Lesson?
You don’t need investors.
You need integrity.
You don’t need luck.
You need courage.

Because the dream still works, if you do.

Loved this story. Let me know your comments. 

What problem in your business keeps calling for your most creative energy?

#CEO  #FOUNDER #GROWTH #SCALINGUP

Two friends, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.

One dropped out.
One got rejected from med school.
But both wanted to build something.

First idea: bagels.
Too expensive.
So they pivot to ice cream.

No experience. No investors.
Just a $5 correspondence course from Penn State.
$2.50 each.

They find an abandoned gas station in Vermont.
Borrow $12,000.
Do the renovation themselves.

Ben can’t even taste properly, a condition called anosmia.
So he focuses on texture.
Big chunks. Wild swirls. Bold flavours.

What others saw as a weakness became their edge.

Within months, lines formed outside the door.
Free Cone Day became a tradition.
Word spread fast.

Few years later, they launched Cherry Garcia.
The brand took off across the country.
Soon, Ben & Jerry’s was making over $500M a year.

All from $12,000 and a $5 course.

Lesson?
You don’t need the perfect start.
You need creativity, courage, and the guts to turn constraints into leverage.

#scalingup #ceo #founder #growth

They emailed eBay 200 times.
eBay ignored every single one.
Most people would’ve given up.

But Marc, Oliver, and Alexander Samwer weren’t “most people.”

They cloned eBay.
Launched it in Germany.
Executed with speed and perfection.
Within months… eBay bought it back for $43 MILLION.

Then the brothers doubled down.
They built Rocket Internet, the company that turned cloning into a billion-dollar machine.

They copied.
They improved.
They scaled.
And they sold again, and again, and again.

Here’s the truth:

👉 They weren’t chasing approval, they were chasing execution at scale.
👉 They didn’t wait to be discovered, they created their own leverage.
👉 They mastered the one principle most founders overlook:
Doing it better beats doing it first.

Critics called them “copycats.”
But behind the noise, the Samwer brothers built an empire worth billions.

Most people stop when they hear “no.”
The one who succeed?
They push when it’s uncomfortable.
They build when others hesitate.
They turn rejection into momentum.

If you want outsized results, do what most won’t:
Step past comfort.
Step past doubt.
Step past fear.

Because the biggest payoffs live right beyond the point where almost everyone quits.

#scalingup #growth #ceo #bostonfounders

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁.

Steve Jobs said it best, the greatest people are self-managing.

They don’t need direction. They are the direction.

When you’re scaling, this is the difference between speed and stagnation.

You can’t build a $10M company micromanaging every move.
You build it by surrounding yourself with people who:

➡️ See the problem before you do.
➡️ Fix it without asking.
➡️ Then tell you how they made it better.

That’s who scales companies.
Not followers.
Not “yes” people.
Builders.

If you have to keep pushing your team to move, 
you don’t have a scaling problem,
you have a people problem.

The truth?
The best teams don’t need managing.
They need mission.

Hire those who act like owners.
Give them the target.
Then get the hell out of their way.

That’s how you scale.
That’s how you win.

#scalingup #ceo #founder #growth

He built a dating site that generated exactly zero activity.
No users. No traction. No revenue.

Most leaders call that a failed model.
I call it an early audit.

Three ex-PayPal employees launched “Tune In Hook Up,” expecting market fit.
What they got was silence.
Operational cost? Rising.
User acquisition? Non-existent.
ROI? Negative from day one.

But here’s what mattered:
They reviewed the data instead of reacting to the emotion.

They noticed users trying to upload videos
Not for dating, but for everyday moments.
Unintended behaviour, but real demand.

So they executed the smartest financial move any early-stage team can make:
A low-cost pivot.

Same infrastructure.
Same upload system.
Zero additional burn.
Just a shift in positioning:
Share any video.

And that decision changed their entire valuation trajectory.

Users scaled exponentially.
Cost per acquisition plummeted.
Engagement skyrocketed.
Suddenly, they weren’t running a dating site…
They were running the internet’s first true video platform.

By 2006, their risk profile had flipped
High growth. High virality.
And high legal exposure.

Enter Google.
They offered $1.65B in stock for a business that still had no established monetisation engine.
From a financial lens?
That’s called derisking the future.

Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim accepted.
Smart move.
They transferred operational liability…
And secured generational wealth.

Today, YouTube contributes over $40B in yearly ad revenue
and sits at a valuation north of $500B.

All from a product that started as a complete miss 
until the data told a different story.

Lesson:
You don’t scale perfection.
You scale what the market proves it wants.
Listen to the numbers, not the narratives.
And never underestimate the ROI of a well-timed pivot.

#CFOInsights #Leadership #Strategy #Scalingup

She sold her engagement ring for $10,000.
Ten years later, Vicky Tsai built a $500M skincare empire.

Most people call that crazy.
I call it commitment.

She walked away from a six-figure job…
Moved back into her childhood bedroom at 30…
Got rejected for 18 months straight…
And kept going anyway.

1,000 units.
Her last $5,000.
No safety net. No backup plan.

Month one? $2,000 in sales.
Most people quit here.
Vicky didn’t.

She packed every order by hand.
Wrote thank-you notes to strangers.
Built trust one customer at a time.

Then the internet found her.
Demand exploded.
Sephora called.
And the bedroom startup became one of the fastest-growing skincare brands in America.

In 2019, Unilever bought Tatcha for $500 million.
The $10,000 ring she sold?
It turned into 50,000x.

Lesson?
You don’t need permission.
You need conviction.
And the courage to burn Plan B. 

#ceo #founder #growth #scalingup

He got fired.
The company he built said, “We don’t need you anymore.”
Everyone forgot him.

But Steve Jobs didn’t stop.

He poured tens of millions into a failing company called Pixar.
Everyone thought he was crazy.
Most would have quit.

12 years later… that gamble sold for $7.4 BILLION.

Here’s the thing:

👉 He wasn’t chasing money. He was chasing vision.
👉 He embraced risk when others ran from it.
👉 He bet on what he believed in, even when the world said no.

Most people quit right before the payoff.
The real winners? They push through when it’s hardest.
They see opportunity where others see failure.

If you want massive results, you need to do what most won’t.
Step past comfort. Step past doubt. Step past fear.

Because the biggest payoffs live just beyond the point where almost everyone quits.

#scalingup  #growth #ceo

Steve Jobs

He built pole barns to pay for college.

Decades later, John Menard Jr. built Menards, an $18B home improvement empire.

Most people call that luck.

I call it financial discipline.

He opened a small lumber yard in 1964…

Kept prices rock-bottom by building his own factories…

And built every store with cash, not debt.

No investors. No loans. No noise.

While others chased speed and Wall Street, John chose control.

He knew his margins by product line. He tracked cash flow like a pilot tracks altitude. He made the numbers his single source of truth.

Store by store. State by state. Slow, steady, unstoppable.

When 2008 hit, he didn't scramble; he expanded.

Today?

340+ Menards stores. $13B+ revenue. 3rd third-largest home-improvement chain in America. Still 100% private.

The lesson?

You don't need to grow fast. You need to grow right.

That means: 
→ Knowing your profit margins by service line 
→ Tracking cash flow weekly, not just at tax time 
→ Building systems so the business works, not just you

Financial clarity isn't about being a "numbers person."
It's about building simple, repeatable habits that let you scale with confidence.

Have the courage to own every decision, starting with your numbers.
#founder #growth #businessmindset #financialclarity #scalingup

Most people think success comes from working harder, dreaming bigger, or thinking smarter.

Here's the truth: none of that matters if you don't act.

In one simple test, a $50 bill was up for grabs. 

Everyone wanted it. 
Everyone talked about it. 
Everyone wished they had it…

Except Debbie.

She stood up. She walked forward. She took it.

That's it. 

That's the difference between winners and everyone else.

While everyone else burns time and money chasing online strategies that become less effective every day…

The smartest entrepreneurs thriving in 2025 are walking away from their screens and adding an extra 7-figures through live events.

Real humans. In-person communities. High-profit partnerships.

The ultimate advantage in the age of AI isn't replacing humanity with efficiency; it's experiences that are deep, connective, transformative, and profitable.

Getting face-to-face with your ideal clients AND peers is the most consistent solution to the Trust Recession.

I'll be at Event Profit Engine in Austin (December 10-12)...and I still have 4 discounted tickets.

If you're ready to get clarity on the financial blind spots keeping you from scaling, this is your moment.

Don't sit in the room wishing. 

Be Debbie.

P.S. Stop waiting for perfect timing. The money, the deal, the break… it's waiting for the first person who moves. Will it be you? DM me AUSTIN for ticket details.
#scalingup #CEO #founder #growth

Most founders don't fail because of competition.
 They fail because of the blind spots they never see coming.

Cash looks fine… until it doesn't. Revenue grows… but profit disappears. You hire fast… and spend months fixing mistakes. You work harder… but scale refuses to unlock.

I spent 20+ years at GE Capital navigating these exact challenges at a corporate level.

Closing an $800M+ power plant deal? That taught me cash flow precision. Managing international transactions? That revealed the profit leaks most miss. Building high-performance teams? That showed me the cost of hiring fast vs. hiring right.

Those frameworks didn't just help me lead deals—they gave me the blueprint for scalable growth.

Now I help founders apply these same battle-tested systems to their businesses.

The 7 blind spots in this carousel? They're the ones holding 90% of founders back from predictable, profitable scale.

If you want to go deeper… Download my free ebook in the comments. 

Fix the blind spots. Scale with clarity. Build a business that runs like a pro—because you learned from one.
#scalingup #founder #ceo #growth

7 Blind Spots

He was dropped at an orphanage at seven.
No food. No money. No choice.

By 14, he was on a factory floor, making metal frames.
One wrong move crushed part of his finger. Permanent injury.

Most people would quit. Most people would settle.
He didn’t.

He watched. He learned.
Every machine. Every process. Every decision.
Night classes. Every penny saved. Knowledge accumulation.

At 26, he opened a tiny eyewear shop in the Italian Alps.
Nothing fancy. No connections. Just him, a few employees, and an obsession with understanding the craft end-to-end.

Most competitors sold parts. He had a different idea: make complete frames. Control the product. Own the market.

By the 1980s, he was making designer frames for fashion houses.
By 1995, he bought LensCrafters—suddenly he controlled both the product and the retail.

Then came Ray-Ban.
Everyone said he overpaid $640 million for a dying brand.
He didn’t see risk. He saw opportunity.

Ray-Ban wasn’t just glasses anymore.
Movies. Celebrities. Fashion statements.
Value multiplied. Brand exploded.

He kept buying. Oakley. Sunglass Hut. Prada. Versace. Chanel. Pearle Vision.
Vertical integration? Check. Market dominance? Check. Monopoly? Almost.

When he died in 2022, Leonardo Del Vecchio had $25.8 billion.
One orphan. One factory worker. One relentless learner.

Lesson:
You don’t need luck. You need mastery, observation, and relentless execution.
Start small. Learn everything. Then own the ecosystem.

#ceo #scalingup #growth #founder

𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.

Most founders know Pinterest.

Almost no one knows Paul Sciarra, the guy who paid early salaries out of his own pocket, skipped taking income, and carried the company when no one else believed.

He wasn’t a “supporter.”
He was the architecture.

And then the quiet part of startup life happened.
Not a blow-up.
Not a fight.
Just… inches.

One meeting he wasn’t invited to.
One decision he didn’t have visibility into.
One board conversation that happened without him.

By the time Pinterest crossed millions of users and raised over $100M…
Paul was out.

He walked away with ~$15M.
Not nothing.
But painful when your original idea becomes a $25B enterprise.

This isn’t a story about betrayal.
It’s a story about leadership, governance, and identity.

𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘆.
They lose it when:
 • they stop owning the financial strategy
 • they delegate governance without understanding it
 • they avoid hard conversations
 • they let investors define the path
 • they disconnect from the role of architect

You can build something extraordinary…
and still get written out of your own success if you don’t stay in the seat you were meant to own.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 $𝟯𝗠–$𝟭𝟬𝗠 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻.
The product works.
The company has traction.
Teams are growing.

 But governance, capital strategy, and leadership identity aren’t keeping pace.
That’s the real risk.

𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻:
Your idea can change the world,  but only if you stay in the role of architect as it scales.

Own your equity.
Protect your seat.
Upgrade your thinking.
Build with intention.
The threat isn’t being pushed out.
The threat is drifting out of your power.

𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:
 Are you building like the founder…
 or leading like the architect?

#ceo #founder #scalingup #growth

Passion isn’t happiness.
It’s pain.
It’s grinding when no one is watching.
It’s suffering through every mistake, every rejection, every late night, just to build something nobody thought was possible.

Jensen Huang didn’t follow the market.
He didn’t wait for AI to be big.
He invested 10,000 engineer-years ahead of demand.
He pivoted Nvidia from graphics chips to AI dominance.
That’s vision. That’s first-principles thinking. That’s suffering smarter than everyone else.

Breakthroughs aren’t born in comfort zones.
They’re born when you refuse to quit, when you embrace the grind, and when you’re willing to suffer today for what the world will celebrate tomorrow.

Extraordinary isn’t given.
It’s earned.
Through struggle.
Through relentless work.
Through being willing to do what everyone else won’t.

If you want to be great, get comfortable being uncomfortable.

#scalingup #growth #ceo #founder

Mastermind Scaling Dinner 

This past Wednesday night in Boston, twelve leaders got uncomfortably honest about their real constraints.

No pitch decks. No surface-level networking. 

Just the Hero's Journey framework and one question: 

"What's actually stopping you from scaling?"

Three principles guided the conversation:

🪞 Your Business is a Mirror 

The bottleneck in your business is a reflection of a constraint in your leadership. 

Stop fixing symptoms. Fix the leader, and the business scales.

🐉 Constraints are Your Greatest Leverage

 Your biggest constraint is not a problem—it's the dragon guarding your next treasure. 

The right constraint, once identified and solved, unlocks massive, non-linear growth.

⚖️ Not All Success Has the Same Price

 You can build a company that breaks you, or one that fulfills you. 

Alignment + Clarity = Sustainable Success.

🎯 What showed up:

Estate planning. Cybersecurity. Medical devices. Food distribution. Banking. Fractional sales leadership. IT services. M&A law. Green infrastructure. Urban revitalization. Job search acceleration.

Different industries. Same truth: Every business grows until it hits a constraint, then grows no further.

The magic wasn't in solving everything in one night. 

It was in naming the real constraint out loud - not the sanitized version we tell at networking events, but the 2am version that keeps us up.

Some constraints were about capital. Others about people, partnerships, or positioning. A few were about letting go of what got them here to embrace what gets them there.

🤝 The vulnerability created immediate value: Real partnerships forming. 

Actual introductions being made. Problems being reframed. Resources being shared.

Thank you to Adrian Mendoza and the Mendoza Ventures team for hosting us.

And to everyone who showed up: Marco A. Schiavo , Geoffry Gilton, Joshua Sigsworth, PT, DPT, Dominic Endicott, Jacques Cohen, Maud Dentico, Vasant Narayan, Raffi Yardemian, CSL, Paul Smith, Alex Khalarian, and Sam "Butch" Nigro.

This is what happens when you build community around truth instead of transactions.

The Mastermind dinner happens monthly ( but we are taking a break in December). If you're a founder or executive in Boston or Greater Boston working on something real and willing to get honest about your constraints, let's talk.

We are going to start hosting Metro West dinners as well. More to come.

P.S. - Curious about finding the constraint for your business? Drop a comment or DM.

Most founders don’t fail because they’re lazy.
They fail because their goals are small.

Small goals keep you grinding.
Big goals force you to rebuild the system.

When you raise the target to 10x, everything changes:
your strategy, your thinking, your standards, your circle.

You stop playing in the crowded middle
and start operating where very few people dare to go.

10x isn’t harder.

It’s cleaner. 
It’s clearer. 
It’s smarter.

Stop playing safe. Start playing big.

I learned this lesson the hard way.

I wanted to grow my LinkedIn presence to 100K in a year.
I had 2k followers. 

A few people said that it would take years and that I was unrealistic.

Maybe they would have been right - if I'd believed them

I tried anyway. 
I took a course to learn from others who were ahead of me.
I showed up here every day.
Continuously improved my content (and my mindset)
Hired people to help me.

Did I accomplish my goal?
NO. 

I am still at 72k followers today, a year into that challenge.
But I am still grateful for the results. 

Can you imagine what would have happened if I had played small?
I may be at 15K followers at best. 

And that's the whole point. 

Even if you miss the 10X mark, it beats linear thinking. 

This same principle is why I help founders identify the 7 financial blind spots killing their scale - because small thinking about money keeps you grinding, while 10x financial clarity forces you to rebuild the system.

Want to apply 10x thinking to your finances? 

I've identified the 7 blind spots most founders miss. 

Download the guide; link is in the comments. 

#founder #ceo #growth #scalingup

10X Thinking = 10 X Results

He bought a bankrupt textile factory for $15 million.
Forty years later, Bernard Arnault built a $500B luxury empire.

Most people call that impossible.
I call it vision.

He didn’t invent anything.
He didn’t design a product.
He didn’t chase trends.
He just saw what others couldn’t.

Buried inside that dying company was a forgotten gem: Christian Dior.
Everyone overlooked it.
Arnault didn’t.

He sold everything except Dior.
Bet the house on one iconic brand.
And rebuilt from zero.

Then he made an even crazier move
He went after LVMH.
Louis Vuitton. Moët. Hennessy.
The crown jewels of French luxury.

The elite hated it.
The media mocked it.
It was the most hostile takeover France had ever seen.
Arnault didn’t blink.

He bought the shares quietly.
Took control boldly.
And turned LVMH into a global machine.

One acquisition at a time.
Fendi. Tiffany. Givenchy. Sephora.
Dozens of brands reborn under one ruthless strategy:

Let creators dream.
But keep the business razor sharp.

While tech giants chased disruption…
Arnault chased timelessness.

While others discounted…
He raised value.

In 2023, he became the richest man on Earth.
Quiet. Precise. Unshakeable.
He outplayed every tech titan without writing a single line of code.

Lesson?
You don’t need to invent.
You need to see the hidden gem
And have the courage to bet everything on it.

#entrepreneur #growth #businessstrategy #founder #scalingup

𝗛𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘀.
𝗛𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Back in the early 2000s, Jon Oringer wasn’t building empires, he was just trying to find affordable stock photos for his tiny online business.

But what he found instead… was an opportunity.

Stock images back then cost $300+ per photo, a luxury small creators couldn’t afford.

So Jon did something different:

▶ Bought a camera
▶ Took 100 photos a day
▶ Built his own website
▶ Uploaded 30,000 photos
▶ Charged $49/month for unlimited downloads

That’s how Shutterstock was born.

No fancy investors. No marketing team.

Just a subscription model, executed brilliantly.

He wasn’t selling images,
he was selling convenience, freedom, and access.

And the best part?

Every sale cost him nothing to reproduce.Pure passive income.

By the time Shutterstock went public in 2012,
Jon still owned 55% of it.

His net worth crossed $1 billion,
built from a camera, a simple website, and consistency.

That’s not luck.
That’s vision meeting execution.

Because the smartest entrepreneurs don’t wait for an opportunity,
they create it by solving a problem once
and selling the solution over and over again.

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧:

Stop chasing “new.”
Find one problem.

Solve it better than anyone else.
Then systemize, scale, and sleep while your solution works for you.

#Entrepreneurship #ceo #BusinessModel #founder #scalingup

While everyone's fighting over TVs today, I'm fighting for your 2026.

One stage does what 6 months of content can't.

That's why I'm speaking in Austin December 10-12.

Here's what I've learned:

You can spend hundreds of hours posting content, cold DMing event hosts, vetting podcast opportunities, and hoping something sticks...

Or you can walk into one room where the work is already done.

That's Event Profit Engine.

Hosted by Alex Moscow ($130M in client results) and Eben Pagan (built 10 seven-figure companies, 3 over eight figures).

200 founders doing $500K-$2M+ in one room.

The kind of people you'd normally pay $25K to join a mastermind just to meet.

But this isn't networking. It's deal flow.

On Day 3, they run facilitated sessions where they literally pair you with:

→ High-caliber stages for 2026 
→ Aligned promotional partners 
→ Sponsors for your events (I am one of the sponsors for this event)

Not "hope you meet someone cool at the cocktail hour."

Strategic. Intentional. Partnerships that lead to revenue.

The stages you actually want to be on in 2026? They're in this room. The relationships that would take 6 months to build? Done in 3 days.

I'll be speaking on why most founders are operationally excellent but financially blind—and how to fix it.

This is for you if:
→ You're a founder doing $1M-$10M 
→ You want stages and partnerships locked in for 2026 
→ You're tired of cold outreach that goes nowhere 
→ You'd rather be in the right room than grind online for 6 more months

This is NOT for you if:
→ You're just getting started (under $500K) 
→ You're not ready to invest in growth 
→ You think "networking" means collecting business cards

Here's my Black Friday deal for you:

$1K tickets (normally $4K, goes to $5K on Monday).

I only have a few left. First come, first served.

You can fish with a pole for the next 6 months.

Or you can grab a net and walk into this room.

Comment "AUSTIN" or DM me and I'll send you the code before they're gone.
This is the only deal worth buying today.

See you in Texas.
#scalingup #CEO #founder #growth

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The Battle

Bahar Selman

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Bahar Selman's LinkedIn Performance

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