Mint & Lemon

Founder & CEO

Plumm

Head of Sales & Customer Success

Head of Sales and Founding Member

London & Partners

International Trade Program

AVORA

Enterprise Sales

RebelMouse

Technical Business Development

eDreams ODIGEO

Group Insurance and Ancillary Revenue Product Manager

Intelligent Environments

Graduate Trainee

Armani Exchange

Sales Consultant

LK Bennett

Internship - Wholesale Department

Founder & CEO @ Mint & Lemon 🍋 | Building personal brands for startups founders and CEOs | Speaker | Startup Advisor

Hi, I’m Elisabetta 🙋🏻‍♀️ My journey has been defined by resilience, self-belief, and a commitment to continuous learning. From navigating language barriers to building and leading teams in successful startups, I’ve proven that determination and grit can take you anywhere.

I’m passionate about personal branding and the power it has to transform careers and open doors. LinkedIn has been a game-changer for me, and I believe it can do the same for you.

Here’s what we can help you achieve:

- Attract inbound sales
- Spark investor interest
- Attract and keep top talent
- Land speaking gigs and podcast invites
- Expand your network and business opportunities

Ready to take your personal brand to the next level?

✋🏼 Book a call here to work with us: https://shorturl.at/PuMgl

✋🏼 Want only a one-off LinkedIn power session? Book a call here: https://shorturl.at/oih3f

✋🏼 Brand Partnerships - Work with me on an influencer campaign: https://shorturl.at/7Syv7

Elisabetta Torretti

I’m in a pod.

There I say it.

With my parents.
Not by choice.
By love.

Every time I post, they’re there.
Always the first like.
Always the sweet comment.
Always showing up in ways I never asked for… but always needed.

They’ve been cheering for me since before I even knew what I wanted to do.

We talk about growth, reach, engagement.
But honestly?
Nothing beats your parents rooting for you like you’re still five years old, showing them your first drawing.

Who’s that for you?
Hold them close.
They matter more than the algorithm ever will ❤️

No one understands the LinkedIn algorithm.

And I repeat, NO ONE.

We can guess.
But we don’t understand it.

So stop assuming everyone else has it figured out.
They don’t 🤷🏻‍♀️

My 10 non-negotiable daily rules:

• No work after 7 pm
• 4-day working week
• No-meetings Wednesdays
• 9–11 am = focus time
• Max 5 meetings per week
• Don’t check messages before 9 am

And that’s the recipe for success 👌🏼

Hold on…

Who am I kidding 😆

I break all of these rules.
(OK… I try really hard with number 6 😂)

Fun fact: founder life is 89% NOT fun.

But here’s the other side of it:
• No holiday approval needed
• I get to work wherever I want
• I get to work with whoever I want
• I choose my own team

So yeah…
Not that bad 😉

Networking events are useless.

Most of them are just a peacock show.
Everyone’s “doing amazing.”
Their business is “booming.”
Life’s great, clients are rolling in, and everything’s wow.

Meanwhile, you’re standing there thinking, what the hell am I even doing here?

You barely have one proper conversation. It’s too loud, too big, too much.
You just end up collecting LinkedIn connections you’ll never speak to again.

I’ve stopped going.

If I’m going to meet people, I’d rather do it one-on-one or a more intimate small group of people.
Grab a coffee. Have a real chat.

Honestly, some of the best people I’ve met came through LinkedIn.
We started chatting online, met in person, and built something meaningful.

That’s the kind of networking I’ll keep doing 👌🏼

JSESSIONID

(19) Feed | LinkedIn

LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn

li_at

Talks about #belonging, #wellbeing, #leadership, #mentalhealth, and #diversityandinclusion

I fired someone last week.
It was the last straw.
They cost me money, time, and two great leads.

And yes, they were “always available.”

But they didn’t reply fast enough.

They forgot things. 
Always dropping the ball at the worst moment.

Turns out… the person I fired was me.

Or at least, the version of me who still tried to manually qualify every inbound lead while juggling calls, client work, and life.

My inbox wasn’t the problem.
My process was.

So I built myself a replacement.
A Lead Qualifier Agent with Zapier.

Now every time a new lead lands, it instantly:
→ Reads the message
→ Pulls out the important bits
→ Scores the lead
→ Categorises the intent
→ Sends the qualified ones straight into my CRM
→ And pings me on Teams only when I actually need to jump in

No delays.
No chaos and drama.
No money slipping through the cracks.

My stack?
Outlook → ChatGPT OpenAI → Excel → HubSpot → MS Teams.

Zero code.
Zero overwhelm.
Just speed.

If you’re tired of being the bottleneck in your own business…
👉 Try building your own Zapier Agent: https://lnkd.in/eb9nMWBx

Psst: don’t tell anyone… but it’s kind of my new BFF 😆

#ad #ZapierPartner

Brand partnership • Founder & CEO @ Mint & Lemon 🍋 | Building personal brands for startups founders and CEOs | Speaker | Startup Advisor

Since when did we start announcing how much money we make on LinkedIn?!

Stop the peacock show.

The more you flex numbers, the faster you lose trust.
And btw, it’s a big sign of insecurity, not success.

PSA: Translating a post you stole is still STEALING.

Some of the posts we write for our clients do REALLY well.
Great reach. Great engagement. Literally going viral.
(and no, no cheatsheets or billboard quotes)

But then I see the same post…
..copy–pasted.
Same structure.
Same lines.
Just in another language 🤦🏻‍♀️

And people genuinely think no one will notice?

Guys.
Come on.

You’re out here building companies, hiring teams, raising money… but you can’t write one original thought?
And the worst part?
You don’t even try to hide it.
It’s THAT obvious.

Even my own posts have been copied.
At this point, I don’t even get mad, it’s just embarrassing...

And yes, this thing has a word: PLAGIARISM. 

Be inspired, sure.
Steal the inspo, fine.
But copying the whole post and running it through Google Translate?

Please...

Write your own stuff.
Or hire someone who can.

Originality isn’t extinct. Some of you just stopped trying.

*Pic of me when I see copy-and-pasted posts 🤦🏻‍♀️

Waitrose won Christmas this year 🎄

Hands down.

They didn’t go over the top.
They didn’t force it.
They just told a story we all felt.

They brought back Love Actually.
Keira Knightley.
That iconic scene.

And suddenly.. we were all transported back to 2003.
22 years ago.
How wild is that?

And yet… it feels like yesterday.
Emotions are the same.
The nostalgia is the same.
The warmth is the same.

That’s the power of great storytelling.
Just pure, human emotion tied to a moment we all remember.

Waitrose absolutely smashed it.
Kudos to their creative team.

PS: Link to the video in the comment section 👇🏻

You’ve Googled yourself..
haven’t you?
Confess..we all had..

But have you ever ChatGPT’d your brand?
Or asked Perplexity or Gemini what they say about you?
No, right? Me neither..

And when I finally tried, it made me stop for a second.
Because this is what people are doing now.
They’re not opening ten browser tabs anymore.
They’re asking one question to an AI tool and making decisions from that.

I see this with founders all the time.
They’re active, they’re creating, they’re present online…
but only in the places they use.
Not the places their prospects use.

And that gap can be HUGE.

That’s why I’ve been using Semrush One.
For me, it’s become a quick way to see how a brand shows up across Google and in AI search.
Search questions people are asking.
What’s landing.
What’s missing.
Where they appear.
Where they disappear.

Just a clearer picture of what people actually see when they look your brand up.

If you’ve never checked how your brand appears outside Google, it’s worth doing out of curiosity alone.
You can try it here: https://bit.ly/4o8GI9O 


#SemrushPartner

Jessie and I have been flirting for 2 months.

Me: “Oh, I like her content. Let me like it.”
Her: “Oh, I like Eli's post. Let me comment on it.”

And on and on and on.
That’s how it all started, two women cheering for each other (don't worry, no pods involved lol) just genuine appreciation for each other’s voice and stories.
But we never really spoke.

Then I realised she was in London.
So, of course, I said, “We should meet.”
And she said, “Absolutely, let’s do it.”

Finally got to meet her, and let me tell you, she’s an HR Queen 👑

We discovered we have so much in common:
We both come from HR backgrounds.
We both love ops, but neither of us likes doing it.
We both love creativity and content creation (and she’s so good at it).
We both hate networking events but love meeting new people.
We’re both immigrants who learned a new language from scratch - me English, her German.
We’ve both built businesses from the ground up.

She’s worked so hard to build something out of nothing. And she’s done it all while being a wonderful mum to her little one.
So here’s to Jess - for building a strong, relatable, and real personal brand.
For keeping it authentic when it’s so easy to sound like everyone else.

Cheers to more coffee chats, whether it’s in London or Berlin next time ☕💜

Helping you navigate HR tech | Founder @ Stakkd | HR Tech Queen | Speaker | Boy Mum

"30 years ago, I had 0 followers, 0 presence on LinkedIn.."


Please guys, give me a break 😆

There’s ONE thing that consistently grows your top of funnel, and most people never start it.

It’s great seeing more people finally use LinkedIn properly.
Showing up.
Sharing what they know.
Building a bit of momentum.

But almost no one thinks about what happens after someone lands on their profile.
Or how to stay in front of people who already like their content.

That’s usually where a newsletter does the heavy lifting.
(yep, that simple)

A lot of people love the idea of a newsletter, but the minute they open most tools, everything feels too complicated.
Too many steps.
Too much design work.
Too many settings that make you want to close the tab and try again another day.

So they push it back.
A LOT.
Only because the tech turns something simple into admin.

But when I started using ActiveCampaign, the whole experience felt completely different.

It’s straightforward.
Everything is where you expect it to be.
Blocks stay where you put them.
Formatting behaves.
You can create a clean, simple layout without feeling like you need a PHD.

And this is where Active Intelligence really shows up.
It doesn’t just organise your newsletter, it analyses it.
Spots what’s working.
Flags what isn’t.
Gives you quick optimisation prompts so your marketing runs with less busywork.

If you’ve been thinking about starting a newsletter but keep putting it off, it might not be the idea that’s the problem.
It might just be the tool you’re using.

If you want to try it out, here’s the free trial link 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/eD42KC7F 
﻿
#ActiveCampaignPartner

I receive this type of message at least once a day..

..did you check my profile?

Clearly not, but that's still ok. 
I understand that automating outreach might be the most efficient way, and I don't blame people for that.

But at least get an exclusion list where you put all your competitors, or vet your outreach list before starting a campaign. 
It's just basic outreach rules 🤷🏻‍♀️

Do NOT start your own business

(I meant, not yet..)

Instead:
- Go work for a startup
(The earlier stage, the better. If you can join as one of the first employees? Even better)
- See the messy start. Feel the growing pains
(That’s how you prepare for what’s coming when it’s your turn)
- Try different roles. Explore different markets.
(You’ll quickly learn what you love and what you don’t)

Then ask yourself:
do I enjoy the chaos?
do I handle the pressure?
do I actually like the pain?

If the answer is YES, then go build your thing.

And honestly, there’s no right or wrong path.
Plenty of successful founders never worked in startups.

But this path? 
It gives you an edge. It prepares you for the reality behind the “entrepreneur” title.

Ciao 🫡

If you’ve ever opened your inbox and felt attacked… same.

I used to spend half my day replying, chasing, organising, rewriting, and trying to remember what was said in which meeting.

My workflow wasn’t broken.
It was chaotic.

Then I tried Noota.
At first, just for meeting notes.
But it didn’t stop there.

It started organising my inbox.
Drafting my follow-ups.
Summarising my calls.
Connecting my conversations in one place.
No more “Where did we say this?”
No more information living in seven different tools.

And now they’ve launched Noota 360 - the full upgrade.
Meetings, emails, calls, actions.
All talking to each other.
All in one sovereign workspace.
It’s the calm my brain needed.

So yes… when they told me their Black Friday deal was 50% off annual plans, once a year only, it felt like a no-brainer to share it.

If you want less chaos, more clarity, and a workflow that actually saves you time, try it.
There’s a free trial.
And the upgrade is half price 👇🏻

⏳ Offer runs till December 1, 11:59 p.m.

👉 Get your 50% off here: https://lnkd.in/e2-eYvRR

#Ad

KEVIIIIIN is back!!!

And honestly?
It works.

35 years later and Home Alone still hits like yesterday.
All those memories packed into a 60-second ad.

You can’t go wrong when Kevin shows up.
And the name correlation? Brilliant.
But…
they missed a trick.
A bit more storytelling and this could’ve been iconic.
Kevin deserved more.
Still, strong ad. Nostalgia always wins.

Most underrated LinkedIn feature 👇🏻

(although some people hate it…)

Voice messages on DMs.
Not AI-generated.
Personalised.
Human.

Best ROI you’ll get in sales outreach.

You’re welcome 🫡

You want to know a secret?

2 weeks ago, I had a full-on meltdown.

The kind where you stare at your laptop and think:
“Mate… I cannot keep doing ALL of this by myself.”

I actually made myself a promise:
For 2026 Elisabetta: This will NOT happen again.
I’m done being the HR team, the ops team, the support desk, and the emotional support animal for my own business.

I need to outsource.
I need support.
I need… something.

And then (plot twist) Plumm handed me early access to their new AI Agents.

I swear, it felt like the universe tapped me on the shoulder like:
“Girl, sit down. We got you.”

One test message.
One request.
And suddenly this AI agent is doing my HR tasks like it’s been secretly reading my mind for months.

No onboarding.
No drama.
No ‘let me understand the system first’ headache.
Just pure:
“Sure, Elisabetta, I’ve done it already.”

I actually laughed.
Because for the first time in ages, I wasn’t doing everything alone.

You know I’ve used Plumm forever, my team runs on it.
But this?
This is different.
This is next-level.
This is them entering their supervillain era (in the best way).

Everyone else is still figuring out “AI strategy” on whiteboards.
Plumm actually built the damn agent.
A real one.
Inside their HR platform.
And it actually works.

Fast.
Simple.
Bloody brilliant.

Let’s just say… my 2026 promise is safe now.
Because I finally have support that doesn’t need managing.

If you made that same promise to yourself (or if you just simply want to make your life easier) -> give it a try! https://lnkd.in/eR9WCDGS

#Ad

Plumm is an online platform that helps people address their mental, physical and emotional health while enabling them to manage their general wellness. 

We bring experience and guidance of trusted and credible thought leaders of their fields to walk with you on a journey towards a fulfilled life.

Co-Founder and COO

The Dialogue Now

We are a global resource providing keynote speakers representing some of the most influential leaders and thinkers. The world's most important topics being discussed and thought upon. Led the team and grew business by over 400%.

General Manager

NH Advisory Pvt. Ltd.

NH Advisory Ltd. is a bespoke consulting organization offering services in the following domains:
- Real Estate (Land Holdings, Industrial, Commercial, JV, Residential)
- Interior Design (Commercial, Large Scale Retail Spaces and Residential)
- Taxation
- Wealth Management
- CAPEX/OPEX
- Startups (Seed to Exit)

Our clients range from fresh startups to long established businesses for business consulting services in India, the UAE and the UK. We are actively present in the luxury segment for real estate and interior design consultancy in India and the UAE.

Founder and Managing Director

Hang On FZ LLE

Client Management
Revenue Management
Project Planning and Delivery
Manage P&L for omni channel media business

Director Projects

Credence Resource Management, LLC

Plan strategy & operations for over $150 million in accounts receivable collectively for Fortune 500 clients in the US. Implemented and executed a new call Quality process reducing call penalties by 25%. Increased revenue by 31% by implementing new collection procedures, aligning individual goals and reduced collections staff.

Manager - Operations (Collections)

Homeward Residential, Inc.

Managed over $115 million in accounts receivable collectively for major mortgage investors in the US. Responsible for scorecards, driving profitability & upholding business relationship with the clients. Developed and coordinated several operations strategy documents that define business operations and strategy for BIC liquidations & implementing new technologies.

Asst. Manager - Operations (Mortgage Servicing)

Contact mortgage customers for delinquent mortgage payments. Work out retention options for distressed customers. Review loan modification applications and provide advise on best solution for refinance or liquidation.

Sr. Customer Care Excecutive

HOV AR Management Services Pvt. Ltd.

Perform collection of charged-off debts (medical, telecom and credit cards). Awarded ‘Employee of the Year’ for 2008

Customer Service Representative

Co-founder & COO at Plumm | Making mental health accessible for all | Mental Wellbeing, Resilience and Start-ups

Hi, I’m Nabil, COO and co-founder of Plumm 👋🏻

When I joined Asim on this journey, it was with a shared dream, to build something that genuinely touches people’s lives. Plumm started as a mental health platform, and over time, it’s grown into a full HR solution that keeps people at its core. For me, it’s all about helping companies create workplaces where people can truly thrive.

As the operations guy, I’m focused on making Plumm practical, impactful, and easy for teams to use every day. Outside of work, I’m passionate about finding new ways to bring well-being into everything we do.

If you’re curious about how Plumm can support your team, request a demo here: https://www.heyplumm.com/book-a-demo

I’d love to connect and explore what we can create together!

Nabil Ismail

I honestly didn't think I'd see this day.
 
I recently celebrated my 8 year anniversary at Plumm.
 
2017: I was burnt out from finance.
The kind of tired where you know something has to change, but you're not sure what.
 
Then Asim called about building a mental health platform.
We met for coffee. He walked me through his vision. I didn't know anything about mental health tech, but I knew I wanted to work on something that actually helped people.
 
So I took the leap.
 
The first year was brutal. Learning a completely new industry from scratch. Questioning if I made the right call almost daily.
 
But then things started coming together.
 
Our first therapist joined. She was nervous. We were nervous. But she believed in us.
Our first customers gave us a shot. Small companies who could have gone with established platforms but chose to trust us instead.
That trust meant everything.
 
2020: We landed our first investment round. Suddenly this was real. The pressure went from "will this work" to "we need to make this work."
 
And we fell on our face. Multiple times.
But we had early supporters who stuck with us. Those who gave us genuine feedback instead of walking away.
 
That's what kept us going.
 
2023: We pivoted from wellbeing into HR tech, it was unknown territory but our partners trusted us enough to come along for the ride.
 
2024: We partnered with brilliant HR professionals. They pushed us to be better, called us out when we missed the mark, and helped us grow even more than we expected.
 
Today, they shaped our biggest innovation yet.
Our HR agent, designed to help HR teams skip the admin.
 
I'm incredibly proud to be part of an innovation that's changing how HR teams actually work.
 
8 years in, everything still feels new.
There's no way of telling what the future holds. We could pivot again. Build something completely different. Face challenges we haven't imagined yet.
 
But there's beauty in that uncertainty.
 
So thanks for the journey, our partners, our amazing team. Let's keep going!!

Co-founder & COO at Plumm | Powering People and Performance | Human Resources and Mental Wellbeing

I still think about the day they resigned.
How badly I wanted to talk them out of it...

A few years ago, I lost someone brilliant.

Not to a competitor. Not to a better offer.
To something they'd been chasing for years.

And I felt it. Properly felt it.

We're supposed to be the operational ones. The pragmatic ones. The one's who think "it's just business".

But I've spent years building teams at Plumm. Watching people grow. Investing in their development.

So when they leave, of course, it stings sometimes.

Companies talk about loyalty like it's owed to them. Like showing up every day for years is some kind of badge of honour. Like if you leave, you've betrayed something sacred.

That's not how it works.

The people who stay forever aren't always your best people. Sometimes they're your most comfortable ones.

The ones who leave are chasing something, building something, becoming something.

And if I'm honest, the proudest I've been is knowing we gave them enough here to see what they wanted next.

That's not disloyalty. It's growth.

What they built here, what they learned, what they changed in our systems, it's still here. It's paving the way for the next person. And the one after that.

I used to think losing great people meant I'd failed.
Now I think keeping people who've outgrown us would be the real failure.
And sometimes the most loyal thing someone can do is leave when it's time.

Because if we did our job right, they shouldn't need us anymore.

That's the whole point.

Networking nearly cost me the relationships that matter.

I didn’t see it at first.
Every handshake felt like progress.
Every new contact felt like momentum.

But somewhere along the way, connection turned into currency.

Conferences became performances.

For years, I thought the problem was me.
That I wasn’t outgoing enough.
That I needed to work the room better.

Then I stopped trying to impress anyone.

I stood by the coffee table talking to someone who felt just as out of place.
No pitch.
No pretense.
Just honesty.

That moment became Plumm’s longest partnership.
5 years later, we still talk.

It reminded me of something simple.

We’ve built a culture obsessed with association, knowing the right people, tagging the right names, chasing the right rooms.

But that’s not connection.
That’s performance.

And I’m done applauding it.

Apparently it's controversial to say this as a COO 👀. 


I respect my team.

Not in a "we value our people" poster kind of way.

I mean ACTUAL respect.

The kind where I don't need to know what you're doing every hour of the day.
Where I trust you to manage your own time.
Where I don't expect a novel when you book a doctor's appointment.

At Plumm, we build HR tech that's supposed to make work better for people.

So we'd be pretty hypocritical if we didn't practice what we preach.

Here's what that looks like:
Your status can say "away" at 10am. If you delivered that report on time, I don't care.

Taking a half day for a dentist appointment? Just put it in the calendar. I don't need 3 paragraphs about it.

I'm not going to ask for daily updates on tasks I already assigned you. You know what needs doing.

Other leaders ask me versions of the same two questions:

"But how do you know they're working?"
Well .. 
I look at the work. Revolutionary, I know.

"What if people take advantage?"
Then I hired the wrong people. That's on me.

Trust gets you better results than surveillance ever will.
People who feel trusted don't just stay longer.
They'll do better work.

And they actually give a damn (major plus). 

If that's controversial, I'll take it.

HR isn't broken.

Organisations broke it.

They took a function that was supposed to manage people and turned it into an emotional dumping ground.

Suddenly HR became counsellors. Mediators. Crisis managers. Workplace therapists.

All these responsibilities got added. All this emotional labour got piled on.

But the support? That never came.

No extra training. No mental health resources. No acknowledgement that this stuff actually takes a toll.

If companies actually want HR to function, they need to stop pretending this work comes for free.

Fund it properly. Staff it with enough people. Build real support structures.

Because right now?

Organisations aren't managing human resources.

They're exploiting them.

There's ONE overlooked habit that separates high-performing teams from the rest.

(It's not what you think.)

It's appreciation.
It tells people their work matters.
It tells them their effort counts.

Most people think kindness at work is "soft."
It isn't.
It shows what kind of leader you are.

Some companies still act like showing appreciation is optional.

But small gestures matter:
→ Acknowledge effort
→ Notice someone's work
→ Take a moment to say thank you

It shapes how people show up and how they feel about their work.

Too often, people push themselves to the limit before anyone notices. By then, recognition comes too late.

5 minutes can change everything.
And it costs nothing.

Who deserves a thank you today? Tag them 👇

Every underperformer you keep is a resignation letter you're writing for your best people.

You just don't know it yet.

Not because those people wanted more money.
Because they were exhausted from carrying deadweight.

Here's a pattern that shows up consistently in high-growth operations:
Every day you keep an underperformer, you're not just tolerating mediocrity.
You're actively punishing your top performers.
Your high performers pick up the slack. They work longer hours. They fix mistakes. They carry the weight.

And they resent you for it.

Because while you're having "development conversations" with someone who isn't cutting it, your A-players are burning out doing their job AND someone else's.

The hardest part of scaling isn't hiring.
It's accepting that not everyone scales with you.

I wanted to be the leader who believed in people. Who gave second chances. Who invested in growth.

But I learnt something harder: believing in someone doesn't mean keeping them in a role they can't handle.

The question shouldn't be "Should I give them more time?"
It's "At what cost to the people who are actually performing?"

Your top performers don't need you to be nice to underperformers.
They need you to protect the standard they're working hard to maintain.

This is the reality of leadership most people refuse to face.

High-growth teams come from the hard conversations you keep putting off.
Because when you avoid holding someone to the standard, your entire team pays for it.

Image Credit: George Stern

Everyone thinks they want to work at a startup.
 
...Until they actually do 👀 
 
The appeal is magnetic.
 
They picture themselves building something from scratch.
Making decisions without waiting for committee approval.
 
They see the success stories.
The unicorn exits.
The founders on stage.
And of course, the early employees who got life-changing equity.
 
Then reality hits.
The systems don't exist yet. The team's too small. And the problems are bigger than anyone admitted. Oh, yes and then there's the weekly change in process.

I've been a COO long enough to see the difference between people who think they'll manage and people who actually do.

Start-ups don't need everyone.
They need specific types of people.
The ones who don't just survive the chaos but somehow feed off it.
 
These are the 4 types that keep showing up:

The Builder:
This person sees a mess and thinks "challenge accepted."
They build processes out of nothing when everyone else is winging it.
Document things (yes, actually document them) so the company doesn't implode when someone goes on holiday. They don't wait for permission.
 
The Resourceful One:
They'll find a workaround with whatever's available and make it work better than the expensive option.
 
The Adaptable One:
Start-ups change direction faster than you can update the strategy doc.
(Which, let's be honest, no one's reading anyway.)
 
This person doesn't just cope with uncertainty. They thrive in it.
They're working on product on Monday, jumping into customer support on Tuesday, and somehow helping with hiring by Wednesday.
 
The Visionary:
This is the person who sees 5 steps ahead and spots opportunities everyone else misses.
They're not precious about titles or hierarchy.
They care about where the company's going and they want to help get it there.
 
The thing is, start-ups aren't an upgrade from corporate life.
It's an entirely different beast.

Most people WILL be miserable.
But the right people?
 
They're built for this.

*Credit: Social Geeks Digital Agency

Some leaders play favourites. 
They just don’t admit it.

Every all-hands meeting, it’s the same names getting a mention. Same round of applause. The rest of the team sits there quietly, wondering if all their late nights even made a difference.

I’ve seen this play out so many times. Leaders talk about “teamwork,” but recognition usually stays inside a small circle.

Here’s what happens: your best people stop speaking up. The effort drops. Why give it your all if nobody’s looking?

If you want your team to actually thrive, stop giving out praise just for show.

Start noticing what’s really going on:
→The person fixing a bug at 1am.
→The one unblocking other teams so projects stay on track.
→The colleague who does all the boring stuff that keeps things from falling apart.

That’s where the value is. 
Not the names on the slides, but the (actual) hands holding everything together.

When leaders start noticing the work that truly matters, everything changes.

People start raising their hands again. 
Ideas come back. You move away from office politics, and reward what actually counts.

If your team feels their work truly counts, even behind the scenes, they will own it with pride.

Who’s the hero in your team? 👇

77% of teams feel financially stressed.
Something has to give... but what?

People nod in meetings. 
Tick boxes. 
Smile.
Then stay up late, doing the maths no one sees.

Nearly half of UK employees get no financial support from their employer.

That means thousands juggling rent, bills, and work, feeling the weight in every late night, every skipped lunch, every paycheck that barely stretches.

Companies notice and roll out financial coaching, hoping it will make people feel secure.
“We want people to feel supported,” they say.

Others argue that it’s personal.
“Your money, your responsibility. No programme can fix what life throws at you.”

Some people feel relief when support exists.
Others feel they must manage it themselves.
Some feel both can be true at the same time.

Which side are you on?

Do you believe companies should step in (or do better), or is this entirely on each person to manage themselves?

65% of startups don't fail because of bad products.
 
They fail because co-founders can't work together.
 
Harvard Business School research shows co-founder conflict is the leading cause of startup collapse.
 
Not market fit. Not funding. Conflict between the people who started it.
 
Even Facebook and Snapchat dealt with messy founder disputes that cost them millions in legal fees and distraction.
 
Here's what breaks partnerships:
• Vision differences - one wants to scale fast, the other wants to stay small
• Equity disputes - who deserves what percentage becomes a battlefield
• Workload imbalance - one person carries the weight while the other coasts
• Trust breakdowns - small resentments pile up until the relationship cracks
 
The pattern is predictable. Two people start excited. 6 months in, they realise they never discussed the hard stuff.
 
Who makes final calls? How do we split equity if someone leaves? What happens when we disagree on strategy?
 
Without answers, every decision becomes a fight.
 
The fix isn't complicated:
 
Talk about roles before you need to. Define who owns what decisions. Create a plan for handling disagreements before they happen.
 
Most founders skip this because it feels awkward. But that awkwardness costs nothing compared to watching your startup implode because you couldn't resolve a conflict.
 
Choose your co-founder carefully. Then build the systems to work through problems together.

Linkedin Community, I've never needed advice like I do today.

Read quickly!
 
Should I inspire my team, or inspire myself in the mirror for the next hour?
 
Decisions, decisions...

The whole remote work debate feels exhausting at this point.

Unpopular opinion 👇 
 
Everyone's so focused on where people work that we've stopped asking better questions.
Like, why do some companies thrive remote while others completely fall apart?
I used to think it was about having the right tools or processes.
 
But honestly, I don't think that's it anymore.
 
The companies struggling with remote work aren't struggling because people are at home.
They're struggling because the problems were already there.
Remote just made them impossible to ignore.
 
If someone couldn't deliver results in the office, why would being at home suddenly fix that?
If expectations were vague before, a Zoom call doesn't make them clearer.
The location just turned up the volume on what was already happening.
 
And now we've got this weird split.
 
Some companies are forcing everyone back to the office.
Others have gone fully remote and aren't looking back.
 
Here's the thing though. Both can work. Both can also fail spectacularly.
 
The companies doing well right now aren't stuck arguing about desks and commutes.
They're asking completely different questions.
 
Do people actually know what success looks like in their role?
Are managers leading through outcomes or just tracking who's visible?
Can we measure what actually matters instead of presence?
 
If the answer to those questions is no, it really doesn't matter where people sit.
 
Remote work isn't the problem. Office mandates aren't the solution.
 
Honestly, the location doesn't matter.
 
Lazy people are lazy anywhere. Hardworking people are hardworking anywhere.
 
So maybe the debate isn't where people work. It's who's actually working.

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Elisabetta Torretti

Nabil Ismail

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The Battle

Elisabetta Torretti

Nabil Ismail

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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);}Elisabetta Torretti's LinkedIn Performance

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