AJ is a serial entrepreneur and passionate student of startups.
After a decade of spending countless hours and money building companies, most of which failed, he went back to basics and surrounded himself with entrepreneurs decades further ahead of him.
He ran a deeply connected community of 400 entrepreneurs in the UK and realised how little he knew about the art and science of company building.
At this intersection of relationships and company building is where AJ has found the key to success.
If we don't understand people, we don't understand business.
But people are hard to understand....
Which is why this show exists!
scale with soul is a deep dive intro how the best entrepreneurs alive build and manage the relationships that lead to startup success.
AJ is a serial entrepreneur and passionate student of startups.
After a decade of spending countless hours and money building companies, most of which failed, he went back to basics and surrounded himself with entrepreneurs decades further ahead of him.
He ran a deeply connected community of 400 entrepreneurs in the UK and realised how little he knew about the art and science of company building.
At this intersection of relationships and company building is where AJ has found the key to success.
If we don't understand people, we don't understand business.
But people are hard to understand....
Which is why this show exists!
scale with soul is a deep dive intro how the best entrepreneurs alive build and manage the relationships that lead to startup success.
How to comeback from over 80 VC rejections.
Atilana Pinon, CEO & Founder of Retorna, went from constant rejection to investors fighting for her, all by telling her story.
🧠 What You'll Learn In This Episode:
▪️ How to shift the power dynamic with VCs
▪️ The research framework that identifies aligned investors before you waste time
▪️ Why being profitable before fundraising is the ultimate negotiating position
▪️ Elite cash management mindsets
📖 Chapters
00:00 - Intro
01:44 - "Saying No to £600K"
05:31 - The Breaking Point: 80+ VC Rejections 07:47 - The Moment Everything Changed
11:03 - How to Research Investors Like a Pro
13:47 - The Preparation That Made All the Difference
19:52 - Cash Management: "Take Care of the Pennies"
27:08 - Revenue-Based Bonuses That Actually Work
31:14 - Growing Double-Digit Monthly (The Secret Sauce)
41:01 - From Solo Founder to Co-CEO Partnership
45:08 - Building Mutual Respect and Trust
52:29 - "Stop Worrying About the Future"
59:05 - "I Don't Deserve to Be Successful" - Breaking Limiting Beliefs
1:02:07 - Building a Zebra, Not a Unicorn
🍿 WATCH NEXT If you liked this conversation, you'll love this one too:
My Identity Was Crippling My Company | Will Pearson - Ocean Bottle
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🔗 Connect with Atilana: Atilana's
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/atilanapinon/?locale=en_US
Website - https://retorna.app, or other relevant links]
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Use Code - UPMSCALEWITHSOUL