How to eat a shit sandwich

It’s taken me longer than I thought to pump out a new issue. Overwhelmed with life, work, health, and family. But this is important for me, so I will continue to bring the life of a Broke Ass Founder.

Thanks for going on the journey with me 🙏.

Time is a Construct

I’ve never lacked for ambition.

Even as a teenager, the son of a couple of school janitors and raised in utter poverty, I was determined to be the first to go to college (I did it…. sorta. More on that another day).

In my 20’s, I aimed to be the youngest District Manager at Pier 1 Imports (I did it at 24).

Now as a Founder, and reluctant entrepreneur, it’s probably pretty important that I set my goals for 2025. After all, that’s what responsible leaders do, right?

I’ll never lack for ideas and a desire to scale. But what do you do, when you are a solo act?

You learn self-discipline. That’s what.

As one who doesn’t have infinite capital or resources at my disposal, the best way for me to scale is with my time.

Sweat equity is free, and there is nothing more satisfying than watching the results of your labor bare fruit.

Problem is, it’s fucking exhausting.

As business continues to be volatile in tech recruitment, I’ve had to make several calculated pivots to ride out the uncertainty.

This means taking bets on clients who may not be ideal or less committed to hiring. Working on a contingent basis with the hope my client follows through.

AKA it could end up being a big waste of my time.

In 2024, I’ve had clients stiff me on payment, freeze jobs mid-interview cycle, or just plain ghost me after a candidate interview.

Hours and days of work for nothing.

That’s the life of recruiting and I accept that.

But I recognize the business is suffering and need to find a way to keep pushing.

Enter the pivot.

Find Your Audience

It dawned on me was that I was slowly building trust with my following down in Brazil.

I’ve genuinely gotten to know many of them and realized just how awesome they are.

Witty, brilliant, and just good people, I tapped into a network of amazing human beings that desired to work in the US.

I started offering Interview Master Classes in the Spring of 2024 as a way to make more money, and quicky realized there was a huge appetite for this.

Maybe there was an opportunity here.

So I started exploring a massive pivot that would be creating a community for Brazilian talent to upskill themselves for American opportunities while also creating a massive pipeline of engaged talent I can sell to potential clients.

Genius idea, Tony.

Only problem? Now I have to build the damn thing.

So here I am in January, trying to create an online curriculum in another country, while figuring out payment methods, a pricing structure in a down economic environment, and the infrastructure to support it all.

And that is after hours, while doing hours of biz dev, hours of recruiting and interviewing, customer account management, and trying to raise 5 kids.

So I’ve figured out how to chip away slowly. Very slowly.

1. Find partners to help along the way. I’ve consulted and provided profit sharing on any revenue to anybody I think can help me get this to market faster. I’d rather have a small piece of a watermelon than an entire grape.

2. Create passive awareness. I’ve started a newsletter to keep people informed of the progress I’m making and maintain engagement.

3. Keep iterating. Right now, we continue Master Classes and 1;1’s to generate some revenue while builder to bigger things.

4. Gather creditability. I ask everyone for honest feedback to my socials. It’s free.

The reality is that I likely have to remain patient, but crafty with a strong sense of urgency.

Being too passive and the opportunity will pass me by.

Being too aggressive will put me into an early grave.

Maybe I should double check to see if I have a long lost Uncle and he can pass on some of that generational wealth.

Founders You Should Know

I met 22 year old founder of Hire Armada, Athanasius “Athni” Tesfaye during the holiday season via a mutual connection and was instantly blown away.

Immigrating from Ethiopia to the US at age 7, Athni is a former UGA scholarship, D1 Track and XC athlete. He dropped out of school to found Hire Armada, a platform connecting talented African developers with Silicon Valley companies.

We chatted last week to discuss Hire Armada, the need for global talent, and what it’s like to be a solo founder.

Tony: Thanks for chatting with me, Athni. Tell me, what caused you to start Hire Armada?

Athni: I created Hire Armada because of the extremely bright individuals, including some friends I left behind, who live vastly different lives simply because they didn't have the opportunity to immigrate to the U.S. as I did.

I've accomplished a lot at a young age but I'm constantly driven by the impending doom waiting in front of me if I don’t make good use of the opportunity I have. I can't help but compare my achievements against the potential paths of my childhood friends, imagining how well they could have done in my position.

Tony: That’s interesting. So it’s impending doom that drives you, not just sure ambition?

Athni: Ha. No, I am definitely driven to be the best at what I do, but having that fear in the back of my mind is always good to keep me pushing on.

Tony: Totally get it. I think half my professional career has been born out of fear of failing. So, you formed Hire Armada all on your own. Zero funding. What’s been the toughest part of scaling your own startup?

Athni: Well, how many can I list haha. My parents, who always stressed the importance of education, initially disapproved of my decision to drop out and pursue Hire Armada. Although they're coming to terms with it now after better understanding the importance of my mission, it was really tough on our relationship at the time.

Second, becoming a young leader while being naturally introverted made me really uncomfortable. Thankfully, I developed some leadership skills from being the oldest of three brothers, four younger adopted sisters, and being the oldest cousin of eight in my family. Oh my!

Tony: That’s a big family man, lol. So what keeps you going when things get tough?

Athni: When things get hard, remembering how blessed I am to have the ability to change the lives of people I care about. If my father hadn't received a scholarship to study in the U.S., I would’ve been added to the number of talented developers in Ethiopia without a good job.

I constantly question whether I'm doing enough to utilize this amazing opportunity. As Steve Prefontaine, the American distance running legend, said, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." I strive to uphold this standard in doing my best with what I have at the moment.

Tony: What’s the one thing you want people to know about the talent you support?

Athni: The key thing to understand about our talent is that it's not about charity or DEI.

While my family and I relied off food stamps and food banks, I received a full scholarship from 4th to 7th grade to attend ACS, a private school in Ada, Michigan, where billionaires sent their children. I’m fortunate to experience extreme poverty and extreme wealth before I turned 10. Despite the differences I’ve seen between these lifestyles, one thing remains constant: a person's capacity for great work stems from how much they value the opportunity to do so.

I've witnessed more opportunities seized by my friends in Africa compared to those in America. I’ve hired developers that have now landed roles in FAANG. Bloomberg, Google, Palantir...

This isn't a DEI pitch or a non-profit charity pitch by any means. We’re simply giving companies what they crave; an opportunity to hire exceptional talent. We provide talent a place they belong; an opportunity they deserve.

Tony: Where can be get in contact with you?

Athni: 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/athni

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.hirearmada.com

Vibe of the Week

What’s going through my head when I wrote this weeks issue.

Love you all,

-T