Inside a $100M Global Publishing Business [Case Study]

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on October 30, 2017 No Comments

Deconstructing the operations and business model of other companies, whether these are successful or not, is an effective way of understanding business and investing. In this post, we will be looking inside a global publishing company with annual revenues of more than $100 Million. The process I will follow will …

20 Thoughts on NOT Wasting your 20s

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on October 24, 2017 No Comments

The twenties is an amazing decade of your life, unique in its own way. It is the time when you work your ass off and build a solid foundation for a prosperous life. Do it right and everything is going to be ten times easier. Get it wrong and it …

10 Extraordinary Articles Every Entrepreneur Should Read

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on October 21, 2017 No Comments

The world of business is changing before our eyes. Industries are getting disrupted, and old incumbents are being displaced in favor of new, tech-savvy companies that grow like crazy and reach behemoth sizes. In this rapidly changing environment, you need to constantly catch up and remain up to speed. You …

10 Amazing Books to Kick-start your Business Journey

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on October 10, 2017 No Comments

You have finally accepted reality. You understand that the only way to get really, really rich is by building a massive, scalable business. You recognize that the world of business has changed and you need to embrace a new way of building businesses. As with everything in life, before you …

Why Cash Conversion Cycle Matters for Your Business

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on October 4, 2017 No Comments

Cashflow is the bloodline of your business. Without adequate cashflow, operations halt and companies flirt with bankruptcy. As the old adage goes: Revenue is Vanity. Profit is Sanity. Cash is Reality. Given its importance, you would expect entrepreneurs to cautiously track and monitor their incoming and outgoing flows of cash. …

3 Business Model Attributes that Could Make your Startup Struggle

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on September 26, 2017 No Comments

More than anything I consider myself a pragmatist. I strive to see things for what they really are. As a pragmatist, I prefer to take the path of least resistance. This does not mean that I shy away from hard work. On the contrary, I embrace the fact that to …

How to Bootstrap your Startup Like a Boss, Pt. 2: Finances, Hiring, KPIs

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on September 19, 2017 No Comments

This post is the second one in my article series on how to bootstrap your startup. The series is based on the excellent presentation on the matter by Oussama Ammar, cofounder and partner at The Family. Make sure to watch the presentation online on Youtube, it is definitely worth your …

How to Bootstrap your Startup Like a Boss, Pt. 1: Bootstrapping Fundamentals

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on September 11, 2017 No Comments

I am always fascinated by the art of bootstrapping. By bootstrapping, we refer to the process of using one’s own finances, perseverance and resourcefulness to launch, build and grow a new company. Entrepreneurs that bootstrap their businesses refrain from accepting outside funding from Angel investors or Venture Capitalists. There are …

I got lucky…

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on September 5, 2017 2 Comments

Every once in awhile, I meet a person or acquaintance that implicitly or explicitly attributes my (quite honestly limited) success in business and entrepreneurship to luck. Trapped in their skewed perceived reality, they somehow fail to see the larger picture. Projecting their own lack of accomplishments to others and me, …

7 Extraordinary Takeaways from Uber’s Seed Pitch Deck

By Ilias Tsagklis Posted on August 28, 2017 No Comments

A few days ago, extraordinary entrepreneur Garrett Camp, co-founder of both StumbleUpon and Uber, shared the first pitch deck the Uber team had created in late 2008. In case you somehow missed it, Uber (originally called ‘UberCab’) is an on-demand car service available via a mobile application. It has expanded …