My first startup that succeeded

But not for me

Intro

The past five Fridays, I’ve been writing about counterfactuals, paths, and why things fail long after they look successful.

Today, I realized something uncomfortable about myself. Uncomfortable, because we were brought up to ask good questions and bring home good grades.

Storytelling is my secret weapon.
Not my clever insights into causal flows or MedTech commercialization or agentic AI systems.

Storytelling -

Not because it sells.
Not because it teaches

But because it’s honest.

Sharing my personal experiences and learning; actual events, not polished versions, has value that “value content” lacks.

People don’t subscribe to my writing because of my insights into design and anti-design patterns.

People read me, and choose to work with me, because they see themselves in my story, and they trust me as a person.

Those authentic connections are real growth for me.

And for that, I’m grateful.

So today, I’ll share a story with you.

About the first company I started,

That worked, but not for me.

Once upon a time there was a founder

The excitement of the start

I started a software distribution company.

Our lead investor was a billionaire entrepreneur — and my mentor.

We built an exceptional team.

We launched with Microsoft.

Everything felt aligned.

Smart people. Real customers. Big logos.

Distributor conferences in Vegas and Monte Carlo.

It looked like the beginning of something durable. Something that generates wealth.

The messy middle

Early on, I misunderstood what business we were actually in.

I thought we were in the product business.
We weren’t.

I thought our customers cared about micro-kernels, operating systems and networking services.
They didn’t.
They cared about margin.

We were in the distribution business.

So we doubled down — on systems, dealers, pricing, and packaging.

Operationally, we got very good.

We built a channel of 100 resellers.

We built a subscription support center.

Revenue grew. Deals got bigger.

But - strategically, the path had already narrowed.

The merger that could

We grew to $20M in annual revenue in 4 years.

With marginal profit.

At the end of year 4, we merged with another distributor.

By year 5, the combined company was doing $40M.

From the outside, it looked like success.

I walked away with nothing.

Liquidation preferences. You know the rest.

Outro

That’s why I keep writing about counterfactuals.

Not as an academic exercise —
but because I’ve lived inside futures that started with excitement
and ended in quiet failure.

The real growth for me hasn’t been subscribers or replies.

It’s realizing that telling the truth, in sequence, over time -
creates something rarer than attention.

Your trust.

And for that, I’m grateful to you, my readers.

This week on Life Sciences Today

If you dig distribution channels - you’ll dig the story of Almased who built distribution for their product in the US and Europe.

This week on the Life Sciences Today podcast, I spoke with Jamie Luu and Ronja Kröger, Nutrition & Product Expert, M. Sc. Nutritional and Food Sciences from Almased, a 30-year-old German nutrition company with 31 clinical studies behind its flagship high‑protein, fermented shake.

We dug into how Almased’s blend of soy protein, yogurt, and raw honey modulates key appetite and metabolism hormones (GLP‑1, PYY, ghrelin, leptin), preserves 100% of muscle mass during weight loss, and even reduces liver fat.

We contrasted this “natural boost” of the body’s own signals with GLP‑1 drugs like Ozempic, which more aggressively override appetite pathways. Almased is careful not to position itself as a drug alternative; instead, it’s a complementary, complete‑nutrition option for both GLP‑1 users and people seeking a more traditional, habit‑building diet approach.

We also touched on Almased’s scientific moat, U.S. distribution, upcoming DTC site, and their next big product move: a chocolate flavor.

You can see the episode here

About me

I’m an entrepreneur, writer, host of Life Sciences Today podcast, ex-pharmatech founder, father of 4.

I’ve been building in tech, cyber, privacy, and clinical data for 25+ years across Israeli medical device startups, Verily, Amgen, and the Fortune 1 company.

I work at the intersection of business, engineering, AI and clinical data.

If you love my writing — share it

If you want more like this — subscribe to Clear Thinking