If I started ForkOn today, I wouldn't raise a single euro. That's a weird thing to say. My investors supported me through the hardest years of my life. When two co-founders left. When cash was running out. When I wasn't sure we'd make payroll. I'm grateful. Honestly. But I also got lucky. Most founders who raise don't. Here's what nobody tells you about VC money: it changes what you work on. Instead of building for customers, you start building for investors. Instead of focusing on revenue,...
15 days ago • 2 min read
Two of my co-founders quit. Three weeks before our funding round. Post-Covid. Cash running low. I was suddenly alone — handling sales, operations, and investor relations. All at once. While trying to convince our board that ForkOn still had a future. I didn't sleep well for weeks. My mind kept racing through everything that could go wrong. The funding might fall through. The team might leave. We might not make it to next month. But here's what I realized: My anxiety wasn't about the problems...
22 days ago • 2 min read
I closed a €500,000 deal without a product. ForkOn was more idea than reality back then. We were building an MVP. The vision was clear — digitalize forklift fleets — but we had nothing to show. No product. No customers. Just a pitch deck and conviction. One of my co-founders met the CEO of a large battery manufacturer at an investment fair. They produce batteries for forklifts. We saw an opportunity: what if we helped them digitalize their battery management while we built our forklift...
29 days ago • 2 min read
I hired wrong for 3 years. I looked at CVs. Made lists of required skills. Got excited when someone had "10 years experience" or worked at a company I recognized. Then I watched great resumes turn into mediocre employees. Again and again. My worst hire was a senior sales guy from corporate. Impressive CV. Years of experience. Knew all the right buzzwords. First month, he spent more time perfecting contract details than talking to customers. He thought through every possible scenario for the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
I used to use AI like a better Google. Ask a question. Get an answer. Copy and paste it somewhere else. Ask another question. Copy-paste again. I'd let ChatGPT draft an email, then manually paste it into Gmail. I'd ask for 10 target companies, then copy them into LinkedIn to search manually for the right contact. It saved me maybe 10 minutes here and there. Nothing transformational. Then I had coffee with a friend. He's the founder and CEO of an AI consulting company. "We used to work with 45...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
I loved skydiving. 35 jumps. The rush, the freedom, the community. It was the best hobby I'd ever picked up. I quit anyway. Not because I lost interest. Because I realized it was costing me more than I thought. Every jump meant a full weekend gone. Travel, gear checks, waiting for weather, the jump itself, packing, driving back. Plus the mental space — planning the next jump, watching videos, thinking about certifications. It wasn't just time. It was maintenance. And skydiving wasn't the only...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
I checked Slack 50 times a day. Email another 30x. I didn't plan to. It just happened. My brain was hunting for the next problem. The next fire. The next message that needed me. I'd wake up at 2am and reach for my phone before I was even fully conscious. The Addiction I Didn't Know I Had For months at ForkOn, I told myself I was just being responsive. A good founder. Available. On top of things. But here's what was actually happening: I was in survival mode. My nervous system was constantly...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
The most important skill for success (and how to learn it) Everything is trying to get your attention. Your team. Your clients. The news. Social media. Every email. Every notification. And they all use the same tactic: make their problem feel like your emergency. The Attention War Naval Ravikant said it best: "The goal of media is to make every problem, your problem." And it's not just media. Every team member, every client, every potential partner in your business is competing for your...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Read on my website | Read time: 4 minutes 99% of your effort is wasted (and how to find the 1%) 99% of your effort is wasted. Naval Ravikant said this, and he's right. The good news? This is normal. The challenge is finding the 1% that matters—and focusing everything on it. I Chased Every Opportunity For years, I treated ForkOn like a lottery. I'd attend all possible logistics fairs and startup events, hoping to meet THE big customer or THE right investor. Try every marketing channel because...
2 months ago • 3 min read