Any early stage founder will know… When you’re bootstrapping, you can’t afford to pay freelancers their full day rates.

You have two bad options: hire cheaper people and compromise on quality, or stretch your budget so thin you can’t afford to pay anyone.

But there’s a third option that actually works: find talented people at a reasonable price point and negotiate creatively beyond just money.

I used to think negotiation was just haggling over price. But I’ve learned it’s really about transparency and finding win-win structures that work for both of us.

Here’s exactly how I negotiate with freelancers - and how you can get great talent without breaking the bank.

The Problem I Was Solving

Early on, I had two choices: hire cheaper freelancers (and compromise on quality), or pay full rates I couldn’t afford.

But the real issue wasn’t the budget - it was that I wasn’t thinking creatively about what I could actually offer.

I started asking: “What if I can’t pay full rate, but I can offer something else of value?”

That changed everything.

My Freelancer Negotiation Philosophy

1. Transparency, always

I’m clear about what I can and can’t afford. No dancing around it. I’ll say: “Your day rate is £X, and I can only do £Y right now. Here’s what I can do instead...”

This honesty opens the door to creative solutions.

2. Think beyond hourly rates

Instead of haggling over price, I ask: “What if we structured this differently?”

Possible alternatives:

• Commission on closed deals: “I’ll pay you 20% commission on every brand deal that comes from your content”

• Revenue-based scaling: “We start at £X/month, and when we hit £Y in brand revenue, it automatically goes to £Z”

• Performance bonuses: “Hit this milestone and your rate increases”

• Equity or ongoing revenue share: For longer-term relationships, a small percentage of future revenue

3. Find talent at the right price point

I don’t hire the cheapest option. But I also don’t always pay full rate upfront.

Instead, I look for talented people who are reasonably priced and hungry to work on something meaningful. Then I offer them upside beyond their base rate.

4. Make it a real conversation

I never pressure anyone. I lay out what I can offer and say: “This might not work for you, and that’s okay. But if it does, here’s what we could build together.”

Some people say no. And that’s fine. Better to know upfront than have someone resentful about the arrangement.

Real Example: My Social Media Manager

This is the perfect example of how creative negotiation actually works.

I needed an amazing social media manager. My current options either weren’t good enough or cost £500 per day - which I couldn’t sustain.

Then I found someone incredible. She was worth every penny of her day rate. But I couldn’t afford it consistently.

So instead of asking her to discount, I proposed something different:

What I offered:

• A lower monthly retainer than her day rate would normally cost

• PLUS a commission on every brand deal that comes from her content

• PLUS when we hit a certain threshold of brand revenue, her base rate automatically increases to her usual

Why this worked for both of us:

• I got the talent I needed at a cost I could initially afford

• She had clarity: “If I perform, I earn more”

• She had upside: commission incentivises her to create content that actually converts

• When the business grows, so does her income

• No resentment because we both got something valuable

We documented all of this in the contract so there were no surprises.

The result: I got exactly the quality I needed, she got paid fairly for her work, and when brand deals started coming in, she was even more motivated because she was earning commission.

Other Creative Structures I’ve Used

Revenue share on projects: “I can’t pay you upfront for this project, but I’ll give you 15% of whatever revenue it generates.”

Milestone-based increases: “Let’s start at £X, and every time we hit a growth milestone, your rate goes up by £Y.”

Deferred payment with equity: “I need you for 3 months at a lower rate, but I’ll give you 0.5% equity so you have upside if this works.”

Trial period with guaranteed increase: “Let’s work together for 3 months at this rate. If it’s working, your rate increases to £Z going forward.”

What Doesn’t Work

Don’t lowball just because you’re broke: If you propose something unreasonably low, talented people will pass. You’ll only attract people who are desperate or not very good.

Don’t hide the budget reality: Be honest. “I can only do £X right now, but here’s what I can offer on top” beats “This is all we can pay” every time.

Don’t pressure people: If someone says they need their full rate and can’t do a creative arrangement, respect that. Move on. There are other fish in the sea.

Don’t offer commission on things that won’t convert: “I’ll pay you 10% commission on revenue” sounds great until they realize the product doesn’t actually generate revenue. Be realistic.

Key Principles for Negotiation

Principle 1: Know what you can offer

Before the conversation, know:

• What’s your absolute max budget?

• What metrics or revenue can you tie payment to?

• What non-money benefits can you offer (exposure, portfolio pieces, flexibility, etc.)?

Principle 2: Propose alternatives, don’t demand discounts

“Can you do this for less?” rarely works.

But “I can’t pay full rate, but here’s what I can do...” opens conversation.

Principle 3: Make it performance linked

Tie extra payment to results. Commission on deals. Bonuses on milestones. Automatic increases when targets hit.

This aligns incentives: they’re motivated to do great work because they earn more when they perform.

Principle 4: Document everything

Once you agree on an alternative structure, add it to the contract. Don’t just shake hands. Written terms prevent misunderstandings later.

Your Quick Start

Before your next freelancer conversation:

• Know your absolute budget

• Brainstorm 2-3 alternative structures you could offer (commission, milestone increases, revenue share, etc.)

• Research their typical rates so you’re not embarrassingly low

In the conversation:

• Be transparent: “Your rate is £X, I can do £Y right now, here’s what I can offer instead”

• Listen to what matters to them (is it cash? upside? flexibility? portfolio building?)

• Propose creative alternatives that address their needs

• Be clear: “This might not work for you, and that’s okay”

If they say yes:

• Document the arrangement in writing

• Be clear on milestones or metrics

• Follow through on your promises

Pro tip: The best freelancer arrangements are the ones where both people feel like they won. You’re getting great talent affordably, they’re getting paid fairly (or better) if they perform. That’s a real win-win.

The Real ROI

Since negotiating creatively with freelancers:

• I work with talented people I couldn’t otherwise afford

• Freelancers are motivated because they have upside

• Relationships are better because there’s no resentment about underpaying

• When the business grows, I keep the best people because they’re invested

Finding the right people at the right structure is way better than settling for cheaper talent or stretching your budget until it breaks.

Try this approach with your next freelancer and let me know what structures you create!

Ciao for now,

— Jade

Three years ago, I made a decision that changed everything for Mane Hook-Up: I decided to build my personal brand at the same time I built the company’s brand.

A lot of people don’t do this. They think the company brand and their personal brand are separate. They focus on the business, avoid the spotlight, and hope the product speaks for itself.

I did the opposite. I went all-in on building a personal brand alongside the business.

Here’s what happened: after 18 months of consistent content, opportunities started coming to me. Speaking invites from organisations. Brand partnerships offering free products for our events. Fundraising connections. Collaboration requests.

The truth I discovered: your personal brand is a secret weapon for founders. It amplifies your business more than any marketing you can do for the business itself. But it only works if you’re actually willing to be the face of the company.

Here’s how to build it systematically, what I got wrong along the way, and the framework that actually works.

The #1 Mistake Founders Make With Personal Branding

Founders want their messaging and presentation to be perfect before they start.

They spend far too much time:

• Overthinking every post.

• Deleting drafts because they don’t sound polished enough.

• Waiting until they have the perfect personal brand statement before posting anything.

• Agonising over their bio, thinking that will lead to all of the conversions...

The end result? They never actually start.

The reality: Your personal brand will never be perfect as it needs to evolve over time. Get into the doing sooner rather than later, learn along the way and eventually you will land on the balance between what you love to talk about and what people need.

The founders who build real personal brands aren’t the ones with perfect bios and curated feeds. They’re the ones who started messy and refined as they went.

My Journey: How I Built This Thing

Year 1: Starting With What I Could Commit To (LinkedIn + Newsletter)

When I went full-time on Mane Hook-Up three years ago, I wanted to build my personal brand. But I was also nervous.

Even with my background in marketing, I didn’t know what I was doing and really didn’t want to fail publicly.

Read more

One thing that never gets old is agreements…

I learned the hard way that advisor relationships need structure.

When I started Mane Hook-Up, I had amazing advisors who were genuinely invested in helping me succeed. But even with agreements in place, things still felt messy.

Some advisors went quiet. Others weren’t showing up to meetings they’d committed to. And I only had basic documentation about what they’d actually agreed to do or what they were getting in return.

I realised the biggest problem wasn’t finding good advisors - it was that (like most founders) I needed better agreements in place.

So I created a simple advisor agreement template with five non-negotiables. Now, every advisor signs before they formally join, and it saves me from headache.

The Problem I Was Solving

Before I started requiring signed agreements, I’d have conversations with potential advisors:

“You’ll attend quarterly meetings, right?”
“Of course!”

Then months would go by and they’d ghost. Or they’d miss meetings without notice.

Without a sound written agreement, I had no way to hold anyone accountable - and frankly, no way to protect myself either.

The hardest part? Getting people to commit in writing. But that’s exactly why it’s so important. If someone won’t sign a simple agreement, they’re not serious about being an advisor.

The 5 Non-Negotiables

#1: Clear Services & Expectations

What it includes:

• Exactly what the advisor will do (strategic advice, intros, attending board meetings, etc.)

• How many hours per month they’re committing

• How many meetings they’ll attend per year (and the frequency)

• How responsive they should be (e.g., reply to emails within X days)

• Any specific responsibilities (recruiting, investor introductions, etc.)

Why it matters:

This stops the vague handshake deal problem. “You’ll advise us” means nothing. But “You’ll attend 6 board meetings per year and commit 5 hours per month to strategic advice” is crystal clear.

Both parties know what they’re signing up for. No surprises later.

What happens if you skip it:

Advisors show up sporadically. You’re constantly chasing them for the help you thought they’d provide. Resentment builds on both sides.

#2: Equity Compensation & Vesting

What it includes:

• Equity percentage (if offering equity)

• Vesting schedule (how the equity vests over time)

• Cliff period (usually 3-6 months before any equity vests)

• What happens if the company is sold

My standard:

• Maximum 1% equity per advisor

• 3-year vesting schedule with a 3-month cliff

• No cash compensation (equity only)

• 100% of unvested shares vest if the company is sold

Why it matters:

Equity is a big deal. It motivates advisors and aligns their interests with yours. But you need clear vesting schedules so advisors can’t claim equity if they disappear after one meeting.

The cliff period (usually 3 months) protects you: if an advisor quits immediately, they get nothing. If they stick around, the equity starts vesting monthly.

What happens if you skip it:

Advisors think they’re getting free equity. You think they’ve earned it. When you try to issue stock options later, there’s chaos and conflict.

#3: Confidentiality & IP Assignment

What it includes:

• Advisor agrees not to disclose company information

• Any IP created by the advisor belongs to the company

• What information is considered confidential

• What happens to confidential info if the relationship ends

Why it matters:

Advisors get access to sensitive information: your financials, customer lists, product roadmap, investor conversations. You need to protect that.

IP assignment protects you legally: if an advisor helps brainstorm a feature or product, that’s yours, not theirs.

What happens if you skip it:

An advisor leaves and starts a competing company using what they learned from you. Or they mention your financials to their other start-up friends. Or they claim credit for IP you created together.

#4: Independent Contractor Status

What it includes:

• Advisor is not an employee

• They receive no employee benefits (no health insurance, vacation, etc.)

• They’re responsible for their own taxes

• Company has no authority to control how they do the work

Why it matters:

This protects both parties. It clarifies that advisors aren’t getting the employment perks. It also protects you legally - if something goes wrong, they can’t claim you misclassified them as a contractor.

What happens if you skip it:

An advisor could later claim they were an employee and demand benefits. Or they could argue they’re owed employment taxes. It’s a legal mess.

#5: Term & Termination

What it includes:

• When the agreement starts

• How long it lasts (I typically use 2 years)

• How either party can end it (usually 5 days written notice)

• What happens to equity if the advisor leaves early

Why it matters:

This gives both parties an out. If an advisor isn’t showing up, you can end it cleanly. If an advisor finds they don’t have time, they can step down without drama.

Clear terms prevent situations where an advisor is technically still an advisor but hasn’t done anything in years.

What happens if you skip it:

You’re stuck with a ghost advisor. Or an advisor claims they’re still entitled to equity because the relationship never officially ended.

How to Implement This

Step 1: Find an agreement template

I used the Founder Institute’s template as my base and customised it for Mane Hook-Up. You can find similar templates online just make sure they covers things that are essential to you.

Step 2: Customise for your advisor

Not all advisors are the same. You might have:

• Standard advisors: 5 hours/month, quarterly meetings, 0.25-0.50% equity

• Strategic advisors: 10 hours/month, monthly meetings, recruiting help, 0.50-0.75% equity

• Expert advisors: 20 hours/month, bi-monthly meetings, major projects, 1.00% equity

Adjust expectations and equity based on the role.

Step 3: Have the conversation first

Don’t just email them a contract. Have a call where you discuss:

• What you’re asking them to do

• Why you value their help

• What equity you’re offering

• Timeline and expectations

Then send the agreement to formalize the conversation.

Step 4: Get it signed before they officially join

This is critical. The agreement isn’t just a legal formality - it’s a signal of commitment. If someone won’t sign, they’re not serious.

Pro Tips

Be flexible on structure: If an advisor can’t commit to monthly meetings but would do quarterly, adjust accordingly. Better to be honest about expectations than have an agreement they can’t keep.

Offer tiered options: Have templates for Standard, Strategic, and Expert levels. It makes it easier for advisors to pick what matches their capacity.

Make it a conversation, not a gotcha: Frame the agreement as “Let’s get on the same page so we’re both clear on what this looks like.” Not as a legal document designed to trap them.

Review it regularly: If an advisor’s role changes, update the agreement. If they’re suddenly doing way more than expected, increase the equity or reduce commitments.

Your Quick Start

This week:

• Find or create an advisor agreement template

• Customise it for your company

• Decide on your equity ranges (max %, vesting schedule)

• Create a 1-2 page summary of what you’re offering

Before your next advisor:

• Have the conversation about expectations and compensation

• Send the agreement

• Get it signed before they start advising

• Keep a copy for your records

Pro tip: Start with one advisor and refine the agreement based on what works. By your third advisor, you’ll have a solid template you can reuse.

The Real ROI

Since implementing advisor agreements:

• Advisors actually show up to meetings (because they’re committed in writing)

• I don’t have lingering questions about what they agreed to

• No conflicts about equity or expectations

• Clear relationships that feel professional and respectful

A 2-minute conversation and a signed agreement beats months of miscommunication and resentment.

Don’t skip this step. It’s the difference between having advisors who actually help and advisors who disappear.

Let me know if you need help customizing your advisor agreement!

Ciao for now,

— Jade

For those of you who have been with me since I started this newsletter back in 2023, you probably remember I decided to fundraise the moment I started working on Mane Hook-Up full time.

Bold, I know (and a little naïve).

But my aim was less about showing how much I could raise in public and more about helping other founders understand what the landscape of fundraising actually looked like. Because one thing is for sure, we hear about the money that lands in a start-up’s bank account when a round closes. We never hear what it actually took to get there. Which leaves most people wondering if they can ever do it to, and if so how?

So I started documenting (week by week) what I was doing to raise. Despite being an operator in the start-up space, it was harder, more draining and more complex than I expected.

While I had been working on Mane Hook-Up part-time for years, I wasn’t really known for what I do, I had a process (but it wasn’t solid), and I burnt out multiple times along the way, leaving me feeling like fundraising was taking me for a ride and not the other way around.

Ultimately, after 8 months of work, I didn’t close the round.

Now, 3 long years later… I’m back to do this all again. But this time, I’m doing things differently.

Often when people are optimising anything, they think tools and processes first, which makes sense. The sharper your arsenal is, the better the outcome often is too. So yes, this version of 240 days has a tool stack update (which you can see below, thank me later).

But what if the real optimisation isn’t the tools at all?

Fortune 500 executives spend thousands optimising every part of their lives - nutrition, fitness, recovery, therapy - because it sharpens the decisions that let them outperform everyone else. Instead of burning the candle at both ends like we’re told to accept, what if I spent that same energy investing in myself and my wellbeing?

Can I close? Can I do it faster and on better terms?

That’s the question I really want to answer in this new version of 240 days.

Each time I burned out during my last raise, not only did I struggle to pick myself back up again, but I also fell out of love with pitching. It just felt like I was on a painfully slow ride to no particular destination, and that energy inevitably bled into my conversations, which would have also affected my ability to close anything.

One thing I know for sure is, investors aren’t just buying into the future that Mane Hook-Up creates when it’s serving almost every Black woman in the world; they are fundamentally buying into me. The Founder, the person who birthed the idea and is fighting to bring it to life.

That said, I am my greatest asset. And I don’t mean that in an arrogant “none of it can happen without me” way; I have an amazing team, and the things we do wouldn’t be possible without them.

I mean, if I spend time trying to optimise myself, investing in what I need to do to be a better Founder, I’m pretty sure I can get far further than I did last time.

For those who want to discover the answer with me, subscribe and stick around for the ride.

I’ll be sharing monthly updates in between the usual deep dive and quick wins posts, and I’m making this content entirely free for everyone to see, as I want as many Founders as possible to benefit from the results of this experiment.

When does the 240 days start and stop?

240 days from today (21st September 2026) lands on 19th May 2027.

So, by this time I want to have closed the round and ideally have money in the bank.

How will you work on & measure your wellbeing?

NAIQUAN: The system I’m running this on

Before I get into the raise itself, I want to explain what I’m actually doing, because “wellness” on its own doesn’t mean much. I’m not adding self-care around the edges of fundraising. I’m improving six specific areas, all at once, because burnout in 2023 didn’t come from one thing going wrong. It came from everything going unmanaged at the same time.

This is NAIQUAN’s 360 wellness philosophy, and it’s what I’m using as my operating system for this round.

Fitness: Move with purpose

Strength, cardio, and movement built around my actual life, not the other way around. I’ve been sprinting since I was a teen, and while training for 3-4 hours a day, five days a week is probably something that Founders would throw in the bin during a fundraise, I have no intention of doing that. This isn’t about training harder; it’s about training in a way that fits into my week rather than getting sacrificed by it.

Nutrition: Fuel my potential

Real food, personalised to my body’s needs, my schedule, and what I’m trying to achieve. Not a diet. Fuel for the version of me that has to be sharp on back-to-back investor calls.

Life Coaching: Find my real goal

Accountability, direction, and clarity across every part of my life, not just the business. A raise has a way of swallowing everything else; this is what stops that from happening.

Therapy: Clear my mind

A safe, confidential space to actually process what’s happening, not just push through it. Rejection is part of every raise. This is where I deal with it properly instead of carrying it into the next call.

Physiotherapy: Treat my body

Balancing the pace of this round with real recovery and regular body maintenance, so the physical toll doesn’t quietly build up over 240 days without me noticing.

Rest and Recovery: Restore deeply

Sleep and recovery treated as an active part of the plan, not an afterthought that gets cut when things get busy. In 2023, this was the first thing I dropped (I was regularly running on 4-5 hours of sleep). Not this time.

Why this matters for the round

The bet I’m making is simple. If I can run all six of these properly, at the same time as raising, I don’t just avoid burning out again. I actually become a better founder in the process, sharper decisions, steadier under pressure, more resilient when a call goes badly. That’s the experiment. Not just can I close, but does looking after myself change what closing even looks like.

How I’ll measure this

Every edition, I’ll score myself 1 to 5 on five things. Not to perform wellness, but to keep myself honest, and to give you a way to actually see whether this is working or whether I’m just saying it’s working.

• Energy levels. 1 is running on empty by Wednesday. 5 is finishing the week with something left in the tank.

• Coping capacity. 1 is a bad call derails my whole day. 5 is a bad call is disappointing for an hour, then I move.

• Recovery time after a knockback. 1 is still thinking about a rejection days later. 5 is back to normal functioning within a few hours.

• Pillar consistency. 1 is most of the six slipped this time around. 5 is the plan actually happened, close to as intended.

• Decision quality under pressure. 1 is looking back and knowing a call was made frazzled. 5 is looking back and knowing it came from a clear head.

I’ll show the numbers plainly, including when they’re low. A 2 on energy or a 1 on recovery isn’t a failure of the experiment, it’s data. That’s the whole point.

Ok, well what funding prep has been one so far?

A lot 😅

Fundraising prep is not for the faint-hearted. It’s taken me roughly 5 weeks to get everything ready from beginning to end, and I took my time to work this all out methodically and thoroughly, because I will ultimately be judged by the quality of my work.

Product direction and team

We’re building a new and improved model of Mane Hook-Up, one that serves both our customers and our stylists better in the long run. I’m not going to give away the details of what that actually looks like yet; that’s staying close to the chest for now, but I can tell you what it requires behind the scenes.

It’s meant genuinely handing over larger parts of the product to the team rather than just delegating tasks. Product now isn’t with me making every call, which has been its own adjustment. And we’re getting everything in place for our Head of Tech to come in and actually run with it, which means the infrastructure, the handover, the clarity on what they’re walking into- all of that had to be built before they arrive, not figured out after.

Valuation & financial models

I didn’t start with the valuation.

I started with the model, because the model is what actually tells you how much you need to raise in the first place, and I wasn’t willing to work backwards from a number that felt good rather than one that was true.

Rather than building a model from scratch, I went looking for a financial model template first, which turned out to save me an enormous amount of time compared to starting from a blank sheet. You can find a tonne of great templates on this website called the Founder Playlist (again, thank me later).

I then customised it properly for MHU, our numbers, our assumptions, our structure. Somewhere in that process I broke a formula. Not a small thing, a proper “why is this number suddenly wrong and I have no idea where” moment. I couldn’t trace it myself, so Claude ended up walking me through it line by line until we actually found it.

I gave this two and a half weeks before I let myself move on to anything else, headcount included in that. That wasn’t me being precious; it was because I needed the numbers to be genuinely solid, not roughly right, before I built anything on top of them. The valuation itself only came once that foundation was locked.

The deck & all other documentation

Before I wrote a single word, I made a full list of everything that needed to exist for the data room. Not a rough idea, an actual list, because I didn’t want to be discovering gaps halfway through investor conversations.

That list included:

• The pitch deck (2x versions, one for emails, another for calls)

• Investor tracker

• FAQs

• A comms pack, including every email template I’d need

• Executive summary

• Round terms

• Cap table

• SAFE

• Historical financials

• A handful of others beyond that

On the upside, this isn’t my first rodeo and marketing is my background, so while this was all time consuming, it wasn’t painful. Another two and a half weeks went into building out everything on that list, the deck itself, and getting all my tools properly set up and connected around it. By the time this edition goes out, none of this is polished to perfection, but it’s built, tested against a real checklist, and ready to actually go in front of people.

Outreach automation & tools

Three tools doing the heavy lifting here. Hunter.io for finding and verifying the right contacts before I ever reach out. Boardy for investor networking and warm introductions. Marblism is running outreach on autopilot in the background. More on exactly how each of these is being used later in this edition.

This one had an extra step I hadn’t planned for. Last time round I was using a tool called Wobaka for automation; this time I’ve moved to Hunter, which meant I needed to get back into my old Wobaka account first to download my investor email list rather than starting from zero.

Lucky for me, I still had the founder’s contact details, and he gave me three days of free access to go in and pull everything out (thanks, Fredrik; genuinely appreciated!) From there, I used another tool to extract additional contact data, combined that with what I’d pulled from Wobaka, and uploaded the whole thing into Hunter to verify it properly before building out all the automations on top.

What kind of investors are you going for?

Angels, Angel syndicates and family offices, predominantly based in the US.

So, for those of you who are considering this kind of funding too, this will be pretty eye-opening. If you’re going for VCs (or considering them), my journey may not fill all the gaps for you, but it’s still reflective of some of what you would experience.

As for the why, I’ve been really fortunate to have worked for Angel-backed, crowdfunded, and VC-backed start-ups in the past, and I can honestly say my experience of Angel & Crowdfunded start-ups was better. More autonomy and control over the direction of the company, but with the support of people who really care and want you to win, so that’s the kind of funding I would rather pursue. Simple.

What tools have you used this time?

The tools running this raise

Again, anyone who remembers the original 240 days will know I love a good tool. Anything that saves me time, energy, and head space is always welcome. So this version is no different. But, instead of recommending new tools week by week, this time I have a tool stack that I’m sticking to from beginning to end.

Plus, I dug up some referral links with offers and discounts for anyone who wants to use them too.

Outreach and automation

Boardy

What it does: AI-powered investor networking, matching founders with relevant investors and making warm introductions rather than leaving you to cold outreach.

Why it matters: A huge amount of fundraising time gets lost just finding the right people to talk to. This is doing that work in the background so my energy goes into the conversations themselves.

Get 6 months of Boardy Pro for free

Marblism

What it does: LinkedIn outreach automation, running targeted messaging at scale.

Why it matters: Manually messaging every warm contact one by one isn’t sustainable alongside everything else this raise needs from me. This keeps outreach moving without eating my whole day.

Get 10% off for life

Hunter.io

What it does: Runs automated outreach sequences to the contacts I’ve chosen not to message manually, and finds and verifies contact details before any of it goes out, so I’m not messaging dead emails or guessing at addresses.

Why it matters: Sending emails manually and remembering who to contact, and when, can be a huge time suck. Some contacts get an automated sequence, others get a message from me directly, depending on how warm the connection already is. Hunter saves me time on the first group, and gives me the headspace to focus properly on the second, so I can reach more investors without losing the personal touch on the ones that matter most.

Relationships and calls

Dex

What it does: Personal CRM that helps me see who I’m connected with, when we last spoke, all the channels we’ve communicated on, and where they are in the world. Helps me track investor relationships, follow-ups, and gives me all the context I need on past conversations.

Why it matters: Relationship memory matters over a 240-day raise where I’m juggling dozens of conversations at once. Not to mention, I can look back on past conversations over the years that will help me going forward.

Get $25 off

Fathom

What it does: AI notetaker that sits in on calls and captures everything automatically.

Why it matters: Lets me actually be present in investor conversations instead of half-listening while I scribble notes, and gives me something to go back to when I’m deciding how to follow up.

Get yours now

Planning and protection

Reclaim.ai

What it does: AI calendar and time management tool that helps me protect focus blocks, avoid overbooking, and work within my existing commitments, especially anything that involves travel.

Why it matters: Managing my time is pretty imperative to leading the round, and this is arguably one of the best ways to prevent burnout. So having a tool that both helps me schedule and protects my down time is a win, win.

Get yours now

Intelligent Change Productivity Planner

What it does: A physical planner I use to set goals, structure my days and habits, and stay on top of everything company-wide.

Why it matters: A natural place to keep track of my 1 to 5 measurement scale, so I can stay on top of it and give you all concrete feedback, not something vague from memory.

Get 10% off with code GRATITUDE

Building and structuring the raise

Claude

What it does: AI assistant for drafting, thinking through problems, and troubleshooting.

Why it matters: Everything from structuring this newsletter to rescuing me when I broke a formula in my financial model and couldn’t find where. Genuinely part of how I’m getting the support of a personal assistant and ops manager for the raise, at a fraction of the cost.

Canva

What it does: Design tool, used here to build the pitch deck itself.

Why it matters: The deck is often the first thing an investor actually sees. Having a tool that makes it look considered without needing a designer on standby mattered. I can also track how many people have viewed the deck and which slides they spent the most time on (helping me to make tweaks as conversations go along).

Sydecar

What it does: SPV setup and management for the raise. An SPV, or special purpose vehicle, is essentially a single legal entity that pools multiple investors together. Instead of each individual investor going directly onto my cap table, they all invest into the SPV, and the SPV itself holds one line on the cap table.

Why it matters: I’m raising from angels, which usually means a lot of individual names and a lot of individual paperwork. With an SPV, if 100 people invest, my cap table shows one line, not 100 separate entries. Clean for me, simpler for future investors doing diligence too. Sydecar specifically has been built with US investors in mind, which matters given who I’m targeting this round.

Register now

Where this leaves us

Today marks day 1 of 240, with the round closing on 19 May 2027 if everything runs to plan.

And there’s already a genuinely good sign to share. We have a provisional £1k commitment in, and here’s why that matters more than the number itself suggests. In 2023, it took four months to get a first check committed. This time, it happened in week one.

I’m not reading too much into one data point, one check isn’t a trend. But if the whole premise of this experiment is that looking after myself changes the pace and quality of a raise, not just whether it closes, a four-month wait becoming a one-week wait is exactly the kind of early signal worth naming out loud.

What’s next

Next edition lands on 20th October, and I’ll be back with how the first month actually went, what moved, what didn’t, and where the five wellness scores landed. If a pillar slipped or the energy wasn’t there for a video, you’ll hear that too. That’s the whole point of running this in public.

239 days to go.

One of the most challenging things that any founder has to do is talk to team members about their performance… especially when they’re not hitting the mark.

I’ve been there.

I’ve had to explain why we can’t give someone the equity or raise they want. I’ve had to address someone’s attitude when it’s affecting the whole team.

Every single time, I wished I’d had a framework to lean on (especially when I was dealing with certain situations for the first time).

Most founders avoid difficult conversations - until they have no choice but to have them - because they want to avoid that uncomfortable feeling. They hope the problem will resolve itself. They soften the message so much that the person doesn’t even understand there’s an issue. Or they explode emotionally and damage the relationship beyond repair.

The truth is: difficult conversations are like compound interest in reverse. The longer you wait, the more damage accumulates. A small issue becomes a massive problem. A person’s underperformance goes unaddressed for months. A conflict between team members festers until it poisons the entire culture.

The difference between founders who build healthy teams and founders who constantly have drama is simple: they have the hard conversations early, they structure them properly using an actual HR framework, and they stay calm when emotions rise.

Here’s how to do it - with real examples from my own experience.

The #1 Mistake Founders Make in Difficult Conversations

Founders either get too emotional or they try to be too kind.

The emotional route: They get frustrated, raise their voice, respond to defensive reactions, and end up damaging the relationship and their credibility. People stop trusting them because they can’t stay level-headed.

The “too kind” route: They soften the message so much that the person doesn’t understand there’s actually a problem to be addressed. They avoid being direct. Then six months later, when nothing has changed, they’re shocked. Or they finally have to part ways, and the person is blindsided because they didn’t realise how serious it was.

Both approaches fail because they don’t follow a traceable process. There’s no documentation. There’s no clear expectation-setting. If you ever need to part ways, you’re vulnerable because you can’t point to a clear record of what happened and when.

The better approach: Follow an actual HR process. Be direct but fair. Early. Multiple times if needed. With documentation at every step. So when you eventually need to make a decision, you have a clear record and the person isn’t surprised.

The Four-Phase HR Framework for Difficult Conversations

Having worked at start-ups and led teams before I started working on Mane Hook-Up, I’ve benefited from having a bit of HR training along the way. These sessions and training days have equipped me with the information I need to address these situations (even if they feel messy). Here’s the structured approach that actually works:

Phase 1: Preparation (Before You Meet)

This is where most founders fail. They wait until they’re frustrated, then schedule a meeting and wing it.

Instead, preparation happens over days or weeks. It’s methodical. It removes emotion from the equation and gives both people tangible things and moments to address to keep the conversation on course.

Step 1: Gather Facts

Collect objective data, dates, and documentation. Not feelings. Not impressions. Facts.

What to document:

• Specific instances of the problem behaviour or underperformance

• Dates these occurred

• Impact on the team or business

• Any previous feedback you’ve given on this issue

• The person’s response to that feedback (or lack of response)

Step 2: Define Your Objective

Determine the required outcome before the meeting. What are you trying to achieve?

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Every founder starts by saying yes to everything.

Yes to meetings. Yes to partnerships. Yes to collaborations. Yes to catch-ups. Yes to speaking gigs. Yes to anyone who asks for your time.

And for a while, that’s actually smart.

You learn what works, what doesn’t, and where your energy is best spent.

But then something shifts. You get burnt out. Things don’t move the needle. You’re spending time on other people’s agendas instead of your own.

And you start wondering: what if I’d said no to half of these things? What could I have done instead?

That’s when you need a way to say no - not to close doors, but to actually open the right ones.

Here’s how I decide what to decline, how I say it, and how it’s actually freed me up to land better opportunities.

The Problem I Was Solving

Early on, I said yes to everything. Meetings with anyone? Sure. Casual catch-ups? Of course. Partnerships where I’d do most of the work? Let’s do it.

I thought saying yes kept doors open. In reality, it just kept me busy without moving the business forward.

I was burning out. And I realised there were things I could have done that would have moved the needle way more - if I’d just had the time.

That’s when I decided I needed something to help me. Not to be ruthless, but to be more intentional.

The Decision Framework

Here’s what I ask myself before I say yes or no to anything:

Question 1: What’s the time cost?

If I do this, what am I NOT doing?

Be specific. Don’t just think “it takes 2 hours.” Think: “If I go to this meeting, I can’t work on [specific project] that would [specific result].”

When you frame it that way, the decision becomes easier.

Question 2: What’s the greater benefit?

Does saying yes to this move my business forward more than the alternative?

Am I:

• Meeting someone new who could become a partner, investor, or customer?

• Closing a deal?

• Pushing the business in a new direction?

• Achieving a specific objective?

If the answer is no, it’s probably a no.

Question 3: What’s the energy cost?

Beyond time, how much energy will this drain?

Some things take 1 hour but drain you completely. Other things take 3 hours but energise you.

Energy matters. If something is high time cost + high energy cost + low business benefit, it’s definitely a no.

Question 4: Is there a higher priority?

What else are you working on right now? What’s the bigger goal this quarter?

Be honest. If this opportunity doesn’t align with your current priorities, it’s probably a no.

What I Say No To

Meetings with no agenda or direction

If someone wants to “pick my brain,” I ask them to be specific.

“I’d love to help. What specifically would be useful to discuss? What’s the challenge you’re trying to solve?”

Most of the time, they can’t articulate it. That tells me it’s not worth the time.

Casual catch-ups

I’ve learned that “let’s catch up” meetings rarely are just catch-ups. People come with hidden agendas. It’s usually “can you help me?” disguised as casual connection.

I’m direct about this: if someone wants to catch up AND they have something they need help with, that’s fine. Let’s do it. But I don’t say yes to vague catch-ups anymore.

Partnerships where I carry the bulk of work

If the benefit is heavily weighted toward the other person and I’m doing most of the work, it’s a no.

I say yes to partnerships that are mutually beneficial - where both sides are bringing value and effort (like our event with Dosso Beauty earlier this year).

Speaking gigs that don’t align

I say yes to speaking that is either paid OR strategically positions me in the industry.

But I don’t say yes to every speaking opportunity just for exposure. My time is more valuable than generic exposure.

What I Say Yes To

Opportunities to meet new people

If it’s a genuine chance to build a relationship with someone interesting, I usually say yes (time permitting).

Opportunities to close deals

If it moves revenue forward, it’s a yes.

Opportunities that push the business in a new direction

If it’s aligned with where I want to take the business and I haven’t explored it yet, it’s usually a yes.

Mutually beneficial partnerships

If both sides are bringing value and effort, I say yes.

How to Say No

This is where most founders get stuck. They don’t know how to decline without burning bridges.

Here’s my approach: gentle but direct honesty.

I don’t dance around it. I don’t make excuses. I give people clarity because that’s what I’d want.

The language I use:

“Thank you so much for thinking of me. This just isn’t on my agenda right now, and I’m not sure if it will be. But [other person/recommendation] would be a great fit for this.”

That’s it. It’s:

• Appreciative (thank you)

• Clear (not on my agenda)

• Honest (I’m not sure if it will be)

• Helpful (pointing them somewhere else)

When I say “never”:

Only when there’s a values misalignment. But here’s the thing - when your values are clear, it’s rare that the wrong people approach you anyway.

Most rejections aren’t about never. They’re about “not right now.”

Real Examples

Casual coffee chat: Someone wants to “grab coffee and catch up.” I ask: “What specifically would be helpful to talk about?” If they can’t give me a clear answer, I pass. If they say “I need advice on X,” I say yes to that.

Partnership proposal: Someone wants to collaborate on a project. I’d do 80% of the work, they’d do 20%. That’s a no. But if we’re both bringing equal value? I say yes.

Speaking gig: Free speaking slot at a conference that’s not relevant to my industry or audience. That’s a no. But a paid speaking slot or a free slot at a major industry event? That’s a yes.

Pro Tips

Be specific when you say no. “Not right now” is clearer than “I’ll think about it.” It sets expectations.

Always point them elsewhere if you can. This shows you’re not just turning them down - you’re helping them succeed. That keeps the relationship warm.

Review your yeses quarterly. Are the things you’re saying yes to still aligned with your goals? If not, it’s time to adjust.

Remember: saying no is saying yes to something else. Every no creates space for a better opportunity.

Your Quick Start

This week:

• Write down the last 5 things you said yes to

• For each one, ask: “Does this meet my criteria? Am I glad I said yes?”

• Identify the pattern of what you’re saying yes to that doesn’t serve you

Moving forward:

• Use the 4 questions above before every new commitment

• Pick one type of thing you’re going to start saying no to

• Test the language I shared and adjust it to match your voice

Pro tip: Your first few no’s will feel uncomfortable. That’s normal. After the third or fourth, it becomes easier.

The Real ROI

Since implementing this framework:

• I have way more time for things that actually move the needle

• I’m landing more opportunities I actually want (because I have the space to pursue them)

• I’m not burning out

• People respect my boundaries more, not less

Saying no isn’t about being difficult. It’s about being intentional.

And intention is what separates founders who build something meaningful from founders who just stay busy.

Try the framework this week and let me know what you start saying no to!

Ciao for now,
— Jade

We hear a lot about equity (and it’s something every founder should understand if they want to fundraise), but i’ve found that few really understand how to manage it effectively.

Two years into building Mane Hook-Up, I realised one thing I had done right was having a clear sense of what my equity allocation would be from day one.

I didn’t give it away like water. I didn’t offer every person the same deal blindly. I didn’t panic and offer massive stakes to early people who didn’t deserve them.

Instead, I did my research, understood the benchmarks, and made deliberate decisions about who gets equity and how much.

This is one of the most consequential decisions you’ll make as a founder. Get it right, and you build a motivated, aligned team. Get it wrong, and you can stall future fundraising, create toxic team dynamics, or end up with “dead equity” held by people who left years ago.

Here’s the honest framework for equity allocation - and how to use calculators to make decisions bound in logic, not emotion.

P.S. I’ve created a glossary of terms at the bottom of this article for people to refer back to and learn from.

The #1 Mistake Founders Make (And How to Prevent It)

Before we talk about how to allocate equity, let’s talk about the biggest mistake that ruins cap tables:

Founders give away too much, too soon, with no clear thinking about what they want to own in the end.

Here’s how it typically happens:

A founder gets excited about an idea. They bring on a co-founder and split 50/50 (or 60/40 or 70/30). Then they hire their first technical person and offer 3-5% to get them excited. They bring on an advisor and promise 1% because the advisor is impressive. They hire a marketing person and offer another 2%.

By year three, they’ve given away 15-20% across various people. By year five, when they’re trying to raise a real round or hire senior people who will actually move the needle, they realise they’ve allocated most of their company and have nothing left to motivate the people who actually built it.

Then they’re stuck: either they can’t raise because their cap table is a mess, or they can’t hire because they have no equity left to offer.

The fix is simple: reverse-engineer from the end.

Reverse Engineering Your Equity Budget: A Practical Example

Let’s say you’re building a health-tech SaaS company. You want to stay 55% founder-owned after five years. That means you can give away 45% total across advisors, early hires, future employees, and everything else.

Now, break that 45% down:

• Advisor pool: 5% (for your board, strategic advisors, early believers)

• Employee option pool (for future hires): 5% (standard for start-ups planning to raise funding)

• Investors (Angel, VC, crowdfunding) 20%

• Early core hires (first 3-5 people): 10%

• Buffer for unexpected allocations: 5%

That’s your equity budget. Everything has to fit within it.

Now you can make decisions:

“If I want to hire a Head of Engineering, and I have 10% to split among my first 3-5 hires, I should allocate 4-6% to that person depending on their stage. That’s my guardrail.”

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Whether you’re selling newsletter sponsorships, podcast slots, event partnerships, or community placements, you hear the same three objections every single time.

You pitch to the right people. They get excited. And then...

‘But why does it cost that much?’ or ‘Who’s actually seeing this?’ or ‘What do I actually get out of this?’

These three objections stop deals from closing, or worse, they pressure you to drop your price and hurt your margins.

I used to stumble through these conversations. Now I have a framework for each objection that either overcomes it on the spot or moves the conversation forward in the right direction.

Here are some of the objections I hear the most and exactly how to handle them.

#1: Why does it cost that much? (Cost concern)

When it comes up: Usually toward the end of the financial year when budgets are tighter. The later in the year, the more price pushback you’ll get.

Why they ask it: They’re trying to stretch their budget or test if you’ll drop your price.

How to overcome it:

Step 1: Don’t drop your price immediately. Especially if it’s your first sponsorship deal or you don’t have proof of success yet.

Instead, say: ‘I understand budget is tight. Let me show you what you’re actually getting for this investment.’

Step 2: Reference your track record.

Have these numbers ready (specific to your work):

• Audience size and reach (newsletter subscribers, podcast listeners, event attendees, community members)

• Engagement rate (open rates, click-through rates, attendance, participation)

• Quality metrics (ratings, testimonials, feedback from past sponsors)

Numbers build credibility. They show this isn’t a guess - it’s proven.

Step 3: Frame it as value, not cost.

“You’re investing £X to reach [number] engaged professionals in your target market. That’s £X per qualified eyeball in front of people who’ve already shown they’re engaged with this platform.”

Step 4: Offer a trial if it’s early proof.

If you don’t have a strong track record yet, offer a low-effort trial: ‘How about we start with a single sponsorship slot? You get in front of the audience, see how they respond, and we can discuss a bigger commitment for the next round.’

This removes their risk and gives them proof without you dropping the price.

The language that works: “We’ve already achieved X and Y and our price is the reflection of the quality of what we deliver.”

#2: What do I actually get out of this? (ROI concern)

When it comes up: Usually early in the conversation when they’re evaluating whether sponsorship is worth their time.

Why they ask it: They need to justify the investment to their manager and need to see tangible value.

How to overcome it:

Step 1: Don’t give a generic answer. Exposure isn’t enough.

Instead, understand their specific goal.
Ask: What would make this sponsorship successful for you?

Step 2: Create a tailored package.

This is where tiered sponsorship levels matter. You’re not offering the same thing to everyone. You’re offering:

• Entry-level sponsor: Basic placement + exposure. Logo, mention, visibility. They get in front of your audience at an affordable price. Good for trying you out.

• Mid-level sponsor: Enhanced visibility + integration. Logo, multiple mentions, featured placement, possible integration into content. They get noticed and associated with your platform.

• Premium sponsor: Maximum exposure + positioning + partnership. Logo everywhere, multiple touchpoints, speaking/hosting opportunity, attendee/subscriber list, press mentions. They become the face of that sponsorship period.

Step 3: Make the benefits concrete and conversion-focused.

“As a mid-tier sponsor, you’ll get a dedicated mention in my newsletter intro, a social media post featuring your product, and access to my subscriber list for follow-up. Based on past sponsorships, sponsors at this level see 15-30 qualified clicks and an average of 5-10 conversations started.”

Specific numbers beat vague promises.

Step 4: Add visible value.

Offer things they can actually use:

• Logo placement (on website, emails, social media)

• Social media posts or stories featuring their brand

• Mentions in relevant content (newsletter intro, podcast intro, community posts)

• Access to audience insights or subscriber list

• Speaking/hosting opportunity (if applicable to your platform)

• Testimonials and case studies from their sponsorship

The language that works: “Here’s what we can offer specifically for your brand: [tailored package]. Based on past sponsorships, partners at this level typically see [specific result].”

#3: Who’s actually in your audience? (Audience quality check)

When it comes up: Always. Sponsors want to know they’re reaching their ideal customer, not just anyone.

Why they ask it: They need confidence that their investment will reach the right people.

How to overcome it:

Step 1: Know your audience cold.

Before any call, have these ready:

• Audience size (newsletter subscribers, podcast listeners, community members, event attendees)

• Audience profile (job titles, industries, seniority level, interests)

• Social proof (ratings, testimonials, repeat engagement)

Step 2: Proactively share this information.

Don’t wait for them to ask. In your pitch, lead with: My audience is [specific profile]. [X]% of people engage with sponsored content. Average feedback score: [rating].

This shows confidence and removes the need for them to ask.

Step 3: Share social proof.

Here’s what sponsors said about their experience: [testimonials]. Here’s what the audience said: [feedback/ratings].

Step 4: Get specific about their ideal customer.

Ask: Who’s your ideal customer? Let me make sure this audience is actually a good fit.

Then honestly tell them if it is or isn’t. If it’s not, you both save time. If it is, they’re more confident in the sponsorship.

The language that works: “My audience is [specific profile]. Here’s the proof: [engagement metrics, ratings, testimonials]. This is who you’ll be reaching.”

Pro Tips for All Three Objections

Timing matters: Early in the financial year = easier sells. Late in the year = more price negotiation. Plan accordingly.

Be proactive: Address these objections in your initial pitch before they ask. It shows you understand their concerns and you’re prepared.

Build proof over time: Your first sponsorship deal is harder to sell. Once you have data (engagement numbers, ratings, sponsor results), use it to justify your pricing and value.

Offer trial for unproven platforms: “Start with a single sponsorship. If it works, we’ll do bigger deals next time.”

Your Quick Start

Before your next sponsorship pitch:

• Know your numbers: audience size, engagement rate, audience profile

• Create 2-3 tiered sponsorship packages with specific benefits for each

• Write down exactly who your audience is and why they matter

• Prepare one social proof point (testimonial, rating, or success story from a past sponsor)

On the call:

• Lead with proof (numbers and ratings), not just the ask

• Listen for what they actually need, then tailor your offer

• Use the language frameworks above to stay confident

Pro tip: Address objections proactively in your pitch materials before they come up. It shows you’re professional and you understand their concerns.

Try this framework on your next sponsorship conversation and let me know which objection you encounter most!

Ciao for now,

— Jade

Everyone talks about the ‘90 day plan’ like it’s some magic formula where you go from idea to first paying customer in seconds.

Here’s what actually happened with Mane Hook-Up: it took two years.

Not two years of building in secret and then launching with a bang. Two years of validating that the problem was real, building a minimum viable version, iterating based on feedback, scrapping the whole thing, rebuilding it properly, stepping back when it got overwhelming, and then finally - after all of that - having the energy to tackle the real problems.

When people ask me about the ‘first 90 days,’ they’re usually asking about the wrong one.

They want the romantic story of idea-to-revenue.

What founders need to understand is that the most important 90 days might not be your first one. It might be the moment after you’ve already validated the problem, and built something based on what your users & community feels is missing.

This is the honest story of how Mane Hook-Up went from “maybe this could work” to “stylists are actually paying us money,” and what that tells you about launching a product for real.

The Long Validation Phase: Why Rushing Doesn’t Work

Before I talk about the 90 days that mattered, I need to tell you about the 18-24 months that came before.

I started Mane Hook-Up with an idea: stylists in the textured hair industry struggle to find customers, and customers struggle to find stylists. If I could create a way for them to discover each other, that would solve a real problem.

But I didn’t start by building a platform from scratch. That would have been a waste of money before I knew if anyone actually wanted it.

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I’m back with another quick win… this time, lets talk about onboarding.

The first two days of any new hire’s job are critical.

Either they walk away feeling clear about their role, excited to get started, and confident they can succeed… or they feel lost, overwhelmed, and unsure what’s expected of them.

Most founders don’t have an HR team, so onboarding usually looks like: “Welcome! Here’s your login. Good luck!”

Then the new hire spends their first week stuck, unable to complete tasks because they don’t have access, unclear on expectations, and nervous about asking questions.

I used to do this. And it meant new people took way longer to become productive because they were constantly blocked waiting for information or access.

So I created a simple 48 Hours Framework that takes just a few hours to implement and sets up new team members for success from day one.

Here’s exactly what happens in those critical first two days.

The Problem I Was Solving

Before this framework, new hires were struggling because:

• They didn’t have information access. They couldn’t complete tasks because they didn’t know where documents were, couldn’t access tools, or didn’t understand how things worked.

• They didn’t know what was expected. Without a clear outline of their first weeks, they felt uncertain about priorities and what “good” looked like.

• They weren’t connected to the team. They’d meet me, but then feel isolated because they didn’t know how to reach out to other team members.

• They wasted my time. I’d spend weeks answering the same questions and giving them access to things one-by-one.

I’d also had bad onboarding experiences in my own past jobs where I didn’t know what was expected of me or when. Having clarity about expectations made me realize how important this was.

The First 48 Hours Framework

Here’s exactly what happens in the first two days. The entire setup takes a few hours to replicate, and once you’ve done it once, it becomes your template.

Before Day 1: Prepare the Systems

Step 1: Create an Asana board for the new hire

This is the centrepiece of your onboarding. The board includes:

• Tasks they need to complete (set up their email, review key documents, etc.)

• Reading materials (brand guidelines, comms protocols, product overview)

• Small, low-stakes jobs (something they can do to understand their role without high pressure)

• List of team members to introduce themselves to

Everything they need to know is visible in one place. They can see what’s expected and prioritise their time.

Step 2: Grant system access

Make a list of every tool they’ll need for their role:

• Project management (Asana)

• Communication (Slack)

• Storage (Google Drive)

• Any role-specific tools (design tools, analytics platforms, etc.)

Get them access before they start so they’re not blocked on Day 1.

Step 3: Prepare key documents

Gather the documents they need to understand how you operate:

• Brand guidelines

• Communication protocols

• Company values

• Any role-specific documentation

Have these ready to share.

Day 1 Morning: The Onboarding Call

The first thing you do is have a call with the new hire. This isn’t a presentation — it’s a conversation.

What happens on this call:

• Walk them through the Asana board and what to expect

• Share your key documents and explain why they matter

• Answer any questions they have

• Give them a sense of your communication style and culture (not by talking about values, but by being yourself)

• Make sure they have access to all their systems

• Explain how to reach you if they get stuck

This call sets the tone. It says: “You’re expected here, I’m invested in your success, and you can ask questions.”

Keep it 30-45 minutes. Don’t overwhelm them with information.

Day 1 Afternoon + Day 2: Explore and Contribute

After the call, the new hire starts working through their Asana board.

They’ll:

• Review key documents at their own pace

• Complete setup tasks

• Start on small jobs that help them understand their role

• Schedule intro calls with team members (you’ve sent emails introducing them, so team members expect to hear from them)

The goal is a mix: they’re learning AND doing, which helps them understand the role while staying productive.

This keeps them engaged and productive instead of sitting idle waiting for someone to tell them what to do.

End of Day 2: Check-In Call

Have a brief check-in call at the end of Day 2 to see how things are going.

What you’re checking:

• Do they have everything they need?

• Are there any blockers?

• Do they feel clear on expectations?

• Any questions that came up while working?

This call is quick (15-20 minutes) but critical. It shows you’re paying attention and you’re available.

Why This Works

1. They know what’s expected

The Asana board makes expectations explicit. They’re not guessing or waiting for you to tell them what to do.

2. They have access to information

No more “I can’t complete this because I don’t have access to X.” Everything they need is set up on Day 1.

3. They feel connected to the team

Intro calls with team members mean they’re not just reporting to you. They’re building relationships across the company.

4. You save time

Yes, the setup takes a few hours. But once you’ve created the template, you replicate it. New hires get productive faster, and you spend less time answering basic questions.

5. They actually get work done

Because they have information, access, and clear expectations, they can contribute real work in their first 48 hours. This builds their confidence and momentum.

Your Quick Start

Before your next hire:

• Create an Asana board template with sections for: Setup Tasks, Key Documents, First Week Jobs, Team Intros

• Make a checklist of all systems/tools they’ll need

• Gather your key documents (brand guidelines, comms, values)

• Plan your onboarding call outline

Day 1:

• Do the onboarding call (30-45 min)

• Grant all system access

• Share the Asana board

Day 2:

• Let them work through the board

• Schedule your check-in call for end of day

Pro tip: Once you’ve done this once, you have a template. The second hire takes 1-2 hours to onboard instead of 3-4. By your third hire, it’s down to 1 hour.

The Real ROI

Since implementing this framework:

• New hires get up to speed faster because they have clear expectations and access

• I spend less time answering basic questions

• Team members know to expect intros, so it’s not random Slack messages

• New hires feel supported and clear on their first day instead of lost

This isn’t complicated. It’s just thoughtful preparation that takes a few hours upfront and saves you weeks of onboarding time.

Try this framework with your next hire and let me know how much faster they become productive!

Ciao for now,

— Jade

P.S. Want my onboarding Asana board template and documents checklist? Just reply and I’ll send it over.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth about event economics that nobody tells you: events don’t make you money the way you think they do.

Everyone sees the revenue number, for some companies it might be 40-50% of income comes from events, and assumes events are hugely profitable. In reality, most of my events either break even or barely cover costs.

The big ones sometimes operate at a loss.

What they do is build community faster than almost anything else. They create relationships, establish credibility, drive platform signups indirectly, and position you as a leader in your space. But they’re expensive to run and require significant time investment for modest financial return.

If you’re considering events as a revenue stream, you need to go in with clear eyes about what you’re actually getting into: months of planning, constant promotion, upfront costs you have to personally cover, sponsor negotiations that take forever, and the constant anxiety about whether enough people will actually buy tickets.

This is the real story of how event economics actually work, what surprised me along the way, and what you need to know before you commit to events as a revenue model.

Your Event Portfolio: What Actually Works

I currently run seven events per year across three formats:

Small in-person events (3 per year, ~30 people): These are panels or AMAs with specialized guests. Small venue, intimate format, focused audience.

Big in-person events (2 per year, ~150 people): These are either one-day events or charitable activations. Significantly more complex, higher production value, larger team requirements.

Virtual events (2 per year, 20-50 people): Usually run in partnership with another organization. Low cost to produce, but also don’t generate revenue beyond partner arrangements.

Here’s the brutally honest breakdown of profitability:

• Small events: Break even

• Virtual events: No cost, also no revenue

• Big events: Either break even (if sponsorship comes through as planned) or can operate at a loss

This reality - that most events don’t actually generate profit - was a hard lesson to learn. When I started doing events, I thought they’d be revenue-generating machines. Instead, they’re community-building machines that happen to generate some revenue.

How I Got Here: The Evolution

Last year, I made the mistake of committing to too many events at once. The event calendar was packed, which meant:

• Not enough promotion time for each event

• Audience fatigue from constant asks

• Stretched team capacity

• Small events particularly struggled to break even because we didn’t give people enough lead time to decide to attend

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Hiring is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make as a founder.

Not just financially — though bad hires absolutely drain your budget — but in time, energy, and momentum.

A wrong hire can set you back months. They need constant hand-holding when you thought they’d be independent. Their work quality doesn’t match what they showed in interviews. And eventually, you’re spending more time managing them than if you’d just done the work yourself.

I’ve been there.

I’ve made hires who presented as more independent than they actually were, only to realise weeks in that they needed way more of my time than I had to give.

But over time, I’ve learned to spot the warning signs early — usually in the interview process — so I can avoid these costly mistakes before someone joins the team.

Here are the 3 red flags I watch for religiously when hiring for Mane Hook-Up.

My Hiring Context

Before I share the red flags, here’s how I typically hire at Mane Hook-Up:

• Step 1: Phone call with me (30 minutes)

• Step 2: Interview task (tailored to the role)

• Step 3: Final call with one of our advisors

I’ve hired for roles like Head of Education & Community, CTO, to social media and product interns. Each role is different, but these red flags show up consistently across all of them.

And here’s my philosophy: I don’t fully trust CVs or resumes. They don’t always capture everything about a person. So I hold my reservations until we meet via video call or in person and I see how they actually think and work.

Red Flag #1: Lack of Preparation

What it looks like:

• They haven’t looked at your website or product

• They can’t speak to why they’re interested in your specific company (beyond “it sounds cool”)

• They ask basic questions that are answered on your About page

• They don’t have questions prepared for you

Why this matters:

If someone can’t be bothered to spend 15 minutes researching your company before an interview, they won’t put in the effort once they’re hired.

Preparation signals interest, professionalism, and work ethic. Lack of preparation signals the opposite.

When I spot this:

Usually in the first 5 minutes of the interview. I’ll ask: “What do you know about Mane Hook-Up?” or “Why are you interested in this role?”

If they fumble or give a generic answer like “I love start-ups” without any specifics about our mission or product, that’s a red flag.

What I do:

I dig deeper with follow-up questions to see if it’s nerves or genuine lack of interest. If they still can’t articulate why they’re here, I pass.

Red Flag #2: Unable to Articulate Answers

What it looks like:

• They give vague, surface-level answers

• You have to coax more information out of them with multiple follow-up questions

• They can’t explain their thought process or decision-making

• Their answers don’t match the depth of experience on their CV

Why this matters:

Start-ups need people who can think independently and communicate clearly. If someone can’t articulate their thinking in an interview, they won’t be able to communicate effectively on the job.

This red flag often reveals one of two things:

1. They don’t actually have the experience they claim

2. They need a lot of hand-holding to get to clarity

Either way, it’s a problem.

When I spot this:

During the interview when I ask about past projects or how they’ve solved problems. I’ll ask:

“Tell me about a time you had to solve [specific challenge related to the role]. Walk me through your process.”

If they give a one-sentence answer and can’t elaborate, or if I have to pull every detail out of them, that’s a red flag.

What I do:

I give them a chance to self-correct. I’ll say: “Can you explain that in more detail?” or “What was your specific role in that?”

If they still struggle to articulate their thinking, I know they’ll struggle on the job.

Red Flag #3: Portfolio/Work Doesn’t Match What They’re Saying

What it looks like:

• The quality of work they’ve shown doesn’t align with how they describe their contributions

• They claim to have led a project but their portfolio shows junior-level work

• They talk about strategic thinking but their examples are purely executional

• There’s a disconnect between their story and their evidence

Why this matters:

This is where interview tasks become invaluable. Tasks reveal the truth.

Someone can talk a great game in an interview, but when you ask them to actually do the work, you see their real skill level, work ethic, and thought process.

When I spot this:

Usually during the task review. I’ll compare what they said in the interview (”I led our content strategy and grew our audience by 300%”) with what they actually produce (a basic social media plan with no strategic depth).

Tasks are a great way to get people to share more about their work ethic and thought process, which helps me catch these discrepancies.

What I do:

I ask them to walk me through their task submission: “Can you explain your thinking here?”

If their explanation is shallow or they can’t defend their choices, that confirms the red flag.

Real Examples

The Almost-Hire I Caught in Time

I was hiring for a social media role. The candidate’s CV looked solid — they’d managed social for a small brand and talked confidently in the interview about their strategy.

Then came the task: create a one-week content plan for Mane Hook-Up.

What they submitted was generic, surface-level, and showed little understanding of our audience or mission. When I asked them to explain their choices, they couldn’t articulate any strategic thinking.

Red flags: Lack of preparation (didn’t research our audience), unable to articulate answers (couldn’t explain their strategy), work didn’t match what they claimed.

I passed on them. And later found someone who nailed the task and brought strategic depth from day one.

The Bad Hire I Made Before I Knew Better

Early on, I hired someone who interviewed brilliantly. They were articulate, confident, and their CV was impressive.

But once they started? They needed constant hand-holding. Every task required multiple rounds of feedback. What I thought would be independent work became a time suck.

What I missed: In the interview, I didn’t dig deep enough into their thought process. I didn’t give them a task to reveal how they actually work.

Now, tasks are non-negotiable in my hiring process.

How to Use These Red Flags

1. In Interviews: Ask Specific, Process-Oriented Questions

Don’t just ask “What did you do?” Ask “How did you do it? What was your thought process? What would you do differently?”

Watch for how easily they can articulate their thinking.

2. Always Use Tasks

Tasks reveal what interviews can’t. They show:

• Work quality

• Attention to detail

• Strategic thinking

• Time management

• Communication style

Make tasks realistic (2-3 hours max) and compensate people for their time if possible.

3. Trust Your Gut, But Verify

If something feels off in the interview, don’t ignore it. Dig deeper. Ask follow-up questions. Give them a chance to prove you wrong.

But if the red flags persist? Trust yourself and pass.

4. Give Honest Feedback When You Reject

I believe honest feedback is valuable. When I reject someone, I tell them where they did well and where they fell short (gently).

Most people appreciate the clarity, and it helps them improve for their next interview.

Your Quick Start

Before your next hire:

• Add a task to your interview process (if you don’t have one already)

• Prepare 3-5 deep, process-oriented questions to ask in interviews

• Create a checklist of your red flags to watch for

During interviews:

• Note how prepared the candidate is in the first 5 minutes

• Watch for how easily they articulate their thinking

• Compare their story to their portfolio/previous work

After the task:

• Review their submission against what they claimed in the interview

• Ask them to walk you through their process

• Trust your gut if something doesn’t align

Pro tip: Bad hires cost you months of time and energy. Spending an extra hour in the hiring process to spot red flags is always worth it.

The Real ROI

Since implementing this red flag system, I’ve:

• Avoided multiple bad hires that would’ve been time sucks

• Built a small but high-performing team where people are truly independent

• Saved myself months of management time and stress

Hiring is hard. But these red flags have made it easier to spot the right people — and more importantly, avoid the wrong ones.

Try using these red flags in your next hire and let me know what you discover!

Ciao for now, ‘

— Jade

In October 2023, when I went full-time on Mane Hook-Up, I made a deliberate decision: I was going to document the entire fundraising journey publicly.

I called it “240 Days to Raise” and committed to sharing exactly what it was like to try to close an investment round as a bootstrapped founder in the Black hair industry. The pitch meetings, the rejections, the feedback that didn’t make sense, the moments of hope, the crushing disappointments.

Spoiler: the fundraising failed. I didn’t close the round.

But I documented it anyway, because there’s endless talk about people raising money but almost no practical advice on how to actually get there. Most of it is surface-level; ”build relationships with investors,” “nail your pitch,” “show traction” - without giving people actionable steps they can actually take.

I wanted to show the real journey, not the highlight reel.

That newsletter evolved into what you’re reading now: Inside Small Giants. The focus shifted from fundraising to building a great business that chooses to stay small, but the core principle remained the same, share practical advice and real experiences that actually help people in the moment.

This approach to building in public has directly led to speaking opportunities, event features, partnerships, and a community that trusts me because I’m willing to be honest about the hard parts.

But it’s also gotten pushback. One investor told me directly they didn’t like how transparent I was being. I appreciated the feedback, but I’m more interested in helping my community than being picture-perfect for investors.

Here’s what I’ve learned about what to share, what to protect, and how to use transparency strategically without making yourself too vulnerable.

The Decision Framework: Four Questions Before You Share

Before anything goes into a newsletter, I ask myself four questions:

1. Is this helpful?

2. Who is it helpful for?

3. Can they take meaningful action from what I’ve shared?

4. Have I overshared?

That’s it. That’s the entire framework.

If something doesn’t pass all four questions, it doesn’t get published. If I feel uncertain about whether to include something, I don’t include it.

Uncertainty is a signal.

Let me show you how this works in practice.

What I Share (And Why It’s Strategic)

Financial Transparency: Impact, Not Details

I’ve shared that I’m making 60-70% of my previous salary while building Mane Hook-Up. I’ve shared that a £4,000 invoice went unpaid and created financial chaos. I’ve shared that my husband and I moved to reduce our living expenses by 60%.

What I haven’t shared: my exact revenue numbers, specific client rates, or detailed financial projections for Mane Hook-Up.

The decision framework in action

Knowing that you may take a 30-40% salary hit while building your business is helpful information. You don’t need to know my specific salary to calculate your own numbers and make informed decisions about whether you can afford to build a business.

Sharing that a significant invoice wasn’t paid highlights the gravity of the financial impact without me having to divulge specific private information. The lesson isn’t “this exact amount hurt me” - it’s “unpaid invoices can derail your entire cash flow, here’s how to protect yourself.”

The line between helpful transparency and giving competitors ammunition

I share impact and percentages because they’re relatable and actionable. I don’t share company financials or details of strategy that’s directly applicable to what we’re building.

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Note to readers: I’m back with the latest deep-dive! As I missed this newsletter last month, you’ll get a few extras in June to make up for it. Enjoy and feel free to message me with any questions you have.

Let me tell you something most founders won’t admit publicly: Running Mane Hook-Up is not the only thing I do.

One to two days a week, I work as a fractional CMO for other companies. I help start-ups solve marketing problems, build strategies, execute campaigns. I charge £600-750 per day, and this work brings me to about 60-70% of my previous salary when combined with what Mane Hook-Up generates.

The other part of the week, I work on building Mane Hook-Up.

By traditional start-up mythology, this means I’m not a “real” founder. I’m not sufficiently committed. I’m not willing to sacrifice everything for my vision. I should be eating ramen and sleeping four hours a night, pouring every waking moment into my business.

Here’s what I actually believe: that mythology is bullsh*t, and it’s keeping talented founders out of entrepreneurship.

The reality is that most founders - especially bootstrapped founders building Small Giants - need income while they build. Whether it’s fractional consulting work like mine, a part-time job, freelancing, or a working spouse carrying the financial load, very few people can afford to have zero income for the years it takes to build a sustainable business.

But nobody talks about this publicly. So founders doing side work feel like they’re failing, like they’re not “real” entrepreneurs, like they should be ashamed of needing to pay their bills.

I’m done with that narrative.

Here’s the honest truth about how I structure fractional CMO work alongside building Mane Hook-Up, why it doesn’t make me less of a founder, and how you can do something similar if you need to.

The Financial Reality: Why Fractional Work Isn’t Failing

Let me be very clear about something: I don’t do fractional work because I’m failing at building my business. I do it because I’m a human being with bills to pay, and Mane Hook-Up - while growing steadily - doesn’t yet generate enough consistent revenue to cover my living expenses.

This isn’t a failure of my business model. It’s not evidence that I should give up or that the business isn’t viable. It’s simply the reality of building something sustainable rather than raising venture capital to fund my salary.

Here’s the math: Without sharing exact numbers, I need a certain amount per month to cover my portion of household bills, business expenses, and maintain some financial stability. Fractional work brings in a predictable portion of that. Mane Hook-Up covers most of it’s running costs, though less predictably.

Together, they work.

Without fractional income, I’d have maybe one month of runway on a bad month, maybe six months on a good one. With fractional work, I can actually plan, invest in the business, and not panic every time an invoice gets delayed or an event doesn’t sell out as quickly as expected.

That financial breathing room is worth the time it takes.

What I Actually Do (The Specifics)

When I tell people I do fractional CMO work, they often ask what that actually means. Here’s the reality:

The work: I do marketing strategy and execution, largely for start-ups. A business comes to me with a problem - ”we need to increase our customers,” “our conversion rate is too low,” “we need to launch this new product” - and I put a plan in place to make it happen and execute some of the work as well.

I work with anywhere from 1-3 clients at a time, so I need to balance strategy with execution. They can’t afford two people (a strategist and an executor), so they need both in one person. That’s what I provide.

The time commitment: No more than three clients at once, and the work takes about 1-2.5 days per week on average (7 hours per day). Some weeks it’s less, some weeks it’s more, but that’s the sustainable average.

The money: I charge a day rate, typically based on a project. For example, it may take five days to complete a project, and I charge my day rate for each of those days. My current rate is £600-750 per day, depending on the client and project complexity.

When I started fractional work three years ago, my day rate was £500. Every January, I increase my pricing by £100-150, depending on what I’ve achieved and how I feel my skillset has grown.

Payment structure: For set projects, I typically go 50% upfront and 50% on delivery. For retainers (which are the best position to be in for predictable income), it’s 100% of the monthly bill upfront.

How I find clients: Largely through networking, referrals, and building my personal brand. My first client came via referral. Most of my best clients still come through my network rather than cold outreach.

The Evolution: From Websites to Strategy

I didn’t start doing high-level strategy work immediately. That’s not how this works.

When I first started consulting alongside building Mane Hook-Up, I focused on work that was easier to secure but had a lower price point: website building, brand messaging, tactical execution. These were skills I could deliver confidently, and start-ups needed them.

Over about 12 months, I evolved into more strategy-focused work. This happened organically, not as a deliberate strategy. I’d work with a client on their website, they’d ask for help with messaging, then they’d want marketing strategy, and suddenly I was doing the higher-level work I actually wanted to be doing.

The progression looked like this:

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One thing I’m sure plenty of you have seen…

Most pitch decks follow the same formula: problem, solution, market size, traction, team, financials, ask.

And most investors sit through dozens of these pitches every week, nodding along, taking notes, and thinking about all the ways your business could fail.

They’re trained to be sceptical. It’s their job to poke holes in your plan.

So what if, instead of waiting for them to ask about risks, you addressed them head-on?

That’s exactly what I did. I added a “Risk Mitigation” slide to my pitch deck — and it completely changed how investors responded to Mane Hook-Up.

Instead of seeing me as another over-optimistic founder, they saw me as someone who thinks critically about the business and has a plan for survival, not just growth.

Here’s why this “anti-pitch” slide works and how you can create your own.

The Problem I Was Solving

Before I added this slide, I kept getting the same pushback during pitches:

• “What happens if a competitor launches this first?”

• “How do you plan to acquire customers at scale?”

• “What if the market isn’t as big as you think?”

I was spending half the pitch playing defence, scrambling to answer objections I hadn’t prepared for. It made me look reactive instead of strategic.

I realised I needed to address these risks directly — not at the end of the pitch when an investor brings them up, but proactively, as part of my story.

What Is the Risk Mitigation Slide?

The Risk Mitigation slide is exactly what it sounds like: a slide that highlights the biggest risks to your business and explains how you plan to survive them.

It’s “anti-pitch” because most founders only talk about upside. They paint the rosiest possible picture and hope investors don’t ask hard questions.

But this slide does the opposite. It says: “Here are the things that could go wrong. And here’s why we’ll survive anyway.”

Where Does It Appear in the Deck?

I place it strategically depending on the investor and the context:

In the main deck (slides 10-12): If I expect a lot of pushback or if I know the investor is particularly risk-focused. This way, I control the narrative before they bring up concerns.

In the appendix: If I don’t expect much pushback or if the conversation is flowing smoothly. I keep it ready in case someone asks about risks, but I don’t lead with it.

The key is flexibility — you want to address risks, but you also want to read the room.

What Goes on the Slide?

Here’s the structure I use:

Title: “Risk Mitigation” or “How We Plan to Survive”

Format: 3-4 major risks with clear mitigation strategies for each

Example from Mane Hook-Up’s deck:

The slide doesn’t sugar coat anything. It acknowledges real risks but shows you’ve thought through survival strategies.

Why This Works

1. It shows you’re not delusional

Investors meet founders every day who believe nothing can go wrong. When you acknowledge risks upfront, you immediately stand out as someone who thinks critically about the business.

2. It builds trust

By being transparent about weaknesses, you demonstrate honesty. Investors appreciate founders who aren’t hiding problems — they want to work with people who see reality clearly.

3. It reframes the conversation

Instead of investors grilling you on risks at the end (when they’re sceptical), you’re addressing them proactively (when they’re still engaged). This puts you in control of the narrative.

4. It demonstrates strategic thinking

Anyone can talk about the upside. But showing that you’ve thought through downside scenarios and have mitigation plans? That’s what experienced founders do.

Investor Reactions

The response has been overwhelmingly positive.

A lot of investors love the fact that I’ve thought this through. It makes our case stronger, not weaker.

Some have told me they’ve never seen a founder include a risk slide in the main deck — and that alone made them take me more seriously.

Has it changed conversations from sceptical to excited? Yes. A lot.

When investors see that I’m not just pitching a dream but building a resilient business, they lean in. They start asking “how can I help?” instead of “what if this doesn’t work?”

How to Create Your Own Risk Mitigation Slide

Step 1: List your biggest risks

Be honest. What keeps you up at night? What would investors worry about? Common categories:

• Competition

• Customer acquisition costs

• Market size

• Regulatory challenges

• Team/execution risk

• Technology/product risk

Step 2: Identify your mitigation strategies

For each risk, answer: “How will we survive if this happens?”

Don’t just say “we’ll figure it out.” Be specific:

• What are you doing now to prevent this risk?

• What’s your backup plan if it happens anyway?

• Why are you positioned to weather this better than others?

Step 3: Keep it concise

This slide should be scannable. Use a table or bullet points. Don’t write paragraphs.

Step 4: Decide where to place it

Main deck if you expect pushback. Appendix if you want to keep the main pitch optimistic but have it ready.

Your Quick Start

This week:

• Open your pitch deck

• Create a new slide titled “Risk Mitigation”

• List 3-4 major risks to your business

• Write one mitigation strategy for each

• Decide if it belongs in the main deck or appendix

Your timeline:

• Week 1: Draft the slide and test it with an advisor or friendly investor

• Week 2: Refine based on feedback

• Week 3: Use it in your next investor pitch and observe the reaction

• Week 4: Adjust placement (main deck vs appendix) based on how conversations go

Pro tip: Don’t list every possible risk — focus on the 3-4 that investors are most likely to ask about. This keeps the slide focused and prevents you from looking overly anxious.

The Real Impact

Adding this slide didn’t just change how investors saw Mane Hook-Up — it changed how I thought about the business.

By forcing myself to articulate risks and mitigation strategies, I became a more strategic founder. I stopped pushing problems aside and started planning for them.

And investors noticed.

If you want to stand out in a sea of overly optimistic pitch decks, try the “anti-pitch” slide. It might be the most honest thing in your deck — and that’s exactly why it works.

Let me know how investors react when you use it!

Ciao for now,

— Jade

Raise your hand if Sunday evenings used to fill you with dread 🙋🏾‍♀️.

I’d spend the entire day thinking about everything I didn’t finish during the week, all the emails piling up, the meetings I had to prep for Monday, and the growing to-do list that never seemed to get shorter.

The “Sunday scaries” were real, and they were stealing half of my weekends.

But the problem wasn’t Sunday — it was how I was ending my Fridays.

I was sprinting through Friday like every other day, cramming in meetings and tasks, and finishing the week feeling frazzled and behind. No wonder I couldn’t relax on the weekend.

So I created a different kind of Friday — one that’s intentionally slower, focused on deep work, and designed to leave me feeling accomplished instead of anxious.

The result? My Fridays became my most productive day, and my anxiety on Sunday completely disappeared

Here’s exactly what I do.

The Problem I Was Solving

Before this reset, Friday was just another chaotic day. I’d pack it with meetings, try to squeeze in “just one more thing,” and end the week feeling like I was constantly behind.

This meant:

• I’d spend my entire weekend thinking about work

• Sunday evenings were filled with anxiety about the week ahead

• I’d start Monday already feeling overwhelmed

I needed a day of the week that was much easier to navigate and made me feel better. A day that let me finish the week on a high note instead of limping to the finish line.

The Founder’s Friday Reset

Here’s what my Fridays look like now:

I Wake Up Later

Friday is the one day I allow myself to wake up a bit later. No 6am alarm. No rushing. I give myself permission to start the day slowly.

This small shift sets the tone for the entire day — it signals to my brain that today is different, and that’s okay.

I Walk to My Coworking Space

Instead of jumping on the Tube or rushing to get there, I walk. It takes longer, but it gives me time to think, breathe, and transition into work mode without the usual stress.

This 60 minute walk becomes a mini meditation that clears my head for the day.

I Take Only 1-2 Meetings Maximum

This is the most important part: I protect my Friday calendar ruthlessly.

I block out time in advance so people can’t book me for multiple meetings. I only accept 1-2 meetings on Fridays, and they’re usually:

• Meetings I genuinely enjoy (like advisor calls with people who energize me)

• Critical meetings that can’t wait until next week

• Customer calls (because talking to users always leaves me feeling excited)

Everything else gets pushed to Monday or Tuesday.

I Focus on Deep Work

With my calendar mostly clear, I use Friday for the work that actually moves the needle but never seems to fit into a busy week:

• Writing strategy docs

• Planning the next quarter

• Doing customer research

• Refining our product roadmap

• Creating content

This is the work that requires uninterrupted focus and makes me feel like I’m building something meaningful.

I End the Week Feeling Accomplished

Because Friday is my most productive day (thanks to fewer meetings and more deep work), I finish the week feeling good about what I’ve accomplished.

Instead of ending Friday stressed about everything I didn’t do, I’m proud of the high-impact work I completed.

And that feeling carries into my weekend.

Why This Prevents Sunday Scaries

The anxiety creeps up on Sunday when you feel unprepared for the week ahead or when you’re carrying anxiety about unfinished work.

By making Friday productive and intentional, I’m ending the week on a high note. I’ve done meaningful work. I feel in control. I’m not scrambling.

This means:

• Saturday: I can fully disconnect because I know I ended the week strong

• Sunday: I’m relaxed instead of anxious because I’m not worried about what’s waiting for me Monday

• Monday: I start the week feeling clear-headed instead of overwhelmed

The Friday reset doesn’t just improve Friday — it improves my entire weekend and sets me up for a better Monday.

What Happens If I Skip It?

The only thing that disrupts this ritual is taking too many calls on Friday.

When I forget to block my calendar and end up with 4-5 meetings, Friday turns into just another chaotic day. And by Sunday evening? I’m stressed again.

So I protect my Friday calendar like it’s sacred. Because it is.

Your Quick Start

This Friday:

• Block your calendar for deep work (mark yourself as “busy” for most of the day)

• Accept only 1-2 meetings maximum

• Pick ONE high-impact project to work on

• Start your day a bit slower than usual

Your timeline:

• Week 1: Try the Friday reset for one week and notice how your weekend feels

• Week 2: Refine what deep work you want to focus on

• Week 3: Start blocking your Friday calendar in advance (3-4 weeks out)

• Week 4: Notice how your Monday mornings feel different

Pro tip: Tell your team or key stakeholders that you’re blocking Fridays for deep work. Set the expectation early so people stop trying to book you for Friday meetings.

The Real Impact

Since implementing the Founder’s Friday Reset:

• My Fridays are consistently my most productive day

• I finish the week feeling accomplished instead of drained

• My weekends are actually restful because I’m not anxious about work

• I start Mondays feeling clear and energized instead of overwhelmed

This one small change — protecting Friday for deep work and fewer meetings — has had a bigger impact on my wellbeing than almost anything else I’ve done as a founder.

You deserve to finish your week on a high note. Try the Friday reset and let me know how your weekend feels!

Ciao for now,

— Jade

If there’s one thing I know is true… it’s that meetings are the silent killer of everyone’s productivity.

You finish a week feeling exhausted, wondering why you didn’t get anything meaningful done, and then you look at your calendar: 27 meetings.

Coffee chats. “Quick” intro calls. Advisor check-ins. Sales pitches disguised as “partnerships” (those one’s really do drive me mad). Meetings that could’ve been emails. Meetings that had no clear outcome.

As a founder, your time is your most valuable asset. But for a long time, I was giving it away to anyone who asked for 30 minutes.

Then I started calculating the actual ROI of my meetings — what I gained versus what I lost — and it completely changed how I spend my time.

Here’s the framework I use to decide if a meeting was worth it, and more importantly, which meetings to accept in the future.

The Problem I Was Solving

Before I had this framework, I was accepting meetings quite freely. Someone wanted to connect? Sure. An advisor wanted to catch up? Let’s do it. A potential partner wanted to chat? Why not.

But I wasn’t being strategic about:

• Frequency: Some advisors I was speaking to too often when monthly would’ve been enough

• Purpose: Many meetings had no clear outcome or next step

• Energy: Some meetings drained me even when they seemed “productive” on paper

• Opportunity cost: Every meeting meant I wasn’t working on something else

I needed a way to evaluate meetings objectively so I could say yes to the right ones and no to everything else.

The Meeting ROI Framework

After every meeting (or at the end of the week), I ask myself these questions:

1. What did I gain from this meeting?

Be specific. Did I:

• Get actionable advice that I’ll implement?

• Make a valuable connection or introduction?

• Learn something new about my market, customers, or product?

• Move a deal or partnership forward?

• Get emotional support or validation I needed?

If you can’t name at least one concrete thing you gained, the meeting probably wasn’t worth it.

2. What did I lose?

Consider:

• Time: Not just the meeting duration, but prep time, travel time, and context-switching time

• Energy: Did this meeting drain you or energize you?

• Opportunity cost: What else could you have achieved with that time?

A 30-minute meeting is never actually 30 minutes. It’s often 60+ minutes when you factor in prep, travel, and the time it takes to refocus afterward.

3. What else could I have done with that time?

This is the brutal question. Could you have:

• Shipped a feature?

• Had a customer call that moves the needle?

• Done deep strategic work?

• Completed a high-priority project?

If the answer is “yes, and that would’ve been more valuable,” the meeting failed the ROI test.

4. How often does this type of meeting happen?

Frequency matters. A monthly advisor call might be valuable, but weekly advisor calls might be overkill.

I realised I was meeting with some advisors too frequently. We’d have great conversations, but we were covering the same ground because not enough had changed week-to-week. Spacing those meetings out to monthly made them far more valuable.

5. What was the outcome?

Every meeting should have a clear next step or outcome:

• A decision was made

• An introduction was facilitated

• A partnership was progressed

• Clarity was gained on a problem

If the meeting ends with “let’s chat again soon” and no concrete next step, it wasn’t a good use of time.

Real Examples

Meeting That Was Worth It: Advisor Check-In (Monthly)

• What I gained: Specific advice on marketing strategy, intro to two relevant investors, validation on a product decision

• What I lost: 120 minutes (including prep)

• Opportunity cost: Would’ve been working on event planning or content creation

• Outcome: Two warm intros that turned into meetings, clear direction on marketing approach

• ROI: High — the intros alone made this worth it

Meeting That Wasn’t Worth It: Advisor Check-In (Bi-Weekly)

• What I gained: General encouragement, but no new actionable advice

• What I lost: 90 minutes every other week (180 minutes/month)

• Opportunity cost: Could’ve shipped a feature, written content, had customer calls

• Outcome: No concrete next steps, same conversation we’d had the week before

• ROI: Low — moved this to monthly and immediately felt the relief

Meeting I Now Automatically Decline: Sales Calls

• What I gain: Someone pitching me their tool or service

• What I lose: 30-60 minutes

• Opportunity cost: Literally anything else

• Outcome: They want me to buy something I didn’t ask for

• ROI: Negative — I now decline all cold sales calls and only take meetings with tools I’m actively researching

How This Changed What Meetings I Accept

I now accept meetings freely when:

• There’s clear alignment (we’re solving similar problems, in the same industry, or have complementary skills)

• The person has something specific I need (advice, connection, expertise)

• There’s a concrete outcome we’re working toward

I push back or decline when:

• It’s a sales call disguised as a “partnership”

• The meeting has no clear agenda or purpose

• I’m overwhelmed and the meeting isn’t urgent

• We could accomplish the same thing async (email, Loom, voice note)

I automatically decline:

• Anything that’s clearly a sales pitch

• “Pick your brain” requests with no specifics

• Meetings with no agenda or stated purpose

When I’m looking for products or tools, I reach out myself when we’re ready. I don’t take inbound sales calls.

Your Quick Start

This week:

• After every meeting, ask yourself the 5 ROI questions above

• Track your answers in a simple doc or spreadsheet

• At the end of the week, review which meetings were worth it and which weren’t

Your timeline:

• Week 1: Track the ROI of every meeting you take

• Week 2: Identify patterns — which types of meetings consistently have high/low ROI?

• Week 3: Adjust frequency of recurring meetings (move some from weekly to monthly)

• Week 4: Start declining low-ROI meeting requests

Pro tip: Block “meeting-free” time on your calendar (mornings work great) so you protect time for deep work no matter how many meeting requests come in.

The Real ROI

Since implementing this framework, I’ve:

• Cut my weekly meetings by about 30%

• Moved several advisor relationships from weekly to monthly/quarterly

• Started saying no to all sales calls

• Freed up 5-10 hours per week for strategic work

And honestly? The meetings I do take are way more valuable because I’m intentional about them.

Your time is your most valuable asset. Treat it that way.

Try the ROI calculator this week and let me know what you discover about your meeting habits!

Ciao for now,

— Jade

My emergency savings account has told three very different stories over the past few years.

Sometimes it holds thousands of pounds - enough to breathe easy, plan ahead, maybe even book that course I’ve been eyeing. Other times it’s down to hundreds - enough to cover one emergency, maybe two if they’re small. And sometimes, it hits zero.

When you have zero emergency reserves and you don’t come from a family with financial capacity to support you, you know exactly what that feels like: you’re praying that your car doesn’t break down, that no health issues emerge, that nothing unexpected happens. You’re one surprise expense away from complete disaster.

This is the reality most bootstrapped founders live with but never talk about publicly.

We experience it in different ways: the client who ghosts after you’ve done the work, leaving you thousands out of pocket. The event you have to pay for upfront while waiting months for sponsorship money to come through. The month where three clients all pay late simultaneously and suddenly you can’t make rent. The seasonal dips you know are coming but still hit hard every single time.

And through all of this, we’re supposed to show up confidently for client pitches, sponsor meetings, and investor conversations. We’re supposed to post about wins on LinkedIn. We’re supposed to look like we have it all figured out.

We don’t. We’re just managing the chaos better than we used to.

If you’re building a bootstrapped business with unpredictable income, you know exactly what I’m describing. The constant mental math before every purchase. The pit in your stomach when you check your bank balance. The impossible choice between investing in business growth and keeping the lights on.

Most founders experiencing this financial stress think they’re alone. They see other founders posting about growth and assume everyone else has figured out the money piece.

We haven’t. We’re just not talking about it publicly.

Until now.

Here’s the brutally honest truth about managing cash flow when you’re building a business without funding, what I’ve learned from navigating years of financial unpredictability, and what you should do if you’re in crisis right now.

The Reality: My Cash Flow Has Looked Like Chaos

Let me walk you through what my financial situation has actually looked like over the past few years of building Mane Hook-Up while doing fractional CMO work:

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Being a founder can feel incredibly lonely.

You’re making decisions that could make or break your business, navigating challenges you’ve never faced before, and constantly wondering if you’re doing it right.

But here’s what I learned: you don’t have to figure it all out alone. You just need to know who to call for what.

The problem is, most founders have a network but don’t have a system. You know people who could help, but when you’re stressed and need advice quickly, you can’t remember who to reach out to or end up texting the wrong person for the wrong problem. Or, worst case scenario, you’re overwhelmed and don’t even want to pick up the phone to call anyone.

I used to do this too. I’d have a marketing question and ping a friend who’s great at fundraising. Or I’d need beauty industry insight and reach out to someone in tech. I was wasting my network’s time and mine.

So I created a simple Support Network Audit — a system to map my founder community so I always know exactly who to call for what.

Here’s how it works.

The Problem I Was Solving

Before this audit, my network was reactive, not strategic. I’d reach out to whoever came to mind first or whoever I’d spoken to recently, not necessarily the person best equipped to help.

I also wasn’t thinking about relationship maintenance. Some connections were getting neglected while others were being over-tapped.

When I finally sat down to map my network, I discovered a huge gap: I had a strong network in tech and start-ups (thanks to my marketing background and years at start-ups) but few people in the beauty industry.

This was a problem for a beauty tech founder.

The Support Network Audit Framework

Here’s how I map and maintain my founder support network:

Step 1: Categorise Your Network by Relationship Type

I group my contacts into four buckets based on how well I know them:

• Close friends: People I can call anytime, who know me deeply

• Acquaintances: People I’ve met a few times, have rapport with

• Friend of a friend: Second-degree connections I could warm intro to

• New connections: People I just met or haven’t built a relationship with yet

This helps me understand how much I can ask of each person and how I should approach them.

Step 2: Map by What They Can Help With

Then I categorize people by expertise and what I’d call them for:

Founders ahead of me: Other founders who are 1-2 stages ahead that I’m learning from. I call them for strategic advice, fundraising guidance, scaling challenges.

Operators by function: People who lead specific functions (marketing, sales, customer success, product, operations). I lean on them when I have department-specific questions.

Industry connections: Hair and beauty professionals, stylists, brand owners. I call on them for opinions on what’s happening in the industry and to see what I can do to support them.

Investors: People I’m maintaining relationships with until we’re ready to raise again. Regular check-ins to keep them warm.

Step 3: Use a Tool to Track Relationships

I use a tool called Dex to manage my main relationships. This helps me decide how often I need to reach out to these contacts:

• Weekly: Close collaborators, active advisors

• Monthly: Warm connections I want to stay top-of-mind with

• Quarterly: Industry contacts and broader network

• Annually: Acquaintances I want to maintain a loose relationship with

Dex keeps track of all my interactions across various platforms (LinkedIn, WhatsApp, Instagram, email) so I can see at a glance when I last connected with someone and what we talked about.

Step 4: Identify Your Gaps

Once I mapped everything out, the gaps were obvious. I had tons of tech and start-up connections but barely any beauty industry depth. So I started actively building relationships with hairstylists, salon owners, and beauty brand founders.

This audit made me realise where I was strong and where I needed to invest more time.

Real Examples of When This Saved Me Time

Marketing question: Instead of randomly pinging friends, I know exactly who to call — the three marketing operators in my network who’ve scaled DTC brands.

Fundraising advice: I have a shortlist of founders who’ve raised pre-seed and seed rounds. When I hit a roadblock, I know who’s been through it.

Industry validation: When I’m testing a new feature, I reach out to my beauty industry connections who can tell me if it actually solves a real problem.

This system saves me hours of back-and-forth with the wrong people and ensures I’m getting the right advice at the right time.

How to Maintain Your Network

Here’s what I do to keep relationships warm without it feeling transactional:

Give before you ask: I share opportunities, make intros, send relevant articles. When I do need help, people are happy to support.

Schedule regular check-ins: Dex sends me reminders when it’s been too long since I reached out to someone. A quick “Hey, how’s everything going?” message goes a long way.

Be specific when asking for help: Instead of “Can I pick your brain?”, I say “I’m deciding between two customer acquisition strategies — would you have 15 minutes to walk me through how you’d think about this?”

Follow up and close the loop: When someone helps me, I always follow up to let them know what I decided and how it went. People love seeing the impact of their advice.

Your Quick Start

This week:

• Open a spreadsheet or Notion doc

• List everyone in your founder/professional network

• Categorize them by relationship type and expertise

• Identify your gaps — where do you need more connections?

Your timeline:

• Week 1: Complete your network map

• Week 2: Set up Dex (or a similar personal CRM) and add your key contacts

• Week 3: Reach out to 3-5 people you haven’t spoken to in a while (do this daily)

• Week 4: Start actively filling your network gaps

Pro tip: Your network should be diverse. If everyone you know is in the same industry or stage as you, you’re missing perspectives. Actively seek out people who are different from you.

The Real ROI

This audit doesn’t just save time — it makes you a better founder. You make smarter decisions because you’re getting input from the right people. You move faster because you’re not spinning your wheels trying to figure out who to ask.

And honestly? It makes the founder journey way less lonely. When you know exactly who to call for what, you realize you’re not in this alone.

Try the audit this week and let me know what gaps you discover!

Ciao for now,
— Jade

P.S. For those who are interested in using Dex, here’s a referral link.

Two weeks ago, on a Monday morning, I couldn’t stop crying.

Not the productive kind of crying where you feel a release and then move on. The kind where you cry for hours, think you’re done, and then start again. The kind where your chest physically hurts and you can’t catch your breath properly.

I’m not much of a crier. I’m the person who pushes through, who finds solutions, who stays strong when things get hard. So when I found myself sobbing uncontrollably for the second time in two weeks, I knew something was seriously wrong.

This isn’t a post about burnout. Burnout is exhaustion, depletion, the slow drain of energy over time. What I experienced was sharper, more acute—an emotional breaking point where everything I’d been holding together suddenly felt impossible.

If you’ve been there, you know exactly what I’m describing. If you haven’t, I hope this helps you recognise the warning signs before you reach that point.

Here’s what happened, what I learned, and what I’m doing differently now.

The Breaking Points

The first Monday started with financial stress and loneliness. Nothing dramatic happened that morning—no specific bad news or crisis event. But I woke up feeling the weight of everything at once: the variable income, the uncertainty, the isolation of building something alone while everyone else seems to be on a more stable path.

I felt really emotional throughout the day. I had some moments of tears that I could push past, but by night-time, it turned into full-blown crying that took hours to stop. I felt quite anxious and didn’t feel motivated to do much work, despite the fact that I really needed to get a lot done.

The second Monday, a week later, came after a rejection. I’d made it to the final three candidates for a freelance consulting project—the kind of work I do on the side to pay bills and funnel money into the business. After a very long interview process, multiple rounds, presenting detailed proposals, I got the “we’ve decided to go with someone else” email.

It felt quite painful. Like I had put in a massive amount of effort for no reason. All that time I could have spent on my own business, wasted on interviews for a project I didn’t even get.

And then the crying started again.

The Stool Legs Metaphor

Here’s the thing about emotional stability: life is a bit like a stool with multiple legs. Each part of life is a different leg—health, family and friends, romantic relationship, career, finances. When one leg is taken away or gets wobbly, there are other legs to balance on. You can stay upright.

But last year was very tough. At different stages throughout the year, nearly all of the legs were taken away or became dangerously unstable, leaving me feeling very pained and struggling.

Let me be specific about what “all the legs wobbling” actually meant:

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