YEC

How much of the decision in front of you is actually yours, and how much belongs to someone else's expectations?

Most founders have never separated the two on paper.

Matt Haze, humorist and event host, in Chicago. He runs Haze Creative, a B2B media and live event business built on making people laugh and think while it builds an audience. One of the founding cohort of YEC.

We asked what is taking most of his attention right now. He said:

"Building a different type of B2B media and community building company that makes people laugh and think while also building an audience that can drive future growth.

Also developing a unique type of boutique and bespoke event that brings people together."

We asked what the most expensive thing he has learned was.

"Act on the ideas that come to me.

There have been ideas I've had in my mind that I've seen others do a version of in a year or two and do really well, that could have been mine and could have been profitable for me."

We asked what another member can come to him for.

"How to build a community and connect with your clients so they're raving fans and tell others about you."

And then, unprompted, this.

"I've started the process to get my private pilot license."

Matt Haze. Haze Creative.

Comment altitude and we will send you the application.

Thursday: the call that is yours alone.

Aline Hanle on what happens after the data runs out and the decision is still yours.

September 24, 11:00 AM ET.

https://yec.co/events/the-intuitive-blueprint-navigating-success-from-within/

Milan Veverka, CEO and leadership team coach, in Vancouver. He works with founders of companies doing five to a hundred million dollars, and the job is getting every member of a leadership team to run their function like the CEO of it. He started his first company the day he was legally old enough to hold the business license, and has built, run and sold businesses across several countries and two political systems. One of the founding cohort of YEC.

We asked what is taking most of his attention right now. He said:

"Two things. The first is my client roster: I run a CEO & Company Transformation Program for founders of $5M to $100M companies, and the day job is getting their leadership teams to the point where every member runs their function like a CEO.

The second is The CEO Game, a micro-learning card deck, both physical and virtual, illustrated by my wife Janet, with a podcast called CardCast built on top of it."

We asked what the most expensive thing he has learned was.

"The firings I didn't do. More than once I kept a bad fit in a seat because I wanted to avoid the unpleasant conversation, and I told myself I was being kind.

The real bill: months of managing around the problem, A-players quietly heading for the door, and two futures on hold, theirs and mine.

In one case the person finally quit on me, and my first reaction was relief, which told me everything about how long I had waited.

I've since asked a lot of CEOs about this and not one has ever said: I wish I kept them three more months.

What I wish someone had told me sooner: the kind thing and the right thing are usually the same thing, and it's called Action."

We asked what another member can come to him for.

"My sign would say two things. One: people problems. The hire you're second-guessing, the co-founder friction, the underperformer you've been carrying for a year, the conversation you keep rescheduling. I've made most of those mistakes personally and I'll tell you exactly what they cost me.

Two: the leadership team itself. If you're past $5M and everything still routes through you, come interrupt me. I'm happy to take that conversation any day of the week."

And then, unprompted, this.

"Weekends are for woodwork and building. We have a property that we, with my wife Janet, are turning into a retreat center. As a coach I no longer get to make things I can drop on my foot, and woodwork gives that back to me. It's cheaper than therapy and I end up with furniture.

I learned the basics from my late uncle, an old-school master furniture maker, and filled the gaps in with YouTube and trial and error. And error.

I also have a mild case of severe obsession with ramen. I trained in hospitality long before I ever ran a company, and I'm with Julia Child on this one: giving people food is an act of love."

Milan Veverka. VV, Inc.

Comment altitude and we will send you the application.

This Thursday.

Every founder knows the moment. You have the numbers, the advice, and the playbook, and they do not agree. The decision is still sitting with you.

Aline Hanle, Founder and CEO of Experience Extraordinary, has spent twenty years on that moment. On Thursday she walks through the Intuitive Blueprint: how to read your own judgment, and how to pair instinct with strategy instead of choosing between them.

September 24, 11:00 AM ET, online. Open to all.

Comment blueprint and we will send you the registration link.

Earn your seat. Keep it by showing up.

The first half is a decision. The second half is a habit, and it is the one that compounds.

Instinct or strategy is a false choice.

Next Thursday, Aline Hanle walks through the Intuitive Blueprint, the framework she has spent twenty years building:

Reading your own judgment when the outside answers stop agreeing.
Recognizing when a decision belongs to someone else's expectations.
Spotting the patterns that quietly cap your confidence or your growth.

September 24, 11:00 AM ET, online. Open to all.

Comment blueprint and we will send you the registration link.

The best counsel does not come from the sidelines.

It comes from people carrying the same weight, in the same week, at the same altitude.

Applications are open.

Comment altitude and we will send you the application.

Andy Austin runs Adsora, a performance marketing company in Las Vegas. One of the founding cohort of YEC.

We asked him to describe it.

"We do one thing: generate leads, appointments, and customers for home services companies and get paid per lead, not per month. No retainers, no decks about impressions. If the phone doesn't ring, we don't get paid, which is a stupid way to build a business and also the only structure I've found that keeps everybody honest.

I started it in 2022 after several years buying paid social for consumer brands, newsletters and apps. Somewhere in there it clicked that the hard part was never the media buying, it was the creative and the offer. Most agencies have that backwards and charge you monthly to keep it backwards."

We asked what is taking most of his attention right now.

"Creative at scale. I've been building a system that scans what every competitor in a niche is running on Meta each week. Every live ad, its copy, its landing page, how long the creative has survived. And it turns that into the next round of ads.

We're also building our own funnel and monetization on the backend, with different payouts based on the lead type, to back into our partners' appointment costs and cost of marketing."

We asked what the most expensive thing he has learned was.

"Hiring. And it's the one that took a long time to get better at, still not close to being perfect. I've hired too many people because they looked good on paper, with no red flags, which over time showed they were not a good fit for the culture or skill-wise.

Advertising is a very interesting game where every industry is different, and often skills are not transferable, say from e-commerce to lead generation and vice versa."

We asked what another member can come to him for.

"Anything related to paid advertising on Facebook ads, especially in lead generation. I have years of experience in all sorts of verticals: mobile games, e-commerce, info offers, high-ticket sales lead and call generation, and newsletters."

And then this.

"I am sort of obsessive about my schedule. Making sure the tasks and goals I set are finished on time. Otherwise, I like the gym, good food (steaks), and playing video games."

Andy Austin. Adsora.

Comment altitude and we will send you the application.