TK Kader

WFIO Moments Fuel Founder Resilience and Future Wins

Every Founder has their WFIO moment. WFIO = We're F*cked. It's Over. The other day I was looking through old photos on my phone and found a picture of this receipt from ThirstyBear on Howard Street. It was June of 2013. And my great friend Vivek and I were commiserating about our respective companies at around 5pm (early for us to be having drinks) but it was one of our tough days. We went through a full round of partner meetings at one of the top firms in the world and they just turned us down for our Series A. It wasn't looking too great for Vivek's startup either. WFIO. Or was it? We commiserated. We talked through our possible plays. And in the end, we left it to the universe and decided we'd keep fighting on. Because there's always one more play. For my company, ToutApp, we went on to have our biggest quarter ever, we hit cash flow break even, $1M ARR, with a lean team of 6, and then raised our Series A. We then went on to raise our Series B and eventually exit. For Vivek? He exited his startup. He then went on to found Bose Frames. Looking back on that afternoon happy hour where we wondered "is it time to give up?" - it was far from it. We were embarking on some of our greatest runs. I had plenty more WFIO moments after that. But it was never over. There was always another way forward. As long as you don't quit, you do not lose and its not over. It was an important lesson for me to learn as a Founder. And I always remind other Founders when they are having their WFIO moments. You are indeed NFAINO (Not F*cked and Its Not Over). For me? At that time? It was to double down on our Sales-driven model instead of just relying on our self-service model. It was to sell to entire teams instead of selling to one salesperson at a time. And thankfully, I had a team who was able to rise up with me. It was incredible. And that unlock in your GTM Strategy changed the entire trajectory of our company. If you're a SaaS Founder, in the AI-era where its easier than ever to build product, the greatest moat is Distribution. Figure out your GTM and you'll always find a way to win. To learn how, grab a complimentary copy of my 5-Point SaaS Growth Strategy Guide (so you can accelerate your path to the next stage of growth with a differentiated GTM Strategy).