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Aydin Mirzaee: Selling to the Enemy - The Exit Podcast
In this episode of The EXIT Podcast, we sit down with Aydin Mirzaee, co-founder of FluidSurveys and now CEO of Fellow.app.
Aydin shares how he built and scaled FluidSurveys into a major player in the online survey space — only to sell it to their sworn enemy, SurveyMonkey.
What looked like a dream exit turned into a temporary identity crisis, forcing him to question who he was without the company he built.
Aydin opens up about navigating that existential low, why exits don’t always equal happiness, and how he ultimately found his next chapter building Fellow, a market leader in the meeting note taking space powered by AI.
From building against the odds, to selling to a rival, to rebuilding meaning after the payday — this episode is raw, insightful, and packed with lessons for every founder.
🎧 Listen now to learn:What it’s like to sell your startup to your biggest competitor
Why the “post-exit high” can quickly turn into a personal low
How Aydin rebuilt confidence and clarity to start again
What he’s doing differently at Fellow to align purpose with business
📍 About Aydin Mirzaee: Aydin is a Canadian entrepreneur and the co-founder of FluidSurveys, acquired by SurveyMonkey in 2014. Today he leads Fellow.app, a meeting productivity platform backed by top investors, and advocates for healthier, more intentional company cultures.
🧠 Subscribe to The EXIT Podcast for more unfiltered conversations with founders who’ve built, sold, and reinvented themselves.
Timestamps:
0:00:00 – Introduction & Aydin’s Early Entrepreneurial Journey
0:01:47 – Founding Fluid Surveys & Entering a Crowded Market
0:04:01 – Finding a Niche: Accessibility & Canadian Data Sovereignty
0:05:55 – Pivoting to Enterprise & Discovering High-Value Customers
0:10:38 – The Role of Co-Founders and Experience in Startup Success
0:14:54 – Bootstrapping, Growth, and Financial Struggles
0:17:29 – First Contact with SurveyMonkey: Friend or Foe?
0:23:47 – Acquisition Negotiations: Tactics and Challenges
0:30:24 – Custom Contracts and Due Diligence Hurdles
0:32:54 – Employee Buy-In and Closing Conditions
0:36:40 – Timeline of the Exit Process & Competing Offers
0:40:57 – Negotiating the Sale Price & Currency Lessons
0:46:43 – Life After the Exit: Identity and Finding the Next Venture
0:49:35 – Overcoming Overthinking: The Importance of Starting and Pivoting
0:55:52 – Lessons for Founders Considering an Exit
0:57:56 – Providing Context and Transparency Post-Acquisition
1:03:59 – Life-Changing Impact of the Exit & Personal Reflections
1:12:39 – Giving Back: Helping Other Founders and Angel Investing
1:17:25 – Final Advice: The Journey, Compounding, and Moving the Needle
💬 Leave us a comment if you enjoyed this episode – it helps us grow and reach more founders.
🔗 Follow the Guests & Hosts
THE EXIT GROUP® https://www.theexit.group
Instagram @theexit.group
Aydin Mirzaee @aydinmirzaee
Adrian Salamunovic @adriansalamunovic
View all episodes
By Adrian SalamunovicIn this episode of The EXIT Podcast, we sit down with Aydin Mirzaee, co-founder of FluidSurveys and now CEO of Fellow.app.
Aydin shares how he built and scaled FluidSurveys into a major player in the online survey space — only to sell it to their sworn enemy, SurveyMonkey.
What looked like a dream exit turned into a temporary identity crisis, forcing him to question who he was without the company he built.
Aydin opens up about navigating that existential low, why exits don’t always equal happiness, and how he ultimately found his next chapter building Fellow, a market leader in the meeting note taking space powered by AI.
From building against the odds, to selling to a rival, to rebuilding meaning after the payday — this episode is raw, insightful, and packed with lessons for every founder.
🎧 Listen now to learn:What it’s like to sell your startup to your biggest competitor
Why the “post-exit high” can quickly turn into a personal low
How Aydin rebuilt confidence and clarity to start again
What he’s doing differently at Fellow to align purpose with business
📍 About Aydin Mirzaee: Aydin is a Canadian entrepreneur and the co-founder of FluidSurveys, acquired by SurveyMonkey in 2014. Today he leads Fellow.app, a meeting productivity platform backed by top investors, and advocates for healthier, more intentional company cultures.
🧠 Subscribe to The EXIT Podcast for more unfiltered conversations with founders who’ve built, sold, and reinvented themselves.
Timestamps:
0:00:00 – Introduction & Aydin’s Early Entrepreneurial Journey
0:01:47 – Founding Fluid Surveys & Entering a Crowded Market
0:04:01 – Finding a Niche: Accessibility & Canadian Data Sovereignty
0:05:55 – Pivoting to Enterprise & Discovering High-Value Customers
0:10:38 – The Role of Co-Founders and Experience in Startup Success
0:14:54 – Bootstrapping, Growth, and Financial Struggles
0:17:29 – First Contact with SurveyMonkey: Friend or Foe?
0:23:47 – Acquisition Negotiations: Tactics and Challenges
0:30:24 – Custom Contracts and Due Diligence Hurdles
0:32:54 – Employee Buy-In and Closing Conditions
0:36:40 – Timeline of the Exit Process & Competing Offers
0:40:57 – Negotiating the Sale Price & Currency Lessons
0:46:43 – Life After the Exit: Identity and Finding the Next Venture
0:49:35 – Overcoming Overthinking: The Importance of Starting and Pivoting
0:55:52 – Lessons for Founders Considering an Exit
0:57:56 – Providing Context and Transparency Post-Acquisition
1:03:59 – Life-Changing Impact of the Exit & Personal Reflections
1:12:39 – Giving Back: Helping Other Founders and Angel Investing
1:17:25 – Final Advice: The Journey, Compounding, and Moving the Needle
💬 Leave us a comment if you enjoyed this episode – it helps us grow and reach more founders.
🔗 Follow the Guests & Hosts
THE EXIT GROUP® https://www.theexit.group
Instagram @theexit.group
Aydin Mirzaee @aydinmirzaee
Adrian Salamunovic @adriansalamunovic