In this episode of the Aperiam Podcast, Joe Zawadzki and Corey Ferengul talked about the hardest step — turning a great idea into a repeatable business. You can’t outsource that early work. The founder (and early team) have to be with customers, hearing what works, what doesn’t, and adjusting without losing sight of the bigger vision.

The mistake we see most often? Hiring a senior “head of sales” too early. The better move is to find a player-coach — someone who can sell alongside the founder and start building process without losing momentum.

Whether you’re a startup or a big company launching a new line of business, the same lesson applies: stay close to your customers, keep learning, and scale only when the pattern is real.