Most entrepreneurs obsess over building the perfect product — and ignore the numbers that actually keep their business alive. Sevan Marian, Co-Founder and CEO of Fleet, explains why focusing on margin and cash flow from day one is the difference between scaling to €100M and shutting down after three months.

Sevan built Fleet from €5,000 to a €100M valuation without raising VC, using an asset-light financial model inspired by Amazon's playbook: cash flow positive, zero inventory, and contracts sold to banks upfront. He shares how most first-time founders make the fatal mistake of chasing product-market fit while their financials quietly bleed out — and why understanding the difference between profitability and cash flow matters more than most realize.

💡 The fatal mistake first-time founders make with cash flow

📊 How Fleet scaled with €5K — no VC, no inventory, no debt on the balance sheet

🔄 Why being cash flow positive beats being EBITDA profitable

⚙️ The Amazon-inspired model: collect early, pay late, stay asset-light

🚀 What changed after the €100M LBO with ISAI — and what didn't

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About Sevan Marian [Co-founder of Fleet]:Sevan Marian is Co-Founder and CEO of Fleet, a €100M-valued IT management platform serving companies across Europe and the US. He previously worked at Rocket Internet's Jumia, where he launched and scaled e-commerce operations across North Africa. Sevan bootstrapped Fleet to €35M ARR with fewer than 40 employees before completing a growth LBO with ISAI in 2024.About Aulium:Aulium is a video show exploring Innovation and Private Capital, hosted by Thomas Viguier and Markus Perkumas.Connect with us:➡ Aulium on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aulium➡ Thomas Viguier: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tviguier/➡ Markus Perkumas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markusperkumas/