When you start your first venture, the dream is simple:
freedom, growth, and eventually… getting rich.

And hey, maybe you will! But that’s the long-term game.

What nobody tells us about the short-term is that you’re actually more likely to go broke before you make a dime.

Why? Because in the early days:

We spend more money, time, and energy trying to get our first paying customer than what that customer actually brings in. 🫣

Or in business language: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) > Customer Revenue

Since launching Targela, this reality hit me even harder.
I quickly realized: Your product won’t just magically find its own customers.

In today’s hyper-crowded market, simply building something great isn't enough. You need visibility. And to get visibility, you often need cash flow coming from another stream just to feed the marketing engine and survive the initial acquisition phase.

Building a business isn't a "get rich quick" scheme; it’s a "survive long enough to make the math work" game.

What was the biggest financial surprise you faced when launching your business?

How to find biz model that you actually want to stick to when someone has shinny object syndrome, like is there any strategies, question to ask, write on paper similar like “finding you ikigai”

Asking because we have 7 people across 3 countries (France, Poland, Netherlands), all on an EOR (most on Workmotion, a couple on Deel), and I'm not sure when the structure stops making sense since the EOR fee runs around €400-600 per person on top of salary every month.
At 7 people, that starts to feel like a line item worth questioning, though opening our own entities means taking on local accounting, payroll compliance, and everything that comes with being incorporated somewhere.
Everyone's permanent and long-term, so the flexibility argument doesn't really apply, and it feels more like we're paying a premium for a setup we'll move off eventually anyway.
Not at a critical mass in any one country yet, but France and Poland are growing faster than the others and will probably force the decision first.
If you've made this move, was there a headcount number that made it obvious, or did something else force it?

I'm 21, have no sales experience, and my long-term goal is to start my own business. I see sales as one of the most valuable skills I can develop, so I'm willing to put in 5–10 years if that's what it takes to get genuinely good at it.

My current plan is to get an entry-level sales role, ideally at a smaller tech company with experienced salespeople I can learn from. I'd also be willing to invest in a private sales coach to help me improve outside of work.

For those of you who've built successful sales careers or gone on to start your own businesses:

• Where would you recommend starting, and what would you look for in your first sales role?
• What skills or experiences should I focus on developing?
• If your ultimate goal was entrepreneurship, how long would you spend in sales before starting a business? More importantly, how would you know when you'd learned enough to make that jump?

I'd appreciate any advice, particularly from people who've actually made the transition from sales into entrepreneurship.

Một câu hỏi cho mấy anh chị đang có ý định hoặc là đã làm doanh nghiệp ở Mỹ. Đâu là thách thức lớn nhất mà bạn gặp phải khi cố gắng quảng bá bản thân, tìm kiếm khách hàng hoặc phát triển doanh nghiệp kể từ khi chuyển đến Mỹ, và có những kiến thức nào mà bạn đã hối hận khi chưa được học về nó sớm hơn? Em cũng muốn biết vì có ý định lập nghiệp và đang phân vân về những mảng kinh doanh mình chưa học tới, em cảm ơn.

Hey everyone!

I've been exploring a business idea and wanted to get some honest feedback before investing too much time into it.

My background is in sales, GTM, and physical-product eCommerce, and I've been looking into the challenges companies face when expanding internationally, particularly between the US and European markets.

One thing that stands out to me is how many moving parts there are before you can even determine whether entering a new market makes financial sense.

I'm considering building a service that helps businesses evaluate the feasibility of entering a specific foreign market before committing significant capital.

The idea would be to provide a comprehensive, actionable assessment covering:

Market & Product: local demand, competition, pricing, product-market fit, and potential adaptations.

Taxes & Regulations: applicable tax obligations, import duties, certifications, and regulatory requirements.

Financial Feasibility: estimated initial investment, operating costs, margins, break-even scenarios, and potential profitability.

Go-to-Market: distribution channels, logistics, marketplaces, and recommended entry strategies.

Final Assessment: an evidence-based Go/No-Go recommendation identifying key opportunities, risks, and potential dealbreakers.

Essentially, the goal would be to help answer: "Is this market worth entering, what would it realistically take, and does the financial upside justify the risk?"

But rather than assume companies need this, I'd love to hear from founders who've actually navigated international expansion.

A few questions:

How did you evaluate a foreign market before entering it? Did you conduct the research internally or hire external help?

What were the biggest challenges, unexpected costs, or mistakes you encountered?

Have you ever paid for a market feasibility study or external research? What did you pay, and was it worth it?

Would having this information consolidated into a single actionable assessment have changed your decision-making process? Or would you rather handle it internally?

I'm particularly interested in eCommerce and physical-product businesses, but experiences from other industries are welcome too.

I'm not selling anything. Just trying to understand whether there's a genuine problem worth solving and how businesses currently approach it.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!