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Smarketing: Why are my MQLs going up while my SQLs are going down?

One question I have been getting all thru my 20+ years of smarketing career is why are marketing-generated leads numbers trending up but the real opportunities coming down? Some real & uncool reasons no one told you: 1. Someone downloading a well-produced infographics/cat video doesn’t a lead make. Ease of marketing automation & increased volume…
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Why we should embrace & celebrate stoic struggle – the most important mental model for today!

Why we should embrace & celebrate stoic struggle – the most important mental model for today! Today’s elites were all yesterday’s strugglers. The VC with the Midas touch & board member with a tiny apartment in Malabar Hill was burning the midnight oil to complete his CA in rural Rajasthan; that Bangalore software A-lister was…
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A model worth following in our startup/institution-building journey?

How do we build one of the finest institutions in the world? One day at a time – with intelligence, aggression, patience, & risk mgmt. Today is the first day in 25 years Aditya Puri will not be going to the bank he built – HDFC Bank. The day one registers their co., their email…
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How should a startup (not) sell to other startups?

How should a startup (not) sell to other startups? One of the harshest but most practical advicefor a startup could be: “Don’t waste your time on startups. They aren’t worth it.” We need not follow this advice in toto.But it does help to define some boundaries & have some clear rules of engagement – for…
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How meeting the top decision-makers has become easier & more difficult at the same time and what should you do about it!

How meeting the top decision-makers has become easier & more difficult at the same time and what should we do about it? Legend has it that if we wanted to meet the Chinese emperor we had to hunt many a dragon & wine & dine his inner circles for a lifetime before you got invited…
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