Articles
Articles by Ayman Al-Abdullah.
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7 Lessons From Being CEO of an $80M/Year Company
I learned these lessons while scaling AppSumo from $3M to $80M a year. That period…
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Architect Mode: The Three Eras of Leadership
VIEW FULL CONTENT HERE There's a line Peter Drucker wrote back in 1963 that still…
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Why Trust Matters More Than Performance When Building Your Team
The hardest people decisions are rarely about performance alone. They're about performance plus trust. I've…
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The One Hill Doctrine: Why Working on Too Many Things Is Killing Your Business
The biggest reason your business doesn't move forward? You're working on too many things. When…
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AI Is Cutting Entire Job Categories, Not Just Bad Companies
I've never seen more layoffs than the last 12 months. Not even close. Not even…
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The Four Things Every CEO Actually Owes Their Team
Most CEOs think their job is vision and strategy. It's not. Your real mandate is…
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Entrepreneurship Is Often a Trauma Response
Entrepreneurship is often a trauma response. Almost everyone who is in the seat of a…
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5 Questions to Figure Out What Kind of CEO You Are
Not all CEOs are the same. And understanding what kind of leader you are can…
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The Biggest Firing Mistake I've Made
The biggest firing mistake I've made is having the tough conversation on the day I…
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Why Your Best Salesperson Might Be Your Worst Sales Manager
One of the biggest mistakes CEOs make is assuming their top performers will make good…
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Pursue A+ Players
Hate to break it to you: A+ players will never apply to your job posting.…
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How We Beat Apple, Google, and Amazon on Revenue Per Employee
We beat Apple, Google, and Amazon on one metric at AppSumo. Revenue per employee (RPE).…
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The Michael Dell Strategy
Imagine you're 16 years old. Selling newspaper subscriptions door to door. Competing against salespeople in…
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My Annual Ritual: Setting Up My Brand New MacBook Pro
Every year, I do something that might seem extreme to some: I start fresh with…
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Win Sunday, Win the Week
Eight-figure companies are built on Sundays. I learned this while leading an $80M business .…
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Annual Plans Are Startup Suicide
I used to think annual plans were genius. Get cash upfront, lock in customers, and…
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The Marketing Stack Mistake Killing Startups
I watched a founder spend one hundred thousand dollars on Salesforce at one million dollars…
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Why Energy Management Beats Time Management
I used to worship my calendar. Every minute was color-coded, time-blocked, and optimized. I had…
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Founder vs CEO vs President vs COO
Every startup has different leadership roles, but what do they actually mean? I see a…
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AI Changed Everything Except the CEO's Job
A CEO I coach tested an AI system in his 400-person call center. The results…
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Why Keeping Wrong People Kills Teams
In 2001, Netflix faced a moment that would redefine how we think about team building.…
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The $150,000 Lesson That Changed Everything
I paid Tony Robbins $150,000 for coaching. His advice changed how I build companies. A…
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What I Wish I Had Done Sooner as CEO
I learned these lessons the hard way while scaling my company from 7 figures to…
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Why Most $1M CEOs Fail at $10M
The journey from startup founder to successful CEO is not a straight line. After scaling…
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Stop Being Your Startup's Superman
As founders, we often fall into a dangerous trap I call the “Superman Syndrome.” After…
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Amplify What Works
Apple, a $3.8 trillion company, thrives with just a handful of products. This begs the…
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6 Things I Should Have Done Sooner as a CEO
Things I should have done sooner as a CEO: Hosted dinners with inspiring founders Hired…
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AI and the CEO: 5 Tasks That Survived
I used to think being irreplaceable made me valuable . It turns out it just…
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7 Green Flags of a $100M CEO
Everyone knows the red flags of a struggling leader. But after scaling AppSumo from $3…
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How to Make Yourself Irreplaceable to a Founder
Landing a role where you report directly to a founder comes with unique expectations. These…
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My 4-Question Test for Hiring
Here is my four-question litmus test that I use before hiring anyone. The Average Do…
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CEO Lessons Learned Too Late
As a CEO, hindsight is both a blessing and a curse. Looking back, there are…
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The Most Critical Hire That Shaped AppSumo
Ilona was one of the most critical hires we ever made at AppSumo . Full…
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The Permissionless Approach
I’ve hired over 100 people. Worked with 9-figure entrepreneurs. Built teams at one of the…
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The Ultimate Guide to Hiring an Executive Assistant
Most founders wait too long to hire an Executive Assistant. They say, “I’m not ready”…
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What's the Difference Between a Founder / CEO / President / COO?
While these roles may overlap in smaller organizations, understanding their distinct functions helps clarify responsibilities…
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14-Step Guide to Scaling Your Business
I recently sat down with Greg Isenberg , host of The Startup Ideas podcast ,…
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A Journey of Sacrifice and Opportunity
40 years ago, a young man left a small village in Iraq in search of…
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Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
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New Money Talks Podcast
I recently sat down with John Melizanis and Kyle Russell on their New Money Talks…
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My CEO Story
CEO is a stressful job. Nobody really teaches you how to do it. Here's my story.
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Live Workshops
Last year I was forced to make a tough decision… You see my 1:1 coaching…
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Interesting People 2024
In June 2024, I received this email from Andrew Wilkinson. “Every year, I invite 100…
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My Guesting on Kopywriting Kourse Podcast
I recently sat down with Neville Medhora for a conversation about scaling companies and navigating…
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The Futur Podcast: The Key to Big Profits
When I was CEO of AppSumo, I discovered something that transformed our business: the power…
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Headshots of Ayman Al-Abdullah
These images may be used as headshots of Ayman Al-Abdullah for speaking and media appearances.…
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