{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/656e8783de25a00012a555e0/685f4793081ac1df5d61652c?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"How I built a $100M startup after losing EVERYTHING | Aydin Mirzaee","description":"<p>Aydin is the co-founder of Fellow and he's today's guest on Startup Strategies with Juliana Hahn. From losing everything in the dot-com crash at age 13 to building a $30+ million SaaS platform, Aydin has navigated multiple pivots and a strategic exit that shaped his approach to AI-first product development. In this episode, he reveals how he and his 20-year co-founding team bootstrapped their way to a multi-million dollar SurveyMonkey acquisition, then leveraged that experience to identify the manager productivity gap that became Fellow.</p><p><br></p><p>Aydin shares how he:</p><ul><li>started with childhood ventures building websites and attempting to compete with Yahoo before losing his father's money in the dot-com crash</li><li>bootstrapped Fluidware to nearly 100 employees before executing a strategic acquisition to SurveyMonkey</li><li>identified the manager productivity gap during his SurveyMonkey experience and used it as the foundation for Fellow</li><li>navigated COVID as their 'Instagram moment' - pivoting from manager co-pilot to meeting productivity platform, then again to AI-first meeting assistant</li><li>scaled Fellow to over $30 million raised with 10x revenue growth since 2021 by understanding that every pre-AI company must disrupt itself or risk being displaced by AI-native startups</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Let's break down his Startup Strategies.</p><p><br></p><p>Links and resources:</p><p><br></p><p>FREE $1M ARR SaaS Marketing <a href=\"https://shop.beacons.ai/juliana_hahn/c3255600-7040-437a-98b6-d216e0e9e10e\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Playbook</a><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqa2FPY2NfWGlTenBVRG5VbmxrZFdQUkRhR3dRd3xBQ3Jtc0tuVlBTblBpR2oydm8zak1XZmpvVHQ3OEZOemN4TGNhVFg4VUlGWktoNXVKVG5CRWRoWktlNFdoSVRjY3BuMG1XcWU4dmc0S290Vmw3NkZPRHd5R05teDg2Ykc3OW1GTmJpTzd6QnV0a3hzMUctRTNLQQ&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fshop.beacons.ai%2Fjuliana_hahn%2Fc3255600-7040-437a-98b6-d216e0e9e10e%3FpageViewSource%3Dlib_view%26referrer%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fbeacons.ai%252Fjuliana_hahn%26show_back_button%3Dtrue&amp;v=NnOnZi00Jts\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">&nbsp;</a></p><p>FREE Startup Marketing <a href=\"https://shop.beacons.ai/juliana_hahn/58e836c2-58b6-4780-9b79-2528f9200d7a\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Cheatsheet</a></p><p><br></p><p>Join the <a href=\"https://beacons.ai/juliana_hahn\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Startup Strategies Newsletter</a> for weekly growth &amp; marketing breakdowns.</p><p><br></p><p>Let’s connect:&nbsp;</p><p><a href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@juliana_hahn\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Tiktok</a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.instagram.com/juliana_hahn/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram</a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliana-hahn/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">LinkedIn</a></p><p><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/@juliana_hahn\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Youtube</a></p><p><a href=\"https://x.com/juliana_hahn_\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">X</a></p><p><br></p><p>Need help with growing &amp; marketing your startup? <a href=\"https://calendly.com/gro-media/30min?month=2025-12\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Work with us</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>Make sure you hit FOLLOW or the + sign so you don’t miss out on future episodes on everything growth &amp; marketing for your startup.</p>","author_name":"Juliana Hahn"}