from stuck in the weeds for 5 years to paying customers within weeks

 Simi’s Story

“I spent 5 years lost in the weeds with my business idea. As a pharmacist, I'd managed complex healthcare operations for a decade, supervised hundreds of employees, and made thousands of life-critical decisions daily. As an entrepreneur I've built successful freelance businesses, coached clients, and founded communities. But launching a tech-enabled ghostwriting service that helps people speak their books into existence? Using a method no one had heard of, to a network I didn't have? I was lost, and imposter syndrome was starting to move in permanently.

At the same time, I felt guarded in most startup spaces wherever I sought support. No surprise because I don't fit the mold — I'm a queer South Asian woman and a single mom in the Bible Belt.

Here's just one example: once I was at an entrepreneurship event, deep in a private conversation with another founder about their work in algorithmic racism and bias in tech, when an eavesdropper barged in and demanded we listen to his white fragility 101 reaction to our private conversation. He got louder and more demanding. Our conversation was hijacked and instead of networking, we spent the whole time managing his entitlement. The whole room got weird. What should have been an energizing weekend became another drain - I spent days processing the experience instead of moving my business forward.

Micro-aggressions like this in tech startup spaces where I am not the target audience kept stealing my precious time and focus. So I became hyper independent and stuck to myself.”

Simi’s Founder-Led Marketing Club Experience

“Most business books and communities had me stuck in perpetual beginner mode. But I didn't need more basics that were designed for a target audience I'm not a part of - I needed a clear path to paying customers. That's where FLMC changed everything.

When Sweta first talked to me about my idea, I noticed the contrast immediately. She understood my starting line and my finish line, and my definition of success, did not need to look like everyone else's.

She intuitively understood what I needed, and had the exact resources to back it up. She didn't make me prove my credibility or intelligence like tech bros who have nothing in common with me. She didn't tell me I should define my success by someone else's benchmarks. She also didn't coddle me with praise without actual feedback to help me grow. She saw the potential immediately and helped me focus on execution.

In just weeks with the Founder-Led Marketing Club, I've:

• Designed a new business model focused on ‘willingness to pay’

• Helped 6 people start speaking their books into existence

• Developed 5 promising B2B partnerships

• Got my first 2 Happy Paying Customers

• Built a systematic approach to 100 happy paying customers”

Using the Happy Paying Customers methodology, Simi developed a new go-to-market plan. See the before/after positioning above. In just 2 weeks of micro-testing this, she had 2 Happy Paying Customers. Why? The new version has a specific target audience, clear ‘what is this?’, and a no-brainer value proposition.

Simi added, “Every second I've spent here has been an investment with immediate returns. I know how to get happy paying customers - without wasting time proving I deserve to try. Most importantly? I know exactly what to do in my focus blocks. No more stressing out or questioning if I'm working on the right things.”

And, Simi’s just getting started.

Join Simi in Founder-Led Marketing Club

Founder-Led Marketing Club is a small group coaching membership providing hands-on advisory support for new founders on the journey to their first $1M. Underestimated founders design go-to-market micro-tests to get 100 Happy Paying Customers, and build a business on their terms.