In this episode of Idea to Exit, I break down how to engineer a life you don’t need a vacation from, and why most founders never get there.

I share the moment that flipped the switch for me, packed into an NYC subway commuting to Midtown, asking myself “what am I doing?” That was the start of building on the side, turning skills into leverage, and eventually working for myself full time.

Then we get tactical. I walk through the disciplines that changed my business and my time: meetings that start and end on time, no meeting without an agenda, and removing people who are not contributing. I explain why I avoid recurring weekly calls, how Slack and Loom replace most meetings, and how to compress an hour into a 2 to 5 minute update so you can actually build while working a full time job.

I also share what we learned after interviewing 500 founders in the last 60 days, and the biggest pattern I’m seeing right now: people are using AI and “vibe coding” platforms to build apps before they validate demand. They end up with the wrong ICP, the wrong message, and the wrong features, then burn money hiring agencies trying to “market” something nobody asked for.

I break down the 1% path that works: validate first, build a waitlist, run ads to test acquisition cost, survey and interview the market, then build only what people are ready to pay for.

If you’re a first time founder and you want to build something that actually sells, this episode will save you months or years of wasted effort.

Leave a comment and tell me what you’re building, and what you want your life to look like 12 months from now.