Debunking Industry Myths

Stop thinking innovation only comes from slick new gadgets.⁣ Real innovation addresses and alleviates genuine human challenges.⁣ While the majority of companies are pursuing the next trend, the ones with the most foresight use their resources to build products that help people reclaim their dignity and become self-sufficient. This intelligent car seat from China serves as a wonderful illustration. It slides out on its own to assist elderly individuals in sitting down without any exertion. There’s no bending, no lifting, and no striving, just ease and accessibility.⁠ 3 Takeaways From This Innovation: Technology + Compassion = Meaningful Change⁠ ↳ Daily-life technology should eliminate hassles, not add to them⁠ ↳ Great solutions come from deeply understanding everyday struggles⁠ The Future Is Accessibility⁠ ↳ Older generations require mobility assistance more urgently than ever⁠ ↳ Inclusive products open up larger markets⁠ Careful Design, Not Just Coding⁠  ↳ A minor design adjustment can change how millions move⁠  ↳ Real innovation is measuring how many lives you better⁠ Innovation doesn’t mean starting from scratch. It means enhancing the quality of life for the most vulnerable.⁠ Would you consider implementing this technology for your elderly family members?⁠ 📌 Remember to revisit this post when you want to draw inspiration from it!

Everyone Is Doing AI Now… and It’s Bullshit. Right now, it feels like everyone is doing AI. Every job post, every resume, every course—it’s all about LLMs, transformers, deep learning. And for entry-level data scientists? It’s making things worse. Here’s the truth: If you’re trying to break into data science, focusing on AI first is a waste of time. Before you even think about deep learning or generative AI, you need to master the foundations—because most entry-level data scientist roles don’t require AI at all. 1 - Data Analytics + Your first job as a data scientist will require you to work with data —not training a GPT-4 model -> 80% of your job will be data cleaning, transformation, and analysis. + You need to be fluent in SQL, Python (Pandas/Numpy), and visualization tools before anything else. -> If you can’t take raw data, clean it, and extract insights, you’re not ready for machine learning yet. 2 - Understand Basic Machine Learning Instead of jumping into deep learning, start with: + Regression (Linear, Logistic) + Tree-based models (Random Forest, XGBoost) + Clustering & classification basics -> More importantly, understand when to use them, because most businesses don’t need AI, they need good data-driven decision-making. 3 - Work on End-to-End Projects A strong project doesn’t just have a model—it answers a real question with real data. + Focus on data sourcing, cleaning, feature engineering, and storytelling. -> The best projects show impact, not just code. Right now, entry-level job seekers are making the mistake of chasing hype instead of skills. But companies hiring junior data scientists aren’t looking for AI researchers—they want strong analytical thinkers who can make sense of data. If you’re new to data science, don’t start with AI. Start with analytics, core ML, and real-world problem-solving. That’s what will actually get you hired.

Don’t start a business until you know these 5 ugly truths 👇🏻 When I started my business, I thought entrepreneurship meant: ✔ Freedom ✔ More time for myself ✔ Money flowing in if I just “followed my passion” Sounds great, right? That’s exactly what I was told. But reality hit me like a truck. Here are the biggest lies I believed (and what I learned instead): 🚨 Lie #1: Follow Your Passion, and Money Will Follow I loved fashion, styling, and helping people feel confident. So naturally, I thought that was enough. Spoiler: It wasn’t. Passion alone doesn’t pay the bills. I had to learn: ✔ How to market myself ✔ How to sell without feeling ‘salesy’ ✔ How to solve a real problem for people If passion alone made money, my closet-shopping skills would’ve made me a billionaire by now 😂 🚨 Lie #2: You’ll Have More Free Time "You'll be your own boss!" they said. They didn’t mention I’d also be the accountant, marketer, content creator, and customer service rep. In reality: ❌ No more ‘off-hours’ ❌ Weekends don’t feel like weekends anymore ❌ Some days, I was too exhausted even to celebrate wins But here’s the thing—it’s still worth it. Because the work I put in now will pay off in ways a 9-to-5 never could. 🚨 Lie #3: If You Build It, They Will Come I thought launching my website would bring in clients. I imagined people lining up for my services the moment I hit ‘publish.’ Reality? Crickets. What actually worked: ✔ Consistently showing up online ✔ Offering value before selling ✔ Learning how to attract the right audience 🚨 Lie #4: You Need a Perfect Plan Before Starting I wasted months tweaking my website, services, and branding before even talking to potential clients. I thought everything had to be perfect. But entrepreneurship is messy. Start before you’re ready. Adjust as you go. 🚨 Lie #5: Overnight Success Is Real I saw people online talking about "hitting six figures in six months." Meanwhile, I was still figuring out how to price my services. Behind every “overnight success” is years of unseen struggle. The internet only shows the highlight reel. 💡 The truth? Entrepreneurship isn’t easy. But if you’re willing to put in the work, unlearn these myths, and stay consistent—it’s beyond rewarding. 💖 Hi, I’m Riya Thukral—your trusted Image Consultant and Soft Skills Trainer. I’ve helped clients transform not just how they look, but how they feel and show up in life. If you’re ready to: ✅ Stop hiding behind clothes that don’t feel like YOU. ✅ Embrace a style that complements your body, lifestyle, and goals. ✅ Build unshakable confidence every single day. 🎯 Book your FREE consultation call now: 👉 https://lnkd.in/gsqafxcA P.s Do you think social media makes entrepreneurship look easier than it really is?🤔

80k orders into TikTok Shop, here's what I've been surprised to learn.   1. Samples have only driven 7% of our TikTok Shop sales.   40% of orders come from product card. Of the 60% are driven by videos.   Product card: Customers organically finding our product on TikTok. These orders aren't charged commission. 🤌   Video: Most video sales are from affiliates who already have our product or they show our product image. On samples sent to affiliates, we get a 3 ROAS. Factoring halo sales on Amazon & DTC, it's a 6 ROAS (more in point 3). Half of our revenue from samples are from one affiliate. If you remove them, omni-channel ROAS is closer to a 3.   Product drop video posts from our own account can really work. Without commission owed, we can afford to put ad spend behind them.   2. TikTok Shop sales haven’t driven meaningful Simple Modern TikTok followers.   In the 6 months we sold 80k units on TikTok Shop, Simple Modern's TikTok follower count grew less than the previous 6 months.   Surprising to me considering we've driven 186m product impressions.   3. Over 100% halo effect between Amazon and Website.   When a product has a successful video driving TikTok Shop revenue, the bump on other eComm channels is clear. Typically we see more sales driven by TikTok videos on Amazon + DTC than TikTok Shop.   Customer trust is higher on Amazon and brand's websites.   The real magic is when TikTok videos goose Amazon listing placement permanently.   4. Revenue/video is flat once affiliates have more than 50k followers.   Followers: Revenue/video 0-1K: $13 1k-5k: $25 5k-10k: $40 10k-50k: $75 50+: $100   Affiliates with 50k followers have performed the same as 1m follower accounts. We have not engaged multi-million follower accounts with highly engaged audiences (celebrities).   5. Amazon best sellers don't drive our TikTok Shop business.   Products that have worked have had at least one of these qualities:  - Interesting  - New  - Relevant to culture or season  - Niche cult following (ex: Winnie the Pooh)   Our best sellers in retail typically don't have these qualities. These factors make inventory planning for TikTok Shop challenging.   6. Affiliates asking for 4+ samples are taking advantage of you.   We've sent 51 affiliates 4+ samples. Only one generated a sale.   13% of our total samples have been sent to grifters. 🙃   ************* TikTok Shop is a uniquely valuable channel since it's also a marketing engine.   It has required a different strategy from us and has been fun to learn.   I'd love to read what others have learned in the comments.

You are probably not ready for Enterprise Sales. I’ve led teams closing $1M deals but also seen CEOs fire half their teams after their enterprise push failed. While your board might be right about ACV, trying to go upmarket can kill you. Here are the 5 biggest lies companies tell themselves about enterprise sales (and how to really grow ACV): 1. “We’ll Just Use the Same Product Up Market” Enterprise introduces new buyer personas, new competition, and new business needs—all of which force you to change your roadmap. InfoSec teams will make you implement SSO, ISO, SOC2… Meanwhile, higher product usage will break your architecture or create chaos in implementation. Your product won’t scale. 2. “Our Current Sales Team Can Close Bigger Deals if We Just Book Apple” Enterprise AEs are a different breed. They’re strategic, detail-oriented project managers who are experts in buying (not just selling). Even if your current reps can learn, there’s no way they’ll successfully juggle between fast (1-3 month) and long (12+ month) cycles effectively. It’s just a completely different world. 3. “If We Hire Rockstar Enterprise AEs from Oracle We Will Crush 2025 Targets” Hm… Goodbye 2025 targets. Most likely you’ll hire them in March, they’ll ramp until September, shift 30% of your roadmap, take 20% of your team’s time for RFIs/RFPs, and require management’s involvement at every step. You might see progress with big logos but end up closing only 1–3 low-ACV pilots. 4. “We Just Need Meetings with Bigger Logos” Easier said than done. A brand and demand-gen motion that attracts enterprise executives is not the same as the one that attracts SMB buyers. Your SDRs will also get mostly low-level meetings that waste everyone’s time. You’ll probably need partnerships for executive referrals, ABM strategies, and relevant events to reach the right people. 5. “We Just Have to ‘Level Up’ Sales” Wrong. Good luck transferring a $1M account to a CSM who’s used to juggling 70 small accounts and holding casual syncs. Your CSM must be AS SKILLED as your enterprise AE, or you risk losing a major logo. Imagine that board meeting. —— 2025 ACV plan: Instead of trying to punch above your weight. Create a strategic plan of incremental changes that drive ACV up: - Level up complex selling skills - Update your pricing tiers or model - Split AEs to SMB and MM/Small Ent - Prioritize enterprise deal-making features - Build a playbook on involving your management - Invest in Buyer Enablement tools (e.g. Deal Rooms) —— Enterprise isn’t just bigger deals. It’s a whole new GTM motion. New company. New set of risks. Growing ACV over time is critical. But try it too fast, and you will get burned. Learn what this GTM means–first. Communicate back to your board. Then move. No shortcuts. P.S. We built Aligned to help manage the deal complexity of Enterprise Sales. A 100% FREE Deal Room used by 30,000 sellers. You can try it here:  https://lnkd.in/dwX_Zizk

💭 "Sometimes sustainability costs more. So what?" This bold question headlines Andrew Winston’s latest article in MIT Sloan Management Review. He challenges the outdated idea that sustainability initiatives must always deliver immediate, short-term financial gains to be worthwhile. Here are three key insights: 1️⃣ Strategic decisions often cost more upfront—but they’re worth it: Businesses routinely invest in R&D, marketing, or technology upgrades that cost more initially but unlock long-term value. Sustainability is no different. Winston shows how initiatives like adopting low-carbon materials may raise short-term costs but position companies for future success. 🌍 2️⃣ The cost of inaction far outweighs short-term expenses: Ignoring sustainability comes with immense risks, as climate change disrupts operations and renders regions uninhabitable. Inaction today will halt tomorrow’s economic activity, making sustainability a necessity, not a choice. 3️⃣ Sustainability is a long-term value driver: While it doesn’t always deliver immediate returns, sustainability underpins long-term growth. There’s no economy on a dying planet, and true leaders prioritize enduring value over quarterly gains. In my view, his argument resonates deeply with debates about business’s role in tackling global challenges. It also raises critical questions about how we frame and act on sustainability within our organizations. These insights prompted me to reflect on three essential themes: 🌟 Courage takes centre stage: True leadership means bold decisions, even without immediate payoff. Prioritizing sustainability amid investor scepticism redefines success in a rapidly changing world. 🚀 Sustainability drives innovation: Sustainability isn’t a constraint—it sparks new technologies and products that address environmental goals while securing market leadership. 💡 Reframing costs as investments: We see R&D or digital transformation as investments, yet dismiss sustainability as a cost. Shifting this mindset reveals sustainability as a tool for resilience, advantage, and industry leadership. Andrew’s piece is a powerful call for businesses to rethink outdated notions of cost and embrace sustainability’s transformative potential. 🌱 What do you think? How can we reshape this conversation in our companies and industries? ⬇️ Full article available here: https://lnkd.in/en2RMqs4 #Sustainability #Leadership #Innovation #CorporateStrategy #FutureOfBusiness

Why don’t more UK companies offer VISA sponsorship ? Its a pretty easy thing to do. Later this year, major European countries are changing their policy and are relaxing their attitudes to Work Visa’s. In the UK, we still seem to be reluctant to embrace overseas talent or consider how to onboard those who require Visa Sponsorship. The vast majority of UK businesses are unable to bring in overseas workers to help ease talent shortages. It’s estimated that only 3.5% of UK companies hold the necessary license to sponsor EU and non-EU workers. This equates to roughly 50,000 businesses across the whole of the UK. Misconceptions about the process hold some employers back. ·        Cost: – Its around 2k for a small business, around 5k for a medium or large sponsor. That doesn’t seem too expensive. ·        Time: - Sponsor licenses take two to three months to process on average, but once obtained they last for four years and can be used as needed. It takes about 8 weeks to complete the application process. ·        Business advantage: - Companies who hold a license, have a competitive advantage over those that don't, as candidates know the businesses and their application already have approval from the Home Office. ·        We’re too small: - many think their organisation isn’t big enough to qualify (which is untrue). ·        We can’t be considered: - Some companies believe only very highly qualified or ‘shortage skill’ candidates can qualify for sponsorship i.e., those with PhD’s or rocket scientists - again this is untrue. As we continue to struggle to fill skills gaps in our UK workforce, surely businesses would benefit from good forward planning to help plug their skills gaps. With some preplanning, being on the Sponsor Register would surely position your business to clean up the best candidates coming into the UK. identifi Global Resources #talent #recruitment

Creativity Has a PR Problem. Creative industries have long struggled with a perception problem. For many parents, the idea of their child pursuing a creative career conjures up images of doodling on notebooks in the basement rather than a thriving, fulfilling path. But this outdated narrative ignores one crucial fact: creativity isn't just a passion... it's one of the most valuable skills in our future economy. The numbers don't lie. UK's creative industries contributed £125 billion to the economy in 2023, growing 1.5 times faster than the wider economy. Yet, outdated views about job security and the arts being "less practical" continue to steer young people away from creative careers Baffling when you consider where the job market's heading. The World Economic Forum's 2023 report lists creative and analytical thinking among the most in-demand skills by 2027, alongside resilience, flexibility, and curiosity. Not just "nice-to-have" qualities, they're the drivers of innovation, adaptability, and problem-solving. Creativity doesn't just belong to the arts, it elevates EVERY field, from engineering to AI. And yet, creativity keeps being sidelined. Tight budgets and an overemphasis on STEM subjects push the arts out of focus, ignoring how creativity amplifies everything else. It's what turns data analysts into storytellers and coders into problem-solvers who think beyond the algorithm. That's why campaigns like Detroit's "Warning: 1 in 5 Teenagers Will Experiment With Art" are so powerful. Styled as a cheeky PSA, it challenges stereotypes and reframes creative careers as bold, transformational choices. Not just clever marketing. The facts back it up. Creativity powers innovation, fuels adaptability, and sits at the heart of problem-solving. Whether designing systems for sustainable cities, creating immersive gaming experiences, or crafting campaigns that shift perspectives, creative thinking equips students with business savvy and adaptability, skills future employers are desperate for. As someone currently mentoring young creatives, I've seen first-hand how encouragement and opportunity transform potential into thriving careers. Give young people the tools and confidence to explore their passions, and they turn their creativity into industries that inspire change and drive innovation. The real risk isn't encouraging creativity, it's ignoring it. If we don't show young people that the arts are a viable career path, we'll lose the very skills society needs most. How do we change this? It starts at home, with parents recognising a creative degree isn't a gamble. It extends to schools, where art and design must be treated as core subjects, not extras. And it requires businesses and mentors stepping up to show what's possible. Would love to know your thoughts. How can we best support the next generation of creative thinkers? 📷Insideccs.com

Why 95% of innovations failed? 👉 Discover the truth behind the top myths about corporate innovation: Myth #1 Innovation = find the perfect idea Reality: Good ideas are easy. The innovation journey is about adapting ideas iteratively until you find a value prop that customers actually care about and a business model that can scale profitability. Myth #2: The evidence will show you a clear path Reality: Evidence will allow you to detect patterns and make informed decisions (vs. relying on opinions). But evidence is often incomplete and can be contradictory. Sometimes killing an idea is the healthy and right thing to do. Myth #3: Innovation = a small number of big bets Reality: A large number of small bets is often a better path to promising returns Myth #4: Explore new ideas = run an existing business Reality: Exploring and innovating new ideas vs. optimizing and scaling existing businesses often require radically different skill sets and experiences. Myth #5: Innovation = “pirates” operate in stealth mode Reality: Innovators are partners who have the mandate ato create the future of the company. Myth #6: Innovation = new tech & traditional R&D Reality: Innovation is first and foremost about exploring new ways to create value for customers, technology is secondary. I love this new innovation success formula from Strategizer: Success innovation = Tech R&D (optional) + Business R&D (customer value, biz model) + Execution Myth #7: Innovation = build products customer love Reality: Innovation = build products customer love AND has a sustainable business model Myth #8: Innovation = creative genius Reality: Innovation = art (pattern recognition + experience) + science (tools + processes) *** 💬 What other misperceptions are contributing to innovation failures and how have you seen organizations combating them? Share them below 👇 to inspire the LinkedIn community! #ProductManagement #Careers #Innovation #CorporateInnovation

My client fired their entire SDR team on Tuesday By Friday, their pipeline had grown by 60% This sounds impossible It's not After auditing 50 B2B sales organizations over 10 years, I've uncovered the most expensive myth in modern selling: → The belief that MORE activity at the TOP of your funnel will fix conversion problems at the BOTTOM Let me share what actually happened: This mid-market software company was spending $350,000 annually on their 4-person SDR team - 100+ cold calls per rep daily - 17 meetings booked weekly - "Incredible metrics" according to leadership - But their close rate? A devastating 1.2% The VP of Sales was convinced they needed MORE outreach, MORE automation, MORE top-of-funnel I suggested something different: pause all prospecting for 7 days Instead, we had their account executives do something radical - engage with the 215 prospects already in their pipeline who'd gone cold after initial meetings Using a framework we developed: - 65 prospects responded within 24 hours - 41 booked follow-up meetings - 23 re-entered active buying cycles - 6 closed within 14 days (total value: $212K) The shocking revelation? - Their pipeline wasn't empty - It was overflowing with neglected opportunity. This company didn't have a lead generation problem. They had a lead nurturing catastrophe. By reallocating resources from mindless prospecting to strategic engagement, they've now: - Reduced CAC by 60% - Shortened sales cycles by 30% - 2x their close rate The counterintuitive truth: Sometimes the fastest path to growth is to stop chasing new opportunities and start converting the ones you've already earned. What percentage of your marketing and sales budget is focused on prospects who've already shown interest vs those who haven't? That ratio reveals everything about your future growth trajectory P.S. If you need help with your sales, send me a message