Ali Hafizji from Wednesday on MVP Mistakes and Finding Product-Market Fit
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
Release Date: 07/03/2025
How AI Is Shaping the Future of Sales with Doreen Pernel from Scaleway
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have Doreen Pernel, Chief Sales Officer at Scaleway, Europe's leading sovereign cloud provider. She's built and scaled sales teams across Meta, Dataiku, Box, and Bloomberg, navigating Sydney, New York, London, and Paris. In this conversation, Doreen Pernel, Chief Sales Officer at Scaleway, shares her insights on sales leadership, cultural adaptability, and innovative strategies in the cloud computing industry. She discusses the importance of resilience in hiring, the evolving role of cold calling, and how to motivate teams against larger competitors. She also reflects on the...
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Unlocking Subscription Success with Daniel Layfield
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have Daniel Layfield, who is Director of Product Management at Diligent and founder of Subscription Index, advising subscription businesses on monetisation. In this conversation, Daniel Layfield shares his journey from finance to product management, discussing his experiences at Code Academy and Diligent. He emphasises the importance of understanding churn, effective pricing strategies, and the role of AI in product management. Daniel also explores the complexities of subscription models, the significance of metrics, and the impact of price localisation on revenue. Timestamps...
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Scaling Product Organizations in the Age of AI with CallRail's Ryan Johnson
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , who is the Chief Product Officer at CallRail, an AI-powered lead intelligence platform serving 200,000+ businesses with over $100M ARR. In this conversation, Ryan Johnson, Chief Product Officer at CallRail, shares his journey from finance to product management, discussing the evolution of CallRail from a call tracking service to a lead intelligence platform. He emphasises the importance of scaling product organisations, balancing sales and product-led growth, and navigating the challenges posed by AI disruption. Ryan also delves into pricing strategies, monetisation...
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Evolution of Pricing Strategies in Business with Gary Bailey
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have , founder of Strategim, a monetisation & pricing expert with a deep background in financial services, accounting, pricing, and AI. In this conversation, Gary Bailey, a monetisation and pricing expert, shares his journey from accounting to product management and pricing. He discusses the importance of pricing as a core discipline in business education, the evolving role of finance in pricing strategies, and the impact of AI on SaaS pricing models. Gary emphasizes the need for training the next generation in pricing and the role of a monetization architect in modern...
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Art of Pricing Strategies in SaaS with Naveen Mohan at Otter
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am thrilled to have Naveen Mohan, who leads monetisation at , bringing deep experience from Adobe and Loom. With a Carnegie Mellon Information Systems degree and software engineering background, he combines data science expertise with product management. In this conversation, Naveen Mohan, Product and Monetisation Lead at Otter.ai, shares his journey from data science to product management, emphasising the importance of experimentation in pricing strategies and the evolution of monetisation in tech startups. He discusses the balance between soft and hard paywalls, the rise of hybrid pricing...
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How Superlinked is building the Next Generation of AI Search with Ben Gutkovich
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , co-founder of , helping AI engineers build information retrieval systems using vector embeddings. In this conversation, Ben Gutkovich, co-founder of Superlink, shares his journey from a software engineer to an entrepreneur in the AI space. He discusses the differences between consulting and building technology, the challenges of recruiting talent in a competitive market, and innovative strategies for business development. Ben also addresses the impact of remote work on startups, insights into M&A deals, and predictions for the future of AI. He emphasises the...
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Future of Fundraising in the Age of AI with Casey Woo of Operators Guild
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , founder of , a community of 800+ top operators. He is also a General Partner at FOG Ventures, where he's witnessing how AI is killing the 18-month fundraising cycle, enabling 1000x returns in half the time. In this conversation, Casey Woo, founder of Operators Guild and general partner at Fog Ventures, discusses his journey from Wall Street to the startup world, the evolving landscape of fundraising, and the impact of AI on job roles and business operations. He emphasises the importance of generalists in startups, the need for effective distribution strategies, and the...
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Navigating the Crypto Landscape with Harvey Liu of Levex Exchange
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am happy to have Harvey Liu, the CEO of , where he’s building a cutting-edge platform for spot and futures trading in digital assets. In this conversation, Harvey Liu, CEO of Levex Exchange, discusses his journey from computer science to venture capital and now leading a crypto exchange. We explore misconceptions about blockchain, the psychology of trading, the challenges of asset tokenisation, and the importance of a strong team and culture in business. Harvey shares insights on investing principles, strategies for startups going global, and the dynamics of venture capital, emphasising...
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Transforming Education Through Digital Infrastructure with Shankar Maruwada from EkStep Foundation
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have , Co-Founder and CEO of EkStep Foundation, a pioneering non-profit working to improve learning outcomes for millions of children in India through technology and learner-centric platforms. Shankar has been featured in ’s ‘Policy 50’, a definitive list of the 50 leaders who are steering and shaping India’s digital economy. In this conversation, Shankar Maruwada shares his journey from corporate leadership to social impact through the Ekstep Foundation. He discusses the importance of digital infrastructure in education, the lessons learned from the Aadhaar initiative,...
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Investing in Peace with Shane Martin of B Ventures
Lifeselfmastery's podcast I Startups I Venture Capital
I am excited to have —a venture capitalist who’s rewriting the playbook for what investing can look like. He’s an investor at , the first-of-its-kind global peace VC fund that backs tech founders building solutions for both profit and peace. In this conversation, Shane Ray Martin, a venture capitalist at B-Ventures, discusses his unique journey into the world of venture capital, emphasising the potential profitability of peace tech. He shares insights on the challenges of pitching peace tech to investors, common mistakes founders make in their pitches, and the balance between instincts...
info_outlineAli Hafizji is the CEO of Wednesday, an engineering services company specializing in - Data Engineering, Generative AI, and Application Modernization.
In this episode, Ali Hafizji, founder of Wednesday, shares how his frustration with clunky banking APIs sparked the idea to launch a high-performance engineering services firm. He dives into building outcome-focused teams, the evolution from MVP to product-market fit, and why founders must shift from intuition to data. Ali unpacks common mistakes startups make post-MVP, tips for leveraging AI tools effectively, and why retention—not vanity metrics—matters most. He also breaks down how India’s unicorns embrace experimentation, when to pivot, and how to build brand and distribution moats in the AI era - and much more!
Timestamps
01:20 – How Ali got into startups and his first experience at an 11-person startup.
03:40 – Early startup exit and how he alternated between building and joining startups.
05:10 – Origin story of Wednesday and the inefficiencies he noticed while working with banks.
07:05 – Insight: Enterprises often “throw people at the problem” instead of solving it structurally.
08:30 – His vision of small, outcome-driven teams in engineering as a service.
10:15 – Advice on choosing between product vs. service startups for first-time founders.
12:20 – Key hiring advice: choose where you’ll have a voice and mentors, not just “product vs service.”
14:10 – Why sticking to an idea without market validation is risky.
16:00 – The major difference between MVP and Product-Market Fit (PMF).
17:30 – Most startups fail post-MVP due to chasing vanity metrics and scaling prematurely.
19:45 – What founders should track in the 30 days post-MVP (pirate metrics: AARRR).
22:00 – Ideal early retention metrics for B2C and B2B startups.
24:40 – Founders must shift from intuition-led to data-led decision-making post-MVP.
26:10 – The rise of no-code, AI, and solo MVP development—even for non-technical founders.
28:10 – Why founders should be building smarter, not just faster.
29:45 – On hiring post-MVP: what founders should evaluate in product development teams.
31:40 – How to build a moat and brand in the AI era—infuse values from day one.
33:20 – Distribution strategies: pick one GTM strategy based on your strengths and market.
35:40 – Powerful insight: start with unhappy users of competitors and work outward.
37:15 – How Wednesday charges for outcomes, not hours—reinventing the services model.
39:50 – What India’s unicorns do right: mindset shift, humility, and relentless experimentation.
42:00 – When to pivot vs. when to persist: make decisions based on return on invested capital.
44:20 – Common MVP mistake: building too much instead of staying focused.
Ali’s Links
LDN– https://www.linkedin.com/in/alihafizji
Website – https://www.wednesday.is/
My Links
Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes
Newsletter: https://partner-grow.beehiiv.com/subscribe
YouTube: youtube.com/lifeselfmastery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/