Episode #576 - ScaleUp Short - Two Founders. Two Paths. One Scaling Truth

The Art of Sales, Self-Awareness and Scaling

Featuring Dr Muddassir Ahmed (SCM DOJO) and Rachael Jackson (WIBN Birmingham)
Produced with the aid of AI

In this episode of ScaleUp Radio Shorts, Kevin Brent and Louise Blunt reflect on two powerful – and very different – scaling journeys.

On one side, Dr Muddassir Ahmed, founder of SCM DOJO, who built a global AI-enabled learning platform from scratch.
On the other, Rachael Jackson, who chose a franchise route with WIBN Birmingham to create structure, community and flexibility – while building her passion project, Array of Light.

Two contrasting models. One shared truth: scaling demands self-awareness, discipline and resilience.

 

Sales Is Not Optional

Muddassir learned a hard lesson early:

You can outsource HR.
You can outsource accounting.
You can outsource marketing.

But you cannot outsource sales as a founder.

Despite being highly technical and data-driven, he had to personally master enterprise sales – including sending 72 emails over 18 months to land a major global brand.

The takeaway?

Polite persistence wins.
Enterprise sales cycles are long.
And founders must own the conversation.

 

Cash Flow Is Reality

Rachael’s scaling journey exposed a different challenge.

Moving from corporate retail into a franchise networking model meant adjusting to the unpredictability of SME payments.

Her response?

• Save upfront
• Take no salary for 12 months
• Prioritise reinvestment and resilience

It is a disciplined approach that many founders underestimate.

 

Self-Awareness as a Strategic Advantage

Rachael openly discussed being diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD traits in adulthood.

Instead of seeing this as a weakness, she built systems around it:

• Time-blocked email checking
• Turning off notifications
• Choosing tools designed for dyslexic thinkers
• Delegating dense information into top-line bullet points

Self-awareness became a scaling tool.

Meanwhile, Muddassir applies “lean accountability” and daily stand-ups to manage a global team across time zones, backed by documented SOPs.

Different personalities. Same principle: structure enables scale.

 

AI – Tool or Transformation?

Muddassir is building agentic AI into SCM DOJO – not just generative AI that writes text, but AI agents that:

• Plan
• Analyse
• Execute workflows
• Run forecasting models
• Evaluate supplier responses

Yet even with advanced AI, he still had to build human relationships the hard way.

AI enhances.
It does not replace resilience.

 

Two Definitions of Success

Muddassir wants SCM DOJO to become the industry standard for supply chain learning.

Rachael defines success as happiness, impact and helping women grow in confidence.

Different ambitions.
Both completely valid.

 

The One Key Thing

Scaling is not about copying someone else’s model.

It is about knowing yourself, managing your cash carefully, building repeatable systems, and staying resilient long enough to win.

 

Quick Heads-Up

If you want more structure and accountability in your own ScaleUp journey, explore Smart90 – our proven 90-day execution system.

And if you’d like to stay focused and actually deliver each week, try our new AI-powered Smart90 Lite. It’s free while we’re testing it – just email [e-mail] for access.