I lost everything. Twice. Here's how simple rules won.

The timeline:

• Left safe government job

• Moved to California

• Slept on a couch

• Got swindled by partners

• Started over

• Partners embezzled everything

• Started over again

• Built something real

• Sold for 8 figures

The pattern? Every loss taught one lesson: Keep it simple.

Here's how we built it:

1. Start Small

• One customer at a time

• One feature at a time

• One employee at a time

1. Stay Real

• Do every job yourself first

• Train your replacement

• Move to the next problem

1. Think Clear

• No fancy business plans

• No MBA buzzwords

• No "growth hacking"

Just:

• Build something useful

• Make it work better

• Help real people

The result?

• Millions of daily users

• Enterprise-level software

• 8-figure exit

Then two MBAs "knew everything better." So we smiled and left.

The secret?

• There are no absolutes

• When stuck, leave it

• Everything will be OK

Want proof? Every time I lost everything, these rules brought it back. Bigger.

Think for yourself. Test everything. Keep what works.

And smile when the MBAs arrive.