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I’ve been through it all — companies that soared, companies that sank, deals that looked like gold and turned out to be sand and partnerships that either multiplied value or silently killed it. If there’s one brutal truth I’ve learned after decades of building, buying, selling and sometimes burying companies, it’s this:
Relationships — not ideas, capital or even timing — are the ultimate determinant of success.
It’s a lesson that no spreadsheet will teach you and no pitch deck will fully convey. But it’s the one thing every founder, CEO, investor and partner needs to internalize if they want to build