B2B scaling while S&P tanks, LinkedIn losing control, Chinese AI outsmarts

Looking into our agency and consultancy P&Ls, this has been the busiest Q1 over the past 8 years (2022 a close second at the peak before the recession).

• New contracts closed several times a week

• Sending 6-10 proposals weekly (after 2+ sales/strategy calls)

• Renewing multiple annual contracts (April 2025 forward)

• Stakeholders joining new companies and reaching out to sign contracts there

I shared a similar sentiment in my Jan 22 release and 7 weeks later, it’s pacing right on track.

B2B deals are up, the market is down

Meanwhile, the stock market looks horrid right now thanks to tariff fears and questioning the efficiency of AI investments vs. actual business results + comparative to what we see in China:

Similar trends were observed in 2022 around the time Meta got pressured by investors and Google, Microsoft and Amazon prepared to follow suit. Business was running smoothly meanwhile, for 2-4 months before resetting the charts after.

The promising business bump was clear after the elections in November, but it took another couple of months for executives and business professionals to take a holiday break and attack as early as the first week of January.

So what we see right now may be a disparity DESPITE the political noise, or a strong boost until end of April until another break. We’re yet to see.

It’s all tied to the economic shift for the past 2 years I explained in this post:

And my Jan 2 blast covered in-depth the core initiatives I mapped out for 2025: relationships, directories, the consulting community, blogging and educational content, and giving back. Here’s how this focused effort translates to results we harvest today (in reverse order):

• Giving back - we backed several charity projects this quarter, helped entrepreneurs grow, acquired The Smarter Brain to support social entrepreneurship (more to come here) and still have Mara’s Angels up for pet-related founders and volunteers

• Educational content - I’ve been pulling back on any experiments on hooks and virality because it causes far more damage than good. The trajectory of current social media is absolutely ballistic (I’ll expand on this below) and a great reset is coming, 100%. Valuable content is getting strong signals by executives and investors who keep recommending and referring this newsletter (thank you! 🙏), and pass the word forward

• The coaching group - the Strategic Growth Circle is still going, but as agencies in the cohort are getting busier with leads and business (I’m helping out where I can), we establish 2 separate camps: too busy to engage regularly vs. needing A LOT of help as businesses are growing. So I’ll be increasing the $297/mo price to $497/mo to accommodate for that shift next month + getting more demand for the higher tier fractional consultancy services again which is locking down my time even further.

• Directories - SEO volatility here isn’t helping at all, but March has seen rapid boost and growth of directories. I’m now shaping a larger brand deck opportunity for omnichannel positioning that taps into my channels + the entire B2B Ecosystem. $10M+ brands focusing on B2B leaders will be able to spend $5K - $20K per month for 2-6 months and get extended exposure across 20+ channels.

• Relationships and 1:1 - I’m still true to building sensible and true relationships with real people and professionals, and it’s been truly rewarding - both in actual facetime with great people and in long-lasting impact.

Here’s how we wrapped last night:

120-140 veteran and aspiring entrepreneurs gathering on-site in Sofia for my talk starting at 8pm for an hour, with formal Q&A ending at 9:30pm and the actual 1:1 wrapping at 11:30pm.

Extremely strong signals, building partnerships on-site, and I made an attempt to solve as many problems and answer as many questions as possible at the time.

As an introvert, events like this one take a toll on me, but considering the swamp of a social going on in parallel, it’s 100% worth it.

Is LinkedIn still a B2B network?

Another one bites the social dust, this time my friend John Rush:

This comes after Apollo and Seamless got kicked out of the network (this one I can understand violating some policies).

But head into the comments section above - both mine and John’s. Dozens and dozens of people seeing arbitrary cuts, shadowbans, and other forms of violations for being active on the platform. Pavillion CEO got kicked out for a week just two weeks ago for a comment to a friend that seemed offensive.

Maintaining any consistency on the network isn’t getting any easier - and as reach gets to the ground, on-site events like the one I attended last night make all the sense in the world.

AI doesn’t make it easier

Part of the stock market demise is AI. Endless investments in AI in the hope of solving the world’s largest problems.

At the same time, AI solving content production at scale, email outreach, designing or building websites, and creating SEO strategy/audits is, well, taking jobs. Or threatening to take jobs with hallucinations.

Whether that’s good or bad, we’ll know in 10 to 20 years.

But new AI agents like Manus step on top of existing LLMs. Lovable is the new cool kid on the web block (an AI website generator). And Greg Isenberg talks about “vibe coding” and vibe startups making money out of curiosity and early adopter passion - which is where many of these AI tools are generating revenue (because you can only pay for so many competitive tools at the time in reality).

DOGE interferes with the contract cuts, too. It targets large consulting firms like Accenture, which earns 8% of its revenue from the federal government, including 700 million dollars since 2019 from the Ministry of Education for a site, app, and an AI chatbot. 

The universe is stretching into multiple places now.

• Business is trying to survive and compensate for the last 2-4 years of missed opportunities (the recession + the pandemic prior)

• The stock market is trying to reach some level of stability (made impossible by geopolitical pressure)

• Corporations are betting on AI to solve human capital problems - but eating up margins or tasks that are now getting automated

This level of volatility isn’t sustainable - and everyone is playing the hot potato game in the meantime.

What is your prediction for 2025?

Mario

✍️ 130+ entrepreneurs gathering on-site is the new social. The Entrepreneurs Night Out event I was honored to speak at showcased the lowlights of social networking and how AI content and VAs have given social networking a bad name.

✍️ I show up in Google’s preview looking for Flippa - my friend Claudiu sent this over as my partnership with Flippa elevated me higher than some of the core branding assets. Being omnipresent helps feature some great brands - and even lead to a partial takeover 🧑‍🎤 

✍️ Companies going through a digital transformation phase. Many of our prospects go through a PMF exercise revolving around packaging/pricing shift. This has been a strong trend in Q1 and I see this growing in the coming future.

✍️ 10K, 100K, 1M - on newsletter growth. I reposted a short snippet from my podcast with Manu as Stacked Marketer crossed 100,000 email subscribers. My list here is now at 13K (it was at 10K not long ago) and Lenny’s newsletter just went up to 1M. That’s spectacular - and email is key.

🔖 Tracking buyer behavior with AI — AI is transforming how B2B companies analyze customer interactions, offering real-time tracking, multi-channel insights, and predictive analytics. Businesses using AI-driven tools report up to a 40% increase in engagement and a 25% boost in conversions. With more touchpoints than ever, understanding buyer behavior is becoming a competitive necessity.

🔖 Cross-Functional Teams in Digital Transformation — Aligning teams from different departments eliminates bottlenecks and accelerates execution. Explore how to structure, manage, and measure the effectiveness of cross-functional teams to improve decision-making and sustain long-term innovation.

🔖 AI streamlines product analysis — Companies are leveraging AI to accelerate lifecycle assessments, improving accuracy and enabling real-time insights. The technology is helping businesses optimize supply chains, reduce costs, and enhance sustainability efforts. Explore how AI-driven assessments are shaping decision-making and operational efficiency.

🔖 Refine your email strategy — Match your messaging to where prospects are in their decision-making process with customer journey mapping. Well-placed email touchpoints, automated follow-ups based on behavior, and thoughtful personalization can improve engagement and move leads closer to conversion.

🔖 Make your marketing insights count — The way you present data influences the decisions that follow. Sharpen your approach with proven techniques for stakeholder reporting to tailor insights, improve clarity, and ensure your findings lead to action.

📃 Labor market steadies, but uncertainty looms. Job openings rose to 7.74 million in January, signaling continued demand for workers, with gains in retail and finance offsetting declines in professional services. The quit rate, a measure of worker confidence, also increased. However, economists warn of potential turbulence ahead, as federal workforce reductions could impact job stability in the coming months.

📃 Skype finally shutting down - a 10-year lead on Zoom. Paddle’s Verticals episode touches on Skype shutting down with a brief history lesson. I’m still trying to port over my Skype number of 10 years to some other platform - recommendations are welcome.

📃 Essential management advice for startups. This practical guide covers the high-level strategy and management philosophy behind the great startups of today.

📃 The complete B2B positioning playbook of 2025. When it comes to brand alignment and B2B, Pierre knows how to get there. Sharing his powerful playbook from Substack that’s worth diving into this week.

📃 Surging AI investment drives Hong Kong rally. Mainland Chinese investors poured $3.81 billion into Hong Kong stocks on Monday, the highest since the Shanghai and Shenzhen Connect programs began. The surge comes amid China's pro-growth stance and increasing optimism in tech stocks like Alibaba and Tencent. Analysts note that cheap valuations and stimulus efforts are driving renewed interest.

📃 New AI tools from OpenAI. OpenAI has introduced the Responses API and Agents SDK, allowing developers to build AI agents capable of web searches, file navigation, and task automation. The new features aim to simplify AI deployment, with plans to replace the Assistants API by mid-2026.

📃 Another ECB rate cut. The European Central Bank reduced interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing its deposit facility rate to 2.5%. While the move was expected, policymakers hinted at caution regarding further cuts, with economic uncertainty and trade tensions weighing on the outlook. Markets now expect additional reductions in April and June, but a potential pause later in the year.

📃 Eutelsat stock soars on speculation. Shares of French satellite operator Eutelsat surged nearly 390% in a week following speculation it could replace Starlink as Ukraine’s primary satellite provider. Tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine have raised questions over Starlink’s role, leading investors to bet on a shift towards European alternatives.

📃 Celebrities demand regulation. AI-generated deepfake scams using the likenesses of stars like Steve Harvey, Taylor Swift, and Joe Rogan are on the rise. Harvey, who has been impersonated in fraudulent government payout ads, is now advocating for stricter penalties for AI abuse. Congress is considering legislation like the No Fakes Act to hold platforms and creators accountable for unauthorized deepfake content. Critics warn that overregulation could threaten free speech, while supporters argue that swift action is needed to curb AI-driven deception.

 📃 Sam Altman’s ‘World’ app takes on Musk’s X. Sam Altman’s new venture, World, is working on an everything app that could rival Musk’s X. The app, which integrates AI identity verification and financial services, is expected to compete directly with X within a year. Both platforms are racing to become the dominant Western ‘super app’.

📃 EV batteries get a major boost. A breakthrough algorithm from Breathe Battery Technologies promises 30% faster charging while preserving battery lifespan. The software, which can be deployed via over-the-air updates, will debut in Volvo’s ES90 sedan and is already in use in smartphones. The technology aims to optimize charging curves and reduce inefficiencies in current battery management systems.

Let’s see the latest offers from Flippa. Don’t forget to sign up for their newsletter for daily/weekly/monthly offers such as these.

Car Multimedia Hardware Ecom — This is the world's leading automotive interaction design service provider and smart car hardware manufacturer, generating a TTM revenue of $1M.

• Annual profit: $362,000

• Averge order value: $330

• Business age: 5 years

Housing Blueprints Store — This business sells pre-designed architectural plans, renders, and CAD files to residential builders, helping them streamline client acquisition and project sales, driving 60% of its sales through email marketing.

• Annual profit: $193,000

• Profit margin: 94%

• Business age: 13 years

Excel Templates Store — This ecommerce business specializing in spreadsheet tools drives 95% of its traffic organically and requires less than 10 hours per week to operate from the current owner.

• Annual profit: $56,000

• Profit margin: 47%

• Business age: 4 years

Also, Epic Games is open for secondary funding through SeedBlink!

Need My Help?

Keeping myself busy - here are the main projects I focus on:

🌐 Scaling WordPress past 100M views? DevriX provides martech retainers to SMEs, publishers, eCommerce, SaaS, and more. Our plans start from $1,200/mo to $40K/mo and we manage high-traffic platforms, B2B SaaS apps, partnership management solutions, supporting $10M - $250M businesses with scalability, custom funnels, CRO, big data augmentation, AI-driven processes, HubSpot workflows, programmatic SEO - and everything a modern business requires in digital in 2025.

🚀  Work 1:1 with me? At Growth Shuttle, I run two popular plans: Async Advisory for $3M - $30M founders and executive teams and the smaller Strategic Growth Circle for $100K - $500K entrepreneurs, agency founders, scale ups.

📈 International founder looking into US LLCs? Check out doola and their “Business in a Box” model. Suitable for both foreigners and US citizens and both for residents and non-residents.

📊 Into digital M&A? I work closely with Flippa’s marketplace. They offer a vast variety of online businesses for any buyer’s interest. Or if you’re ready for an exit, Flippa provides the tools to list your business and close the deal.

💼 Looking for investment opportunities? Check out SeedBlink and use Equity to manage your ESOP tables in-house.