I accepted a LinkedIn connection request today. And if you know anything about me, that alone should tell you I was feeling unusually generous.

The profile looked decent. Business coach with plenty of experience. Not obviously spammy, actually sort of interesting. Against my better judgement, I figured, why not – let’s give this one a shot.

Connection accepted.

About five seconds later, the message comes in:

“Thanks for connecting. I work with entrepreneurs who want to scale, bla, bla… Out of curiosity, what challenges are you facing in your business?”

I read it. Smiled. Shook my head.

And disconnected.

Total interaction time: maybe 20 seconds. Quite possibly a new personal record for shortest LinkedIn connection ever.

The Pattern

What’s funny is – this isn’t unusual. It’s the default.

Accept a connection request and within seconds you get some version of the same script. Slight variations in wording, same underlying intent: skip context, skip curiosity, go straight to the pitch.

It’s almost impressive how consistent it is. People seem to believe that once you accept a connection, you’ve implicitly agreed to be pitched. As if clicking “accept” is some kind of green light for a templated outreach sequence.

It isn’t.

A connection is not a transaction. It’s not even a conversation yet. It’s just…proximity.

What happens next is what determines whether it becomes anything meaningful or ends 20 seconds later.

Why This Fails

It’s not the pitch itself that’s the problem. It’s what sits behind it.

If your first instinct after connecting is to sell, you’re telling me everything I need to know. You’re not paying attention. You’re not curious. You’re running a script. There’s no intent to connect, no effort to understand, no signal that a real human interaction is even desired. It’s a volume game dressed up as outreach.

There’s no curiosity about who I am, what I’ve done, or whether I even have a business that fits the narrative. No attempt to understand context. No pause to consider whether a conversation might make sense before forcing one.

Just a presumption: I must have a problem. You have the solution.

All delivered within seconds of connecting.

What makes it worse is the positioning. When this comes from someone who claims to be a business coach – someone whose job, by definition, is to understand people, ask better questions, and apply judgment – it becomes self-disqualifying.

Because if this is how you initiate a relationship, what does that say about how you actually work?

There’s nothing strategic about it. Nothing thoughtful. It’s just a sad, desperate attempt to manufacture opportunity out of thin air, without doing the one thing that might actually make it work: paying attention.

And that’s the part that’s hardest to ignore.

What Actually Works

The people worth connecting with tend to operate very differently. They don’t rush. They don’t script. And they certainly don’t assume.

They pay attention.

They take a moment to understand who they’re talking to, what that person has done, what might actually be relevant. Sometimes they don’t say anything at all at first. They observe. They engage where it makes sense. They let context build before forcing a conversation.

And when they do reach out, it feels different.

There’s signal. There’s intent. There’s usually some form of value – however small – attached to the interaction.

One of my favorite rules applies here: the best way to start a partnership is to bring gifts.

Not literal gifts. But something of value.

An insight. A thoughtful observation. A relevant introduction. A perspective that shows you’ve actually paid attention.

Something that says: I’m not here to take. I’m here to contribute.

That’s how real conversations start. Not with a pitch – but with relevance.

Closing

This is exactly why I rarely accept LinkedIn connection requests.

Not because I’m antisocial. Not because I’m uninterested. But because most of what comes next is just so predictable – and low quality.

When I do accept, I’m not looking for perfection. I’m looking for signal. A hint of awareness. A sign that there’s an actual person on the other side, not just a script running.

That’s a really low bar. And yet, it’s rarely cleared.

The irony is that the people who are actually worth connecting with don’t behave this way. They don’t rush the interaction. They don’t try to convert immediately. They understand that relationships – especially valuable ones – don’t start with extraction.

They start with attention.

And sometimes, with something as simple as a small, thoughtful gift.

The post The 20-Second LinkedIn Connection appeared first on Tomco Capital - Coaching, Advisory & Investments.

What Does “Culture by Design” Mean?

For us, culture isn’t about ping-pong tables or casual Fridays. It’s about fostering an environment where people genuinely enjoy coming to work and are empowered to do their best.

Here’s what “culture by design” looks like at Tomco Capital:

• People first. Always. Not profit, not product, not revenue.
• Work to live, not the other way around. We believe personal life comes first—our work should support and enhance it, not dominate it.
• Location and time independence. Team members work when and where they feel most comfortable, whether that’s at a coffee shop, on a pool deck, or at home.

We don’t track hours, count keystrokes, or obsess over “clocking in.” Instead, we measure progress toward goals. Responsibilities are delegated, not tasks. People are trusted to experiment, make mistakes, and learn. And when challenges pop up, we address them directly with honesty and transparency.

The Pitfalls of Default Culture

A culture by default is what happens when leaders ignore the importance of culture. You might see:

• A team burnt out by unrealistic expectations.
• Toxic behaviors that spread unchecked.
• A disconnect between the company’s stated values and its daily operations.

We’ve seen this firsthand. For example, some customers have tried to exploit our generous trial offers or demanded custom solutions without wanting to pay for them. These unreasonable demands put unnecessary stress on our team. Instead of bending to this pressure, we chose to part ways. Difficult customers can disrupt a healthy culture just as much as a poorly aligned team member.

How We Built a People-First Culture

Here’s how we intentionally designed a culture that works for us:

1. Define Your Core Values

Our culture starts with clear values:

• People come first.
• Work is flexible, but progress is always tracked.
• Transparency and trust guide all interactions.

Every decision—whether it’s hiring, taking on a new customer, or developing a product—is measured against these principles.

2. Hire for Cultural Fit

We’ve built a hiring process that works: Interview for skills, hire for experience, and keep for culture. Skills can be taught, and experience is valuable, but a bad cultural fit can derail an entire team. One negative attitude, one disengaged team member, or one unappreciative customer can infect your business quickly. We cut these issues out fast.

Want to learn more about our approach? Check out our blog post: How I Built a Top-Notch Team for a Small, Unknown Company.

3. Lead by Example

As a leader, I measure every business decision against its potential impact on our team. I’m fiercely protective of our morale and culture. Whether it’s a new policy or a customer request, if it doesn’t align with our values, we say no.

4. Maintain Flexibility with Accountability

We allow our team to prioritize life’s challenges without micromanaging. Need to take an afternoon off for a doctor’s appointment? No problem. Want a long lunch with a friend? Enjoy. Our team knows they’re trusted to get the job done on their own terms. Progress is tracked through clearly defined metrics, ensuring accountability without sacrificing flexibility.

Scaling Culture as You Grow

Maintaining culture during growth is one of the hardest challenges. Here’s how we handle it:

• Reinforce culture constantly. We take time for “non-business” activities like virtual happy hours, silly lunch-and-learn sessions, and celebratory gifts for birthdays or anniversaries.
• Instill culture in leadership. As our team grows, managers and leaders play a critical role in carrying our culture forward. They set the tone for new hires and ensure alignment across the team.

What We’ve Learned

Over the years, I’ve learned two key lessons about culture:

1. Be decisive. If it starts hard, it ends hard. When a team member, customer, or policy doesn’t align with your culture, it’s better to address it immediately. Dragging it out only causes further stress and disrupts the team. This principle is one of my 12 Rules for Business Success—a framework that has guided my decision-making throughout my career.
2. Culture isn’t optional. If you don’t intentionally design your culture, you’ll end up with one by default—and it likely won’t serve your goals.

Advice for Entrepreneurs

If there’s one piece of advice I can give, it’s this: Spend an extraordinary amount of time and effort on building your culture. The rewards? A healthy business, a happy team, and a company where people say, “I get to go to work,” instead of, “I have to go to work.”

Culture is everything. Design it wisely.

The post Culture is EVERYTHING: Building a Business That Aligns with Values appeared first on Tomco Capital - Coaching, Advisory & Investments.

Hi, I’m Thomas Michael, and I’ve spent over 25 years in the business world, navigating the tricky waters of hiring top-notch talent. When I started Michael Management Corporation, we were a small fish in a big pond. Yet, we managed to build a team of smart, motivated professionals who helped us become the 2nd largest SAP training provider in the world.

How did we do it? It all boils down to three key principles: interviewing for skills, hiring for experience, and keeping for culture. These principles helped us identify the right candidates who not only had the necessary skills but also fit seamlessly into our company culture. In this article, I’ll share how applying these principles can help you build an amazing team, no matter how small or unknown your company might be.

Principle 1: Interview for Skills

When it comes to hiring, the first step is to ensure that candidates have the skills required for the job. This might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how often this gets overlooked. My philosophy is simple: if it starts hard, it ends hard. This means that if a candidate’s resume doesn’t clearly demonstrate the necessary skills, they’re not worth considering. It’s ruthless, but it’s effective.

During the resume collection and the first round of interviews, I focus exclusively on the skills required for the position. I don’t get distracted by charming cover letters or impressive but irrelevant accomplishments. Instead, I zero in on the key competencies needed for the role. If a resume doesn’t match up, it’s out. No exceptions.

For example, when we were hiring a new software developer, we received hundreds of applications. Many were from highly educated, well-rounded individuals. But if they didn’t have the specific programming skills we needed, their resumes went straight to the rejection pile. It might sound harsh, but it saved us a lot of time and ensured that only the most qualified candidates made it to the interview stage.

By focusing on skills from the get-go, you set a solid foundation for the rest of the hiring process. It’s a strategy that weeds out unqualified candidates early and keeps the process efficient and effective.

Principle 2: Hire for Experience

Once we’ve identified candidates with the necessary skills, the next step is to focus on experience. We want people who have successfully done the job elsewhere. Experience is a crucial factor because it means they’ve already navigated the challenges and pitfalls that come with the role. They know what success looks like, and they know how to achieve it.

Our hiring process includes 2-3 rounds of in-depth interviews, both with me and with members of our existing team. These interviews are designed to dig deep into the candidates’ past roles and achievements. We ask detailed questions about their previous jobs, the specific tasks they handled, and the outcomes of their efforts. We want to know about their successes and how they achieved them, as well as the challenges they faced and how they overcame them.

For instance, we once needed to hire a Channel Partner Manager. We had many applicants who were successful salespeople, but we ultimately hired someone who had built a partner organization at their previous company. This candidate had the exact experience we needed. They had already been there and done that, which meant they could hit the ground running with minimal training or oversight.

Hiring for experience means not getting swayed by candidates who are smart, nice, or otherwise impressive but lack the specific experience needed for the job. It’s about finding those who have a proven track record in similar roles. By doing this, we ensure that new hires can contribute effectively from day one.

Principle 3: Keep for Culture

This is the most critical principle of all: keeping people who fit the company culture. Skills and experience are essential, but if a new hire doesn’t mesh with the company culture, it’s a recipe for disaster. Culture is everything in a business, especially a small one. Every business has a culture—either by design or by default—and maintaining it is crucial for long-term success.

During the final stages of our hiring process, we pay close attention to how well candidates align with our company’s values, work style, and team dynamics. This involves not only formal interviews but also informal interactions, such as team lunches or casual meetings. We observe how they communicate, collaborate, and respond to the existing team members.

One bad hire can ruin what took years to build. I’ve seen it happen. A new hire who doesn’t fit the culture can disrupt team harmony, lower morale, and negatively impact productivity. If you notice that someone on your team doesn’t click with the culture, cut them fast. It never gets better, and performance improvement plans rarely work in these cases. Be quick and be ruthless.

For example, we once hired a highly skilled developer who had excellent experience. However, it quickly became clear that their way of working and interacting was at odds with our collaborative, open, and supportive culture. Despite their technical prowess, the mismatch in culture caused friction and stress within the team. We made the tough decision to let them go, which ultimately preserved the harmony and productivity of our team.\

By following this principle, we have been able to maintain a strong, positive culture that supports our team’s success and growth. It’s not just about finding people who can do the job, but finding people who can do the job in a way that aligns with and enhances your company’s culture.

Building the Team

By adhering to these three principles—interviewing for skills, hiring for experience, and keeping for culture—we’ve managed to build an exceptional team. This team wasn’t just any team; it was a group of smart, motivated professionals who were aligned with our goals and values. Together, we grew Michael Management Corporation to become the 2nd largest SAP training provider in the world.

The process wasn’t always easy. It required discipline, a clear vision, and the courage to make tough decisions. But the results speak for themselves. Our team was able to innovate, collaborate, and deliver outstanding results because they had the right skills, relevant experience, and a deep connection to our company culture.

Watching our team grow and succeed has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. We didn’t just build a company; we built a community of professionals who supported each other and worked together towards a common goal. This strong foundation allowed us to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and achieve remarkable success.

Final Thoughts

And there you have it—my philosophy on hiring top-notch people for a small, unknown company. By focusing on skills, experience, and culture, you can build a team that not only excels at their jobs but also fits seamlessly into your company’s environment. This approach helped us grow from a small startup to a major player in the SAP training industry.

Remember, hiring the right people is about more than just filling positions. It’s about building a team that will drive your company forward, uphold your values, and contribute to a positive and productive work environment. So, be ruthless in your initial screenings, thorough in your experience evaluations, and uncompromising in maintaining your culture.

With these principles, you too can build an amazing team that will help your business thrive. Here’s to your success in creating a team of top-notch professionals who will take your company to new heights!

The post How I Built a Top-Notch Team for a Small, Unknown Company appeared first on Tomco Capital - Coaching, Advisory & Investments.

I refer to these 12 thoughts as my Rules for Business Success. They were hard lessons to learn but have always helped me avoid problems and avoid problems down the road. So, without further ado, let’s dive into my 12 rules for business success. I promise, there’s something in here for everyone, whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned pro like me. 

Rule 1: If it starts hard, it ends hard.

This is my number one rule for a reason, and it applies to business and life in general. If you bang your head against the wall on day one, chances are you’ll end up with a constant headache by the end.

No matter if you are onboarding a new client, hiring a new team member, or dealing with a new vendor. If it starts hard, it will end hard. For example, early on, when our team grew and we didn’t know much about culture or how to hire properly, we hired people who were late to interviews, didn’t perform well during the interviews, and made onboarding them like pulling teeth. All the warning signs were there, but we hired them anyway. Big mistake, of course, and it ended fast and hard.

Another time we were onboarding a new client. Our early excitement waned quickly when they made unreasonable demands after another. Instead of setting firm boundaries we tried to appease the new client. Big mistake again. In the end, we lost money on this client, they were never satisfied with anything, and we had to let them go.

Lesson learned. If it starts hard, it ends hard.

Rule 2: If you have no assistant, you are the assistant.

Let’s be real: trying to do everything yourself is a one-way ticket to Burnoutville. Population: You. Trust me, I’ve been there. In my early days, I thought I could juggle a million tasks without breaking a sweat. Spoiler alert: I was wrong. Very wrong.

Picture this: it’s 8 AM, you’re knee-deep in paperwork, emails are piling up, and your phone is ringing off the hook. If you’re doing all the admin work, guess what? You’re not the boss—you’re the overworked assistant. And probably not even a good one at that.

The turning point for me was when I finally hired my first assistant. Suddenly, I had time to focus on the big picture, strategize, and actually lead my company. It was like night and day. Delegation isn’t just a luxury; it’s a necessity. Your time is too valuable to be wasted on tasks that someone else can handle faster and better than you. 

Remember, you’re supposed to be steering the ship, not scrubbing the deck.

Rule 3: Nobody likes to be sold to, but everybody likes to shop.

Ah, the delicate art of selling without actually selling. It’s a bit like trying to convince a cat to take a bath—tricky but not impossible. Here’s the thing: people hate feeling pressured, but they love discovering things they actually need (or think they need).

Back when I was pushing SAP training, I learned quickly that hard selling was about as effective as a screen door on a submarine. Nobody wants to hear a sales pitch, but they’re all ears if you show them how your product can make their life easier. It’s about creating an environment where customers feel in control and make their own decisions.

Imagine you’re in a bookstore (remember those?). You’re more likely to buy a book if you can browse at your leisure, read a few pages, and see what interests you. The same principle applies to business. Give your customers the space to explore and discover. Highlight the benefits (and not the features) subtly and watch them come to you.

Rule 4: Don’t sell. Solve problems.

This one is a follow-on to rule #3. Forget about the sales quotas and commissions for a second. At the heart of every successful transaction is a problem that’s been solved. Your job is not to push a product; it’s to offer a solution.

I remember a time when a potential client was ready to walk away because they felt bombarded by sales pitches. Instead of pushing harder, I took a step back and asked, “What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing right now?” That simple question shifted the entire conversation. Suddenly, I wasn’t just another salesperson—I was a problem solver. We ended up closing the deal because I focused on their needs, not my sales target.

When you approach business with a problem-solving mindset, you build trust and credibility. Customers see you as a partner rather than a vendor. It’s a subtle shift but one that makes all the difference. So, put on your detective hat, uncover those pain points, and offer the perfect solution.

Rule 5: Build relationships, not transactions.

If you do well with rule #4, this rule comes next. In the grand bazaar of business, getting caught up in the whirlwind of deals, contracts, and bottom lines is easy. But here’s a little secret: transactions are fleeting; relationships are forever.

Early in my career, I treated every client interaction as a means to an end—a transaction. It wasn’t long before I realized that this approach was not getting us ahead. I started focusing on building genuine relationships, and guess what? The transactions followed naturally. Clients became partners, deals turned into collaborations, and business started to feel a lot less transactional and a lot more meaningful.

Building relationships means taking the time to understand your clients’ needs, interests, and long-term goals. It’s about showing genuine interest and empathy. When you prioritize relationships over transactions, you create a loyal customer base that sees you as a trusted advisor rather than just another vendor. And that, my friends, is priceless.

Rule 6: Quality over quantity. Less really is more.

Ah, the age-old debate: quality vs. quantity. Let me settle it for you right here: quality wins. Every. Single. Time. Standing out means offering something exceptional in a world overflowing with options.

Back when I was running Michael Management Corporation, we focused on delivering top-notch SAP training courses. It wasn’t about cramming in as many courses as possible; it was about making each one the best it could be. Sure, we could have expanded our catalog quickly, but at what cost? Instead, we chose to invest in the quality of our content, and it paid off. Our customers recognized and appreciated the difference, and our reputation soared.

It’s tempting to think that more is better, but in reality, less can be so much more. By focusing on quality, you build trust and create lasting value. Whether it’s a product, a service, or even a business relationship, prioritize excellence over excess. Your clients, and your bottom line, will thank you for it.

Rule 7: Delegate responsibilities, not tasks.

Here’s a nugget of wisdom that took me far too long to grasp: delegation is more than just offloading tasks. It’s about entrusting others with real responsibilities and giving them the ownership to succeed—or fail—on their own terms.

In the early days of my career, I was the quintessential control freak. I micromanaged every little detail, thinking that was the way to ensure perfection. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. My team was frustrated, I was exhausted, and our productivity was in the tank. The turning point came when I realized I needed to delegate responsibilities, not just tasks. I started trusting my team with entire projects, giving them the autonomy to make decisions and learn from their mistakes.

The difference was night and day. Not only did it lighten my load, but it also empowered my team. They felt more invested, more capable, and more motivated. When you delegate responsibilities, you’re not just handing off work; you’re fostering growth and innovation within your team. It’s a win-win.

Rule 8: You are the product of the people you surround yourself with.

Ever heard the saying, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”? It’s not just a catchy phrase; it’s the hard truth. Your circle influences your mindset, your decisions, and, ultimately, your success.

In my career, I’ve had the privilege (and occasional misfortune) of working with a wide variety of people. The lesson? Surround yourself with go-getters, innovators, and positive thinkers. They will lift you up, challenge you, and push you to be your best. On the flip side, if you’re constantly around naysayers and slackers, well, don’t be surprised if you find yourself stuck in a rut.

One of my early mentors was a brilliant, albeit slightly eccentric, entrepreneur. His enthusiasm was infectious, and his ability to see opportunities where others saw obstacles was inspiring. Being around him changed the way I approached problems and opportunities. I learned to think bigger, aim higher, and embrace the occasional craziness of the entrepreneurial journey.

So, take a good look at your inner circle. Are they pushing you towards greatness or holding you back? Choose wisely, because their influence is more significant than you might realize.

Rule 9: Embrace change or die like the dinosaurs.

Um, the dinosaurs didn’t really have a chance to adapt to change, but you get what I mean. If you’re not willing to adapt, you’ll be left behind faster than you can say “meteor strike.”

I’ve seen it happen time and time again. Companies that were once industry leaders got too comfortable and resistant to change, only to find themselves obsolete when new technologies or market trends emerged (remember Yahoo?).

When I founded Michael Management Corporation, we constantly evolved our offerings based on the latest SAP training and technology trends. It wasn’t always easy, and it sometimes felt like we were chasing a moving target. But staying adaptable and open to change kept us ahead of the curve and ensured our long-term success.

The moral of the story? Don’t be a dinosaur. Embrace change, seek out new opportunities, and be willing to pivot when necessary. Failure is part of this process, of course. Your ability to adapt is what will keep you thriving in an ever-evolving business landscape.

Rule 10: Customer retention trumps customer acquisition.

Acquiring new customers is like dating—exciting, full of potential, and sometimes a little nerve-wracking. But retaining customers? That’s like a long, happy marriage. It’s where the real magic happens.

When I started Michael Management Corporation, I was obsessed with bringing in new clients. Don’t get me wrong, new business is great, but it’s the repeat customers that kept us afloat and thriving. Think about it: acquiring a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing one. Plus, repeat customers are more likely to spend more and refer others to your business.

Once, we had a client who was on the fence about renewing their contract. Instead of launching into a hard sell, we focused on addressing their concerns and showing them the value we had provided over the past year and the milestones they had achieved. Not only did they renew, but they also increased their engagement with our services.

The key to retention is to exceed expectations consistently. Provide exceptional customer service, stay engaged, and ensure your clients know you value them. Remember, keeping a customer is easier (and cheaper) than finding a new one.

Rule 11: Success is not a destination but a journey.

Here’s the thing about success: it’s not a one-time event. You don’t just reach it, plant your flag, and call it a day. Success is a continuous journey, filled with twists, turns, and a whole lot of learning along the way.

In my 25+ years in the business world, I’ve had my share of wins and losses. I founded and sold a successful company, but I’ve also faced my fair share of setbacks. What I’ve learned is that success is not a final destination. It’s about the journey, the experiences, and the growth that happens along the way.

Take, for example, the time when we launched a new training platform at Michael Management Corporation. It was a huge success, but that didn’t mean we could sit back and relax. We kept innovating, improving, and adapting. Each milestone was a step in the journey, not the end of it.

Celebrate your victories, but don’t get too comfortable. Keep pushing, keep striving, and keep growing. Enjoy the journey, because that’s where the real success lies.

Rule 12: Work to live.

Last but certainly not least, let’s talk about balance. Work is important—no doubt about it—but it shouldn’t consume your entire life. The whole point of working hard is to enjoy the fruits of your labor. So, remember to work to live, not live to work.

When I sold Michael Management Corporation, it was a monumental milestone in my career. But it didn’t mean I would just kick back and relax forever. Now, I work on our growing portfolio of SaaS companies under the Tomco Capital umbrella. But here’s the kicker—I also make sure to stop and smell the proverbial roses.

These days, I make time for fun activities. I’m a drummer (sorry, neighbors!), which is a fantastic way to blow off steam. I also dabble in gin-making at Tom’s Spirits. It’s a fun venture, even if it’s hardly profitable. And then there’s my passion for travel. I travel like it’s my job, exploring new places and cultures, which keeps me inspired and grounded.

Balancing work and play isn’t just important; it’s essential. Your work should enhance your life, not take it over. So, work hard, but make sure to play harder. After all, what’s the point of all that success if you don’t get to enjoy it?

Final Thoughts

And there you have it—Thomas Michael’s 12 rules for business success. These rules are more than just catchy phrases; they’re hard-earned lessons from years of navigating the business world. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re a seasoned pro, these principles can help guide you toward a more successful and fulfilling career.

Remember, it’s not about the destination but the journey. Surround yourself with the right people, embrace change, and focus on building meaningful relationships. Delegate wisely, prioritize quality over quantity, and always solve problems instead of just making sales. Keep your customers close, enjoy the process, and, most importantly, make sure you’re living life to the fullest. And for god’s sake, remember this: If it starts hard, it ends hard.

So, get out there and apply these rules in your own business endeavors. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be sharing your own rules for success. And if you ever need a reminder to balance work and play, just think of me—drumming away, crafting gin, and exploring the world, all while growing a portfolio of promising SaaS companies. Here’s to your journey and all the success that comes with it!

The post Thomas Michael’s 12 Rules for Business Success appeared first on Tomco Capital - Coaching, Advisory & Investments.

A few months back, I saw a familiar name pop up in my LinkedIn messages – Thomas Michael wanted to know if I could jump on a quick call. 

Thomas and I have worked together since 2018, and I’ve always loved working for him/ respected his entrepreneurial endeavors. It was a very welcome surprise to see that he wanted to connect again. I was in between projects so his timing was perfect. I went into the call with an open mind, unsure of what he wanted to chat about. 

Thomas unveiled some of the ideas he’d been cooking up since he sold his company, and it took me all of about 2 minutes to say, OMG I’M IN. Since then, we’ve been in full-fledge, nitty gritty, Silicon Valley tv-show, start up mode. 

I can’t reveal tooooo much, but this blog will highlight a few of the projects we’ve been working on over the course of the past few months. 

While we’re still working out all of the details, I will say, I think the end result will be a game-changer. 

Tomco AI

Thomas and I are both fascinated by all things AI-related, so working on projects supported by AI has been challenging, eye-opening and downright cool. 

Our first big project together was simply creating content. I’ve always gravitated towards content creation and more creative projects, so I was excited to start to learn about leveraging AI for marketing copy and blog creation. While I still feel strongly that creative flair and editing should come from humans, I have been AMAZED by the capabilities of AI for writing projects. 

We played around with prompts and wording to ensure that AI was able to deliver the type and caliber of content that we were going for. And once we had that down, it was an AI-palooza of new blogs, website copy, social media posts. It really is an art, and Thomas has been great in sharing his expertise to get me up to speed.

While I know AI is available to everyone, it’s been fascinating to watch someone learn its capabilities and limitations, and how to leverage that into real-life applications. I have not yet mastered the AI art form, but I’m sincerely enjoying the learning process. 

PS: I know I’ve talked a lot about AI blog content creation, but this blog is written by a plain old boring human – me! 

In addition to blogs, Thomas and I have spent countless hours creating AI templates. Again, I won’t get too into the weeds, but learning how to work with AI and create templates has been incredibly interesting. 

We’re set to release soon and I’m excited for you to see what we’ve come up with! 

ERPlingo

Some of you reading this may have already chatted with me about ERPlingo, but let me just say this: we are updating it continuously and I truly believe it will redefine how we work with and learn SAP applications. 

We have developed an AI-powered SAP solution that allows SAP users to search millions of SAP error messages, transaction codes and keywords/terms and get answers to their questions in seconds.

Additionally, we are working on training an SAP coach that puts intelligent SAP support within the reach of every SAP user. I am very excited and optimistic about the effect it will have on the SAP community. 

At this stage we’re looking for beta testers, so if you’re reading this, reach out and we’ll get you set up on the site! We’d love to hear thoughts, feedback, critique, love, etc. 

And this is just the first rollout, so keep checking back in to see what we’ve updated! 

What’s next?

What’s next you may be wondering! 

Well first and foremost, Thomas and I will be having our first in-person meeting. Shockingly, after more than 5 years of working together, we have never actually met in person. A mixture of Thomas and I both having wanderlust and a global pandemic has made our past meet ups impossible. That’s why I’m really looking forward to actually seeing him IRL. 

Additionally, we’re working on official rollouts of both websites and working on getting our first 100 customers. After that, we shall see! 

Every day new ideas come out, so stay tuned. 

Cheers,

Claire
Director of Strategy
Tomco Capital Corporation

The post Well, well, well – Look who is working together again appeared first on Tomco Capital - Coaching, Advisory & Investments.

Do I buy an existing business – or build something of my own again?

This question is not abstract anymore. It’s not a thought experiment or a conversation over drinks. It is real. It’s here. It’s happening now. Weeks after selling my own company, after the transition period slowed down and the calendar went quiet, I’m staring at this fork in the road in full daylight.

I’ve had capital. I’ve had experience. I’ve worked with due diligence teams on my own sale. I’ve lived through buyer questions – twice. I should be well-positioned to acquire something that’s already running, and start from an operational leg up.

At least, that’s what I used to believe.

Reality – The Acquisition Search

Once I decide to explore the acquisition route seriously, the process accelerates quickly.

I start taking calls. Introductory conversations at first, then deeper discussions with founders who are actively looking to sell. On the surface, it feels efficient. These are businesses with customers, revenue, and some form of operating history. In theory, I’m buying momentum rather than creating it from scratch.

But almost immediately, the gap between theory and reality starts to show.

The early conversations are usually optimistic. The story is familiar: solid growth, loyal customers, a great product, and a founder who’s “ready for the next chapter.” I listen, ask questions, and nod along. I’ve told similar stories myself in the past.

Then I begin to dig.

I ask for financials. I ask for customer data. I ask how decisions are made, how work actually flows through the business, and what happens when the founder steps away for a few weeks. These aren’t trick questions. They’re basic questions – the same ones buyers asked me during my own exit.

That’s when things start to slow down.

Documents arrive late or partially. Numbers don’t quite reconcile. Metrics are described confidently but supported loosely. Answers become more qualitative than quantitative. What initially sounded like a business starts to feel more like a collection of habits held together by the founder’s daily involvement.

I’m not looking for perfection. I know better than that. But I am looking for coherence – a system that exists independently of the person telling me the story.

Too often, it doesn’t.

And as these conversations pile up, a quiet discomfort starts to replace the initial excitement. Not because the founders are dishonest or incapable – most of them are neither – but because what I’m being shown isn’t leverage.

It’s a lot of work.

What I Actually See Once I Look Closer

Once the conversations move beyond surface-level storytelling, a consistent pattern emerges.

The financials are often incomplete, or at least not decision-grade. Statements exist, but they don’t always reconcile cleanly across periods. Revenue is real, but the underlying drivers aren’t clearly articulated. Margins shift depending on how the question is framed. Simple follow-ups – the kind any serious buyer would ask – take time to answer, not because the data is confidential, but because it doesn’t exist in a usable form.

Operationally, things are even less defined.

Processes aren’t written down. Roles are loosely understood rather than explicitly designed. Job descriptions, if they exist at all, reflect intentions rather than reality. Knowledge lives in conversations, memory, and improvisation. When I ask how work gets done when the founder steps away, the answer is almost always some version of “we figure it out.”

Customer data tells a similar story. Lists are outdated or fragmented. Contracts vary by relationship rather than policy. Terms evolve organically. There’s no single source of truth. Sales activity happens, but without a consistent system behind it. Forecasting is hopeful rather than disciplined.

None of this makes the founders bad operators. In many cases, it’s exactly how scrappy businesses survive and grow.

But it does make one thing very clear: what’s being offered isn’t a clean handoff. It’s an ongoing obligation.

What I’m evaluating isn’t just a business. It’s how much reconstruction I’ll have to do before the business can even be managed properly, let alone scaled or sold again in the future.

And slowly, the realization sets in that buying something like this doesn’t save time. It simply moves the rebuild to a different starting line – one that comes with inherited assumptions, emotional baggage, and constraints I didn’t choose.

Why Buying Starts to Feel Like the Wrong Kind of Work

At some point, the pattern becomes impossible to ignore.

Every potential acquisition begins to feel less like leverage and more like a deferred cleanup project. No matter how promising the surface metrics look, the underlying reality is the same: before anything meaningful can be built, a significant amount of foundational work has to be done. Systems need to be designed. Data needs to be cleaned. Roles need to be clarified. Processes need to be documented.

In other words, the real work hasn’t been avoided at all. It’s simply been postponed – and made more complex by the fact that none of the original decisions were mine.

That distinction matters.

I don’t mind doing hard work. I don’t even mind doing unglamorous work. What I do mind is spending my time unwinding other people’s accumulated shortcuts before I can apply my own judgment. There’s a subtle but important difference between building something deliberately and inheriting something accidentally.

Buying an existing business promises speed, but what it often delivers is obligation. You inherit not just customers and revenue, but also history – assumptions baked into the product, compromises baked into the org, and decisions that made sense at one moment but no longer do.

The more I think about it, the clearer it becomes that this is not the kind of work I’m actually looking for.

What I want isn’t to retrofit order onto chaos. I want to design order from the beginning. To build systems that reflect how I think, how I like to work, and what I believe actually scales – not just financially, but operationally and psychologically.

Once I see that clearly, the original question starts to shift.

It’s no longer “buy or build” in the abstract.
It’s about what kind of work I want my days filled with.

And the answer isn’t pointing toward acquisition anymore.

Buy vs. Build – Reframed Through Experience

From the outside, the buy-versus-build decision is often framed as a clean trade-off.

Buying is supposed to be faster, safer, and more predictable. Building is supposed to be slower, riskier, and more uncertain. Those distinctions look neat on a whiteboard. They break down quickly once you’re actually in the process.

What buying really offers is immediacy – not simplicity. You step into a business that already exists, but you also step into every unresolved decision that came before you. The past doesn’t disappear just because ownership changes. It shows up in the data, in the team dynamics, in the product architecture, and in the operational habits that have calcified over time.

Building, by contrast, is slower in obvious ways and faster in subtle ones. You don’t inherit momentum, but you also don’t inherit friction. You make fewer decisions, but you make them intentionally. There’s no archaeology phase, no need to decipher why things are the way they are. The structure reflects your judgment from day one.

What surprises me most is how similar the effort curve actually is.

Buying doesn’t eliminate the need to design systems. It just delays it.
Building forces that work upfront – but rewards it later.

Once I see that clearly, the decision becomes less about risk and more about alignment. About whether I want to spend my energy untangling complexity I didn’t create, or shaping something clean from the beginning.

At this point, the answer is no longer theoretical.

I’m not trying to avoid work.
I’m trying to choose the right kind of work.

Why I Decided to Build Instead

By the time I reach this point, the decision no longer feels dramatic.

It feels obvious.

Buying an existing business might make sense for someone looking to deploy capital quickly or assemble a portfolio at scale. It doesn’t make sense for me. Not now. Not in this phase. What I’m after isn’t acceleration for its own sake, but authorship – the ability to design systems intentionally and build businesses that reflect how I actually want to work.

Building my own thing again gives me that.

It allows me to start with clarity rather than compromise, and to apply everything I’ve learned – about structure, discipline, and transferability – from the very beginning. It also lets me avoid recreating the operational sprawl and psychological overhead that tend to accumulate when growth becomes the goal rather than the outcome.

That doesn’t mean I’ll never acquire a business. It means I’m not forcing that path simply because it looks efficient on paper. The structure I’m designing gives me the freedom to build first, learn continuously, and make acquisition a choice rather than a default.

So I stop looking.

I stop taking calls. I stop reviewing decks. And I redirect my energy toward designing a container for the kinds of businesses I actually want to operate – small where they should be small, scalable where it matters, and built from the ground up with leverage in mind.

That decision doesn’t come with a detailed roadmap yet. It doesn’t need one.

What it comes with is conviction – not the loud kind, but the quiet kind that makes it easy to move forward.

Either way, wish me luck!

Thomas Michael

CEO

Tomco Capital Corporation

The post Buy an Existing Business or Build Your Own? appeared first on Tomco Capital - Coaching, Advisory & Investments.

I keep replaying the same conversations in my head – the acquisition calls, the half-answers, the missing systems, the founders who want an exit but have never actually prepared for one. And layered on top of that is my own recent experience: having just come through a full due diligence process myself, from both sides of the table, twice over.

I know how unforgiving that process is. I know what gets examined, where pressure builds, and how quickly optimism collapses under scrutiny. I know how much discipline, structure, and advance preparation it takes to move through it cleanly. Most importantly, I know how rare it is to be genuinely ready.

That contrast is hard to ignore.

What I’m seeing isn’t a lack of ambition. These founders are driven, capable, and serious about what they’ve built. What’s missing is perspective – the kind that only comes from having been through the exit process end-to-end, not as an advisor or observer, but as the person whose company is under the microscope.

And for the first time since selling my own business, something begins to feel obvious.

There is a real need for experienced operators who have actually been there – not theorists, not motivational coaches, not people selling frameworks – but founders who understand what it takes to turn a running business into a transferable asset.

Not because it’s lucrative.
Not because it scales beautifully.
But because the intellectual challenge is real, and the work matters.

At the same time, another truth sits alongside it, equally clear.

I don’t want this to be the center of my professional life.

Coaching as a Response, Not a Destination

As the idea takes shape, it becomes clear what this is – and what it isn’t.

No, I don’t suddenly want to become a full-time coach. I’m not interested in building a practice optimized for volume, or in positioning myself as a public authority dispensing generic advice. That doesn’t appeal to me, and it never has.

What does appeal to me is the work itself.

Sitting across from an ambitious founder who wants an exit but doesn’t yet understand what that actually entails. Helping them see their business not as a personal extension of themselves, but as an asset that must stand up to scrutiny. Working through the uncomfortable questions early, before the stakes are existential and the timelines compressed.

That kind of work is intellectually satisfying. It’s precise. It demands judgment, pattern recognition, and honesty. And it’s work I’m unusually well suited for, precisely because I’ve just lived through it.

I know what buyers care about because I’ve been interrogated by them. I know where founders tend to overestimate readiness and underestimate fragility. I know which gaps are cosmetic and which are fatal. That perspective doesn’t come from reading about exits. It comes from being inside one.

So advisory and coaching start to make sense – not as a business to be scaled, but as a focused, high-leverage way to work with a small number of founders who are serious about where they’re headed.

Important, yes.
Central, no.

Because alongside that clarity sits an equally strong instinct: I still want to build.

The Pull Toward Building On My Own Terms

The more I sit with the idea of advisory work, the clearer another truth becomes.

As much as I enjoy the intellectual challenge of helping founders prepare for an exit, I don’t want my professional energy to be spent primarily inside other people’s businesses. I don’t want to clean up inherited complexity or retrofit structure onto decisions I didn’t make. I’ve done that before, and I know exactly how much friction it carries.

What I want is authorship.

I want to build systems from first principles. To design the structure intentionally rather than reverse-engineering it later. To create products, platforms, and tools the way I think they should be built – with clarity, leverage, and optionality designed in from the beginning.

Buying an existing company increasingly feels like the wrong vehicle for that. Not because it can’t work, but because it starts with compromise. You inherit assumptions, habits, and constraints that shape everything that follows. Even when the business is sound, you’re still adapting to someone else’s architecture.

I don’t want to adapt. I want to design.

That realization settles quietly but firmly. The excitement I feel isn’t about acquisition anymore; it’s about creation. About starting with a blank sheet and building something that reflects how I want to work now – smaller surface area, higher leverage, fewer dependencies, cleaner systems.

At the same time, I’m realistic enough to know that I don’t want to build just one thing again. I don’t want another monolithic company that consumes everything around it. What I’m drawn to instead is something more modular – a structure that allows multiple ideas to exist, evolve, and compound over time.

That’s when the shape of it begins to appear.

Not a single startup.
Not a fund.
But a personal operating platform.

Designing the Container

Once I start thinking in terms of structure rather than individual ideas, everything begins to feel more coherent.

What I’m circling around isn’t a single product or a single company. It’s a container – a way to hold multiple ventures, experiments, and operating ideas under one roof, without forcing them into the same lifecycle or level of commitment. A structure that lets me build, operate, and evolve businesses deliberately, without recreating the sprawl and complexity I’ve worked hard to leave behind.

A personal holding company starts to make sense.

Not as a grand strategy, but as a practical response to what I now know about myself. A framework that allows me to launch and operate technology businesses on my own terms, while keeping optionality intact. Some ideas may grow into substantial ventures. Some will fail spectacularly. Others may remain small, profitable, and self-sustaining. A few may never make it past the prototype stage. That’s fine. The structure doesn’t demand that every experiment become a centerpiece.

What matters is that the container is intentional.

I don’t yet know what the portfolio will include. I’m not forcing a thesis prematurely. But I am certain of one thing: whatever I build next will be deeply shaped by technology – and increasingly by AI. Not as a buzzword or a pitch, but as an enabling layer that fundamentally changes what small, focused teams can accomplish.

AI shifts the leverage equation. It compresses time. It reduces the need for scale where scale once felt mandatory. It makes it possible to build systems that would have required entire departments not that long ago. For someone like me – drawn to structure, tools, and clean systems – that’s not abstract. It’s catalytic.

So the direction becomes clear, even if the details do not.

I’ll work with a small number of founders who want to prepare their businesses for an eventual exit, because that work is meaningful and intellectually honest. But the center of gravity will be elsewhere – in building and operating my own ventures, inside a structure designed for clarity, leverage, and longevity.

I don’t have a name for it yet. I don’t need one.

What I have is something more important: a sense that the next chapter won’t be about replacing what I sold, but about designing something fundamentally different.

And for the first time since the transition period ended and the inbox went quiet, that feels like enough to move forward.

Cheers,

-Thomas

The post I Stopped Looking – And Started Designing appeared first on Tomco Capital - Coaching, Advisory & Investments.

On paper, this feels like the logical next step. I’ve just exited my own company. I have capital. I have experience. Acquiring an existing business should be faster than starting from scratch. Less risk. Less friction. A shortcut, at least in theory.

So I say yes to conversations.

At first, they’re polite. Optimistic. Everyone tells a version of the same story: the business is “doing well,” there’s “strong demand,” and they’re “ready for the next chapter.” I’ve heard these phrases before. I used them myself, once.

Then the questions start.

And that’s when things begin to unravel.

Simple things are missing. Financials that should exist don’t, or exist only in fragments. Numbers don’t reconcile. Revenue figures shift depending on how they’re explained. Basic metrics – customer counts, churn, margins – are answered vaguely, if at all.

I ask how the business actually runs day to day.

There are no written processes. No documented workflows. No clear ownership of roles. Job descriptions, if they exist, live in someone’s head. Customer lists are outdated or incomplete. There’s no real CRM – just inboxes, spreadsheets, and memory. Contracts are scattered, some signed, some unsigned, some “standard,” others improvised.

What I’m looking at isn’t a company ready for transition.
It’s a collection of habits held together by the founder’s presence.

And suddenly it’s obvious: this isn’t diligence yet.
This is archaeology.

The Reaction I Didn’t Expect to Have

What surprises me most is not the mess itself.

It’s how viscerally I react to it.

I’ve just come out of a full due diligence process on my own company – actually, two of them, but that’s for another blog post – so I know exactly what this looks like when it’s done properly. I know how invasive the questions get. I know how unforgiving the numbers are. I know how quickly vague answers get exposed.

So when I’m met with hand-waving, half-formed explanations, and an almost casual relationship with reality, something in me tightens.

At first it’s disbelief.
Then frustration.
Then a kind of dark, almost incredulous amusement.

How does someone expect to sell a business like this?

Not in theory. In practice. To whom?

Because what I’m being shown isn’t an asset ready to change hands. It’s a dependency disguised as a company. A fragile system held together by personal heroics, informal agreements, and the founder’s daily involvement.

I don’t feel excited.
I feel like running for the hills.

And I realize something uncomfortable: I don’t want to inherit someone else’s chaos.

Why This Isn’t Sellable – At Least Not to Anyone Serious

Stripped of optimism and storytelling, most of these businesses share the same underlying problem.

They are not designed to exist without the founder.

There are no clean financial statements that reconcile month to month. No consistent definitions of revenue, margin, or profit. The numbers don’t tell a coherent story because no one ever needed them to – as long as cash kept coming in.

Operations live in people’s heads instead of on paper. There are no standard operating procedures. No documented workflows. No clear handoff points. Knowledge is tribal, not transferable.

Customers are real, but the data isn’t. Lists are outdated. Contracts are inconsistent. Terms vary by relationship. Renewal logic is informal. There’s no single source of truth.

Sales happens, but there’s no system behind it. No CRM. No pipeline discipline. No way to forecast anything beyond hope.

In short, these are not businesses you acquire – they are problems you absorb.

Someone might buy them, of course. But only one of two people:

A strategic buyer willing to rebuild everything from scratch.
Or a sucker who mistakes revenue for readiness.

I’m neither.

And the more of these calls I take, the clearer it becomes: buying a company like this doesn’t save time. It just delays the inevitable rebuild – with more risk, more resentment, and less freedom.

Which leads me to a conclusion I’m not yet fully ready to articulate, but can’t ignore:

If I’m going to clean up a mess anyway, it might as well be my own.

A Pattern Starts to Emerge

After enough of these conversations, it stops feeling coincidental.

Different founders. Different industries. Different personal stories. And yet, beneath the surface, the same structural weaknesses keep appearing. Not because these founders are careless or incapable, but because their businesses were never designed with transferability in mind.

They built companies to function, not to be inspected.

In almost every case, the focus was on forward motion: shipping product, closing customers, solving the next urgent problem. Processes evolved organically. Decisions accumulated informally. Knowledge lived in people’s heads rather than in systems. As long as the founder remained at the center, everything worked well enough.

Until someone like me enters the picture and starts asking questions that aren’t about survival, but about continuity.

Questions about financials that should reconcile across periods.
Questions about how work actually flows through the organization.
Questions about ownership, systems, processes, accountability, and repeatability.

And what becomes clear, again and again, is that the business doesn’t truly exist independently of the founder. It operates because the founder remembers, corrects, intervenes, and improvises. Remove that presence, and the structure starts to wobble.

This isn’t incompetence. It’s misalignment.

The founders I’m speaking with want liquidity, optionality, or an exit – but they’ve never been forced to think about their companies as transferable assets rather than personal vehicles. Running a business and preparing one for transition are related, but they are not the same discipline.

As this realization settles in, something shifts for me.

If this many capable, driven founders are this underprepared for scrutiny, then what I’m seeing isn’t a series of isolated issues. It’s a systemic gap between how businesses are built and how they are eventually sold.

I don’t yet know what to do with that insight. I’m not turning it into a plan or a product. I’m simply registering it, repeatedly, as it shows up across conversation after conversation.

Something here isn’t working.

I don’t draw a conclusion yet. I’m not ready to. All I know is that the acquisition path I thought might make sense feels increasingly misaligned with how I actually want to spend my time and energy. Buying someone else’s unfinished systems, no matter how well intentioned the founder, doesn’t feel like leverage. It feels like inheriting responsibility without conviction.

So for now, I stop taking calls. I pause the search. And I sit with the discomfort of a realization that hasn’t fully formed yet – but is becoming harder to ignore.

Cheers,

Thomas

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