If you opened this email expecting me to write ACAB and share punk rock anthems like the one below, well, that's not what I wanted to share with you today.

I wanted to discuss the concept of Authority Flip, which - unsurprisingly - doesn't exist, at least under this name. Probably because I'm not a native English speaker. However, I'd like to suggest its addition to our business lexicon.

ChatGPT suggested other names but I find them too bland, much like most of AI efforts:

It has, however, grasped my poor attempt at describing it and rephrased it as "a career inflection point where the power dynamic shifts, and instead of chasing opportunities or validation from those above you, people start seeking you out", which is much more accurate.

I have returned to this concept many times when talking to B2B companies, especially those in my portfolio, that this is one of the main make-or-break points they have to get to as soon as possible in their lifetime. Similar to product-market fit, authority flip is an inflection point in a company's value.

Let me be more specific: most B2B companies rely on partnerships, channel distribution, integrations and whatnot. They might start as an add-on or integration on someone else's marketplace until they become big enough to have their own marketplace. That is, they chase others and hustle their way up, to grab everyone else's attention until they've become so big that they start attracting smaller players (or with less authority).

This authority or influence reversal applies to your personal reputation, as well. For instance, in my first years being an entrepreneur, I attended a lot of conferences. Conferences are great places to meet many people in the same physical space, so you can schedule many back-to-back meetings in a single day.

During those early years, I spent hours reaching out and chasing people to schedule meetings with me, as I was a nobody who had to prove my worth to pretty much everyone out there. Now, more than ten years into my entrepreneurial career, I no longer do that. Now, I meet people who reach out to me.

Although I don't entirely feel comfortable admitting it, my authority has increased over the years to the point where I am seen as a relevant figure in the ecosystem. I spend more time reviewing and accepting/declining invitations from others than reaching out myself.

Getting there is a mix of seniority, trajectory, visibility and achievements (plus maybe a bit of luck and birthright - but I have neither of those).

Recommended stuff

• 🛠️ Check out Tana, an AI-native workspace for tech-savvy professionals who want to stay on top of everything—without the busywork.
• 🛠️ I can't recommend A Better Finder Attributes enough if you have to bulk-edit files on macOS.
• 🎲 Bit offtopic, but what about this crossover between Wikipedia and TikTok? Doom scrolling has never been so educational.
• ⚽ Another offtopic item, but FC Barcelona have launched an official calendar sync app, to update you on upcoming games!
• 🧵 Ignacio Arriaga's Twitter thread about 33 canales de adquisición que puedes utilizar para conseguir tus primeros 100 clientes.
• ✨ Signed up for the wait list of AI Sheets, from the founder of MultiverseAI, Tanya van Gastel.

My projects

• 🎙️ Foc a Terra: Guia de vassallatge modern - or how to deal with conflicts in life and work, and why most of them go unsolved or - worse - you pay and move on (in Catalan).
• 📅 Events: We've announced the first two speakers (Dorit Dor, CTO of Check Point Software and Sergio Gago, MD of AI and Quantum Computing @ Moody's) and two sponsors (CMS & Moody's) for the upcoming Corporate Innovation Summit, for the 4th of March. Get your tickets now at 50% off.
• 👽 MarsBased: We've hired two new Martians, soon to be announced and we've signed a new contract with Topps Technica to help them to develop a better set of internal and client tools.
• 💰 Investments: Signed and wired my investment money to Las Muns. Excited to join the ride with our long-time partner! 🥟

Catch you next week!