2024… what a crazy ride.

I quit my 9-5 corporate job in May to chase a dream to build Creator Match 🧩.

There were moments of celebration—big wins that felt like dreams coming true. And then there were the hardest of hard days, little sleep, crazy imposter syndrome, massive sacrifices, incredible stress, and way too much coffee.

As we kick off this new year, I am sure you are expecting me to share a highlight reel as you have seen flood social media. But it’s even more important to share the LOSSES and the lessons that came with them…

Biggest LOSSES & Lessons Learned (Hint: $24,500+)

Here are our 15 biggest LOSSES:

1. One Brand partner filed for bankruptcy and couldn’t pay a $12,000 invoice, so we had to front the payment to Creators.

2. A tiny formula error in a campaign spreadsheet cost us $10,500. Brutal.

3. A bug in our software caused us to lose 10% of users (Chrome Extension wouldn’t close).

4. Didn’t ask Creators for W8/W9 tax forms in advance, making year-end 1099s a PAIN.

5. Should have brought on a bookkeeper sooner—our internal finances were a MESS.

6. We overpaid a campaign budget by $2,000 after saying yes to an extra Creator we didn’t have budget for.

7. Chose the low-cost accounting software—then had to switch to QuickBooks which was a nightmare.

8. LinkedIn went down during one of our largest campaign launches.

9. A low-cost contract tool from AppSumo turned out to be a nightmare with hundreds of Creator contracts.

10. Tracking links didn’t work for one of our first campaigns.

11. Got ghosted by 2 large Creators after signing contracts.

12. We brought on our first full-time hire wayyy too late.

13. Averaged ~4 hours of sleep per night for months (Had multiple meetings where people said, “AJ, You look really tired").

14. Missed out on several events with friends and family due to work craziness.

15. Took the wrong train to Brooklyn instead of Manhattan and was late to speak at a conference (New Yorkers, plz go easy on me)

What did we learn??

The $12,000 contract where the Brand became insolvent? Pushed us to have stronger Brand contracts and disclose this in the Creator contracts.

The $10,500 spreadsheet mistake? It pushed us to build our own custom software to handle LinkedIn Creator campaigns more effectively.

The $2,000 Creator payment fiasco? We chose to honor our commitments because relationships and trust matter (especially with Creators).

Okay, but were there any highlights?

• Traveled on 48 flights

• Launched Creator Match 🧩

• Gave a Tedx Talk (see above^)

• Full feature in Business Insider

• Closed multiple 6-figure deals

• Wrote 5+ Fast Company Articles

• Surpassed my old corporate salary

• Spoke at 10+ events and podcasts

• Quit my 6-figure corporate job in May

• Crossed 36,000 followers on LinkedIn

• Logged 768 miles (bike & run) - thx Strava

• Spent 1 month coworking in Argentina & Peru

• Flown out on my first brand trip (with HubSpot)

• Earned 106 five-star reviews for Creator Match

• Took Creators to a Chicago Bulls game (box seats)

• Paid out hundreds of thousands of $$ to LI Creators

• Paid 20+ LinkedIn Creators their first-ever paycheck

• Partnered with DREAM Brands (ie HubSpot, Notion)

• Hired our first full-time employee and grew the team

• Invited to speak at SXSW, VidCon, and CES next year

• 137,000 learners watched my LinkedIn Learning courses

• Built a software tool (launching on Product Hunt in January)

• Launched an entire platform for LinkedIn Creator Marketing

This year pushed me to my limits. Starting something you truly care about is no joke—it’s exhausting and amazing all at once. Behind every win was doubt, failure, and nights where I barely slept. It’s been a LOT, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

THANK YOU:

• To the Creators: Thank you for your creativity, your hustle, and for believing in this vision. Seeing you succeed is what keeps us going.

• To the Brand partners: Your collaboration turned ideas into impact, and we’re so grateful for the opportunity to build something meaningful together.

• To our entire community: This wouldn’t be possible without your support.

Here’s to dreaming big, taking risks, and continuing to grow together in 2025…