He shut down his last startup and gave the money back—then hit $1M ARR in 6 months. | George, Founder of Monk

George had to wind down his last startup and give investors their money back. He went deep into the valley of despair, certain he'd missed his window to build something big. Then he met a co-founder, decided to start over, and started selling.In this episode, George breaks down how a customer signed a $36K pilot off nothing but a Loom and a one-pager, how cold email took him from zero to $1M ARR with no sales team, and why a "seven out of ten" is the most dangerous hire you can make.Why You Should ListenHow a customer signed a $36K pilot after a single Loom and zero calls.Why he gave the money back on his last startup—and what "follow your energy" really means.How cold outbound email built his first $1M ARR with no sales team.Why a "seven out of ten" is the most dangerous hire you can make.Keywords startup podcast, startup podcast for founders, product market fit, finding pmf, fintech, accounts receivable automation, AI agents, cold outbound email, B2B SaaS, Series A fundraising, services as softwareChapters00:00:00 Intro00:01:39 The Moment of True Product Market Fit00:03:33 Shutting Down a Small-Market Startup00:07:44 Picking Fintech From Five Ideas00:17:12 From Black Box to Full App00:24:47 $1M ARR on Cold Email Alone00:36:11 Why a "Seven" Is the Most Dangerous Hire00:42:15 Compressing a $25M Series ASend me a message to let me know what you think!