Robert Bentley

Machine shops and manufacturers, this is worth checking out. Very inexpensive workflow management software that brings you new opportunities. Pretty cool.

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Most Software Is Solving the Wrong Problem Most cannabis compliance software is solving the wrong problem. And it’s costing operators more than they realize. Here’s what we mean: The majority of software built for US cannabis operators was designed around one core question, “how do we make Metrc easier?” It’s an understandable starting point. Metrc is painful. Operators hate it. So vendors built tools to make the reporting less awful. Tick the compliance box. Keep regulators happy. We call it Metrc middleware. And it’s everywhere. The problem? Metrc isn’t your business. Your business is product innovation, yield, batch integrity, quality, margin, and customer loyalty. And when your software is built around a reporting obligation instead of your operation — the real problems don’t go away. They just get hidden behind a compliance checkbox while your team burns hours on manual workarounds that should never exist in the first place. Batch genealogy gaps still exist. COA validation failures still happen. GMP workflow breakdowns still get solved with spreadsheets and late nights. We built Elevated Signals from the other direction entirely. Start with what a world-class cannabis operation actually needs — real GMP workflows, batch traceability, quality controls, production execution. Build those properly, and something interesting happens: Metrc compliance doesn’t become a burden you manage. It becomes a byproduct of doing your job well. Here’s the question worth asking about any software you’re evaluating: Was it built to make regulators happy? Or was it built to make your operation genuinely world-class? The answer tells you everything about what you’ll actually get. What’s been your experience? Drop a comment, I’d love to hear what’s working and what isn’t. 👇🏽 #Cannabis #CannabisOperations #CannabisCompliance #GMP #Metrc #CannabisTech #ElevatedSignals

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Poor people optimize for this week's paycheck. Middle-class people optimize for this year's promotion. Rich people optimize for the next decade's compound effect. That's why someone earning $200K annually can be broke while someone earning $60K builds wealth. One spends based on today's income. The other invests based on tomorrow's vision. You see this pattern everywhere: The entrepreneur who won't invest in ads because they're "losing money" for three months, not realizing month four is when pipeline converts. The professional who won't take a pay cut to learn high-value skills, not realising that skill will 10x their income in three years. The business owner who won't hire a $50/hour assistant to free up their $500/hour time, not realizing that delegation is what unlocks scale. They're all thinking in weeks and months. Not decades. Here's the framework: Every decision gets filtered through one question: "Will this matter in 10 years?" Spending time on tasks that make you feel productive today? No. Building systems that free your time for strategic work? Yes. Taking a course that costs $5K but teaches a skill worth $500K? Yes. Buying a luxury car to look successful? No. Investing in ads even when they bleed money for 90 days? Yes. Cutting ad spend the moment it doesn't work in week one? No. The math is simple but uncomfortable: Three months of struggle = nothing in the moment. Three months of struggle = the foundation for three decades of freedom. Most people can't stomach that equation. They need the dopamine hit of immediate results.  The validation of a steady paycheck. The comfort of knowing exactly what next month looks like. Rich people trade that comfort for compounding. The hardest part isn't thinking long-term.  It's acting long-term when everyone around you is optimising short-term. Your family will question you. Your friends will think you're irrational. Your bank account will test your conviction. But here's the truth: The people who think in decades don't just build wealth. They build freedom. They build options. They build lives where they're not trading time for money anymore. So ask yourself: Are you optimizing for this month or the next decade? Because the answer to that question will determine everything. What timeline are you thinking in right now?

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has the SaaS Death Spiral Begins? Lovable just raised £200 million for their vibe coding platform, but here's the kicker - content creator Riley Brown recreated Lovable's basic functionality in about an hour using Cursor. This raises the uncomfortable question: what's the point of paying for SaaS when anyone can build their own version overnight? full video https://lnkd.in/evQePXqf Kyle's take: SaaS is getting squeezed from both sides. Lower demand because customers can build their own tools, and higher supply because competitors can copy your software in hours. BUT most people won't bother building their own - they lack the mindset, skills, or time. The the moat now comes from distribution, not technology. The 80/20 rule has flipped: it used to be 80% building, 20% marketing. Now it's 80% marketing, 20% building. If you can't distribute, you're dead in the water.

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When Claude Opus 4.5 generates an Artifact, it doesn't just render a React app. It incorporates the business, files the LLC paperwork in Delaware, and closes a Series A funding round before the UI finishes rendering.

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Not every builder should be the pilot. Some founders are amazing at starting things… But not all are meant to scale them. Here’s a fact: Only 24 of the CEOs on the 2025 Fortune 500 list are founders. That’s just 4.8% and there’s a good reason for that. Because the skills that help you build a rocket… Aren’t always the same ones you need to fly it to the moon. As businesses grow, the game changes, the team changes. And sometimes… leadership needs to change too. It’s not about giving up. It’s about growing up for the sake of the mission. Think of Jeff Bezos. He built Amazon from a garage into a global giant. But in 2021, he stepped down as CEO. Why? To focus on solving bigger, deeper problems inside the company. That move might’ve just saved Amazon’s future. Smart founders know when to step back, not out of weakness, but out of wisdom. This is what great succession planning looks like. When leaders care more about the legacy than the limelight… Big things happen. Because scaling is not just about growing the product. It’s about evolving the leadership too. And that’s not failure, that’s strategy. P.S. Do you think founders should always stay in charge, or step aside when it's time to scale? #startups #leadership #founders #businessgrowth #ceoinsights

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This PFO strategy 3x'ed the replies for custom development contracts (in just 11 days with only 383 leads) Here's the breakdown 👇 For context: This Custom development agency was struggling to break through to decision-makers who get bombarded with "we build apps" pitches daily Most dev shops were making the same fatal error They led with their impressive tech stack instead of addressing real business pain Every other dev shop was making these 3 costly mistakes: - Leading with their tech stack instead of business outcomes (immediate delete) - Sending generic "we do mobile/web development" messages (zero differentiation) - Never mentioning the prospect's actual scaling challenges (shows zero research) I decided to flip the entire approach Instead of talking about what we could build, I focused on what was breaking Here's the tech stack we used: - LinkedIn Sales Navigator for identifying fast-growing startups - Clay for company intelligence and trigger events - Smartlead for personalized sequence automation - Calendly for technical consultation bookings The execution was methodical I identified 383 tech startups with recent funding rounds or rapid hiring sprees These companies were prime candidates for custom development needs Each message opened with their specific technical bottleneck, not our services I researched their job postings to understand their current tech limitations The sequence focused entirely on their growth obstacles and efficiency gaps I included relevant case studies from similar-stage companies in their exact industry And the RESULTS were: 16 replies from 383 contacts (4.18% reply rate vs. dev industry average of 1.2%) 13 positive responses meant 81.25% of all replies turned into qualified conversations $420K in custom development pipeline within 11 days 9 technical strategy calls booked immediately The difference was night and day Key learning: Startups don't want to hear about your coding skills - they want to know you understand their business constraints Always lead with their problem, never your solution Most agencies get this backwards and wonder why prospects ghost them --- P.S. If your custom dev outreach sounds like everyone else's, you're leaving 6-figures on the table. Comment "DEVELOPMENT" and I'll share the exact problem-identification framework that landed these contracts

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The first Vanta Frameworks for Growth interview just launched! Garry Tan from Y Combinator and I talked through lots of things, including: •  founders, how they've changed, and what YC looks for today •  vibe coding •  tractor sales in Iowa •  the age of AI, and how that's accelerating startups •  a mission to create more billionaires •  where he'd channel his intensity if he were just starting out today I'm excited for this one. Please let me know what you think!

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