Leaving the corporate comfort zone

Early in my career, I was working in the corporate world, climbing the ladder and achieving what many would consider a dream job. The six-figure salary and national leadership role checked all the boxes of traditional success. But the more time I spent away from my family and the more I poured myself into someone else’s vision, the more I realised I was living out a definition of success that wasn’t my own.

That realisation was the spark I needed. I knew I wanted to create, to solve problems, and to build something of my own. So I stepped off the corporate track and took my first leap into entrepreneurship.

Building and selling my first startup

That leap led me into the food delivery space. What started almost accidentally grew into 5 Star Food Express, a local delivery business that expanded rapidly and was eventually acquired by Delivery.com and TakeoutStar. That experience gave me more than a financial exit. It gave me a crash course in scaling operations, working with franchise owners, and most importantly, seeing opportunity where others didn’t.

The biggest lesson? Entrepreneurship is not about luck. It is about spotting problems that others overlook and being willing to solve them, even when it is uncomfortable.

Lessons from Argos Automation

After the food delivery exit, my tech-savvy side pushed me to experiment in the SaaS world. I launched Argos Automation, a workflow automation tool that simplifies lead follow-ups and daily operations. While Argos did not reach the same heights as my later ventures, it became a proving ground. It showed me firsthand the obstacles small businesses face, from landing their first client to scaling without burning out.

That perspective shaped how I would approach my next chapter.

Spotting the market gap that inspired Textdrip

In all of my ventures, one theme kept repeating. Businesses were losing opportunities because of poor communication. Emails went unread, phone calls were ignored, and there was no intelligent way to automate customer engagement through text messaging, even though SMS was the most direct channel.

I saw a gap. Most tools either ignored SMS or treated it as an afterthought. What businesses needed was an AI-powered platform that could automate and personalise SMS communication at scale. That insight became the foundation for Textdrip.

Today, Textdrip has grown into a million-dollar SaaS company, helping businesses turn missed opportunities into meaningful conversations. For industries like healthcare, where compliance and timing matter, this kind of intelligent communication can mean the difference between a lost lead and a loyal client.

The three keys that guided me

Looking back, every step of my journey, from food delivery to SaaS, was anchored in what I now call my Three Keys to Success:

Clear goals – success isn’t possible without clarity. Whether it was scaling my first delivery service or building a SaaS platform, I always wrote down specific, measurable goals. Having that focus kept me moving forward even when obstacles felt overwhelming

Healthy habits – entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. The small, consistent actions I built into my daily routine, networking, testing, iterating, compounded over time into results

Arrogant confidence – at first, I hesitated to even use the word “confidence,” because what I relied on often looked like arrogance. But the truth is, when you’re building something new, you need unshakable belief in your vision, even when others doubt you. That belief carried me through the toughest moments

As I wrote in my book, The Three Keys to Success, “If you want to be successful, you must believe that you, and you alone, are in full control of your destiny. Nothing and no one else has power over you”

These keys were not abstract concepts. They were practical tools that helped me navigate both failures and wins.

Redefining success

If there is one takeaway from my journey, it is this: success isn’t a destination, it is a lifestyle. For me, that means building businesses that solve real problems, spending time with my family, and maintaining the freedom to create on my own terms.

Entrepreneurship does not have to mean endless hustle or sacrificing everything for some far-off goal. It can mean crafting a life you actually want to live while building something meaningful. As I also shared in my book, “With the Three Keys to Success, I’ve found it is possible to create this kind of life. You can be successful and live in a way that doesn’t require making constant sacrifices or burning yourself out”