A New Chapter: Tensi Sold, TRIBE Ahead

We’re back after a few weeks off (much needed). Did some traveling, had my niece stay with us for 2 weeks, and sold a business! (see more below)

So I won’t bury the lede here. After building Tensi for the past couple of years, I’ve made the decision to sell the company to TRIBE.

(TRIBE initially offered to buy my sneaker collection for an undisclosed (read: large) amount of cash, but I said no and offered Tensi instead 😎)

About Tensi

Tensi was a peer group designed for entrepreneurs running businesses that generated over $1 million in annual revenue. We cultivated a community of just over 30 members who paid an annual fee of $5,000 for access to moderated monthly meetings, networking opportunities, and expert speakers like Mark Brooks, Secret CFO and Josh Schultz.

While we successfully created a high-value community, scaling Tensi was HARD. Our pod-based model required assembling groups of eight members who met our stringent criteria. It was a time consuming process that I greatly underestimated.

Still, Tensi operated on a financially sound model. We ran on a yearly membership model. That allowed us to collect cash up front and provide services throughout the year. But most importantly, it allowed us to have a negative cash conversion cycle.

So Why Sell?

Scaling Tensi to its full potential required a crap ton of time. And I was the only sales person. I spent hundreds of hours on sales calls. And because we wouldn't accept everyone who applied, a lot of these calls didn't result in new members. It was awesome to meet so many entrepreneurs out there. The stories I heard about people building businesses was awesome. But ultimately, it was a task I couldn't manage if I wanted to grow Tensi even larger.

So I sat down one day and realized that if I truly wanted to maximize Tensi's growth potential, it needed more dedicated resources and expertise than I could provide at the time. I mentioned this to a few folks and a good friend (@cofoundersNik) suggested that I reach out to Trenton at TRIBE to discuss a potential partnership.

The TRIBE Opportunity

Selling Tensi opened the door for an awesome opportunity to invest in a company with tons of potential: TRIBE. TRIBE is all about building a strong, supportive community, just like Tensi, but on a much bigger scale. By joining TRIBE as an advisor, I'm excited to share my knowledge and help them grow even faster.

TRIBE throws amazing in-person events and already has a pretty big online community. This creates a powerful platform for members to connect and win. I think this approach has the potential to totally change the way networking is done and become a huge player in the industry.

Joining TRIBE aligns perfectly with my love for building communities and helping entrepreneurs. I'm looking forward to use what I learned from Tensi to make TRIBE even better.

What’s Next for Me?

With Tensi in the rearview mirror, I'm excited to focus on my existing businesses and explore new ideas.

United, my facility management company, just hired an awesome general manager. This frees me up to focus on the big picture stuff while the team takes care of day-to-day operations.

Pavago, my offshore HR solutions company, is also on a tear. We’re now over 20 employees and increasing that sweet sweet MRR every day seemingly. We have some exciting launches coming there soon so I’m really excited about what’s happening there.

Given that both United and Pavago are keeping me busy, I'm gonna take some time to recharge and figure out what's next. If I learned anything from the Elon bio, it’s don’t jump from one thing right into the next. (I’m convinced this is how he chose to buy Twitter and quickly realized his mistake). I'm open to starting something new, but for now, my main focus is on growing these two businesses.

I'm excited to see how United and Pavago continue to grow and change the game.

Conclusion

Selling Tensi was a big milestone in my entrepreneurial journey. I'm proud of what we accomplished with Tensi, but I'm even more excited about what's to come. And hell, I’m proud of myself! (cuts on THank God 4 Me)

Joining TRIBE as an advisor allows me to help another cool company grow while I focus on scaling United and Pavago.

Strong communities and supportive networks are what make entrepreneurs successful. Tensi and TRIBE are both great examples of this, and I'm lucky to have been a part of both.

If you’re interested in joining other awesome entrepreneurs in the TRIBE community, you’ll find more info here.

I'll keep you updated on my progress and would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

Thanks for your continued support!

-CM