What does it take to turn a startup into a $100 million exit?

For Yasen Dimitrov, the Co-founder of IntelligenceNODE, the answer is one word: patience.

In this episode, Yasen shares the unvarnished story of his 12-year journey, which began after leaving a promising career at Boston Consulting Group with a simple mantra: "if you're not learning, just leave." He recounts starting IntelligenceNODE with a former colleague, living in a one-bedroom Mumbai apartment with the grand vision of being the "Bloomberg for Retail," only to face a market that wasn't ready.

Yasen gets candid about being a self-described "slow-starter," the grueling pivots from India to the Middle East and Europe before finally cracking the US market, and the continuous 12-year fundraising struggle. He then walks us through the entire M&A process, from the strategic decision to hire an advisor—which turned one potential deal into ten options and five firm offers—to closing the acquisition with Fortune 500 company, IPG.

This is a masterclass in resilience, strategic pivoting, and the art of engineering a successful exit.