Update for the week ending Fri, 9 Jan, 2026

h/t to Michael Lynch’s Weekly Updates (which have been going on since 2019, for 352 weeks!) for inspiring my weekly updates.

Brave New Path: 2026 GPS (Goals/Plans/Systems)

• Did first mock interview w/ Client A

He is a new client who started in December, and this was the first interview he generated. He perfectly executed the Project 100 strategy!

It’s funny. He was so nervous for the mock with me that he almost canceled. He decided to push through and was very happy with the decision.

His feedback after the actual interview, “Hey Chiara, the interview went very well. She said that i am knowledgeable, have good experience and very motivated. The mock interview was amazing, definitely we should do this in the upcoming interviews.”

• Revised Program Overview / Month 1 Onboarding

The pain that drove this: Client A and I hadn’t talked for a month (laptop problems + holidays). Even though I took extensive notes, it was hard to get context back (where are we in the program? what’s next? did we already talk about Project 100?)

I wanted one page that would:

1. Make the roadmap clear
2. Act as a GPS: even if we jump around and don’t talk for a while, it’s easy to see where we are and get back on track
3. Separate activities (e.g. study lessons) from outcomes (e.g. UVP clarified). The goal is to solve the right problem, not finish lessons.

I was anticipating having a new client (Client F) start this week or next, so I wanted to take this as an opportunity to make the experience better for him. I’m pretty happy with the outcome.

• First meeting with new client K. We met in person in Cafelix, which always makes work more fun!

Here’s the UVP we came up with:

Frontend Engineer focused on building and modernizing legacy platforms designed to scale from the start, in regulated environments like healthcare and public sector, where accessibility, data security, and reliability are non-negotiable.

He’s very happy with it, that’s is so compelling and so true to him.

• Met w/ potential new client F. He’s starting next week!
• Wrote a new LinkedIn post: We call it a job market, but behave as if it’s a job exam.

I wanted to write something that:

1. Feels like a reflection for the new year
2. Shares my recent realization that we all call it a ‘job market’, but we don’t behave like it. I want to lean more into this concept, study other markets where supply vastly exceeded demand (like in the job market today), and find unexpected lessons we can apply to the immigrant job search.

• KPIs

Even though I missed most of my KPIs, I’m feeling confident because I already hit my outcome goals for the month: 2 new clients and > €3,200 in new revenue booked.

It’s not a sale until the money is in the bank... But Client F and I already scheduled our first month’s meetings, and he said he will sign up this weekend.

It's also my first week back after the holidays, so I’m giving myself a bit of leeway 😇

• LinkedIn Posts: 1 / 3
• New LI Connections: 0 / 25
• First Sales Calls: 0 / 2
• New Clients: 1 / 1 (every 2 weeks)
• New Revenue Booked: €1.65k / €1,600 (every 2 weeks)

Brave New Path: Product/Market Fit Roadmap (PMF Roadmap)

• Started creating Brave New Path’s Product/Market Fit Roadmap, based on Jason Cohen’s article: The roadmap to Product/Market Fit (PMF)… maybe

I think this is going to be the most transformative work I’ll be doing this year. In fact, I decided to prioritize starting to work on this over the LinkedIn connections (so I can hit that KPI), because I believe it’s that important.

chiaracokieng.com

• 2026-01-08 – On love as a competitive advantage and making profit the right way (after reading Jason Cohen)
• 2026-01-07 – The kind of product I want to build (and why I’m not pursuing a sensible opportunity)

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