Back After 2 Months: The Ultimate Lock-In

Two months ago, I hit pause. After nearly 100 interviews, late nights, and lessons learned, I decided to step away from my podcast. It wasn’t an easy call to make. I loved those conversations, but the truth is, growth had stalled, advertisers weren’t biting, and my energy was getting pulled elsewhere.

That “elsewhere” is what I’ve been building for the past four months: a cigar media company called Stogies and Steals. And it’s been one of the most exciting, challenging, and validating periods of my career so far.

I’ve missed writing to you, though. With 22,000 of you on this list, I feel a responsibility (and honestly, a privilege) to share the journey. So consider this the start of a new chapter.

Before we dive in—shoutout to our sponsor, Orbit Marketing, the team helping businesses launch newsletters that actually drive results. If you’ve been thinking about starting one, they’ll help you get it off the ground fast.

Let’s Start With Career Updates

I turned 26 this year, and I’m navigating corporate America in my own way. Recently, I was promoted into a role handling our company’s top 15 accounts, which represent $10 Billion+ in spend every year.

Most people in these seats are 40+ with decades of experience. I got here by parlaying my founder background, 100+ CEO interviews, and a (sometimes delusional) confidence that I belonged in these rooms.

Entrepreneurship is glorified right now, but here’s my contrarian view:

💨 Building Stogies & Steals

When I looked at the cigar industry, I saw legacy, tradition… and zero innovation. Advertising was nearly impossible, and yet demand was massive. That was the opportunity.

So four months ago, I launched Stogies & Steals. Here’s where we are today:

• 475,000+ social views in the last 90 days

• 19,000+ newsletter subscribers

• $4,000 MRR already (ads+partnerships)

• A paid community soft launch → 75+ members, 5,000 on the waitlist

• On track to hit $10k/month in ad sales plus $2–4k in subscriptions in the next 6 months

All with just me, a part-time VA, and an overseas videoceditor. The power of lean teams + AI is real.

Lessons I’ve Learned Recently

Here are the biggest takeaways from the past few months:

• Sacrifice is the price of goals. Everyone wants success. Few want what it costs.

• Delusional confidence is underrated. Convince yourself you can, and often, you will.

• AI is a founder’s cheat code. I’ve never written code in my life, but in under an hour, I built and deployed a landing page with AI — and got a paying customer. (This was not possible 12 months ago)

• Leverage the system. A high-paying sales job with flexible hours is the smartest move young entrepreneurs can make. Learn, sell, storytell on someone else’s dime.

The Ultimate Lock-In

On the personal side, life is hard, no matter where you’re at. Don’t think you’re alone in that. For me, the next six months are what I’m calling the “Ultimate Lock-In.”

• Starting my new high pressure role at work

• Scaling Stogies & Steals faster every week

• (Possibly) stepping into a part-time sales director role at a fast-growing company

• Getting married in February

• Finally locking back into the gym, health first

It’s time to lock in and I’ll be taking you along for the ride.

That’s the update. Thanks for sticking around while I figured out my next chapter. I don’t take lightly the fact that 22,000 of you give me a few minutes of your time each week.

Talk soon,
Andres (Instagram)