Emir Sahmanovic

Inquirer
DISC Type : cd

Co-founder & CEO at Forge (YC W24)

San Francisco, California, United States

Overview

Emir Sahmanovic is the Cofounder and CEO of Forge, a YC and Google-backed startup automating import tariff refunds. His background is in aerospace, where he was a lead propulsion engineer at Stoke Space and Blue Origin, contributing to advanced rocket engine development after graduating from Virginia Tech.

Emir maintains a strong passion for space exploration and follows advancements in AI, such as new GPT models. He applies a bold and transparent approach to startup growth, openly sharing marketing experiments and solutions for operational challenges like email deliverability.

His engineering team at Stoke Space was the fastest ever to go from initial seed funding to a successful rocket engine hot fire test.

Personality Overview

Hard To Convince

ROI Conscious

Demanding

They don’t always try to control the conversation but neither do they like yielding it fully.  They respond well to confident salespeople. They focus on objectivity in a pitch and pay little attention to bells and whistles.

Topics They Care About

Import Tariffs
His company, Forge, is built to help businesses get refunds on import tariffs and duties, a topic he has publicly posted about.
Rocket Propulsion
Has deep experience as a lead propulsion engineer at Blue Origin and Stoke Space, working on critical rocket engine components like the BE4 Spin Start Assembly.
Startup Marketing
He shares experiences with scaling marketing, from running a Times Square billboard ad to optimizing email deliverability for outreach.

Media Appearances

Emir has no verified media appearances

Work History

4-2023
Co-founder & CEO at Forge (YC W24)
12-2021 - 4-2023
Propulsion Engineer at Stoke Space
3-2019 - 12-2021
Propulsion Engineer, Turbomachinery at BLUE ORIGIN
8-2017 - 2-2019
Mechanical Engineer at L3Harris Technologies
5-2016 - 5-2017
Lead Mechanical Engineer at Hyperloop at Virginia Tech

Education

2013 - 2017
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from Virginia Tech
W24 from Y Combinator

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 9 Location : San Francisco, California, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Co-founder & CEO at Forge (YC W24)
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Insights For Selling To Emir

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Stress on the business value that your product offers
  • Make sure that you you respond to any queries from them quickly
  • Highlight the competitive differentiation of your product

DONT's

  • Do not give up if they are not convinced, try again with a different approach
  • Refrain from asking too many questions
  • Don't try too hard to get friendly, let it happen with time

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Emir is

  • Conviction in the product matters to them, followed by proof points and strong testimonials.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Emir

  • They may not be very forthcoming, but they will say no if needed.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Emir move?

  • They are neither the fastest decision makers nor the slowest.
  • Can Emir take some risk or not?

  • They can take risks but after weighing up the pros and cons.

You And Emir

Personality Compatibility


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