Leveling Up with Eric Siu

Today using funnels for conversions seems like a vital part of marketing your products but so much of that is thanks to our guest for today, Russel Brunson. Russel is the CEO of Click Funnels, a SaaS product that provides everything you need to market, sell, and deliver your products and services online through funnels. Click Funnels is approaching $200 million in revenue and they haven't raised a cent in venture capital, so our conversation with Russel today is mostly about the funneling strategies they use to make this possible. First up though, Russel tells the story of Click Funnels’ conception, which involves his initial entrepreneurial ambition of selling DVDs containing instructions for making potato guns. After learning about sales funnels through this venture, and then developing Click Funnels, Russel found that nobody even knew what sales funnels were. We hear from him about how this problem led him to write all his books, which both act as instruction manuals for using and optimizing funnels but also behave as funnels for his company. This leads Russel to speak about the other clever ways he converts people into customers and keeps Click Funnels growing, such as webinars and challenges. Other interesting tidbits from today’s episode are the stories of how Russel made $3.2 million selling Click Funnels to the audience of Grant Cardone’s 10X event, and how Apple completely blocked his number one podcast. As you’ll find out in this episode, Russel’s love of storytelling is a key feature of his success, so make sure you catch this interview. 

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [00:22] An intro into Russel, Click Funnels, and their revenue despite raising no venture dollars.
• [00:57] Potato gun sales funnels and how that led to Russel’s partner coding Click Funnels.
• [02:24] How Click Funnels makes money through tiered SaaS subscriptions.
• [03:04] Russel’s use of funnels in such a way that Click Funnels doesn’t pay for growth.
• [04:24] Funnel shelf lives and how Russel rotates through different funnels to keep fresh.
• [06:29] How Russel’s books guided customers to see they needed his product.
• [06:30] Using, optimizing and getting people into funnels: Russel’s three books.
• [10:16] Marketing Click Funnels to different communities through Funnel Hack events.
• [12:09] How customers’ need for Click Funnels informs Russel’s view on giving free content.
• [13:46] Why Russel shut down his lucrative mastermind at the top of his funnel.
• [14:28] Russel’s love of storytelling and why he wants Click Funnels to be worth $1 billion.
• [15:15] Storytelling over techno-babble: learning how to sell your product.
• [17:11] How Russel sold $3.2 million worth of SaaS on stage one year and failed the next.
• [20:13] Russel’s confusion around why his podcast got choked by Apple.
• [17:11] The top three funnels that work the best: books, webinars, and challenges.
• [21:57] Timeframes for when Russel makes new funnels.
• [22:26] Russel’s must-read books and favorite business tools.

Resources From The Interview:

• Click Funnels
• Russel Brunson

 

• DotCom Secrets

• Expert Secrets

• Traffic Secrets

• Unlock the Secrets

 

• Funnel Hacking Live
• Gabe Schillinger
• 10X Growth Con
• Traffic Secrets Website
• Expert Secrets Website
• Secret Funnel Strategy Webinars
• One Funnel Away
• Salesforce
• Opidis
• Joovv

 

• Must read book: Behind the Cloud, American Kingpin

 

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Connect with Eric Siu: 

 

• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

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Should you create content in today's climate? In today's episode Eric talks about how to deal with imposter syndrome and how to build a habit around making content.

During these unprecedented times, Eric is opening up a live Q+A to help you protect your mental clarity and grow your business. You see, it doesn't matter how good you are at marketing and sales if your mind isn't screwed on right during turbulent times.

If your mind isn't screwed on right, you're screwed. Your mindset will affect your diet, how often you train, how you sleep, how you communicate and much more. Sometimes, life comes at you and you have to learn how to weather the storm. That's the theme for right now: to navigate the rough seas. 

ConvertKit is one of the biggest success stories of the 2010s online business world. Today we are joined by their founder and CEO Nathan Barry! Nathan started ConvertKit after realizing the value of email marketing and the ways in which companies were missing important parts of the service he envisaged. We get to hear about this part of the story, leading up to the beginnings of the company and then the early successes that they experienced after launching. A completely transparent company, Nathan shares a lot of vital and interesting statistics from ConvertKit before we get into Nathan's strategy for targeting new customers that has served them so well. He also emphasizes the importance of storytelling at ConvertKit, believing that customers do not only buy into the service but also the story. We discuss product-led growth, ConvertKit's recent adoption of the freemium model and public appearances that Nathan makes at the moment, so do not miss it!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [00:44] The full range of services offered by ConvertKit and their company mission.
• [01:08] Nathan's background in design, blogging, and writing, and how this led to ConvertKit.
• [02:59] Early days at ConvertKit and the success they experienced from the get-go.
• [04:02] Nathan's approach to entrepreneurship and why he chooses to focus on one company.
• [07:29] Growth phases for the company and how long it took to get up to 100k MRR.
• [10:17] The pricing model at ConvertKit and how they charge. 
• [10:57] Important numbers from the business and their choice to be transparent.
• [11:53] Smart targeting and the lessons that Nathan learned about zeroing in. 
• [15:01] Nathan's social media strategy and becoming visible to new prospects.
• [15:57] ConvertKit's choice to make the shift to a freemium model recently. 
• [19:56] Benefits of a great free and product-led growth.
• [21:10] The role of webinars and podcasts in the trajectory of ConvertKit.
• [24:50] How many podcast appearances Nathan makes at the moment.
• [25:53] Nathan's must-read book recommendation!
• [26:21] A great tool for business growth according to Nathan.
• [27:32] The founder and company that Nathan is currently following.

Resources From The Interview:

• ConvertKit
• Nathan Barry 
• Nathan Barry on Twitter
• Tim Ferriss 

 

• App Design Handbook

 

• MailChimp 
• Pat Flynn 
• Why I Switched from AWeber to Infusionsoft to ConvertKit
• Gretchen Rubin
• ConvertKit Baremetrics  
• HubSpot
• Chris Guillebeau  
• Figma 
• Vlad Magdalin  
• Webflow

 

• Must read book: Anything You Want

 

Leave Some Feedback:

 

• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.

• Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here

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Connect with Eric Siu: 

 

• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

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Raising capital is an essential part of a founder’s journey, and until recently this process has been rife with barriers due to legal restrictions since the Securities Act of 1933. Enter today’s guest, Howard Marks, who has been working to democratize the capital raising space in his capacity as CEO and founder of StartEngine. Howard’s firm helps startups raise capital more easily by utilizing recent Reg D, Reg Crowdfunding, and Reg A Plus legislation, thereby bringing them closer to achieving their dreams. We kick off our chat with Howard hearing about his fundamental mission to help all entrepreneurs succeed and the amazing updates at StartEngine since the last time he came on the show, such as how they have raised over 150 million dollars so far! He talks about the extremely low price point StartEngine sets funding barrier at, before sharing the three things that any company seeking funding should be doing. We get into some of the legalities around capital raising in the history of the US, and Howard reiterates how recent lifts on restrictions is allowing StartEngine to remove the barriers to deal flow for angels. He shares some of the ways he vets new companies looking to raise capital and also talks about common mistakes entrepreneurs make during this process. Our conversation digs a little deeper into Howard’s philosophy of setting an ‘impossibly’ high goal for his company, and he explains how it all fits into the foundational ideas of the American Dream. Our chat winds down with some of Howards most favorite books, useful tools, and an argument for why Tesla is such an inspiring company. Make sure not to miss this great conversation about new developments in the capital raising space!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[00:58] The mission at StartEngine and updates on its progress.[03:17] Allowing investors to invest in companies earlier; LiquidPiston’s success story. 
[05:58] The extremely low bar StartEngine sets funding rounds at.
[06:20] The catch: not all companies can drive the excitement that LiquidPiston did.
[06:37] Three things any company looking to raise money should do.
[08:39] Removing barriers to deal flow (the name of the game in the VC world). 
[10:05] How regulations to investing implemented in the 1920s were lifted somewhat in 2012.
[12:00] The five-week process that companies need to undergo to work with StartEngine. 
[13:56] How StartEngine vets the value of companies seeking funding.
[15:33] Legal red tape to raising money publicly or privately since 1933.
[17:09] Newer, more open regulations since 2016 that StartEngine works within.
[20:14] Whether funding according to Regulation C could get you sued or not.
[23:32] Mistakes many young entrepreneurs make raising capital around work and execution.
[25:58] Capital raising, the American Dream, and why StartEngine’s mission is so big.
[28:40] The value of having an unattainable vision for reaching further.
[30:40] Why the leadership and software at StartEngine outdo their competitors.
[31:26] Shattered dreams, raising wrong, and the story of Howard’s work with Sugarfina.
[36:35] Where investors can go to buy a business or merge with a company.
[40:20] Howard’s favorite book, business tool, and company.

Resources From The Interview:

• Howard Marks on LinkedIn
• Howard Marks’ Blog
• Activision
• StartEngine
• LiquidPiston
• Lyft
• Uber
• Tesla
• Apple Pay
• Marc Andreessen
• Sequoia
• Charles Schwab
• Kickstarter
• Knightscope
• Clickflow
• Ford Motors
• Microsoft
• Josh Resnick
• Sugarfina
• Rosie O’Neill
• Flippa
• FE International

 

• Zero To One

• Lean Startup

• Innovator's Dilemma

 

• Slack
• Google Docs
• WordPerfect
• Elon Musk
• Oaktree Capital
• Howard Marks of Oaktree
• Must read book: Sapiens, The Fountainhead, Business of Platforms

 

Leave Some Feedback:

 

• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.

• Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here

• Subscribe to Leveling Up on iTunes

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Connect with Eric Siu: 

 

• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

• Eric Siu on Twitter

 

 

Today on Leveling Up we are joined by the CEO of BELAY, Tricia Sciortino! BELAY is a virtual staffing solutions company that provides clients with the assistance they need in order to grow. Tricia was recently promoted to the role of CEO after 9 years in the COO position at the company, having been the first employee of BELAY in 2010! We talk about working remotely and the benefits this has offered BELAY's clients and, indeed, BELAY themselves. Tricia talks about what an exciting journey it has been watching her company and the industry in general grow over the last decade. She shares about how BELAY offers a solution to the problem of finding great employees and partners and the ways in which BELAY goes above and beyond some of their competitors. Tune in get it all!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[01:05] Tricia's work history leading up to and during her employment at Belay.
[03:35] The difference between BELAY and other virtual assistant services. 
[06:29] The rigorous vetting system that BELAY employs with candidates.
[07:09] How BELAY makes money and gets customers started on their service.
[08:10] Assistant buy-out and full-time employment of a BELAY candidate.
[08:48] Growth rates at BELAY and their standing in relation to similar companies. 
[10:01] The roster and range of services that are offered through BELAY.
[10:20] Lead sources at BELAY; referrals, advertising partnerships and sponsorships. 
[11:30] Important lessons that Tricia has learned in the assistant space.
[13:42] Tricia's own practices with her assistant and benefits of constant communication. 
[14:54] A favorite business book selection from Tricia!
[15:10] A great growth-tool recommendation from our guest. 
[15:31] Who Tricia is currently following and inspired by!

Resources From The Interview:

• BELAY
• Tricia Sciortino on Instagram
• OptinMonster
• Bryan Miles
• UpWork

 

• The 4-hour Workweek 

 

• eHarmony 
• Inc 5000 
• Salesforce
• Zoom  
• Sarah Blakely
• Spanx
• Gary V
• Ariana Huffington
• Thrive
• Michael Hyatt 
• Daymond John
• Grant Cardone

 

• Must read book: The Founder's Mentality

 

Leave Some Feedback:

 

• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.

• Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here

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Connect with Eric Siu: 

 

• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

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On the show today we welcome the CEO and founder of Attest, Jeremy King. Attest has become the leading consumer growth platform that has grown from a team of 27 to 90 employees in just one year. The story of how the company was founded is an unusual one as Jeremy worked and was schooled as a scientist who, after his time at a global management consulting firm, also did his MBA. He talks about his passion for empiricism and his strong philosophy of data-based decision-making, and it is this drive that led him to start a business that eliminates all the guesswork around potential customers and markets. Jeremy shares about their primary clientele, the various subscriptions packages the offer, how they approached fundraising for a product that can be complex to explain, and what their best sales pitch looks like. He also differentiates between Attest’s mission and vision, makes a case for Harvard Business School, talks about their go-to-market tool stack, and shares what he learned from Charles Darwin and Alexander Agassiz in Reef Madness.   

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[00:57] Jeremy’s science background and passion for empiricism and data-based thinking. 
[01:30] Working for the McKinsey consulting firm in over 25 different countries. 
[01:40] The difficulty with meeting and understanding the customers you don’t have yet. 
[02:03] When Attest was founded, where it is based, expansion plans, and what their vision is. 
[02:47] Their primary clientele and how they help them to target customers more effectively.
[03:46] Attest – One platform that can be used in a wide range of ways. 
[04:17] Helping clients better understand consumers to increase their growth. 
[04:39] Making money through a subscription service: A Saas platform in your browser. 
[05:14] The price range of the various subscription packages on offer.
[05:57] Approaching the fundraising process with a complex message. 
[06:59] Their mission of making the market much bigger by making customer research simpler.
[07:35] Key lesson from his diverse background and experiences before Attest.
[09:40] The motivation behind Attest’s quick and trusting onboarding process.
[10:37] Why Jeremy still recommends Harvard Business School and its vibrant network. 
[12:04] Going from a team of 27 to 90 in 2019, their exponential growth, and net retention. 
[13:39] The six components of company culture at Attest and how it is lived. 
[16:17] The larger the organization, the more important for each person to live out the culture. 
[16:36] Learning about the value of pre-onboarding from other SaaS companies in the UK. 
[18:01] The vision of Attest: the elimination of guessing when it comes to prospective markets.
[18:57] On a mission to make it easy to acquire data so no guesswork is needed.
[19:48] Growth by simplifying the proposition and showing clients how Attest applies to them. 
[22:08] What we can learn from Zoom: Doing the simple things well.
[23:10] Key thoughts about Charles Darwin and Alexander Agassiz in Reef Madness.   
[25:50] Using the most popular go-to-market tools, and all about the Singapore #StartupStack. 
[28:06] Being inspired by ProfitWell’s product marketing and how they explain what they do. 

Resources From The Interview:

• Jeremy King on LinkedIn
• Attest
• SaaStock
• David Attenborough 
• McKinsey & Company
• SaaSociety
• Crunchbase
• Qualtrics
• Kantar
• Harvard Business School
• Zoom
• Pendo
• Stripe
• Singapore #StartupStack on SlideShare
• ProfitWell
• Patrick Campbell

 

• Must-read book: Reef Madness and Prisoners of Geography 

 

Leave Some Feedback:

 

• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.

• Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here

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Connect with Eric Siu: 

 

• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

• Eric Siu on Twitter

 

Today we have Christina Stembel, the founder and CEO of Farmgirl Flowers, joining us. After years of trying to raise capital, Christina realized that the only way she could retain the integrity of her business vision was to bootstrap the company – and it paid off in a big way. Being a female founder, she came up against the many implicit biases around women-owned businesses and failed to get the investments many other male-owned companies pulled off without showing any results. Today, Christina has the only female-owned large-scale e-commerce B2C flower company and made a remarkable $32 million in revenue last year. She talks about her business philosophy of high-quality, being entirely self-taught, how she saves on marketing, establishing a healthy company culture, leadership, and her secrets to building a superstar team. 

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[00:35] The origins of Farmgirl Flowers as a business, not a passion project.
[01:33] Using the In-N-Out Burger business model and applying it to the flower industry.
[02:12] The philosophy of doing something simple with excellence while reducing waste.
[02:39] Almost running out of money a year and a half in and deciding to bootstrap.
[02:50] Nine years later, 165 employees, and finishing 2019 with over $32 million in revenue. 
[03:15] The investment offers they have had being situated in Silicon Valley.
[03:20] Actively trying to raise capital for three years and why she turned down three offers. 
[03:59] Not compromising but building the healthy, sustainable company she envisioned.  
[04:31] The implicit biases she encountered as a female owner trying to raise capital. 
[05:03] Being the only female-owned large-scale e-commerce B2C flower company.
[05:46] Not fitting the model for most VCs with a perishable product and small margins.
[06:38] Higher quality at higher price points and other ways Farmgirl Flowers makes money.
[08:05] The benefit of not having to spend what competitors do on marketing.
[09:49] Christina’s self-taught knowledge about flowers, logistics, and distribution.
[10:05] Working at Stanford University as the head of catering and how that prepared her. 
[11:09] Taking five and a half years to afford and get national shipping off the ground.
[12:36] Their goal of opening two distribution centers and another one in 2021.
[13:31] How Christina has learned to be a better leader and the mistakes she initially made.
[14:24] Spending at least 20% of her time on her team and building the right culture.
[15:08] The irony of being told that she is “unfundable” because she doesn’t have a team. 
[16:12] Building a superstar team by hiring people that no one else would believe in. 
[17:12] Learning about vulnerability as a leader from Brené Brown. 
[18:13] The importance of being thoughtful and strategic about business growth. 

Resources From The Interview:

• Christina Stembel on LinkedIn
• Farmgirl Flowers
• In-N-Out Burger
• Kevin O’Leary on Women-Led Businesses
• Brené Brown 
• Katrina Lake on LinkedIn
• Stitch Fix
• Must-read book: Anything by Brené Brown!

 

 

Leave Some Feedback:

 

• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.

• Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here

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Connect with Eric Siu: 

 

• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

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Hey everyone! Today, I share the mic with Ismael Wrixen, group CEO of FE International, the market leader in the sale of SaaS, e-commerce, and content businesses. Ismael is a returning onto the show to fill us in on recent developments at FE.

Tune in to hear Ismael talk figure jumps in revenue and deals, why the firm prefers using a cash on success pricing strategy over retainers and the quantity ratios and strategy differences between FE’s handing of deals in E-commerce, SaaS, and content spaces respectively.

Click here for show notes and transcript

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Hey everyone! This week, I share the mike with Steli Efti, Founder and CEO of Close, an inside sales CRM.

Tune in to hear to learn the kind of feedback you should be looking for, how to ensure the best product-market fit and how Close relies on content marketing and podcasting to help them grow and be successful.

Click here for show notes and transcript

Leave Some Feedback:

• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.
• Did you enjoy this episode? If so, leave a short review here
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 Connect With Eric Siu: 

• Growth Everywhere
  
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Hey everyone! Today, I share the mic with Liam Martin, founder of three companies: Time Doctor, Staff and Running Remote.   Tune in to hear how long you should expect to wait before seeing success from your SEO efforts, how to build a remote team at scale and how Liam is able to balance running his three companies.

Click here for show notes and transcript

Leave Some Feedback:

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 Connect With Eric Siu: 

• Growth Everywhere
  
• Single Grain
  
• Eric Siu on Twitter