Leveling Up with Eric Siu

The greatest predictor of human longevity, apart from genetics, is close ties and social integration. According to today’s guest, research has shown that even the success of a business can be traced back to the oxytocin levels (the chemical released when you feel a connection) found in the bodies of its employees. Jon Levy is the founder and host of Influencers, a private organization that arranges dining experiences dedicated to bringing together exceptional people and thought leaders. He is also a behavioral scientist and author who has a new book coming out, titled You Are Invited, about how to create connection, trust, and a sense of belonging. In this episode, John talks about how the human brain is wired for novelty, why networking events and swag bags are a waste of time, and how to genuinely foster human connection. Tune in and learn about the IKEA effect, the Mere-exposure effect, and an art heist at the Louvre that will blow your mind!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:13] An introduction to Jon Levy.
• [01:48] John talks bout the dinners he hosts with 12 high-profile people who can only share their names or professions once they have cooked a meal together.  
• [02:30] How the human brain is wired for novelty: people do really well when they’re doing something just outside their skillset. 
• [03:45] The state of peaking in performance: when you’re doing something that’s fully engaging, you lose all sense of self-consciousness.
• [05:01] Jon talks about Shane Snow’s book, Smartcuts, and the value of momentum. 
• [06:31] Jon shares his background as a human behavioral psychologist
• [07:55] Thoughts on Youtuber, MrBeast.
• [09:09] Jon’s main focus on increasing the connections between people.
• [10:50] How the definition of a close friend has changed: why Gen Z is the loneliest generation. 
• [11:45] An introduction to Jon’s book, You're Invited; how to create connection, trust, and a sense of belonging.
• [13:04] Why Jon wrote the book: to share the importance of and misunderstandings about human connection.
• [14:38] Jon explains the IKEA effect and why we care about what we put effort into.
• [16:05] Using his book as a guide to figure out the ideal way to connect with people.
• [16:43] Jon addresses some of the commonly held misperceptions about how to meet people.[17:38] Why he found memorable stories to demonstrate his lessons. 
• [18:37] An example of one of his stories is an art heist at the Louvre that demonstrates the Mere-exposure effect. 
• [21:54] What else is Jon reading: Breathe about the Wim Hof method of fire breathing.
• [23:25] What breathwork has done for Jon.
• [26:30] How to find Jon’s book and other resources.

Resources From The Interview:

• Jon Levy

• You’re Invited 

• You're Invited: The Art and Science of Cultivating Influence

• Influencers

• Smartcuts

• MrBeast

• The 2 AM Principle: Discover the Science of Adventure

• Breathe

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Connect with Eric Siu: 

• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

• Eric Siu on Twitter

Today on Leveling Up, Eric looks at the social media trends for 2021. He gives a breakdown of what’s growing in popularity and what’s declining or leveling out. He gives a breakdown of his five favorite social media platforms right now and provides some insightful advice as to where you should or should not be targeting your efforts right now in terms of growth potential, competition, and organic reach. To level up on your social media game, tune in today!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:14] Eric introduces this topic with a breakdown of trends in the usage of each platform.
• [02:28] Eric explains why he is most excited about YouTube.
• [03:20] Why LinkedIn is currently Eric’s second favorite platform: organic reach is strong.
• [03:40] Number three is Twitter: it enables Eric to interact with some of the smartest people in the world through DMs.
• [05:00] Number four is podcasting.
• [05:23] Why starting a blog in 2021 is a bad idea.
• [05:33] How to choose which social media platform to target: Go for low competition and high organic reach.
• [06:16] Start with one platform and branch out from there.

Resources From The Interview:

• Pure Research 

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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Why Clubhouse Will Fail

In today's episode, Eric continues his series on Clubhouse by explaining some of the major obstacles facing its success. He talks about how he became addicted to it, built up a following, and spent a significant amount of time on it, before dropping his usage by 90%. Hear about the problems with Clubhouse's execution, monetization, and follower retention, as competitors like Twitter and Facebook launch their own versions.  

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:19] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [00:23] How Eric started using Clubhouse in December 2020.
• [00:54] Clubhouse’s success among course-creators and coaches.
• [01:26] How Eric ended up spending 30 to 40 hours a week on Clubhouse.
• [02:12] Why Eric’s usage of Clubhouse dropped to 4 hours a week.
• [02:41] The emergence and threat of copies by competitors like Twitter and Facebook.
• [03:08] Copying may not kill you: Snap Chat / Snap is still successful despite being copied.
• [03:33] The problem with Clubhouse’s android app.
• [03:52] The threat of Clubhouse being ‘out-executed’ by its competitors. 
• [04:29] How people are not spending as much time on Clubhouse as they did in the past.
• [04:32] The question of monetization.
• [05:49] Despite its problems Eric hopes that Clubhouse succeeds.
• [06:02] Let Eric know your thoughts in the comments, subscribe, and like.

Resources From The Interview:

• Clubhouse 

Leave Some Feedback:

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

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• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

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In today’s episode, Eric shares the SEO strategy that he has found to be significantly more valuable than link-building: relationships. Find out how he came to believe that content and links were the two most important things for SEO and the lengths he went to to get links before he realized that relationships were far more beneficial. Tuning in today, you’ll also learn how you can build relationships and establish networks that will get you links but also have a much bigger payoff in the long term.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:13] An introduction to today’s topic.
• [00:19] A breakdown of Eric’s businesses and how he came to believe that the two most important things for SEO are great content and links. 
• [01:00] Creating linkable assets, guest posts, directory links, and other things Eric did in the past to get links.
• [01:44] How social media and email provide touch points for building relationships. 
• [02:03] Eric shares examples of the time-consuming nature of relationship building.
• [04:08] Why you should focus on relationships rather than links. 
• [04:28] By fostering relationships, you're no longer just asking for links; you’re building a network and forming partnerships and collaborations.
• [04:50] Some examples of how relationships have created networking opportunities for Eric.
• [05:38] If you focus on long-term relationships, you get so much more than a short-term link.
• [06:55] Why you should continue to create linkable assets, but prioritize the relationships over the links.

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

In today’s episode, Eric shares his thoughts on Apple’s new Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and analytics feature called Podcast Connect. He explains how one of its features enables podcasters to add different channels for SEO, email, and paid media, among other things, to group or curate episodes. Eric compares this to the membership platform of Supercast and breaks down the pros and cons of each. To find out whether or not Eric will be making use of Apple’s new features and why, tune in today!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:13] An introduction to Apple’s new Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and analytics feature Podcast Connect.
• [01:09] How Apple has enhanced their podcast analytics: Stepping things up because they have been losing ground to Spotify.
• [01:29] New feature: You can add different channels for SEO, email, paid media, to group or curate episodes.
• [01:45] Eric compares Apple Connect to Supercast and breaks down the pros and cons of each:
• Apple doesn’t provide much data, Supercast takes a percentage of revenue but gives you more control. 
• [03:04] Some of the features offered by Apple Podcasts Subscriptions: Exclusive content, ad-free listening, and access to additional content.
• [03:57] Why it may make sense to launch a transcription on both.
• [04:57] The earning potential from Apple Podcasts Subscriptions.
• [05:40] How much the Market School Podcast makes per month on subscriptions. 
• [06:02] A recap: It has analytics from Apple, a Podcast Next section, and the ability to add subscriptions. 

Resources From The Interview:

• Apple Podcasts
• Podcast Connect
• Spotify
• Chartable
• Supercast

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

Startup Secrets with Activision Co-Founder Howard Marks

Welcome back to another episode of Leveling Up hosted on Clubhouse! Today’s guest is Howard Marks, the legend behind Activision and Acclaim who has recently been pioneering crowdfunded investing with his company StartEngine. We are also lucky enough to have Alisa Jacobs from Queens Gaming Collective and Jin Yu from Vezt Inc joining us as mediators to this discussion. Howard tells the story of acquiring Activision and bringing it back from the dead, weighing in on some of the classic games it released under him and the strategies he used to keep it afloat to the point where it became a dominant voice in the industry. Our conversation with Howard gets into some of his key motivators, a big one being a passion for disruption, and how it fueled his previous work in gaming and current endeavors in the capital-raising space. We move onto StartEngine and Howard talks about leveraging the Jobs Act to merge crowdfunding and investing, his belief in funding companies and founders on the fringes, his goal to fund thousands of new businesses each month, and a whole lot more. We also open up the floor to a bunch of different people in the Clubhouse chat who ask brilliant questions all centered around building a successful startup, from how to land funding to defending yourself from the competition. Tune in today!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [02:12] The story of acquiring Activision, moving to LA, and the innovations that followed.
• [12:53] Alisa Jacobs from Queens Gaming Collective introduces herself and her company.
• [14:48] Further details of Howard’s process of acquiring Activision.
• [17:10] Trouble Activision was in and Howard’s process of reinvigorating it.
• [21:36] Feeling things out, thinking in decades, and utilizing lawyers and bankruptcy.
• [23:48] What drives Howard and why he started StartEngine, and how it has evolved.
• [38:53] How StartEngine is innovating in the landscape of raising capital using crowdfunding.
• [44:02] The three core pillars of a successful crowdfund.
• [45:25] A brief description of how to utilize Clubhouse to connect with new friends.
• [48:29] Qualities Howard looks for in founders that make him want to fund them.
• [51:47] Howard’s belief in having an impossible mission and how he arrived at it.
• [53:59] The mission, values, stated goal, strategy hierarchy.
• [57:44] What industries Howard is most fascinated with.
• [59:12] Whether StartEngine invests in Latin American companies.
• [1:01:45] How to defend yourself against bigger competitors in your industry.
• [1:03:20] When to start raising capital and what investors look for in early-stage companies.
• [1:07:52] The importance of aligned KPIs and OKRs with your investors
• [1:10:25] How the conversation around equity crowdfunding has changed.
• [1:14:39] Hear how servicing companies would get funding from StartEngine.
• [1:17:04] Howard’s perspectives on startup opportunities in the cloud gaming sphere.
• [1:20:47] Creating a minimum viable product and balancing school with entrepreneurship.
• [1:23:45] Advice on getting the gaming and tech community to adopt your technology.
• [1:25:50] What is preventing StartEngine from funding thousands of companies per month.
• [1:27:52] The lack of purpose in pitches by passionate people on Clubhouse.
• [1:32:50] When to know whether to take on more funding if it is available.
• [1:36:11] Howard’s favorite game of all time.

Resources From The Interview:

• Howard Marks
• StartEngine
• Activision
• MechWarrior 2
• Blizzard
• Alisa Jacobs
• Queens Gaming Collective
• Jin Yu 
• Vezt Inc.
• Angels and Entrepreneurs
• Brandon Beck

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

How I Sold $65,000 of Books Using Clubhouse

While Clubhouse might not as big a thing that some have been professing it to be, that does not mean that it has no use to you and your business. In today's episode, Eric explains how he used the Clubhouse app to spark $65,000 worth of book sales and the smart methods he used to up-sell certain customers. Tuning in you will hear about NFTs, what it takes to build Clubhouse credibility, and more!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:11] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [00:29] The rooms that Eric hosted on Clubhouse to boost his sales of Leveling Up.
• [01:31] Time that Eric spent building relationships on Clubhouse in early 2021. 
• [02:15] How Eric redirected conversations on Clubhouse to the bulk orders page on his website.
• [03:50] The possibility of selling NFTs on Clubhouse and the money that is currently being made.
• [04:44] Concerns about the future of Clubhouse and why it might not beat out its competitors.
• [05:04] We'll see you tomorrow! 

Resources From The Interview:

• Leveling Up

• Giselle Ugarte
• Leveling Up Bulk Order 

• Time Magazine 

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

What Is The Creator Economy?

Today’s episode is all about the creator economy and what this means for you. Listening in, you’ll hear about the recent success of platforms such as Cameo, Substack, and Clubhouse and how more and more money is going to the creators themselves. We talk about how being a creator and being an entrepreneur are increasingly becoming the same thing and discuss our fundamental desires to create, the many existing channels through which we can create, and how, by making a small investment of time every day, you can become a successful creator. Be sure to tune in today!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:16] An introduction to the creator economy.
• [00:23] The recent success of platforms such as Cameo, Substack, and Clubhouse.
• [01:03] How more and more money is going towards the creators themselves. 
• [01:20] How the creator is becoming an entrepreneur, and the entrepreneur a creator.
• [02:20] What “creator economy” actually means.
• [02:55] How the system is reversing: Now you build up an audience and then you build up the business.
• [03:08] The growing trust in individuals and the growing distrust in large conglomerates and government. 
• [04:00] The four forms of leverage: code, capital, labor, and media
• [04:45] The fundamental human desire to create things.
• [04:50] The things we want to achieve through creating.
• [05:14] The many opportunities currently available for those who want to be creators.
• [05:35] The creation versus consumption ratio.
• [06:06] The time investment required to become a successful creator.
• [06:25] Like and subscribe for more!

Resources From The Interview:

• Cameo
• Substack
• Clubhouse
• Garry Tan on LinkedIn 
• NBA Top Shot

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

Why Clubhouse Is NOT The Next Big Thing

Despite us investing a significant amount of time on Clubhouse this year, there are good reasons to believe that the new platform will not, in fact, be the next big thing. The chief reasons for this come down to the amount of hours that are necessary to gain any sort of traction, and the competitors that are rising up to challenge Clubhouse in the drop-in audio game. Tune in to hear all about why you can still use Clubhouse, but should avoid going all-in on it.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:15] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [00:22] The amount of time Eric has spent on Clubhouse early in 2021.
• [00:46] Drops in engagement with the platform and the spike in Clubhouse's competitors.
• [01:27] The difficulty of establishing a user base and how this counts against Clubhouse.
• [02:29] How copying occurs across these social and business platforms.
• [02:37] The drop-in audio revolution; no going back from here!
• [03:28] Healthier usage hours and managing the way to interact sustainably with the app. 
• [04:21] The ratio of time to value on Clubhouse; difficulty in weighing the immediate benefits.
• [05:29] Don't forget to subscribe!

Resources From The Interview:

• Clubhouse
• Mark Cuban
• Fireside
• Slack 
• Leveling Up 
• Shaan Puri  

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

How to Use AI to Generate Copy for Ads, Social and More with Paul Yacoubian

Welcome to the first episode of Leveling Up which is being hosted on Clubhouse! Today’s guest is Paul Yacoubian, Co-Founder, and CEO of Copy.ai. Generating quality content is a huge part of any marketing endeavor, which is why it can be so time-consuming. This problem is slowly fading away though thanks to Copy.ai, which leverages OpenAI’s GPT-3 language-generating library to generate all your content for you! Our conversation with Paul is all about the applications for Copy.ai, his philosophy of building in public, and what libraries like GPT-3 mean for the future of education and business. Paul talks about some of the use cases of Copy.ai, highlighting how it can help users run different copywriting tests very quickly and is a great way of building an audience organically for smaller businesses who can’t afford paid ads yet. Paul also does a great job of explaining the evolution of OpenAI’s GPT libraries and just how high-quality the language generating tools they offer are becoming. We then tackle the subject of building in public, and Paul weighs in on his method of doing this as well as the benefits it offers for building an audience and attracting investor capital. In the last part of the episode, we open up the floor to some of the other participants in the Clubhouse group, and talk about how GPT-3 heralds a future where kids will be building successful companies and retiring before they finish high school!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [00:56] An intro into Copy.ai and the copywriting services it offers by leveraging GPT-3.
• [02:40] How Copy.ai helps users generate new post or advert copy variations for them to test. 
• [04:44] An explanation of GPT-3, a language generation AI tool that powers Copy.ai.
• [08:44] The argument for building in public; how Paul has followed Elon Musk’s example.
• [14:22] Metrics Paul shares in his monthly reports and the role this plays toward building in public.
• [15:45] Growth rates and MRR for Copy.ai. 
• [16:35] Paul’s thoughts on the sustainability of a business leveraging an open-source AI.
• [18:45] Social media channels Paul is showing up on to build his organic reach. 
• [19:30] Free trials Open.ai offers and how they make money via month-to-month and subscription packages.
• [22:17] Business trends like the creator and passion economy that Paul is excited about. 
• [17:05] Why Paul’s favorite business book is Rich Dad Poor Dad.
• [18:38] A business tool of Paul’s which is a recent favorite.
• [24:08] The easiest way to find Paul online and learn more about Copy.ai.
• [24:25] Eric Wu talks about how he is using GPT-3 on this episode’s Clubhouse group.
• [28:51] The percentage of articles we read on the internet that are AI-generated.
• [29:21] How the best content creators are using GPT-3.
• [31:08] A few examples of creative copy written by Copy.ai.
• [33:06] The next leap of AI-generated content and how Copy.ai will leverage that.
• [34:29] What AI-generated content means for the school syllabus and the future of business.
• [39:29] How kids will retire before finishing high school and where they should go to learn business.
•  

Resources From The Interview:

• Paul Yacoubian on LinkedIn
• Paul Yacoubian on Twitter
• Copy.ai
• OpenAI
• Elon Musk
• Eight Sleep
• Slack
• Eric Wu
• Chris Lu

• Must-read book: Rich Dad Poor Dad

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