March 30, 2020

LU 349: How Attest CEO Jeremy King Uses Data to Perfect Consumer Research

30 minutes

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.