Unscalable

Lee Gladish is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Airborneapp and Reply.  His latest company, Airborne, was recently acquired by Demand Science in July 2021. In this episode, we geek out on all things entrepreneurship and startups. So, if you're thinking of starting a business, or you're about to launch one, then this episode is for you. 

In this episode, Lee talks about:

• How to overcome the fear of launching your product
• How to decide on a target market and why it's important to pick a niche 
• How to attract early adopters to your startup
• How  to get on the radar of a potential acquirer
• Why it's important to start marketing before building
• Why you should consider raising a seed round

Plus, Lee shares his thoughts on the future of sales.

--

Connect with Lee on LinkedIn.  

Hiten Shah is the co-founder of Crazy Egg and KISSmetrics. He is currently on his 3rd startup, which was previously called FYI – and now Nira.  In this episode, we dig into the lessons he learnt after starting FYI and then pivoting to Nira. 

In this episode, Hiten talks about:

• How he realised he needed to pivot the company
• Why he decided to rename the business after the pivot
• What he might've done differently early on to avoid the need to pivot
• The different types of pivots a company goes through
• Pivots vs hops

Plus, Hiten shares mental models and frameworks to help you decide whether it's time to pivot your own business.

--

Connect with Hiten on LinkedIn and Twitter.  

Phil Starkovich is co-founder of TubeBuddy, a productivity tool for YouTube. TubeBuddy was acquired in October 2020 and Phil attributes a lot of their success to the fact that he operated the business in a very generous way.  Instead of maximising revenues, he chose to give discounts and free upgrades. As a result, TubeBuddy attracted the attention of YouTube experts and educators who helped them reach exponentially more customers.

In this episode, Phil talks about:

• Why he decided to start TubeBuddy back in 2014
• What led to him deciding to sell the company 
• The mental models he adopted to face this life-changing event
• The pivotal things he did as CEO that resulted in TubeBuddy's success
• What he'll be doing next

Plus, Phil shares why he put his energy into building real relationships in an unscalable way and how it led to TubeBuddy's amazing growth.

--

Connect with Phil on Linkedin.
Install TubeBuddy to grow your YouTube channel faster.

An area that's often overlooked in the workplace is wellness. We all know we need to pay attention to our employees. Yet so often, we ignore the warning signs and are surprised when we receive a letter of resignation – seemingly out of the blue.

Martine spoke to Leora Mofsowitz, a Functional Medicine Health Coach, to learn how we can take better care of ourselves and our teams.

In this episode, Leora talks about:

• How a health coach can help your business
• Warning signs that an employee is about to resign
• The role work-life balance plays in productivity
• Superhero status and its flaws
• How to scale wellness in the workplace

Plus, Leora shares her 4 core principles that can be applied to everyone's belief system.

--

Connect with Leora on Linkedin.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast, then this episode is for you! Matt Halloran is Partner and Chief Relationship Officer at ProudMouth, where he helps clients use the power of podcasts to create an online presence where their customers and fans come to them – no ads or sales pitches needed! 

In this episode, Matt talks about:

• Why ads and sales pitches are no longer effective
• The benefits of starting a podcast
• How to use a podcast to accelerate your influence
• How to grow your podcast audience
• How to measure ROI for a podcast
• How to start your own podcast

Plus, Matt shares why he adopts an unscalable, human-centric approach to serving his clients. 

--

Connect with Matt on Linkedin or subscribe to his podcast, Top Advisor Marketing Podcast, where he teaches you how to become a prolific online influencer, attract more ideal clients and grow your business.

Eric is a successful marketer, investor, and businessman.  He recently released the book Leveling Up, where he shares a fun new approach to unlocking your potential for greatness.

In this episode, Eric talks about:

• How he famously bought his agency for $2
• Why he tries to view business with a long-term lens
• How he evaluates investment opportunities
• Whether SEO is still relevant
• The future of advertising
• How to stand out in an incredibly crowded market
• The marketing channels that have led to his biggest successes

Plus, Eric shares the secret he uses to scale his content production across so many different channels.

--

Mentioned on the show

• MicroAcquire
• The Snowball: Warren Buffet and the Business of Life
• Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game
• HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company
• The Messy Marketplace: Selling Your Business in a World of Imperfect Buyers 
• Agile M&A: Proven Techniques to Close Deals Faster and Maximize Value
• Eric on The Pump Podcast
• People Analyzer

--

Eric is an incredibly successful marketer, investor and businessman.  He is also the chairman of the agency, Single Grain and has worked with companies such as Amazon, Uber and Salesforce. Eric hosts two podcasts, Marketing School with Neil Patel, and Leveling Up. 

Order Eric's new book at Leveling Up or connect with him on Twitter and Instagram. 

In this episode, we're joined by Ryan Born, co-founder and CEO of Cloud Campaign to discuss their recent $5M Series A fundraise.  

Ryan talks about:

• Why Cloud Campaign chose to go the VC route vs remain bootstrapped
• How to approach a VC and how these firms typically work
• How to ensure you have product-market fit
• When you know if it's the right time to hire
• Why it's so hard to hire developers right now
• And much more!

--
Connect with Ryan on Linkedin. Follow him on Twitter and Medium.

--
The story behind Cloud Campaign's Series A:
Following Significant Growth, Cloud Campaign Raises $5M to Scale, Hire

Gavin founded Sendible back in 2009 and after the company took off, Martine quit her teaching job to join him in the company.

In this episode, recorded prior to Sendible's acquisition, we talk about:

• Why Gavin broke the "no friends and family rule" to allow Martine in. 
• Why Gavin created a fake employee and made Martine use her maiden name at work. 
• Some of the mistakes Gavin would've made if Martine hadn't been involved. 
• The rules Gavin put in place to ensure Sendible didn't become a family business. 
• The pros and cons of working with your spouse. 
• And much much more...

We want to hear from you

• Send an email to [email protected] or leave us a voice message!
• Connect with Gavin on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Gavin founded Sendible back in 2009 and after the company took off, Martine quit her teaching job to join him in the company.

In this episode, recorded prior to Sendible's acquisition, we talk about:

• Why Gavin broke the "no friends and family rule" to allow Martine in. 
• Why Gavin created a fake employee and made Martine use her maiden name at work. 
• Some of the mistakes Gavin would've made if Martine hadn't been involved. 
• The rules Gavin put in place to ensure Sendible didn't become a family business. 
• The pros and cons of working with your spouse. 
• And much much more...

We want to hear from you

• Send an email to [email protected] or leave us a voice message!
• Connect with Gavin on Twitter and LinkedIn.

In this episode, Gavin is joined by Giles Palmer to discuss the story behind Brandwatch's recent $450M sale to Cision.  

Giles talks about:

• How he celebrated the deal
• Why he decided to sell the company after 14 years
• How the team reacted to the news
• His most challenging period as CEO
• Why he loves competition
• The operating system he used to scale Brandwatch to 550 employees

Plus, Giles shares how he used an unscalable approach to maintain a strong company culture.

--
Giles is the founder and former CEO of Brandwatch, a leading social media listening tool. He built Brandwatch from nothing to a team of over 500 employees with 2000 customers and over $100m in ARR. After launching the company almost 14 years ago, Brandwatch was recently acquired by Cision for $450 million.

Connect with Giles on Linkedin and Twitter.

--
The playbook that Giles used to scale Brandwatch's operations:
The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni