Which Apps for Business?

#Episode 5 _ Which Apps for Business_ Discussing with Sarah Sal from Hootsuite - Which Facebook Ads 

Clubhouse, the audio-only app designed to be a virtual conference hall, generated heavy buzz during the peak of the pandemic and received a $4 billion valuation earlier this year. In the months since then, that excitement seems to have cooled, reports The Times, on Oct 14th, a week back.  

The company CEO, ᴘᴀᴜʟ ᴅᴀᴠɪᴅꜱᴏɴ, was quoted sharing on Wednesday: “𝗕𝗼𝘆, 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿,” adding “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆, 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵.”  

Clubhouse essentially lets users host their own online radio shows. Listeners tune in to hear interviews or panel discussions and can participate in live chats. The platform has drawn appearances from 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱𝘀, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝗹𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝗰.’𝘀 𝗘𝗹𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝗰.’𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗭𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴, and inspired copycat apps.  

Since I’m a notoriously curious digital marketer I reached out to𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼-𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗸, 𝘄𝗲’𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝟰 𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 we were particularly keen on asking - all of which would fit the key question umbrella: “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝗯𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲?’'.  

We’ve discussed 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺-𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴,  and 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 amongst other 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯. All this, in spite of the assumed decline in the app usage, which many associate with now fewer restrictions caused by the pandemic and so less audio-companionship being saught-after.  

Regardless of the somewhat challenging angle taken on by some of our questions, Grey's answers remained professional and detailed, hence me proudly inviting you to listen in, share your view on 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙡𝙪𝙗𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙞𝙩 and let us know what would be your star rating you'd allocate to the type of questions we've prepared for Greg. As true curious marketers, we'd be keen to know.  

As always, very grateful for 'Which Apps for Business?' Podcast team who have worked hard to support these episodes: 

 - Jonathan Fink, co-moderator (IG: @mapped.city)  

- Daniela Cantâr, Sound Producer (IG: @moldovan_abroad)  

- Maria Jardan, Graphic Designer (IG: @maria_jardan_)  

Very best, 

Nadya Birca, 'Which Apps for Business?' Podcast Creator  & Moderator,  

Project Brought to you by STEPP Growth Academy

On this episode of Which Apps for Business, myself, Nadya Birca and Jonathan Fink have sat down with Xenia Muntean, the CEO of the content marketing collaboration and approval platform - Planable.  

 🥁 Over 5,000 brands such as Christian Louboutin, Viber, Hyundai, and the United Nations, use Planable in their day-to-day operations. Prior to launching Planable, at just 20 years, Xenia founded a digital marketing agency and led social for prominent clients such as Coca-Cola.  Xenia was featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 list and spoke on the Innovation Stage at Cannes Lions in 2018. She graduated from Tim Draper’s startup academy in Silicon Valley and participated in the Techstars London Accelerator in 2017 with Planable.  In 2019, Xenia published a book – The Manifesto on Content Marketing Team – and has launched a podcast, People of Marketing, where she talked with high-profile guests from the marketing industry, such as Kevin Young, Head of Audience at The Economist, and Stuart Stobbs, Chief Creative Officer at McCann1886.  Since we've launched Which Apps for Business? podcast to support growth marketers and young entrepreneurs to help them choose the right apps and tech stack for their business some of the key questions we've asked Xenia revolved around:  

🎯optimization of her own and her team's workflows, 

🎯 what was the day-to-day of a social media marketer BEFORE and how is it looking AFTER Planable was launched: is it making a difference?  

🎯 does it help solve a real issue for social media marketers and  

🎯 what are some of the most common challenges it helps address?  During an interview of almost an hour we've tackled various angles: Planable as a platform, as a viable entity with its own needs and constant 'wants' (another way of describing the R&D:). I was pleasantly surprised for instance that the C-funded high-growth start-up feeds its roadmap from its clients' feedback, both the roadmap and the feedback being openly and publicly available for customers to upvote and comment on new releases. Some of Xenia's quotes I depicted from our conversation:   - 'We've come up with the app idea when during our day-to-day agency workstream we've found ourselves drowning in neverending comms aiming to simply approve a social media post or an ad. Communication between teams was fairly fragmented and we've had to start mocking up fake accounts to help clients visualize new content in a form of a Facebook timeline or an Instagram feed/layout. Obviously, not an ideal scenario:). We didn't want to waste our time fighting for views and approvals hence how - Planable was born🚀'.  Tune in to hear for more, simply join in our 'fireside chat', take a step forward and let us know what have you enjoyed most, which parts you'd love to hear more of (or less of:),  let's have a discussion point to get to a format you'd value most in the long run.  

Gratefully yours, Nadya and Jon  

Project proudly brought to you via STEPP Growth Academy https://bit.ly/stepp-growth-academy

Were you ever in need of a qualified legal service on-the-go? Much like a GP service or a Tutor service on-the-go. More so, how convenient would it be to be able to simply DM a lawyer when you need a quick and professional answer to react as agile as can be to a new challenge? Of course, we'd rather not have to face any of the such, however as online tech is diversifying and paperwork is notably shrinking, we're now finding more doors ready to get opened, which - let's face it - wouldn't have happened as much, had it not been for the pandemic.

In this episode, I'm getting deeper beneath the surface of on-the-go convenience looking to find out what makes such an app a fairly revolutionary tool and what's its long-term potential given its current business model? Most likely, you'd be surprised no less than I have been when you'll hear what makes its business model different from the rest. As for me - aside from a fulfilling conversation with Jillie, I've also found out how important is the power of nurturing laser-focused questions and spot-on answers. Check below for highlights:

00:01:22.040 - 𝐉𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞: Lawzyapp is basically a very 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗮 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 $𝟰𝟬 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝟰𝟴 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀. So for me, I was a divorce attorney for about four years before I decided to do Lawzy. And 𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗮𝘄𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵. And sometimes you just have a question, right?  

00:02:03.600 -  𝐉𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞: 𝘓𝘢𝘸𝘻𝘺 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳, where you can download this app, you select an area of law,  you type out your question and that sent out to a lawyer and you receive a response.  

00:02:39.520 - 𝗡𝗮𝗱𝘆𝗮: What was your motivation behind investing your time and effort to start developing the app concept?

00:02:41.460 - 𝐉𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞: Sure, we started Lawzi pre- covid and in our digital world. And I think especially for millennials, which I would say is our audience. We're always on our phones. And when we did consumer research, we found people weren't really using desktops unless they were at work. You might not want to ask a question through your computer where we have a sense of privacy in our phones.  And if anything, law which has been kind of this archaic industry where we don't like change, we're now being forced to shift and change, and so It's just a great entry point for where Lawzy is.  

00:04:21.050 - 𝐉𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞: And so we thought, When people make better-informed decisions, they live better lives, and then it has a bigger effect on communities. 𝙒𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙇𝙖𝙬𝙯𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙧. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡. And while we have the tools to do that, what about the entrepreneurs that don't have the money to hire a full-time lawyer? What about the person who has just a contract issue?   

00:05:35.450 - 𝐉𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞: 𝙞𝙛 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙬𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙙.👏

On this episode of Which Apps for Business, I sat down with Marc Randolph, the 1st CEO and Creator of Netflix, during an exclusive Clubhouse interview generating record attendance of over 2,7K live listeners! 

Marc is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, investor, and mentor. Now let’s have a dive into the interview key highlights. Enjoy! 

Some of the key insights shared by Marc during the interview:  

Marc on legacy: 'Don't pass on the torch, pass on the flame!' . 

Marc on Corporate culture: 'Culture is what you do. And I think especially now that everyone is talking about company culture, everyone thinks they have to design something. It means nothing if you don't actually do it, and the best way to do it is to have the culture represent who you are. So that whole long preamble basically says that the Netflix culture is not some genius invention (in spite it being considered globally the most famous open to the public deck on what corporate culture should look like). But the problem is that when companies get bigger, all of a sudden, all kinds of other things get in the way...'  

Tune in to listen to the interview and let us know what have you enjoyed most, which parts you'd love to hear more of, let's have a discussion point, and perhaps in the near future we could have another fireside chat with Marc.  

Gratefully yours, 

Project founder, Nadya  

Project set up via STEPP Growth Academy https://bit.ly/stepp-growth-academy

Sharing below my grateful note for their hard work and support on the project:

Podcast Editor: Daniela Cantir, IG @moldovan.abroad

Podcast Graphic Designer: IG @Maria_Jardan

My Co-moderator and a friend of almost a decade now - Jonathan Fink.