Leveling Up with Eric Siu

In this episode, we talk about the importance of being patient in business. As entrepreneurs, it is easy to fall into the comparison trap and want to move as quickly as possible. Eric talks about the similarities between compound interest and business success and why a slow and steady approach is the best-kept secret out there. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:29] The comparison trap that many entrepreneurs tend to fall into. [01:27] Avoid comparing yourself with someone who has been in business for longer than you. [01:40] The magic number of years it takes to really see success and gain traction. [03:08] Experience compounds in the same way interest does, so be patient! [03:53] What Eric has learned from trying to achieve things too quickly. [04:59] There is no such thing as quick success, despite how it may appear. [05:39] Pre-order Eric’s book from your favorite bookseller. Resources From The Interview: Albert Einstein Warren Buffett Chai with Pabrai 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Welcome to Growth Bites, a shorter format of Leveling Up, where Eric provides daily insights to help you step up your game. In this episode, we talk about why copywriters are the best hire you can make, the contributions they make to your business, and where to find the best ones in the business. Be sure to 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! [00:52] Why Eric believes the best hire you can make is a copywriter. [01:18] Hear about some of the skills that copywriters have. [02:11] Eric’s positive experience of working with copywriters. [03:25] Some of the best copywriting books out there, according to Eric. [03:53] Words are what help products to sell. [04:25] Advice for those looking to find the best copywriters out there. [05:30] How to get your hands on the first chapter of Eric’s upcoming book. Resources From The Interview: Marketing School Podcast Agora Financial Breakthrough Advertising The 16-Word Sales Letter Ben Settle Leveling Up 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Email productivity ranks highly on the list of desirable outcomes for business owners, and today we have Rahul Vohra on the show, the brains behind the fastest email experience available, Superhuman! Rahul explains the philosophy behind the company and why the product has created its own buzz, more than anything. We get into some of the early periods of their story and the work that Rahul did before founding Superhuman too. Rahul does a great job sharing some of the secret sauce that has gone into the success he and his company have experienced, giving a detailed rundown of their marketing funnel and the important conversations he had with customers early on. We touch on the power of word of mouth, gaining the attention of the right investors, and how a history in game design has informed the way that Rahul thinks about email. Their tool is such a great example of finding a need in the market and servicing it with almost pinpoint accuracy, and the way that Rahul and his team have gone about this is truly inspiring, you will not want to miss this! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:46] Rahul's backstory leading up to his work on Superhuman. [01:23] How Rahul's company, Rapportive, was acquired by LinkedIn. [04:24] Some interesting financial and business metrics of Superhuman! [06:04] The marketing strategy around the launch and waitlist model of Superhuman. [07:49] The methods that Superhuman used for customer development and how they generated such intense loyalty. [11:30] The power of word of mouth marketing combined with small paid experiments. [13:04] Efficient customer meetings and injecting a company into the news cycle. [19:21] Clarifying the customer funnel at Superhuman! [21:00] Rahul's reflections on working with Marc Andreessen. [24:02] Getting the attention of big venture capital firms; different routes to explore. [27:28] The influence of game design on Rahul's philosophy towards Superhuman. [30:39] The exciting future of Superhuman that has Rahul looking forward! [31:20] Business trends that Rahul is currently excited about as an angel investor. [32:09] The music tool that keeps Rahul on track and productive! [32:32] Two great book recommendations from Rahul. [33:13] Connecting with Rahul online and on social media. Resources From The Interview: Rahul Vohra on LinkedIn Superhuman Rahul Vohra on Twitter Andreessen Horowitz Netscape Marc Andreessen Todd and Rahul's Angel Fund Brain.fm Must read books: The Art of Game Design, Gardens of the Moon 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Today we have Melanie Deziel, the founder and chief content officer at StoryFuel, a company that equips marketers, creators, and sales professionals with the skill and strategies that they need to tell better brand stories. Because human beings are storytellers by nature, we connect far better with stories than cold, hard facts, and Melanie helps people to leverage brand narratives to promote their businesses by speaking to people’s emotional side. For her, good content marketing is audience-centered and focuses on their needs and wants, so you should consider content that educates or helps them through a certain process – that’s why good DIY videos get so many views! In this episode, Melanie talks about her background working for large media brands, why she decided to go on her own to pursue entrepreneurship, and the different ways they teach brands about content marketing. She dishes out some tips for finding inspiration and creating captivating brand stories and how they help people to get past their limiting beliefs and start producing the content they have always talked about. Also, be sure to check out her new book The Content Fuel Strategy in which she shares all her expertise and best practices! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [01:52] Melanie’s background in journalism and how she got involved in content marketing. [02:24] Hear about the big media companies she worked for, including The Huffington Post. [03:00] Discovering that going on her own would offer her far more business opportunities. [03:33] Their focus on educating brands about creating and leveraging content for marketing. [04:40] How they make their money through speaking engagements, consulting, coaching, etc. [05:53] Where most people fall short with content marketing – not putting the audience first. [07:12] Why brand stories will always be relevant to the impression we make on others. [08:20] Examples of how our everyday experiences can be rich sources of inspiration. [09:08] Using process-focused, ‘how to’ content, and other advice for telling better brand stories. [11:14] The advantages of thinking like a journalist and how to apply it to content marketing. [12:56] How ‘content therapy’ helps people conquer their limiting beliefs about creating content. [14:08] Melanie talks about The Content Fuel Framework and what readers will get out of it. [16:07] Hear how the Inbox When Ready plug-in can help you keep control of your inbox. [17:42] How the books Exactly What to Say and How to Be Antiracist changed her life. [18:26] The best people to teach you about using Twitter and the entrepreneurial journey. Resources From The Interview: Melanie Deziel on LinkedIn StoryFuel The Content Fuel Framework AnswerThePublic The Huffington Post The New York Times They Ask You Answer Content Marketing Institute Native Advertising Institute HubSpot Inbox When Ready Rand Fishkin on Twitter Must-read book: Exactly What to Say and How to Be Antiracist 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Today we have Timothy Sykes on the show! Tim is the CEO of TLC Media, which is an educational community that allows members to interact with the best traders online. Their philosophy is one of transparency and so the experts on the platform, including Tim, show all their wins and losses. Our guest is also the co-founder of Karmagawa, which is a social charity, dedicated to improving living conditions and the environment around the world. Tim currently funnels all of his stock trading profits into this cause and one of his main goals is to inspire and help others to give more! Tim tells us about his approach to the aspects of his life, from being real and leading by example, to differentiating yourself in a market. We also get into some thoughts on going viral and Tim's attitude of experimentation for his wide-ranging ventures. He explains his commitment to playing to his strengths and outsourcing the rest, before we discuss a long term attitude towards success and putting impact over profits. Tim urges listeners to get loud and get attention, and makes a strong case for more honesty in the business and trading worlds. To hear it all from an energetic and impactful figure, join us today! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [01:03] Tim's social and charity work and the resultant founding of Karmagawa. [02:28] The transition Tim made from focussing solely on materialism. [03:36] The financials around Karmagawa and how it remains possible. [05:30] Tim's aspirations to inspire others to give more! [07:26] The optics of charity and getting away from looking slimy and fake. [08:52] How Tim stays abreast of all the issues he wants to help with. [10:34] An overly busy schedule and Tim's continual challenge of keeping up! [12:01] How Tim's educational business operates; the lessons he offers from TLC Media. [12:59] A look at the growth of TLC Media and the speed at which this happening. [14:09] Tim's focus on his strengths and the employment and outsourcing around those. [16:20] This moment in history; remote work, considering health, and bringing back morality. [18:31] Tim's daily routine content stack; trading, charity work, eating, and more! [19:56] The pricing at TLC Media for different programs. [20:29] The evolution of Tim's business strategy and marketing plan. [21:20] Changes in the mission and the ongoing task of cutting through the BS. [23:39] Tim's advice for growing your Instagram account and going viral. [27:01] Throwing everything out there to see what sticks; forget about the strategy! [29:19] Impact over profit — gaining credibility through honesty. [30:41] The business trends that have Tim excited right now. [33:47] The media that Tim has recently enjoyed the most. [35:29] Tim's must-read book recommendation: Hit Makers. Resources From The Interview: Timothy Sykes TLC Media Karmagawa Bow Wow Chuck Finney Bill Gates Warren Buffett Robinhood CELCIUS Elon Musk Tesla Evernote mmhmm Kardashians Medici Game of Thrones Dan Bilzerian Must read book: Hit Makers 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Joining us on Leveling Up today is the CEO of kovai.com, Saravana Kumar! Kovai is an enterprise software company, and we get to hear from our guest about their past, present, and exciting future! Saravana is an amazing person and an excellent entrepreneur, who has a number of balls in the air. Apart from his main work at Kovai he is also dedicated to helping the community and spreading skills and wealth to people beyond himself! We talk about establishing a community in a niche market, something that Kovai has done so well in the last few years before we get into their customer acquisition strategies and how they make money. Saravana also unpacks important moments in the company's evolution, such as the move to India from the UK that was made in aid of scaling. We finish off this great chat with our usual questions, with Saravana sharing his favorite business book and tools, and how these have helped him up his game. So for all of this and a whole lot more, make sure to tune in with us today! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:31] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [01:30] Saravana's personal story and path leading to his current position and company. [03:50] The move that Kovai made to India in order to scale more quickly. [06:38] Kovai's important numbers currently; revenue and employees. [07:14] The lead up to hitting the $1 million annual recurring revenue mark. [08:05] The bootstrap model that Saravana and Kovai have relied on. [09:37] Reasons that Saravana has turned down all the venture capital he has been offered. [11:27] The economic model for Kovai and where they make their money! [12:30] Customer acquisition strategies at the company and what has been working recently. [14:34] Saravana's ambitions for spreading wealth, learning and expertise to others. [17:15] How Saravana splits his time between his different projects and passions. [18:36] The two business tools that have helped Saravana recently with his company. [19:21] A must-read book recommendation from Saravana! [20:42] The impact that the Traction framework had on Saravana and his systems. Resources From The Interview: Saravana Kumar Kovai.co SaaStock Microsoft Zapier Azure Zendesk Intercom Freshdesk HelpSTAR Pipe OneNote Microsoft Teams Slack Tim Ferriss Traction Must read book: The Millionaire Fastlane 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Joining us for this episode is Erik Kostelnik, the co-founder and CEO at Postal.io, a leading B2B offline engagement platform that automates direct mail and gifting in the sales and marketing world, helping businesses to improve their customer acquisition and better engage with prospects. While their customer base might seemingly tell a different story, this company has been operational for only 78 days and has achieved remarkable growth amid the pandemic and the economic crisis facing many other companies. Erik shares how their technological advancements have allowed their customers to achieve unusual results, explaining that regular mail is often better received than email and, since it has been proven that the coronavirus cannot live on mail pieces, it has remained a trusted form of communications between businesses and their customers. Postal.io works on a subscription basis that caters to a range of customer needs, from the most basic $19/mo package to a comprehensive one for teams of plus-minus a thousand. Erik talks about why businesses should consider scaling their direct mail and gifting, why they had to adjust their industry and persona market fit early on, the success they had with the growth strategies of creating a marketplace and maintaining a close relationship with integration partners, and how they went about hiring the best executive staff. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:24] Erik talks about his sales and leadership story over the last 20 years. [01:01] Get a sense of what postal.io offers and an example of a practical use case. [02:18] How the firm’s technology has enabled their customers to achieve unexpected results. [04:05] The importance of scaling your personal direct mail, gifting, donations, and more. [04:28] Erik talks about their subscription-based model that offers something for everyone. [05:52] The firm’s impressive customer count after just 78 days and amid the pandemic. [07:37] Why it is 100% safe to receive and open physical mail and packages. [08:13] How people’s response to mail and email differs and how it can be leveraged. [09:52] Erik responds to a question about how long it will take them to get to product-market fit. [11:52] Why they have had to adjust their industry and persona market fit. [12:38] The success they have had with the growth strategy of creating a marketplace. [13:45] Maintaining a close relationship with integration partners and providing value to them. [14:21] Erik shares how he defines and thinks about risk analyses. [15:49] Why technology entrepreneurs must take a step back at times. [17:23] How they went about hiring a full staff of executives from their trusted network. [17:48] The tool that Erik uses to read without the bother of advertisers and blockers. [18:14] Erik’s app for getting the most important summaries from all kinds of business books. Resources From The Interview: Erik Kostelnik on LinkedIn Postal.io Outreach Hive Cisco VMware Salesforce SalesLoft Zapier Marketo Mayfield Just Read getAbstract Coronavirus IX: Evictions (John Oliver) Must-read book: Lincoln on Leadership 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

In this episode, we have Pete Lamson, the CEO of JazzHR, an SMB-focused recruiting software/applicant tracking system company designed to streamline the hiring process. Unlike most of their competitors who are focused on the mid- and enterprise market, JazzHR serves small businesses of anything between 50 and 500 employees, offering a solid product that they continue to improve as well as delivering industry-leading customer support. Pete discusses why customer retention is such a high priority for them and how, during the height of the COVID pandemic, they remained laser-focused on getting results for their customers and investors. As part of their customer experience strategy, they offer free onboarding services that allow their customers to get comfortable and confident with their software so that they can get the most out of it – just one of their many strategies for offering top-class customer support. Switching the topic to his role as CEO, Pete discusses his recruitment by JazzHR four years ago and how the founder Don Charlton managed to strike the perfect balance between supporting him while also giving him enough space to develop his own ideas, and he advises listeners on the most important considerations for any new CEO. For more on recruitment software, founder-CEO relationships, and customer experience, be sure to tune in! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:49] Pete talks about his entrepreneurial career and his biggest influences along the way. [02:19] Learn what kind of business JazzHR is and how Pete and his team make money. [03:11] How their solution simplifies and improves the recruiting process for their customers. [04:11] Hear some impressive metrics on their ARR, number of employees, and growth rate. [05:04] What makes JazzHR different from other recruitment software companies. [06:53] Some of the positive feedback they are getting and their focus on customer retention. [07:45] Advice for driving good customer experience, including offering onboarding services. [10:53] Pete talks about their approach to onboarding new customers and the time it takes. [11:35] Being recruited as the CEO four years ago and how the board equipped him to succeed. [13:58] Get a sense of how effectively the founder Don Charlton supports Pete as the CEO. [17:10] The actions Pete and his team have had to take to keep afloat when the pandemic hit. [20:03] Overcoming the downturn by continuing to prioritize results for customers and investors. [21:03] The most important PMF-related questions to consider as a new CEO. [23:10] Pete talks about Sisense as his most trusted tool, especially in the context of COVID. Resources From The Interview: Pete Lamson on LinkedIn JazzHR Carbonite Indeed ZipRecruiter Taleo Greenhouse Don Charlton on LinkedIn Kommute Sisense Must-read book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

In almost all situations, the more personalized the piece, the more you will have to pay, and the waiting time for made-to-order is months, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Today’s guest is Christiane Lemieux, Founder and CEO of The Inside, an online furniture store that provides custom made, on-demand furniture that remains exclusive by utilizing technology. Christiane is a creative tech entrepreneur, and today we talk to her about what this means while exploring her journey launching Dwell Studio, The Inside, and what is in store for the world from her new company, Lemieux Et Cie. Christiane gets into the business models of her different companies, how she bridged technology with creativity at different stages of her career, and her strategy and vision for the launch of Lemieux Et Cie. She weighs in on the innovations the technology-powered, furniture on-demand model at The Inside brings to the world of made-to-order e-commerce. Christiane shares about how she is taking her products a tier higher with Lemiuex Et Cie, and why she plans to launch her new business in the IRL retail world. Christiane also details some of her experiences building a best in class, remote-first tech team as she transitioned from her position at Wayfair into a then-fledgling The Inside. For a great conversation about innovation that blends design and technology, make sure you tune in for this interview with Christiane Lemieux. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [01:09] Christiane’s journey from starting Dwell Studio and how she became a creative tech entrepreneur. [02:10] Selling Dwell Studio to Wayfair, working there, and the tech that went into starting The Inside. [03:08] Made on demand furniture that remains exclusive by utilizing technology: How The Inside works. [03:35] Not needing a warehouse and having no waste: Advantages of The Inside’s business model. [04:19] Products at The Inside, and their pricing which starts from as low as $20. [04:40] Why the custom order model at The Inside produces stickier customers. [06:04] How COVID is affecting digitally-first companies and businesses selling homeware. [07:35] The higher-end offerings by Christiane’s new company Lemieux Et Cie. [09:17] Getting people back on the streets and why Lemieux Et Cie is not enabling e-commerce instantly. [09:58] How The Inside landed its first customers using the usual D2C advertising playbook. [10:44] Challenges growing The Inside; escalated marketing costs for second wave D2C companies. [11:57] Retail competitors and the launch plan for Lemieux Et Cie once they enable e-commerce. [13:55] The difference between a creative entrepreneur and a tech one and what blending them means. [14:57] How Christiane leveled up at Wayfair and by hiring her own engineers for The Inside. [15:55] Building a brilliant, remote tech team from scratch by using Toptal. [17:11] A valuable tool Christiane uses and recommends for tweaking your stack rank. Resources From The Interview: Christiane Lemieux on LinkedIn Lemieux Et Cie The Inside Dwell Studio Wayfair West Elm The Architectural Digest Anthropologie Warby Parker Hudson’s Bay Toptal Slack Peloton Trello 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Today, we are going to talk about seven years of operating lessons from taking over my ad agency! This is a multi-part series that talks about the most powerful lessons learned throughout the journey. This is part 3 of the series! When I first started running the business I didn't listen to the team and employees were leaving left and right. When I finally dropped down to one employee, I decided it was time to make a change. These are the lessons that helped me turn my business around and if you put them into action they can help you too!

Most people create the product they have in mind and then try to build a brand around it, but not Mario Nawfal, the CEO of the Athena Group of Companies. What has led to Mario’s success is his business philosophy of first testing a range of products to see which ones do well, and then to begin building out a brand around a product that is already on the consumer radar and trending. For him, it is all about leveraging the momentum of a popular product or service and getting your timing right. Just take 2020 as an example. Those who have become millionaires by selling PPE and hand sanitizers would have been nowhere the year before. In this episode, Mario talks about his group of e-commerce and agency companies, sharing how the avant-garde growth hack strategies developed by the latter are used to boost the business of the former. And while service-based businesses such as agencies are not easily scalable, Mario shares how they are still getting great value out of these organizations and using them to benefit the group at large. Our guest talks about the lessons he learned from Froothie, one of his early companies, regarding the importance of creating a community, and shares about his collaboration with growth hack specialists Jared Codling and Kyrill Krystallis. Tuning in, listeners will also hear Mario’s views on starting a company from scratch versus acquiring an existing one, and much more! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:47] Find out how Mario got started in e-commerce and eventually expanded into B2B. [01:33] When Mario's entrepreneurial journey started and challenging himself in the agency space. [02:12] Hear about the extent to which Mario is personally involved in the companies he owns. [03:00] Mario shares some numbers on the growth of his group of companies. [05:45] The importance of testing and building a brand around a product that is proving to work. [06:43] Overcoming the problem of making money on inexpensive items with a low AOV or LTV. [07:37] Learn about the innovative growth-hacking services offered by his agencies. [08:55] How Mario’s agencies can serve his existing e-commerce businesses and vice versa. [09:40] Advice for building a brand around a product in a highly competitive market. [12:52] The lessons from Froothie about the power of a strong brand and community. [14:28] Mario shares his perspective on what growth hacking is and the best strategies to use. [17:38] The genius way that Jared Codling built his community and extensive database. [19:02] Using Phantombuster as a beginner and where you can find videos for tips and tricks. [20:38] Building new businesses from scratch versus buying existing e-commerce businesses. [21:34] A resource for growth hacking tools and the most important one for your health. [24:14] One of the biggest mistakes you can make as an entrepreneur: neglecting your health. Resources From The Interview: Mario Nawfal Mario Nawfal on LinkedIn Mario Nawfal on Instagram Athena Capital Athena Group of Companies Tiny Capital Andrew Wilkinson on Twitter Warren Buffett Froothie Phantombuster Kylie Jenner on Instagram Kylie Cosmetics Kanye Bill Gross TED Magento Marketing School Kyrill Krystallis on LinkedIn Jared Codling We Are Growth Hackers Inside Insight Hack Your Agency Top Fucking Secret The Real Yellow Pages Slack FreeStyle Libre Levels Must-read book: The Obstacle is the Way 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

In the 70's the Patels from India created a method for acquiring motels and in time earned a massive fortune that could take care of their entire family. In this clip we do a book summary of one of my new favorite books, The Dhando Investor, and discover how you can mitigate risk in your investments and create massive wealth!

Today we talk to Henry Schuck, Co-Founder and CEO of ZoomInfo (formerly DiscoverOrg) about best practices for steering the ship of a startup and scaling it until it goes public. ZoomInfo provides subscription-based sales and marketing intelligence to its clients in the form of accurate B2B content and company information to accelerate the growth of their marketing teams! Henry starts by summing up his education and career, sharing the story of co-founding DiscoverOrg, wearing multiple hats while scaling it to the point of going public, and then acquiring ZoomInfo. From there, we get into some of Henry’s habits that took him from startup CEO to public company CEO. He talks about mastering the skills needed to see DiscoverOrg through its first five years, how to let go of staff who served their purpose but are now holding the company back, and how bringing on investors changed the internal dynamics of the firm for the better. Henry also gets into his ‘pebble in the shoe’ method for aligning his teams with his vision, what goes into ZoomInfo's growth engine, and the people and resources he consults to stay sharp and constantly get better. For all this and more on the topic of continuous improvement and directing a publicly owned company from Henry, be sure to tune in. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [01:00] Henry’s education and how he co-founded DiscoverOrg and acquired ZoomInfo. [03:11] Wearing multiple hats, imposter syndrome, and the first five years of DiscoverOrg. [05:00] Why Henry decided to bring on investors and what he learned about hiring after. [07:25] How Henry dealt with being accountable to people other than his co-founder after going public. [08:21] Dealing with letting go of employees who aren’t good enough to help you scale. [12:35] How Henry handled scaling so well; constantly mastering the skills involved. [14:00] Get great at something, train somebody else to do it, and then move on. [15:36] How Henry steers the ship by pointing out what’s wrong with existing systems. [16:52] Winning by constantly iterating versus ‘that’s how it’s always been done’ thinking. [19:02] ZoomInfo’s growth engine and how it works using a specialization sales funnel. [20:41] Figuring out how to get, and take action on, metrics for one’s business. [22:50] People Henry consults with to get advice on how to be a better CEO. [23:52] Why the reMarkable tablet is a tool that’s made a recent impact on Henry. [24:28] Henry reads analyst reports to get better and stay informed. [25:27] Two must-read book recommendations from Henry. [27:17] The most compelling thing Henry recently read: Every analyst report on ZoomInfo! [28:03] How to find Henry online, get in touch with him, and learn more about him. Resources From The Interview: Henry Schuck on Twitter Henry Schuck on LinkedIn Henry Schuck Email ZoomInfo DiscoverOrg University of Nevada Ohio State University The Carlyle Group The E-Myth YPO EO Oura Ring Evernote reMarkable Smartsheet Morgan Stanley Ben Horowitz Must read book: Ogilvy on Advertising, The Hard Thing About Hard Things 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

From an airplane designer to a marketing expert, today we are joined by Guy Yalif, the co-founder and CEO of Intellimize, a company that automatically optimizes websites to drive revenue and customer acquisition using machine learning. After making the unusual leap from a career in aerospace engineering, Guy accumulated considerable marketing experience by working in the startup space as well as for big brands like Twitter, Yahoo, and Microsoft. In this episode, he talks about the value that Intellimize offers its customers, including the unique ability to personalize the web experience for each user while also providing useful insight that can be leveraged to refine their messaging. Their sophisticated software gathers and interprets data to make suitable suggestions to site visitors, thereby boosting conversion rates and making a big difference in the sales department. In general, their customers are seeing a remarkable 46% improvement on the metrics they care about since Intellimize is all about focusing on those aspects that are most pertinent to their customers. For them, success is about ensuring that their customers are happy and successful, which is the exact reason why they are seeing such rapid growth themselves. To hear more from seasoned marketer Guy Yalif, be sure to tune in for this episode of Leveling Up! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:55] Guy talks about his unusual transition from aerospace engineer to marketing expert. [01:57] Hear how Intellimize will personalize the web experience for each unique visitor. [03:15] The value of a customized home page and how they interpret personalization. [04:11] Using the tool to make money through personalization and get useful insights. [05:02] Find out how Intellimize helped Stella & Dot achieve a 52% increase in conversion. [06:48] How Intellimize knows the right messaging and experience for any given customer. [07:56] The data Intellimize gathers to identify and suggest suitable products for site visitors. [09:39] Leveraging machine learning to figure out what works without any manual input. [10:53] How Intellimize makes money and the size of the companies and websites they cater to. [11:59] Why it is not necessarily wise to sell your software on a price-per-test basis. [12:32] Building a system to work with little traffic and to be faster than traditional testing. [13:38] How customers are seeing a 46% improvement on the metrics they care about. [15:14] Why Intellimize will get more out of data than a marketing team. [16:54] How Intellimize works with customers’ marketing teams to code the suggested ideas. [19:07] The biggest growth challenge Intellimize have had — finding the right team members. [20:19] The overarching objective of ensuring that customers are happy and successful. [21:14] Guy shares how using an Oura Ring has allowed him to leverage the power of sleep. [23:40] The two people Guy most likes to learn from – Tod Sacerdoti and Doug Knopper. Resources From The Interview: Guy Yalif on Twitter Guy Yalif on LinkedIn Intellimize Segment Drift Looker Stella & Dot Unilever Emburse Payments Tableau ClickFlow Dermalogica Oura Ring Quantified Self 37signals (Basecamp) Tod Sacerdoti on Twitter Doug Knopper on LinkedIn FreeWheel Must-read book: Getting Real 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

This is a special bonus episode where we take a sneak peek into our virtual event and share a portion of one of the talks from the event. In this episode, we're sharing the mic with investing legend, Roland Frasier, who goes into detail about how to buy an existing business with no money down.

Although marketing has evolved a great deal over the past 100 years, the same principles still apply because human psychology has not changed. This is why is, no matter how complicated the marketing landscape gets, simple copywriting remains the most powerful. No-one knows this better than today’s guest, Craig Clemens, an exceptional copywriter, brand-builder, and positioner. As co-founder of Golden Hippo, a leader in direct-to-consumer marketing that builds innovative health, beauty, and pet care brands, Craig knows that it takes to connect with customers effectively. In this episode, we dive into Craig’s fascinating marketing journey, including some of the profound sales and life lessons he learned from his time as a telemarketer. We also gain insights into Craig’s copywriting process, where he highlights the importance of market research. He does not believe in selling products but instead offering unique solutions to people's problems. We also hear more about Golden Hippo and its distinct approach to building brands. Along with this, we touch on politics, where Craig dissects how effective marketing is key to building momentum and a dedicated support base. Tune in today! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [01:07] Craig’s background and his journey from telemarketing to where he is now. [04:38] Some of the biggest lessons that Craig learned from his time in telemarketing. [06:16] Craig’s recommendations about the best copywriting resources. [07:28] Why successful companies are some of the best examples of great copywriting. [09:29] Hear why you should be wary about studying venture-backed companies’ ads. [10:59] What Craig’s daily copywriting and creative process looks like. [12:17] The unique things about market research compared with other types of research. [13:56] Why good copywriting is about doing the simple things really well. [14:25] Gary Halbert’s copywriting advice and some of his seminal work. [17:56] Golden Hippo’s current hiring needs and reopening their offices. [18:28] Details about Craig’s company before Golden Hippo, Breakthrough Media. [19:56] Golden Hippo’s founding story and current employee numbers. [21:13] Hear more about Golden Hippo’s unique culture around each of their brands. [22:32] The ads that Craig has written have generated over $1 billion in sales revenue! [24:16] Important lessons that Craig has learned about leadership as his career has evolved. [27:23] Marketers and founders that Craig is currently following. [28:46] Craig’s take on politics and the role that marketing plays in the political landscape. [33:37] Hear about Craig’s favorite business book and best business tool. Resources From The Interview: Craig Clemens Twitter Craig Clemens Instagram Craig Clemens LinkedIn Golden Hippo Eben Pagan Double Your Dating Claude C. Hopkins Robert Collier Eugene Schwartz Alexa Crunchbase WeWork Breakthrough Advertising Robert Pittman Gary Halbert Hemingway Editor Rachel Hollis The Boron Letters Tribal Leadership Russell Brunson John Reese Dean Graziosi Tony Robbins Brendon Burchard Donald Trump Twitter Mike Bloomberg Barack Obama Tim Ryan Must read book: Ready, Fire, Aim 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Today, we are going to talk about seven years of operating lessons from taking over my ad agency! This is a multi-part series that talks about the most powerful lessons learned throughout the journey. When I first started running the business I didn't listen to the team and employees were leaving left and right. When I finally dropped down to one employee, I decided it was time to make a change. These are the lessons that helped me turn my business around and if you put them into action they can help you too!

The more agile companies can be in the current volatile landscape, the better. Smartsheet is a collaboration software platform that helps companies optimize functionality and one of the things that makes it different is that it is not purpose-built. With 2572 documented use cases to date, Smartsheet possesses the kind of wide applicability that companies need to stay light-footed enough to keep up, and all without having to write a line of code! Today we have its CMO, Anna Griffin, join us on the show to talk more about how the software works as well as speak to the things that make her tick and how she got to be where she is today. Anna gets into her journey into the B2B space and what feeds into her out of the box approach to marketing. We turn our attention to Smartsheet next and hear from Anna about the platform’s fluidity and how they approach marketing it when the product does so many different things. She makes a case for how well the software lends itself to bottom-up adoption, and then we hear a few metrics that prove many larger firms are taking to it in a top-down way too. Anna gets into some of her unusual strategies for winning over these big enterprise clients next, and from there we dive a bit more into the places she finds her inspiration. For all this and more from a unique CMO with a flair for marketing and an equally outstanding product that is here to stay, be sure to tune in! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:50] How Anna arrived in the B2B space bringing an emotional approach to marketing. [02:20] The range of uses for Smartsheet – its agility – and why this means they need a CMO. [04:57] Competitors of Smartsheet like AirTable that give an idea of what the platform does. [05:36] How Smartsheet makes money and spreads due to its wide applicability. [07:48] That Smartsheet is built for scale and is adopted in bottom-up and top-down ways. [09:05] How valuable such a flexible product like Smartsheet is in an agile environment. [09:38] Metrics that show how Smartsheet is attacking top-down marketing. [10:27] How Smartsheet markets itself when it’s capabilities are so wide. [11:44] The success of community and traditional marketing for Smartsheet. [13:30] Anna’s mashup mindset: How she combines pep talks and more into marketing. [15:35] Where Anna gets her inspiration, from country music to her favorite books. [16:53] The ‘Uberization’ of customer service that has upped customer expectations. [17:26] Anna’s favorite business tool and some of the podcasts she listens to regularly. [19:05] Why Anna’s favorite business book is Pretty Good Advice. Resources From The Interview: Anna Griffin on LinkedIn Smartsheet NoCode AirTable Microsoft Google Monday Asana Apple Steve Wozniak Wall Street Journal The Last Dance Jeff Rosenblum Uber Instagram OZY Shelley Zalis on Twitter The Female Quotient Leslie Blodgett on Instagram Bare Escentuals Must read book: The Great Gatsby, Friction, Pretty Good Advice 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Business travel may not be happening as frequently anymore due to the COVID pandemic, but that does not concern today’s guest, Avi Meir. He is CEO and Co-Founder of TravelPerk, a ground-breaking business travel platform that offers companies of any size a one-stop-shop to book all of their travel in a single space. Avi is a travel industry veteran with fifteen years of experience. In this episode, we learn more about the platform, including the pain points they look to solve, how they generate income, and the ways they are reimagining business travel. We also learn about Avi’s choice to base the business in Barcelona, an unconventional destination for a tech company. Not only does the city offer a great quality of life, but Avi also believes that it influences their ability to attract top talent. Naturally, the conversation goes to COVID and how TravelPerk has been impacted. Avi shares the remarkable decision they have made to not let anyone go, and how they have used a combination of government relief and out of pocket payments to ensure their employees are furloughed with 80% pay. Aside from the practicalities of having to rehire, Avi knows that a drastic restructuring would harm the company culture, which they value tremendously. We discuss why figuring out core values is the foundational step to fostering a great culture, and learn what TravelPerk did to establish theirs. Along with this, Avi talks about their FlexiPerk product, which has been a pandemic standout and his hot take of why 2021 will see more business travel growth than 2019! Be sure to 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! [01:10] An introduction to Avi, his background, and how he came to found TravelPerk. [02:25] Learn more about TravelPerk and its mission as a business travel platform. [03:36] Hear about how the platform makes money through commission and products. [05:10] The typical amount customers can expect to pay on TravelPerk and the costs they save. [07:28] Some of TravelPerk’s numbers, including employee count and growth rate. [08:45] Why Avi decided to found TravelPerk in Barcelona which is not a typical tech hub. [10:47] How TravelPerk manages to recruit great talent and its international workforce. [12:44] Hear how Israeli culture influences their prolific innovation and work ethic. [14:39] How TravelPerk has dealt with COVID, including the decision to furlough employees. [17:59] Avi shares some COVID-related statistics about the business travel industry. [20:23] The FlexiPerk product TravelPerk offers and its strength, particularly during the pandemic. [23:16] What culture means at TravelPerk and some unique ways the company fosters it [24:00] TravelPerk’s core values and how they were defined. [27:08] Hear Avi’s contentious prediction for the future of the travel industry. [28:00] Despite all the pandemic-related shifts, the need for human connection still remains. [28:49] Avi’s must read books and favorite business growth tool. [32:01] Why Avi tries to stay away from social media where possible. Resources From The Interview: Avi Meir on Twitter Avi Meir on LinkedIn TravelPerk Hotel Ninjas Booking.com Farfetch Monzo Expedia Airbnb IESE Start-up Nation Jim Collins Zoom Chris Voss Slack Notion Qassim Suleimani Must read books: Never Split the Difference, Delivering Happiness 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

What does it take to be successful as a new CEO? Whenever you're joining a new company, it's important to avoid rocking the boat at the beginning. In this session we discuss ways to have a successful transition into any company at the executive level.

As a B2B business, attracting an audience to your website to convert them into sales leads is not an easy process, but Madison Logic does it all for you. Madison Logic is an account-based marketing service that helps B2B companies convert their best accounts faster and today we learn more about the firm from its Co-Founder and COO, Vin Turk. Vin opens by explaining how he got the idea to streamline conversions in the B2B space before explaining exactly what it is that Madison Logic does. We move on to discuss how the firm makes its money on both the lead and display side before chatting more about their ideal customers. Vin shares some impressive metrics about growth and ROI, mentioning their unique journey without VC backed capital and how being featured on INC 5000’s list six times back to back made a difference in this respect. We get into exits, spinoffs, and the company’s long term vision next, before drilling down on their customer acquisition model which includes a brilliant strategy to become more vital to current ones. Wrapping up with Vin, we chat about how Madison Logic keeps values consistent in the firm as far as strategy and corporate culture, and hear some amazing tips from him around continuous self-evaluation and reflection, so be sure to tune in! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:40] The story of Vin’s idea to streamline conversions that grew into Madison Logic. [02:49] A real example of how Madison Logic connects sellers to buyers in the B2B space. [04:58] How Madison Logic partners with news outlets to market to their clients. [05:48] Madison Logic’s business model making money on a cost per lead basis. [06:36] Ideal clients: enterprise and mid-market B2B technology companies. [07:30] Metrics around growth, ROI, employee count, and international offices. [08:12] Why being featured on the INC 5000 list six times was beneficial to Madison Logic. [09:43] Exits and spinoffs Madison Logic has gone through; its long term play. [11:38] Customer acquisition and why ML is focusing on expanding current customers. [13:33] ML’s favorite tools for contact discovery, automated outreach, accounts intel, and more. [14:32] The size and structure of the sales team at Madison Logic. [14:58] How Madison Logic keeps vision and values for corporate culture and strategy aligned. [18:15] ‘Not sweating the small stuff’ at Madison Logic by trusting in overall growth. [19:42] Book recommendations from Vin and Eric for how to run a better business. [20:50] Vin’s favorite business tools and why he loves Slack and Domo. [21:25] The best way to get in touch with Vin online and learn more about Madison Logic. Resources From The Interview: Vin Turk on LinkedIn Vin Turk Email Madison Logic The Department of Defense Northeastern University Info Week IBM Oracle Intel Dell Cisco Inc 5000 Clarion Capital Bombora Salesforce Marketo Bizable LinkedIn Sales Navigator ‘Dharmesh Shah Vectors Elon Musk’ Ben Horowitz Mark Cuban Slack Domo Must read book: The Hard Thing About Hard Things, The Innovator’s Dilemma 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Do you need to have a big company before you start worrying about things like vision and culture? I used to think so... but the truth is, building culture and demonstrating the vision is the most important job of the CEO and can make or break whether you're successful. In this clip, we'll talk about ways you can implement culture, recruit a-players and share your vision better with your team, no matter how big or small your company is!

Today’s guest, Gary Saarenvirta, has been thinking deeply about AI long before the current hype. Having worked in the AI space for over 25 years, Gary was shocked at how little math and science was used in big business, and founded Daisy Intelligence to fill this glaring gap. Daisy is a SaaS AI-powered platform that helps retailers and insurers achieve higher profits by helping them make smarter operating decisions. In this episode, Gary sheds light on some of Daisy’s product offerings and the specific ways they increase profitability. As someone with an engineering background, Gary always focused on the technical side of things, but with the growth of the business, he has become increasingly aware of the value of people and culture. We talk about various ways that Daisy looks after their team, including flexible remote working options during COVID and mentoring programs. Gary himself has seen the value of having a coach, and he shares how this has helped him grow as a leader. Along with this, we discuss why Daisy’s technology is uniquely differentiated and how they use optimal control thinking to ensure their software stands out. Gary believes that by making businesses more efficient, through autonomous enterprise, it will not only reduce product costs but decrease the cost of living generally. We wrap the show up by hearing some of Gary’s must read books as well as why being a small company that has productized AI has helped them attract top talent. Don't miss out! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:21] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:45] Learn more about Gary and his background, and his company, Daisy Intelligence. [01:48] Some of Daisy Intelligence’s current clients including, Walmart Canada and Allianz. [02:08] How Gary walked into the idea for Daisy after a stint in the corporate world. [03:48] Hear about how Daisy makes money as a SaaS platform and their pricing structure. [05:19] Some numbers related to Daisy, including employees, growth rates, and more. [06:49] What Gary has learned about the importance of culture as Daisy has grown. [07:43] Specific tools and resources Gary has used to build company culture. [08:56] The ways that Daisy has taken care of their employees. [10:22] How coaches have helped Gary grow as a leader and what’s been effective for him. [11:22] What optimal control is and how it’s helped Daisy to their $5.5 million ARR. [13:06] Why making companies more efficient is one of Gary’s main motivators. [13:43] The time it took for Daisy to reach product-market fit. [16:30] How Daisy stayed afloat for 12 years before getting VC finance in 2015. [17:59] Gary’s favorite business tools and why he enjoys looking at cashflow. [18:42] Must read books that Gary recommends and other resources he consumes. [20:06] Bonus question: How Daisy manages to recruit such high-talent people. Resources From The Interview: Gary Saarenvirta on LinkedIn Daisy Intelligence Walmart Canada Green Shield Canada Allianz IBM Geoffrey Hinton Play Bigger QuickBooks Salesforce Patrick Lencioni Ideal Team Player TensorFlow Must read books: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, The Advantage,Built to Last, Good to Great 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

When should you split your focus and start to take on multiple projects? The problem with a lot of people is that they never focus on completing one project all the way through. Or they fail to diversify at the right time. In this clip, Eric shares his thoughts around the importance of creating a launch pad business before splitting to different projects.

How much should you spend on a business coach? How do you know if you'll get a valuable ROI from the experience? In this episode Eric shares his thoughts around why business coaches are worth it, and how to find a coach who will push you to greater heights.

When I first started podcasting, I was only getting 9 downloads a day. This sad trend continued through the next 12 months... and even after 2 years I was only getting 30 downloads a day. Flash forward to today and I'm generating over 1.3 million downloads a month. What happened? In this clip we'll discuss the lessons I learned along the way of recording over 2,000 episodes!

Elay Cohen, CEO, and co-founder of SalesHood joins us on the show today to talk sales enablement platforms, dominating a category, and boosting sales through collaboration! SalesHood is a sales enablement platform that has been at the forefront of its niche as it evolved from its early adoption phase to a broad base market offering! We hear about the platform’s genesis where Elay realized the benefit of doing sales enablement to help companies grow while he was Senior VP of Productivity at SalesForce. From there, we learn what sales enablement actually means before Elay talks about the many companies who have experienced hyper-growth since adopting their platform. Elay weighs in on how SalesHood makes their money as well as shares metrics about their growth rates, ARR, and more! We also get into the effects of COVID on the success of SalesHood and their clients, and how the platform is perfectly suited to thrive at this time of increased migration to virtual. Elay does a great job of explaining the story behind how they arrived at a product to market fit, which leads into the topic of creating and dominating a category, and the role Elay’s book, Enablement Mastery, as well as his initiatives to create communities around sales enablement have played in this. Wrapping up, we hear Elay’s thoughts on his favorite book, tools, and CEOs so make sure to listen in and hear it all! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:15] Introducing Elay Cohen and SalesHood, a sales enablement platform. [00:38] What led up to SalesHood; the need to build a system that helped with scaling. [01:40] What sales enablement is and how it helps teams boost sales through collaboration. [02:35] Examples of companies using SalesHood that have experienced hyper-growth. [04:12] How SalesHood makes money using a price per seat model. [05:09] Metrics for revenue, growth, employee count, ARR, users, customers, and more. [07:49] How COVID has helped SalesHood by enabling their clients to go virtual. [08:36] The two-plus year journey taking SalesHood to product to market fit. [13:17] Creating/dominating a category and why Elay wrote Enablement Mastery. [17:18] The value of creating a community around a category to dominate it. [19:43] Elay’s book recommendation and what he’s learning from That Will Never Work. [20:47] Essential software tools Elay uses. [21:43] Why Elay is such a fan of Gordon Ritter, Jason Lemkin, and Carmel Jud. [23:39] The best way for people to find Elay online and connect with him. Resources From The Interview: Elay Cohen Elay Cohen Email Enablement Mastery Arthur Do SalesForce DocuSign RingCentral Sage Verizon Ron Baden Domo Adobe Sign (EchoSign) Fortify Parker Harris Marc Benioff Telogis Arjun Gupta John Hopkins University Northern Illinois University University of Texas at Austin Stanford University Dreamforce Jira Google Drive Google Docs Google Slides Google Spreadsheets Gordon Ritter Emergence Capital Jason Lemkin Carmel Jud Rising International Must read book: That Will Never Work 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Does marketing mean making money? It can be very easy as a marketer to focus on all the ways to generate a profit and make a lot of extra cash through sometimes shady ways. But is that best for the long term? In this clip, Eric Siu shares his thoughts around long term strategies to develop a marketing breakthrough and avoid short term thinking. This will help you from getting stuck at a ceiling.

Making money is easy, according to our guest today, Taylor Welch, co-founder of Traffic and Funnels, but knowing how to invest and multiply wealth is the hard part. This is why he has made it his mission to arm people with the skills they need to grow their money and minds beyond self-imposed limits. We kick off this episode by learning more about Traffic and Funnels and how they help clients build online digital marketing systems and show high-level consultants, coaches and experts how to develop lead generation machines to scale businesses to seven figures a year. From there, we dive into the importance of mindset. For a long time, Taylor was a skeptic about how important it is, but through seeing the power of positive, intentional thinking firsthand, he now knows that it’s a foundational pillar of success. We then turn our attention to leadership where Taylor shares his approach. For him, it’s about fostering his team to be able to not only make decisions but understand the motivation behind their choices. It's not about not making mistakes; it’s about what you learn from them. We round the show off by delving into the flywheel approach to business, SalesMentor, and why all businesses don’t need to make money. Be sure to 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! [01:04] Learn more about Taylor’s background and the work that he currently does. [02:23] Find out about Traffic and Funnels, what they do, and how they make money. [04:26] The importance of mindset and why people stay stuck where they are. [05:48] Why Taylor believes it’s important to have lower ticket, affordable products. [08:35] Passion is an equally important driver in creating a product as money is. [09:33] Where Taylor puts his time and energy in the business. [10:05] Taylor’s tips for entrepreneurs who want to scale their businesses effectively. [11:39] Learn more about how Taylor coaches his leadership team and the approach he takes. [14:46] How Taylor thinks about risk when delegating decision-making. [16:32] Some of the $10,000/hr. tasks Taylor dedicates his time to. [18:04] Why Taylor believes that leadership is the hardest part of running a company. [19:11] The marketing strategies that are helping Traffic and Funnels’ growth currently. [21:37] Find out how to strategically repurpose old content and frame it as new. [23:03] Traffic and Funnels’s approach to new ads and new offers. [26:01] The flywheel approach: How entrepreneurs create new businesses from existing ones. [27:03] Why it’s not necessary to build every business for money. [28:04] Learn about SalesMentor and the work that it does. [30:16] The book that’s shaped Taylor’s thinking and the tool he’s using in his business. Resources From The Interview: Traffic and Funnels Taylor Welch on Instagram Taylor Welch on LinkedIn Wealth Cap Holdings ‎Daily Mind Medicine Chris Evans on LinkedIn Mastering the Rockefeller Habits Verne Harnish Russell Brunson Jay Abraham Ray Dalio Asana Elon Musk on Twitter Must read book: Principles 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Improving your income can start with some very simple changes. 1. Join peer groups Hang out with people that are near your level, a little ahead of you, and people that are way ahead of you. Being able to lean on other people's experience goes a long way. 2. Find the right coaches If the Kobe Bryants and the Michael Jordans of the world have coaches, then you can definitely benefit from coaching too. But you need to have a really good idea of what you need. 3. Understand relationship capital Build connections for yourself, and connect other people to help them. Being a connector goes a long way. 4. Create a content habit Create content to learn about the things you're teaching; it'll help you articulate your thoughts more clearly too. Content helps people discover you, and that leads to more relationships. 5. Have very specific goals Constantly remind yourself of what you're striving for. Put post-its where you brush your teeth | near your monitor | on your fridge, etc. 6. Write down your top 3 goals for the day To achieve your larger goals, you have to achieve the smaller ones first. If you're getting 3 important (meaningful?) things done per day, you're well on your way to achieving what you want to. 7. Create a health habit Get good sleep. Eat well. Exercise. You won't perform as well as you can at work if you're not healthy. It's not a waste of time to do those things, it's an investment into better performance.

Is your podcast stuck? Are you wondering how everyone else got their show to be successful, while your show is still struggling to get downloads? That used to be me. For over a year I was only getting 9 downloads a day. It took me over 2 years to finally learn how to breakthrough to the next level and after deploying these strategies, I'm now well over 1.2 MILLION downloads a month. You don't have to go at this the hard way. Follow these strategies to skyrocket your downloads today.

Joining a firm as CEO requires a very specific skillset, and today we chat with Dennis Fois about his journey with Copper in this capacity, and what differentiates the company in the CRM space. Most CRMs have placed too much focus on increasing visibility at the company level at the cost of productivity at the user level, but Copper is different. In a nutshell, Copper is a productivity CRM designed for companies that use G Suite. Dennis begins by sketching out his experience and specialty of joining firms as their CEO to boost their scaling process and journey to product-market fit. From there, he gives us an idea of the vision at Copper – to be truly user-focused and increase adoption while making it more organic by honing in on amazing UX. We drill down on the process whereby a company onboards a CEO next, and Dennis does a great job of explaining when, how, and why this should happen, the typical differences between CEOs and founders, and what his experience joining Copper in the middle of their journey looked like. Building a great company culture across distributed and remote teams becomes our next main talking point, and Dennis lays out his brilliant thinking and approach to this matter. Make sure you catch today’s interview to learn how a CEO should run a firm from a man that was born for the role. TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:52] Dennis’s travels, his professional experience, and the value he provides as a CEO. [01:35] What differentiates Copper from other CRMs: Focusing on UX and productivity. [02:19] How Copper charges on a per-user/per-month basis in a three-tiered model. [02:29] Growth rates for Copper after the pandemic and how their user focus affects this. [03:46] What captured Dennis’s attention at Copper and the roles of CEOs versus founders. [06:08] When and how CEOs should be hired according to Dennis’s experience of this process. [07:22] Why an external CEO should be hired and how to find one. [08:40] The process for Dennis as far as his onboarding with Copper and what went right. [10:38] Building a healthy company culture in a virtual/remote work landscape after COVID. [16:45] Considerations and insight while building a long-form writing culture in the company. [19:25] Growth areas for Copper: Scaling spend down while getting more conversions. [19:55] How people are finding/adopting Copper because they need it, not because they found it on an app store. [20:23] Dennis’s favorite tool that isn’t Copper and how he uses it. [20:49] A book recommendation from Dennis and other media he likes to consume. [21:44] Where to learn more about Copper as well as Dennis. Resources From The Interview: Dennis Fois on LinkedIn Copper G Suite Jon Lee on LinkedIn Vonage (NewVoiceMedia) Peloton Basecamp Amazon Confluence Bear Malcolm Gladwell Tim Ferriss Must read book: Talking to Strangers 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter

Today we give you a step-by-step checklist for spying on your competition’s marketing. There are great tools for seeing what your competitors are getting up to in terms of their content, SEO, and ads, which allows you to stay ahead of the curve. Tune in to hear what kinds of things you want to be on the lookout for when spying on your competition! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:25] Today’s topic: A Step-by-Step Checklist to Spying on Your Competition’s Marketing. [00:34] Hear why it is important to spy on your competition’s marketing. [01:00] You can also benefit from seeing what indirect competitors are getting up to. [01:04] Examples of the kinds of things to look at when spying on advertising campaigns. [01:55] BuiltWith and Wayback Machine will show you what technology people are using. [02:26] Use Social Blade to see the growth rate of various channels. [02:45] A list of tools that will show you what others are doing in terms of content and SEO. [03:11] SimilarWeb shows referring websites and the breakdown of traffic. [03:41] Google Alters will notify you every time your competition does something new. [04:01] If you are in the tech world, check out Crunchbase to follow news about competitors. [04:21] That’s it for today! [04:22] To stay updated with events and learn more about our mastermind, go to the Marketing School site for more information or text us on 310-349-3785! Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: ClickFunnels Adbeat BuiltWith Wayback Machine Social Blade Ahrefs SEMrush Ubersuggest BuzzSumo SimilarWeb Crunchbase Leave Some Feedback: What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review. Connect with Us: Neilpatel.com Quick Sprout Growth Everywhere Single Grain Twitter @neilpatel Twitter @ericosiu

Being focused on the profit might keep you out of harms way, but will it make you rich? Probably not. The massive advantage companies like Amazon have is how they redeploy their profits into the company. By reinvesting your margin into creating new and better products, you will leap ahead of your competition by a long shot.

Can you really afford to NOT be an influencer in today's digital world? In this episode, Eric shares some of the insane advantages you can have by creating your "one man" media brand, and how to leverage an audience to achieve your wildest goals.

Most legacy HR software is complicated, costly, takes forever to get up and running, and worst of all seems to neglect one of its primary concerns – people. Zenefits changes this by bringing everything HR into one radically simple app, including the human element. Today we chat with Kevin Marasco, CMO at Zenefits about its unusual growth story, while also digging into his accidental journey into marketing as well as his favorite hobby – ultra-marathons! Kevin starts out by telling us how he switched from engineering to marketing and software development as a student, thereafter stumbling into what became a 15 year-plus path through multiple exits with different high growth SaaS companies. From there, we get into the tumultuous and controversial story of Zenefits, touching on its pivot from an online insurance broker to HR SaaS platform and Kevin’s take on its 2016 scandal. Kevin takes us on a deep dive next into what exactly Zenefits does as an HR platform built for people, weighing in on its quick onboarding process and services in the fields of compensation, performance, and wellbeing. After hearing about pricing models, growth metrics, and an updated strategy for increasing organic reach at Zenefits, we dig into Kevin’s passion for ultra-marathons. He talks about why he started them, how they have helped in a charitable as well as a personal sense, and how he honed his skill for them in no time using a continuous improvement formula! Be sure to tune in! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [01:25] Kevin’s accidental road into marketing and experience in the high growth SaaS sphere. [04:47] Being a part of Zenefits’ journey from online insurance broker to SaaS platform. [06:44] Leading with freemium versus pureplay SaaS and a key Zenefits differentiator: quick onboarding. [07:22] Zenefits’ features; displacing legacy HR platforms by being built for people, not processes. [09:36] The pricing structures at Zenefits from eight to 21 dollars per employee. [09:50] Differences between mediatized portrayals and actual perceptions of Zenefits’ scandal. [12:06] Metrics for growth, retention, customers, and Zenefits’ payroll solution adoption rates. [13:12] Moving to a more widespread and organic growth model and the benefits of this. [14:09] What ultra-marathons are, why Kevin does them, his mindset, and training process. [17:04] Why Kevin’s favorite business tool is Gong and how it improves marketing messaging. [17:36] Turning adversity into advantage and Kevin’s favorite book on this topic. [18:37] The best way for people to learn more about Zenefits and find Kevin online. Resources From The Interview: Kevin Marasco on LinkedIn Zenefits HireVue Growth Everywhere with Mark Newman U2 Drake on Instagram Metallica HubSpot Workday Oracle SAP TechCrunch David O. Sacks on LinkedIn Gong Ryan Holiday Growth Everywhere with Ryan Holiday Must read book: The Obstacle is the Way 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 Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed Connect with Eric Siu: Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter