The Undefeated Underdogs

👉🏼 About the Guest:Ana Lorena Fábrega is an edupreneur, writer, and Chief Evangelist at Synthesis. Growing up, she attended ten schools in seven different countries. She then earned her BS in Childhood Education and Special Education from New York University and taught elementary school in New York, Boston, and Panama. Today, Ana Lorena writes online to over 200,000 readers about the promise of alternative education. You can follow her on Twitter at @anafabrega11.Order Ana's book, "The Learning Game"👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generated $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 22,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community +Brand at Threado, building a side project called GuestLab and runs a newsletter called YC Founder Stories alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune into this newest episode of the Undefeated Underdogs podcast where Ana and Sharath discuss the origins of education, its future, and Ana's newest book, "The Learning Game."Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight2:16: Introduction to Ana Lorena Fabrega3:01: Ana's experience of studying in 10 different schools across 7 countries10:40: Why Ana had to leave the education system to make an impact on education12:49: The history and origins of the modern-day school system20:57: The future of the school system31:29: How Synthesis brings its tutors to life34:28: The journey of going from teacher to edupreneur36:40: Ana's inspirations behind being an edupreneur40:24: Ana's work with David Perell47:31: The creative habits for writing55:41: Why do adults stop learning?1:03:22: Intro to "The Learning Game", Ana's new book1:10:26: How does the book emotionally connect to Ana? 1:13:44: Advice to parents who are unsure of the best education for their children1:19:33: Highlights of "The Learning Game"1:25:58: Post-book release euphoria1:29:10: Advice for Ana from 2019 and her playbook for self-belief1:34:00: Highs and lows of writing a full-fledged book1:39:54: Ana's best support system while writing "The Learning Game"1:42:18: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources: Graphic on Learning: https://twitter.com/5harath/status/1673492670209990660?s=20Polina Marinova: https://twitter.com/polina_marinova?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EauthorDavid Perell: https://perell.com/Seth Godin: https://seths.blog/"Creative Schools" by Ken Robinson: https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Schools-Grassroots-Revolution-Transforming/dp/0143108069Synthesis Math Tutor: synthesis.com/math👉🏼 Where to find Ana Lorena Fabrega:Twitter: https://twitter.com/anafabrega11Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1ICCL5l_5iT8yDzSoYLUzQInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/msfab_learninglab/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-lorena-fabrega-32775768/Website: https://afabrega.com/Synthesis: https://go.synthesis.is/ana👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://ycfounderstories.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Schlaf is a Professional Transition Coach based in New York. He helps high performers in midlife manifest their next calling. He is also the creator of Where the Road Bends, a newsletter and podcast exploring personal evolutions and life transitions. In addition to being a girl dad, this is his life’s work.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune in as Sharath and Schlaf discuss how to stay present as a founder, stepping away from social media, and forming writing habits.Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight2:14: Introduction to Steve Schlafman3:18: Why Schlaf is taking a break from social media7:28: Achieving success and goals while being online12:21: How social media affects your work as a founder22:13: How to build a life without social media26:33: How to live in the present30:00: The scariness of being present32:15: How being present affects work and business35:23: What success and ambition mean48:30: What was Schlaf's experience like as a founder? What are his future plans?53:05: How and when did Schlaf shift from Tactical Schlaf to Philosophical Schlaf55:25: How did Schlaf start writing and what are his habits?1:02:25: Where do founders struggle - early-stage, scaling, or other?1:07:40: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Where to find Steve Schlafman:Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/schlafInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/schlafLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schlaf/Website: https://www.schlaf.co/Newsletter and Podcast: https://wheretheroadbends.substack.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Erica shares lessons on content writing & editing leading B2C and B2B companies towards engagement & conversions. She's edited 3M+ words and is an amazing thought leader on Twitter and Linkedin with 70K+ followers. She's currently a Head of Content at @getgrizzle and founder at Power Your Platform.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune in as Sharath and Erica discuss the process of writing, editing, creating, and becoming a consistent thought leader.Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight1:43: Introduction to Erica Schneider2:49: How did being an English teacher help with being a creator?5:47: Different personas required as a writer vs an editor9:49: How can writers become editors?11:51: Does editing stifle creativity?13:23: Where do writers stumble in editing?15:06: Where do you stop editing?16:07: How to write with authority19:10: Social media writing vs brand writing21:44: Best types of writing types for social media24:10: Best types of writing types for long-form content25:03: How to become a thought leader28:21: Day-to-day as a Head of Content31:05: How does data help as a writer?32:57: Why did Erica start a Twitter following?35:26: How to make it work on social36:40: How to manage idea blasts as a writer39:10: How to manage envy and competition42:35: Balance between consuming and creating content45:38: Day-to-day as a mom48:15: Editing and writing habits50:25: Becoming an authentic person online52:56: Rapid Fire 5: From favorite creator to favorite book1:00:00: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources: Amanda Natividad: https://amandanat.com/Best Book for Kids: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/283676.The_Story_of_the_Little_Mole_Who_Went_in_Search_of_WhodunitKaitlyn Arford: https://kaitlynarford.com/Kasey Jones: https://twitter.com/ABetterJones👉🏼 Where to find Erica Schneider:Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericasmynameLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-schneider66/Website: https://www.ericaschneider.me/Power Your Platform: https://poweryourplatform.carrd.co/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Jared Kleinert is the Founder/CEO of Offsite, the author of NETWORKING, a TED speaker, a 3-time award-winning author, and USA Today's "Most Connected Millennial". He was also a delegate to President Obama's 2013 Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Malaysia, author of multiple books including the "#1 Entrepreneurship Book of 2015", 2 Billion Under 20: How Millennials are Breaking Down Age Barriers and Changing The World (2015), 3 Billion Under 30 (2017), and "Networking: How To Meet Influential People, Deepen Relationships, and Become A Super-Connector" (2022), and TED@IBM speaker. If you're planning a team retreat, Offsite can save you time, money, and stress. Visit www.offsite.com to learn more!Offsite is on Product Hunt. Check the launch here: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/offsite👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR, which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune in as Sharath and Jared discuss becoming an entrepreneur at a young age, the power of cold emailing, the advantages of being young today, and growing Offsite.Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight00:28: Introduction to Jared Kleinert, founder at Offsite and TED Speaker before the age of 202:13: How Jared's journey to becoming an entrepreneur started at 167:30: The influence and background of being a young entrepreneur - the why and the how10:46: How to cold email for success12:30: Cold outreach: annoying or ambitious?16:32: Advice for Gen Z on building their careers18:53: Founding a consulting business at 1823:28: How has working with role models at an early age impacted Jared's life?27:06: How to build peer and mentor networks?29:27: Lessons from community building31:56: Inspiration for writing 3 books before the age of 2533:48: Why young people hold more power than ever37:41: The advantage of being young in 202342:41: Managing comparison as a founder47:13: The story of building Offsite55:47: Difficulties of building Offsite59:41: Transitioning from a service business to a software business1:00:26: Next steps for Offsite1:03:18: Outro and closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources: Offsite: www.offsite.comOffsite Product Hunt Launch: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/offsiteJared's TED Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/jared_kleinert_why_millennials_today_hold_more_power_than_ever_beforeJared's Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jared-Kleinert/author/B00OH47AIA?ref=ap_rdr&store_ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true👉🏼 Where to find Jared Kleinert:Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaredkleinertLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredkleinert/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jared.kleinert/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Michelle Marceline is a co-founder at Typedream (W20), a no-code site, blog, and form builder, and a previous cofounder at Cotter. She's been featured on Forbes 30U30 2022, Build In Public with KP, and more!👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Michelle discuss founding Typedream (YC W20) with a co-founding team of 5, immigrant hunger, pivoting their startup repeatedly, and growing Typedream from 0 to N.Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight2:40: Introduction to Michelle, co-founder at Typedream (YC W20)3:46: Michelle's journey from immigrant to Green Card holder7:50: Typedream's founding story: 5 founders, from fintech to no-code builder15:38: Pivoting a company during Y Combinator: The ups and downs19:30: Starting up again as a team post-acquisition20:55: Typedream's Zero -> One Go-To-Market strategy23:08: Product Hunt's impact on growing Typedream27:28: Typedream's Build in Public Strategy30:02: Michelle's day-to-day as a non-technical founder33:14: The toughest part of being a founder34:54: Lessons learned as Typedream grows from One -> N36:43: Typedream's Creator Community and how it helps the company grow37:23: Does Building in Public help One -> N growth?39:02: Battle-tested Go-To-Market lessons42:42: Typedream's soft pivot into a content creator setup47:01: Outreach to Typedream's ideal creators: the how, why, and impacts49:07: Typedream's craziest creation stories50:35: Typedream's darkest hours52:07: Michelle's role models53:21: The importance of immigrant hunger in building56:50: Closing thoughts for founders58:13: Outro👉🏼 Resources: Shaan Puri: https://www.shaanpuri.com/Sam Parr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parrsamMy First Million Podcast: https://www.mfmpod.com/👉🏼 Where to find Michelle Marceline:Twitter: https://twitter.com/michwirantonoLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-marcellineInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/michwirantono/Typedream (YC W20): https://typedream.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Abhishek Kankani is the founder of Dyte (YC W21), building the future of real-time communication. He is on the Forbes 30 Under 30 and has been featured on GQ, Cup Noodles To Career, and Sequoia! Listen to his founder and career journey here.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Abhishek discuss founding Dyte (YC W21) during the pandemic, communication in a remote world, and building conviction in yourself as a newbie founder.Dyte (YC W21) is building the future of real-time communication. Integrate programmable, and easily customizable live video and voice into your web, mobile, and desktop applications with just a few lines of code.Timestamps:00:00: Episode Highlight2:10: Introduction to Abhishek, founder at Dyte (YC W21)3:14: Dyte's backstory: founding, first customers, cofounders7:46: Creating Dyte: Drive and conviction as first-time founders15:02: Quitting full-time jobs for Dyte - pre-YC!18:50: Dyte's first MVP and finding the very first customer21:54: Dyte's journey: Zero -> YC -> One25:53: How to apply for YC pre-PMF35:08: Learnings from YC41:25: Dyte's mission and pivots from YC44:10: Prioritizing long-term product vision vs immediate customer needs48:15: Different methods of reaching PMF1:00:03: $12M in funding: Goals, targets, methods1:05:43: Ryan Hoover as a board member1:08:10: Handling competition in a crowded market1:12:58: Next steps and a pivot at Dyte1:14:47: Using Dyte as a non-technical builder1:16:37: Closing thoughts for founders1:19:24: Outro👉🏼 Where to find Abhishek Kankani:Twitter: https://twitter.com/KankaniAbhishekLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhishekkankaniInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/abhishekkankani/Dyte (YC W21): https://dyte.io/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Adam Draper (Managing Director at Boost VC, Board Member at SkyBound) is a legacy in the venture capital world. One of the first VCs to jump into the world of crypto, he has a front-view seat into the future of tech. He's also the author of "Breakfast With Pops", the guide to venture capital for beginners.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Listen in to hear Sharath and Adam talk about the importance of storytelling in startups, building conviction as a founder, and the importance of trust in the world of finance, startups, and VC. Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight01:14 | Intro to Adam Draper - the coolest VC in town7:00 | Boost VC logo - its origin story and meaning11:33 | Adam's book: "Breakfast with Pops" and why we need an intro to venture capital14:30 | Adam's adventures outside of his venture capital legacy21:20 | How Adam's unique venture capital talent helps founders26:35 | Why is storytelling so important in the world of startups and venture capital?28:16 | Non-obvious problems founders face35:05| Founder personality traits Boost VC looks for43:16 | How founders can build conviction in themselves and their work50:09 | Why VC is a service job54:45 | The importance of trust in the startup and VC world57:17 | Common mistakes by early-stage founders1:03:34 | What Adam looks for in a founder pitch1:13:40 | Adam's worst experience in venture capital1:22:08 | Rapid Fire 5: Crazy founder story, biggest miss by Boost VC, favorite investment, and more1:39:13 | Outro👉🏼 Resources:George Shultz, "Trust is the coin of the realm": https://www.hoover.org/research/trust-coin-realmTim Draper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_DraperBill Draper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Henry_Draper_IIIMark Andreessen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_AndreessenShamez Kanji (Devonshire Partners):Make School: https://makeschool.org/Chris Dixon: https://cdixon.org/Brian Armstrong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Armstrong_(businessman)Fred Wilson: https://avc.com/Launcher: https://www.launcherspace.com/Max Haot: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxhaot/MeasureX: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MeasurexBen Horowitz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_HorowitzRadiant: https://www.radiantnuclear.com/Brayton Williams: https://www.linkedin.com/in/braytonwilliams👉🏼 Where to find Adam Draper:Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamDraperLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adraperEmail: [email protected] VC: https://www.boost.vc/Book, "Breakfast With Pops": https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Pops-Venture-Capital-Handbook/dp/B0C1JHXTQF👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Dan Westgarth (COO at Deel, ex-Revolut, Expansion Capital) is the COO of Deel, building everything you need to scale a global team. Dan has been building businesses since he was 10 and is now breaking down international borders, allowing companies and workers across the world to come together.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune in as Sharath and Dan discuss Dan's fintech career journey, the immigrant hustle, and his main customer-forward learnings.Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight00:30 | Intro to Dan Westgarth, COO at Deel1:37 | Schedule of a COO: Priorities, customer support, and more3:16 | How to prioritize a new project5:18 | Dan's first business at age 10: PlayStations, cell phones, and beyond7:28 | The best part about running any business9:35 | Business lessons from 10-year-old Dan12:36 | The immigrant hustle: How Dan got his hunger15:50 | How Deel is changing the world of immigration18:09 | Dan's journey to tech and COO at Deel20:10 | How to take care of your customers so they never leave21:51 | Going from Product Management to COO Learnings from both sides22:40 | What Product Management and Ops have in common24:06 | How networking helped Dan become COO at Deel26:13 | What COOs can learn from General Managers29:05 | Dan's learning frameworks to get info fast31:25 | How to shrug off imposter syndrome33:18 | Exciting updates at Deel: automating HR, reducing admin work36:00 | Advice for people breaking into tech38:30 | Outro👉🏼 Resources:Deel: http://deel.com/LegalPad: https://legalpad.io/👉🏼 Where to find Dan Westgarth:Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanWestgarthLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-westgarth-710650a4/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Julie Gurner (seen in WSJ, Forbes, Vox, and more) is a doctor of psychology and executive performance coach with nearly a decade of experience working with some of the nation's top tech and finance executives and teams.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune in as Sharath and Dr. Gurner discuss the habits, frameworks, and thought patterns that help founders and startup employees reach their peak performance points!Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight1:42 | Intro to Dr. Julie Gurner2:52 | What does peak performance mean?4:05 | What does being an executive performance coach mean?5:43 | Dr. Gurner's recommended frameworks to create urgency in anything you do8:20 | Dr. Gurner's entry into the executive coaching world11:05 | How Dr. Gurner picked her niche in tech and finance14:50 | The struggles of VC founders and why they face difficulties17:48 | Founder struggles: money, thought patterns, and more19:30 | Why founders fear failure21:47 | Why founders hire executive coaches25:50 | The founder-coach relationship28:46 | First habits to be fixed as founders32:39 | Best work time to reach max capacity35:28 | Habits to implement and ones to avoid40:16 | Balancing positive and negative motivation as a founder42:30 | Dr. Gurner's #1 Framework45:30 | How to define and measure peak success47:56 | Questions to ask yourself to know your goals52:00 | Role of AI in coaching55:30 | Maintaining consistent confidence and conviction as a founder59:15 | Setting expectations in Startups1:03:10 | RapidFire 5: From worst founder habit to the best meal and more!1:06:39 | Closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources:Oprah Winfrey's Stanford Business School Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DlrqeWrczsTom House, coach to Tom Brady: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_House👉🏼 Where to find Dr. Julie Gurner:Twitter: https://twitter.com/drgurnerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgurner/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-julie-gurner/Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Julie-GurnerWebsite: https://www.drgurner.com/Ultra Successful Newsletter: https://drgurner.substack.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Aprilynne Alter (ex-Wall Street, published in Business Insider, FounderStory, The Tilt) is a content creator and YouTuber with 19K+ Twitter followers and 23K+ Youtube followers. She's an NFT maker and course maker, with courses teaching people how to create and popularize their YouTube channels according to their expertise.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune in as Sharath and Aprilynne discuss pivoting from Wall Street to creating content, the building in public lifestyle, and the various YouTube tips and tricks that shot Aprilynne into popularity! Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight1:28 | Intro to Aprilynne Alter2:45 | How Ali Abdaal inspired Aprilynne to start on YouTube6:45 | The barriers to creating on YouTube: How Aprilynne overcame camera shyness, lack of editing skills, and no equipment10:45 | YouTube 101: Aprilynne's playbook17:00 | Aprilynne's favorite (free!) YouTube resources19:00 | How to become a creator with a full-time job23:30 | The important parts of YouTube: Editing, tools, and more28:06 | How becoming a creator changed Aprilynne's life32:31 | Downsides of ownership as a creator33:40 | Aprilynne's Creator Routine: How to plan, ideate, and record videos36:30 | How to get over creative blocks40:15 | Balancing creation and popularity statistics as a creator42:50 | Youtube 201: Setting prices, monetizing your channel, and more46:55 | How to get over limiting beliefs as a creator50:00 | The truth of YouTube shorts in the algorithm52:39 | Aprilynne's Building in Public secrets and methodology57:49 | The power of community as an indie maker1:01:10 | The unconventional way of growing on YouTube1:03:09 | Why YouTube wins out over other channels to grow a following1:06:40 | How to storyboard a YouTube video to make it super clear1:08:40 | Outro👉🏼 Resources:Ali Abdaal: https://aliabdaal.com/Cathrin Manning: https://cathrinmanning.com/Daniel Vassallo's Small Bets Community: https://dvassallo.gumroad.com/l/small-betsEdius Net - Editing videos: https://www.edius.net/info.html👉🏼 Where to find Aprilynne Alter:Twitter: https://twitter.com/AprilynneAlter/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aprilynnealterTiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilynnealterNFT Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NFTsSimplified/videosPersonal Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AprilynneAlterWebsite: https://www.aprilynnealter.com/Why Aprilynne Alter Stopped NFT Content Even Though She Was Making Good Money: https://www.thetilt.com/content-entrepreneur/aprilynne-alter-nft-contentI launched an NFT collection with no experience and made 3 big mistakes. Here's what I should've done instead: https://www.businessinsider.com/launched-nft-no-experience-3-mistakes-not-to-make-2022-3?IR=TAprilynne Alter on Tenderfoot - a startup connecting students with internships: https://www.founderstory.io/aprilynne-alter-tenderfoot/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Brian Swartz (ex-Startup Chile, NeighborSchools) is a 2x venture-backed founder who sold his last company NeighborSchools. He is currently working on a stealth startup improving remote work and the way we show up as teams. They are on a mission to improve connectivity & real-time collaboration among remote teams. Brian is all about building startups, teams, and software products to solve big hairy real-world problems.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune in as Sharath and Brian discuss pivoting from international development to the startup world, what it takes to be a good CEO, remote work, and more!Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight0:29 | Intro to Brian Swartz1:54 | Brian's journey creating and navigating NeighborSchools through covid12:02 | How Brian's experience in Uganda international development impacted his journey as a founder15:00 | Creating a product with empathy - even if it has nothing to do with your personal experience20:32 | Brian's failed startup ideas23:50 | Brian's newest startup: Remote work and connectivity29:50 | Swivel's platform for impactful work: What does productivity mean?39:50 | Why did Brian choose to work in stealth instead of building in public?41:15 | Brian's transition from international development to working in startups on remote work46:20 | Swivel's next steps: Beta testing, team building, and coming out of stealth!50:00 | Brian's important lessons for next-gen founders👉🏼 Where to find Brian Swartz:Twitter: https://twitter.com/bswartzzzLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianswartz👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Mindaugas Petrutis (ex-InVision, ex-On Deck) is the founder of Coho, leading community-based cohorts in learning data science, design, marketing, and more. He founded On Deck's Design Fellowship and was the Head of EMEA Community at InVision. He loves building relationships, connecting the dots between humans, systems, and problems and simplifying complex ideas. Mindaugus is currently based in Lisbon 🇵🇹 with his rescue dogs, Rina and Mya.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Tune in as Sharath and Mindaugus discuss starting a design recruitment agency with no experience in design, his childhood in Soviet Lithuania, cool initiatives at Coho, and more!Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight1:45 | Intro to Mindaugas Petrutis2:28 | Mindaugas' journey from bartender to tech and design10:21 | Mindaugas' childhood in Soviet Lithuania16:18 | How was it starting a design recruitment agency with no design experience?22:03 | The biggest phone call of Mindaugas' life24:22 | What was the process of learning design while being a design recruiter?26:19 | How did Mindaugas land up at InVision after being an entrepreneur?35:38 | 5 things Mindaugas is proud of building at InVision41:26 | Transitioning from InVision to On Deck47:20 | What are Mindaugas' tips for community-based businesses?53:33 | The journey building out Coho56:08 | Cool initiatives at Coho1:02:38 | What is it like living in Europe's hottest startup hub?1:05:54 | How has Mindaugas' leadership evolved over the years?1:08:16 | How is each team-building experience different?1:10:13 | The deal with cheesecakes1:11:58 | Outro👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:On Deck: https://www.beondeck.com/InVision: https://www.invisionapp.com/Coho: https://www.linkedin.com/company/joincoho/👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:Clair Byrd: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/clair-byrdErika Batista: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikabatistaErik Torenberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eriktorenberg/👉🏼 Where to find Mindaugas Petrutis:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindaugas_petrutis/Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindaugasLTLinkedin: https://pt.linkedin.com/in/mindaugaspetrutis👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Justin Welsh is the writer of the Saturday Solopreneur, a weekly newsletter with 90K+ subscribers, as well as the founder of a boutique advisory firm for entrepreneurs and creator of digital products for creators. He is also an angel investor, a mentor to entrepreneurs in LATAM with 500 Startups, and an LP at GTM Fund, a rolling fund investing $4 million per year into early-stage B2B SaaS companies.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Justin discuss burnout, building alone, and the journey of being transparent as you build.Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight1:33 | Intro to Justin Welsh3:05 | Why become a solo entrepreneur, when building a team is possible?5:48 | How burnout impacted Justin's life design8:17 | What does freedom mean to Justin?10:40 | What triggered Justin into his current path as a writer and product builder?14:01 | What has Justin tried, failed at, and what has he learned?17:30 | Blueprint on pricing yourself as a consultant or freelancer21:15 | The balance between building a niche and building various products24:26 | When was the Saturday Solopreneur born?26:52 | If Justin could begin his entrepreneurial journey all over again, what would he do?30:46 | How Justin built his "publish everything" mindset33:28 | What is the best way of building systems as a solopreneur?35:36 | How do you know you need to hire a virtual assistant?38:36 | How Justin deals with being anxious for the next day42:12 | Justin's method for dealing with self-doubt46:15 | How does one access cutting-edge ideas from remote areas?48:55 | What is Justin's source of inspiration?51:21 | Justin's tips on the journey of being transparent53:55 | Advice for people beginning their career journeys57:23 | Rapid Fire 5: Favorite product, best recent book, and more!1:03:23 | Outro👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Starbucks Method: https://www.oreilly.com/content/the-eight-rules-of-good-documentation/The Saturday Solopreneur: https://www.justinwelsh.me/blog/Virtual Assistant Site: https://academy.surgedigital.agency/"How to Get Rich" thread: https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002103360646823936Growth in Reverse: https://www.indiehackers.com/product/growth-in-reverseOoni Koda 16 - Gas Powered Portable Pizza Oven: https://eu.ooni.com/pages/explore-koda-16Die With Zero: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/529509154,000 Weeks: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/54785515👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:Chenell Basilio: https://twitter.com/chenellcoDan Koe: https://thedankoe.com/Jack Butcher: https://twitter.com/jackbutcherDaniel Vassado: https://dvassallo.com/👉🏼 Where to find Justin Welsh:Website: https://www.justinwelsh.me/The Saturday Solopreneur: https://www.justinwelsh.me/blog/Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejustinwelshLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwelsh👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Ben Putano is a CEO and book publisher for entrepreneurs and innovators at damngravity.com and a writing coach at Great Founders Write - a 5-week, cohort-based course that helps entrepreneurs build a consistent and confident writing habit. He is also the author of 'Great Founders Write' and merchant of big ideas.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath and Ben discuss building a writing habit, the process of making a book happen, and the trademarks of being a writer.Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight1:08 | Intro to Ben Putano2:44 | The process of writing a book5:20 | How Ben figured out writing was his path forward6:58 | How to identify as a writer10:00 | Finding your niche as a writer12:53 | Ben's entry into publishing14:48 | How to turn a book into reality18:04 | How Ben's cohort and Damn Gravity helps founders write21:06 | What are the variables that make a book successful?25:28 | Ben's Writing Framework: ABC-12329:18 | Examples of great copywriting for founders32:04 | Copywriting vs book writing36:07 | Reasons to join a writing cohort for founders40:00 | The focus of Ben's writing cohort, "Great Founders Write"46:50 | Tips for founders to make writing a part of their daily routine53:16 | Why is writing important for founders?55:20 | Closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.soGreat Founders Write: https://www.damngravity.com/books/greatfounderswriteDamn Gravity Media: https://www.damngravity.com/books/greatfounderswrite👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:William Zinsser: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_ZinsserJustin Moore: https://twitter.com/justinmooretfamGrant Nissly: https://twitter.com/grant_nissly👉🏼 Where to find Ben Putano:Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenjaminPutanoLinkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-putanoGreat Founders Write: https://www.damngravity.com/books/greatfounderswrite-cohortDamn Gravity: https://www.damngravity.com👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guests:Tibo and Tom are the cofounders of Tweethunter.io, a product that helps you up your Twitter game. After meeting at graduate school, they went on to team up across several startups (Taplio, Tweethunter.io, PonyExpress), finally creating Tweethunter.io and scaling it from $0 to a $1M exit.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Description:Listen in as Sharath, Tom, and Tibo discuss building trust in your cofounders, coming back after failure, and building a large empire in the business world.Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight1:40 | Intro to Tom Jacquesson & Tibo Louis-Lucas2:57 | How Tibo sold his first product4:06 | Meeting your cofounder: How Tom & Tibo met9:58 | When to give up on your product13:50 | Signals to stop working on your startup18:40 | Life post first failed startup25:00 | Teachings from the first failure31:19 | How to establish trust as cofounders37:36 | Setting goals while building Tweethunter.io42:40 | Defining a startup's "aha!" moment45:25 | The risks founders take50:13 | Bringing on a third cofounder - the hows, whys, and whats53:37 | Tips to scale your business1:00:02 | Tom & Tibo's startup mistakes1:04:26 | Can you build a $1M company by being part-time?1:07:46 | Bootstrapping vs Venture Capital: thoughts from founders that have done both1:11:43 | Emotions on Tweethunter.io's sale1:16:41 | Closing thoughts👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.soTweethunter.io: https://tweethunter.io/Pistache App: http://www.pistache-app.com/PonyExpress: https://ponyexpress.studio/👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:JK Molina: https://jkmolina.com/👉🏼 Where to find Tom Jacquesson:Twitter: https://twitter.com/tomjacquessonLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasjacquesson/Tweethunter.io: https://tweethunter.io/Taplio: https://taplio.com/Pistache App: http://www.pistache-app.com/PonyExpress: https://ponyexpress.studio/👉🏼 Where to find Tibo Louis-Lucas:Twitter: https://twitter.com/tibo_makerLinkedin: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/thibaultll/Taplio: https://taplio.com/Pistache App: http://www.pistache-app.com/PonyExpress: https://ponyexpress.studio/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Rand Fishkin is cofounder and CEO of SparkToro, makers of fine audience research software. He’s dedicated his professional life to helping people do better marketing through his writing, videos, speaking, and his book, Lost and Founder. When Rand’s not working, he’s usually cooking a fancy meal for the love of his life, author Geraldine DeRuiter. If you bribe him with great pasta or fancy cocktails, he’ll pull back the curtain on big tech’s dark secrets.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight0:48 | Intro to Rand Fishkin2:56 | What drew Rand to a career in marketing?6:20 | Rand's SEO mentors10:09 | What made Rand bet on SEO?16:01 | Moving from consulting to software19:41 | The non-scalability of consulting vs the omnipresence of tech28:47 | Rand's experience with depression as a founder37:03 | Rand's 3-Step Framework for startup founders43:08 | The mistakes founders make while marketing46:43 | Community's role in marketing52:42 | The secret to an uber-profitable 3-person startup team59:48 | Building the 'contentment' muscle1:07:11 | Marketing trends from 20231:11:01 | Rapid Fire 5: Rand's favorite marketing person to meeting Oprah for the first time1:19:31 | Wrapping up👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.soSparkToro: https://sparktoro.com/"Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World": https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Founder-Painfully-Honest-Startup/dp/0735213321Moz: https://moz.comFTC Proposes Rule to Ban Noncompete Clauses, Which Hurt Workers and Harm Competition: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/01/ftc-proposes-rule-ban-noncompete-clauses-which-hurt-workers-harm-competition👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:Amanda Natividad: https://undefeatedunderdogs.com/8Aaron Wall: http://www.seobook.com/about.shtmlNandini Jammi and Claire Atkin of Check My Ads: https://twitter.com/CheckMyAdsHQNathan of ConvertKit: https://nathanbarry.com/👉🏼 Where to find Rand Fishkin:Twitter: https://twitter.com/randfishLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randfishkin/Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@randfish SparkToro: https://sparktoro.com/"Lost and Founder: A Painfully Honest Field Guide to the Startup World": https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Founder-Painfully-Honest-Startup/dp/0735213321👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Peter Yang (Roblox, ex-Reddit, ex-Credit Karma, ex-Twitter, ex-Twitch, ex-Facebook, ex-Microsoft) is the creator of several product management courses, from Odyssey in Web3 to Launching Your Product Management Career with Maven. He is also the author of two awesome books The Art of Writing and Principles of Product Management, where he shares learnings on communication, leadership, and customer obsession. He is also a writer for 35,000+ subscribers at his newsletter, Creator Economy and a teacher to creators at Build For Creators.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.Timestamps:0:00 | Episode highlight0:18 | Intro to Peter Yang2:35 | Melding product and community4:08 | When should founders begin building a community?5:47 | Balancing building a product and a community for founders8:47 | Founder's intuition vs. Product Manager's process: what's better for building?10:54 | Revisiting processes within a company12:47 | Peter's favorite product market framework15:29 | Peter's Product Tips: Adoption, acquisition, activation, retention18:29 | How to build a mission-centric community21:02 | How to measure Community-Market Fit25:22 | Audience vs. Community26:54 | Creators as product managers31:04 | The best metric for Creator-Market Fit32:33 | S**tposting on Twitter: Pros and Cons37:30 | Boundaries and s**tposting40:42 | Lessons for early-stage founders from large companies43:34 | What early-stage founders should avoid from large companies47:53 | Rapid Fire 5: Superpower for product folks to Peter's favorite recent read👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.soOdyssey: https://www.odysseydao.com/ - 1 Million in Web3 Launching Your Product Management Career - https://maven.com/peter-yang/launch-your-product-management-careerThe Art of Writing - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/49206261Principles of Product Management - https://medium.com/@peteryang/my-book-principles-of-product-management-is-now-available-572014b13b7aCreator Economy - http://creatoreconomy.so/Build For Creators - https://buildforcreators.com/"Build" by Tony Faddell - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/59696349👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:Ankur Nagpal - https://twitter.com/ankurnagpal/Alexander Cohen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-cohen/Shreyas Doshi - https://twitter.com/shreyas/Chris Hadfield - https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/👉🏼 Where to find Peter Yang:Twitter: https://twitter.com/petergyang/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yangpeter/Odyssey: https://www.odysseydao.com/ - 1 Million in Web3 Launching Your Product Management Career - https://maven.com/peter-yang/launch-your-product-management-careerThe Art of Writing - https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/49206261Principles of Product Management - https://medium.com/@peteryang/my-book-principles-of-product-management-is-now-available-572014b13b7aCreator Economy - http://creatoreconomy.so/Build For Creators - https://buildforcreators.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Zehra Naqvi is a Senior Investment Associate at Republic and the co-founder of GLO, a clothing brand that's all about staying fresh. She is a financial economics major with a concentration in art history and is all about investing in new founders through the power of community.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.Timestamps:0:17 | Highlight0:17 | Intro to Zehra Naqvi1:58 | How Zehra started her journey in venture capital4:48 | Why founders make good VCs and backing non-venture ideas10:44 | Zehra's origin story: From Hong Kong to New York13:17 | Zehra's journey to founding her clothing brand GLO15:49 | How Republic is handling investments during a downturn19:31 | Trends in pre-seed funding in 202322:38 | Republic's founder and community initiatives26:16 | Zehra's advice to pre-seed founders on raising money29:24 | What makes a warm intro work?35:09 | Zehra's lessons to people entering venture capital38:10 | Parting thoughts👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.so: https://shoutout.so/Republic: https://republic.com/GLO: https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/lifestyle/features/article/3067573/sisters-zehra-and-sophia-naqvis-fashion-brand-gloBonside: https://bonside.com/Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/👉🏼 Where to find Zehra:Twitter: https://twitter.com/zehranaqvi_/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zehranaqvinyc/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Arvid Kahl is the founder of FeedbackPanda.com, an online teacher productivity SaaS company. He is also the author of two awesome books Zero to Sold and The Embedded Entrepreneur, where he shares how to build a business, an audience, and a path to financial independence. He is also creating the Bootstrapper’s Bookshelf, the Bootstrapped Founder Podcast, the YouTube channel, and the Bootstrapped Founder Newsletter, all for founders looking to build sustainable businesses in public.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.Timestamps:0:15 | Intro to Arvid Kahl5:07 | Arvid's perspective on founding a new business after selling FeedbackPanda10:52 | Why and how did Arvid move from being a founder to a creator?15:07 | How Arvid's background impacts the way he helps people24:46 | What excites Arvid today?29:28 | What is Arvid's day-to-day like?36:05 | What is going wrong in today's Build in Public space?44:01 | Arvid's advice for beginner creators50:55 | Beginning with passive income56:19 | Venture funding versus bootstrapping1:00:30 | Rapid Fire 5: Arvid's favorite creator to his current read1:03:13 | Arvid's top 3 tips on building a Youtube audience1:04:42 | Arvid's feedback to his past self on building FeedbackPanda1:05:32 | Parting thoughts👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.soFeedbackPanda.comZero to Sold The Embedded EntrepreneurBootstrapper’s BookshelfBootstrapped Founder PodcastBootstrapped Founder YouTube channelBootstrapped Founder NewsletterRosieLand: Community building for a rosier future.IndieHacker Community: Sharing the strategies and revenue numbers with other makers.IndieHacker Podcast"The Lost Metal", by Brandon Sanderson: Becoming a hero, while struggling with personal beliefs👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:KP: The "Build In Public" Guy (40K+ followers on Twitter)Rosie Sherry: Community Builder (25K+ followers on Twitter)Ashlan Brandon Sanderson: Fantasy author👉🏼 Where to find Arvid Kahl:Twitter: https://twitter.com/arvidkahl/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvidkahl/Github: https://github.com/arvidkahl/FeedbackPanda.com: http://feedbackpanda.com/Zero to Sold: https://links.zerotosoldbook.com/bookThe Embedded Entrepreneur: https://embeddedentrepreneur.com/Bootstrapper’s Bookshelf: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/bookshelf/Bootstrapped Founder Podcast: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/podcast/Bootstrapped Founder YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBootstrappedFounderBootstrapped Founder Newsletter: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/newsletter/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Dickie Bush is the founder of the writing-centered cohort-based course, Ship 30 for 30 (5600+ students) and Typeshare (30K+ MRR), after life as a portfolio manager. He provides writing frameworks at Digital Writing Compass, as well as providing guidance to over 300K+ Twitter followers.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.Timestamps:0:40 | Intro to Dickie Bush3:41 | What got Dickie Bush started on to writing6:47 | Unconventional methods for writing9:44 | Why a 30-day writing goal works best11:58 | What was the intent behind starting Ship 30 for 30?15:49 | How were the initial days of Ship 30 for 30 like?18:18 | How does Dickie avoid imposter syndrome?22:19 | Working a 9-5 as well as building a side-hustle26:43 | Dickie Bush's vision board30:00 | Key points to include across projects32:34 | The beginnings of Typeshare and its journey to 30K+ MRR35:23 | Dickie's methods to avoid procrastination40:19 | 2022 habit journey: the bad habits given up and new ones begun44:23 | Forming a small team for startups47:40 | Pressure to be a social media influencer50:54 | Rapid Fire 5: From favorite internet writer to the best blog post out there👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.soShip 30 for 30 Typeshare Digital Writing CompassStart Writing OnlineBuild Once, Sell Twice"6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person", by Jason Pargin👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:Maggie BushJack ButcherNicolas Cole (Ship 30 for 30, 122.6K+ Twitter followers)Sam Shore (Founder of Typeshare)Derek Sivers (Author of “HOW TO LIVE: 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion”, 290K+ Twitter followers)Daniel Bustamante (15K+ Twitter followers)👉🏼 Where to find Dickie Bush:Twitter: https://twitter.com/dickiebushLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dickiebush/Website: https://www.dickiebush.com/Newsletter: https://dickiebush.substack.com/Ship 30 for 30: https://www.ship30for30.com/Typeshare: https://typeshare.co/Digital Writing Compass: https://digitalwritingcompass.com/Start Writing Online: https://startwritingonline.com/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Amanda Natividad is the VP of Marketing at audience research startup, SparkToro (100K+ ARR), after being a tech journalist and a test kitchen cook. While pioneering the concept of Zero-Click Content, she teaches an intermediate-level content marketing course and writes at The Menu, a weekly newsletter with 8000+ subscribers on marketing and food recipes!👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.Timestamps:0:13 | Intro to Amanda Natividad3:28 | Amanda's mindset when beginning her new career journey7:04 | How founders can differentiate themselves with marketing and design10:43 | Trends Amanda is seeing in marketing and content14:05 | The best ways for creators to reach their audience directly17:12 | How Amanda started building her fanbase for 120k+ Twitter followers21:28 | Amanda's Twitter growth tips for 202230:55 | Amanda's journey to SparkToro34:10 | Why getting comfortable with your dreams is essential40:46 | How 3 people manage a 100K+ ARR business at SparkToro44:25 | SparkToro's tips on acquiring customers47:42 | Differences between working on a small vs. large team52:32 | Amanda's tips for people in the business of grabbing attention54:24 | Amanda's take on Zero Click Content58:28 | How Amanda gained 4000+ subscriptions for a healthy snack subscription1:05:04 | Amanda's day-to-day as a mom, creator, and startup operator1:08:45 | Rapid Fire 5: From Amanda's favorite snack to the best marketing book out there👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.soSparkToroZero-Click ContentAmanda's Content Marketing CourseThe MenuObviously Awesome by April Dunford👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:Ryan Hoover of Product HuntRand Fishkin of SparkToro (467K+ followers)👉🏼 Where to find Amanda Natividad:Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandanatLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandanat/Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@amandanatWebsite: https://amandanat.com/SparkToro: https://sparktoro.com/The Menu: https://amandanat.substack.com/ Content Marketing Course: https://maven.com/amandanat/content-marketingZero-Click Content: https://sparktoro.com/blog/zero-click-content-the-counterintuitive-way-to-succeed-in-a-platform-native-world/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

About the Guest:👉🏼 Jay Clouse is a creator and entrepreneur, producing the popular newsletter, Creator Science, and the podcast Creative Elements (1M+ downloads!), exploring all the ways you can make a living with your art and creativity. He has sold two companies he has co-founded and has led the Community Experience team for Pat Flynn and Smart Passive Income, designing their paid membership community and cohort-based course programs.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.Timestamps:0:44 | Intro to Jay Clouse2:18 | What is a creator?3:32 | Creators vs Artists: What is the difference?6:26 | Is creating a science or an art?8:07 | How Jay treats Creator Science and data9:49 | What inspired Jay to start looking at data for creators?12:46 | Can looking at data be too tiring for creators?17:47 | How does Jay format his experiments?22:37 | How does Jay balance experimentation, iteration, and creation?26:24 | What are the best KPIs to measure as a creator?29:38 | What YouTube trends are popular in the industry?33:30 | Expert tips for beginner podcasters!36:17 | Building an affiliate program as a content creator39:06 | What are the qualities of a successful creator?40:47 | How does competition emerge between creators?44:04 | Jay's tips for balancing full-time work and creating46:19 | Jay's Rapid Fire 5: From the best YouTube channels to his perspective on standing out from the crowd50:46 | Jay's shoutout to someone awesome!52:05 | Conclusion and where to find Jay👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:Shoutout.soHayden Hillier-SmithThe Pat McAfee ShowThe Tim Ferriss ShowThe Rich Roll Podcast👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people:Chris McAlister of SightShift 👉🏼 Where to find Jay Clouse:Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayclouseWebsite: https://jayclouse.com/Creator Science: https://creatorscience.com/Podcast: https://www.creativeelements.fm/👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harathWebsite: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

Show Notes👉🏼 About the Guest:Justin Jackson is a veteran entrepreneur, founder, podcaster, writer, and community builder. He is the co-founder of Transistor.fm, a platform that helps you distribute your podcast to multiple platforms seamlessly. He runs a private community for bootstrappers called MegaMaker, hosts a podcast Build your SaaS, and writes at bootstrap a SaaS. Some of Justin's posts immediately inspire you and puts you on the path to take action. In short, Justin is a jack of all trades.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.Thinking of starting a podcast? Justin shared a step by step guide: https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/👉🏼 Where to find Justin Jackson:Twitter: https://twitter.com/mijustinMegaMaker: https://megamaker.co/Build your SaaS: https://saas.transistor.fm/Newsletter: https://justinjackson.ca/newsletter👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath Website: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Warren Shaeffer is a seasoned entrepreneur, 3x founder, dad, writer, and 1st gen immigrant. He built three companies in the past and sold them to giants like Giphy. Notably, his latest startup Knowably was sold to Medium. Overall he raised more than $12M from some of the world's best investors, including Andreesen Horowitz, Initialized Capital, and First Round Capital. He preaches and practices transparency, vulnerability, and authenticity. Currently, he serves as a VP at Medium and shares his tips of raising venture capital. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Resources mentioned in the pod:The Autobiography of Benjamin FranklinWriter.comGood Strategy Bad Strategy BookThe Outsiders Book👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people: Garry TanAlexis OhanianMay HabibEv👉🏼 Where to find Warren Shaeffer:Twitter: https://twitter.com/wwshaefMedium: https://medium.com/@warrenshaeffer👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harathYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath Website: https://5harath.com/Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/

👉🏼 About the Guest:Anne-Laure is a writer, founder, serial maker, and neuroeducation Ph.D. researcher. She founded Ness Labs, a collective that provides content, coaching, courses, and community to help makers put their minds to work. She also runs Maker Mind a weekly newsletter packed with neuroscience-based insights to be more productive and more creative. Currently, it serves around 30k subscribers. She also gathered and built an audience of close to 60k on Twitter. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Resources Mentioned in the pod:Product HuntIndie HackersArticle on 12 Favorite ProblemsHow We Learn👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people: Ali AbdaalVisa👉🏼 Important Links for Anne-Laure:Follow her on Twitter @anthilemoonNess LabsMaker MindYouTube👉🏼 Important Links for Sharath:Follow him on Twitter @5harathYouTubeWebsiteNewsletter

👉🏼 About the Guest:Shriya Nevatia is a founder, community builder, angel investor, and mentor. She is currently a General Manager at Sylva and previously led On Deck Catalyst, a remote program for young tech leaders dubbed as one of the most successful programs in On Deck's history. Shriya comes with a ton of experience in the community space with over 10yrs building in-person and online communities. She is also a Founder & CEO of The Violet Society, a community for ambitious female & non-binary people in tech. 👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people: KPVikram Rajagopalan 👉🏼 Important Links (Shriya Nevatia):TwitterPropelFoodboroNoCode Founders👉🏼 Important Links (Sharath):TwitterYouTubeWebsiteNewsletter

👉🏼 About the Guest:David is a founder, writer, podcaster, and educator. His course Write of Passage helped thousands of people break writer’s blocks and turned them into amazing writers. David accumulated a community of 350K+ Twitter audience and frequently hosts The Northstar podcast where he interviews interesting founders, creators, artists, and more. He is a big proponent of the Internet and firmly believes everyone should be a citizen of it.👉🏼 About the Host:Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Resources Mentioned by David: Alexander TechniqueThe Bed of ProcrustesImitate, then InnovateBuild a Personal MonopolyUnderstanding MediaHuman as mediaGreenlights by Matthew McConaughey👉🏼 Shoutouts to awesome people: Ana Lorena FabregaMichael AshcroftMarshall McLuhan👉🏼 Important Links (David Perell):TwitterWrite of PassageThe Northstar PodcastWebsite👉🏼 Important Links (Sharath):TwitterYouTubeWebsiteNewsletter

👉🏼 About the Guest: Jack Butcher is a designer, founder, and creator of many things. He is famously recognized for the courses he created where he teaches how to productize yourself and build leverage on top of it. His minimalistic posters are iconic and inspire you to take action. His two successful courses - How to Visualize Value, a playbook for creating meaningful visual communication; Build Once Sell Twice, where he teaches his process for creating digital products and taking VV's revenue to over $100K/month; and Compound Content, where you will learn everything about handling SEO and building an organic strategy for your online business.👉🏼 About the Host: Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20K using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's Shelf alongside hosting this podcast.👉🏼 Resources Mentioned: Build Once, Sell TwicePermissionless ApprenticeKeep Going posterArchivve👉🏼 Important Links (Jack Butcher):TwitterVisualize Value TwitterVisualize Value Instagram👉🏼 Important Links (Sharath): TwitterYouTubeWebsiteNewsletter