Amanda Newman, who opened her first store in high school. She became a realtor, and went on to create Park Bench - a SaaS business that creates neighborhood-focused websites for realtors who want to connect to their community. She and her partner made $880k in revenue last year and this year they’re shooting for a million.
Famous 5:
Time Stamped Show Notes:
3 Key Points:
Resources Mentioned:
Mike Wilner, the co-founder and CEO of Compass, a web design marketplace for small businesses. Mike’s a Venture For America fellow and has secured funding for his startup - a platform which handles marketing and project management for web designers and connects them to small business clients. Listen in to find out why you should forget the startup hype and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
Famous 5:
Time Stamped Show Notes:
3 Key Points:
Resources Mentioned:
Anh Vu, the founder and CEO of Avocode - a tool to connect front-end designers and back-end developers and make fantastic collaboration simple. Anh’s background is in design, but he’s building a SaaS business with negative churn and great profits by being totally on top of his numbers.
Famous 5:
Time Stamped Show Notes:
3 Key Points:
Resources Mentioned:
Amanda Parker, the founder of Simply Insight - a high-end data analysis service that’s six months old and making $30k in MRR from just 10 clients. Amanda previously ran a successful marketing agency whose clients included Pepsi and 20th Century Fox, and she’s leveraging that experience to build her SaaS business incredibly fast. Listen in to hear how Amanda’s managing her first angel investment round, how she signed her first client before even having a software platform, and how she’s getting unbelievable return on CAC.
Famous 5:
Favorite Business Book? – Predictable Revenue
What CEO do you follow? — Jason Lemkin
Favorite online tool? — Zoom
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —Relax and stop worrying: do the work, but stop stressing about it
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:13 – Nathan’s introduction
01:50 – “We found that data was a huge problem for our clients, and a huge opportunity”
02:54 – Amanda shut down her growing marketing company to focus on Simply Insight
03:09 – They make money from monthly subscription of $2.5-5k
03:57 – Simply Insight started 6 months ago - they got their first client before even building their platform
04:53 – Clients are on annual contracts that pay monthly
05:14 – Currently cash flow positive
05:35 – Growing over 20% month over month
06:07 – Currently at an MRR of $25-30k
06:20 – Hoping for an MRR of $50k by the end of the year
06:50 – They have around 10 clients
07:01 – CAC? Currently paying one sales rep salary and commission - ‘He’s almost paid for himself for the year and he’s been around for 6 weeks”
07:43 – Amanda’s been able to sell to her old client list from her agency to keep her CAC low
08:40 – Paying less than $5k to acquire a $30k contract
09:13 – “We currently have no churn at the higher levels”
09:43 – Revenue in 2015 was $7k from deposits
10:12 – Team of 6 people based in Toronto
10:45 – Doing an initial round of angel investment
11:01 – “You’re married to angel investors - so you need to find people that you really want to work with. It’s all about the team.”
11:52 – Finding a lead investor is the hardest part
12:12 – Raising $500k via convertible note
14:00 – “It’s never been a better time to start a company”
15:05 – The risk of convertible notes?
15:56 – Hustle, drive, and personality are everything
16:07 – Follow Amanda on Twitter or connect with her at Simply Insight
18:10 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Find a pain point. Test the market to see if other people feel it. Market your solution.
Don’t be scared to do what you really want.
If you’re going into a changing market, you’d better understand how it’s going to change.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Pavan Boob, the founder of Fuel Panda, a weekly subscription service that means you’ll never have to hunt for a gas station with an angry fuel light again. Fuel Panda refuels commuters’ cars while they’re parked. It’s in the early stages of the 500 Startups accelerator - but Pavan has big ideas. Tune in to hear how he plans to keep up with the Tesla, how he bootstrapped from the bottom up, and why it’s crucial to give your ideas 100%.
Famous 5:
Favorite Business Book? – Crossing the Chasm
What CEO do you follow? —Mark Zuckerberg
Favorite online tool? — Trello
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —Go for what you want. Pick something and give it 100%
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:12 – Nathan’s introduction
01:50 – Fuel Panda is a weekly gas refueling service
02:15 – They’re a SaaS business that charges a subscription fee plus a margin on the gas
02:40 – Started in January 2016, working with over 100 customers and doing around 80 refuels per week
03:10 – Close to 1,000 refuels
03:24 – Made close to $15k
03:36 – Originally bootstrapped - they’re now in the 500 Startups accelerator
03:57 – Investment from 500 startups - $125k for 5% of the business
04:21 – Why go into the refueling business?
05:00 – “I had an 80 mile commute...I was stuck in traffic and I didn’t want to take 20 minutes to refuel when I saw the dashboard light”
06:44 – How do you prevent people from stealing gas when the lid is left open?
07:31 – Nathan: “I’m skeptical...I think that very soon the asset of a car is going to live on the balance sheet of a company”
08:00 – “Well, anything that moves on the road is going to need refueling...I think it will be possible to adapt”
09:11 – What does the business look like when people switch to autonomous electric vehicles?
10:00 – They’re investing in mobile charging stations that could carry anything from gasoline to batteries to hydro fuels
10:10 – Pavan’s invested around $25k in the business himself
10:20 – Less than $200k total investment - and the company is cash flow positive
10:45 – Monthly RPU is $20 per month plus fuel margin - around $50 total
11:00 – MRR is around $6k
11:34 – Churn is around 4% - though the company is so new that it’s hard to tell
12:13 – CAC is $5
12:26 – Targeting consumers, and also building managers and company managers
14:17 – Connect with Pavan via email and at the FuelPanda website
14:45 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Find a pain point. Test the market to see if other people feel it. Market your solution.
Don’t be scared to do what you really want.
If you’re going into a changing market, you’d better understand how it’s going to change.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Blake Smith, CEO of Cladwell - a SaaS business that helps you to dress exceptionally well with the smallest possible wardrobe. Blake and his team tried over 20 different revenue models before they perfected their business - and they’re hoping to hit $1 million in revenue this year. Listen in to hear how to stay friendly with ex-co-founders, why you need to test and test your ad channels, and why Blake wishes he’d bootstrapped his company.
Famous 5:
Favorite Business Book? – Anything in the HBR series
What CEO do you follow? —Sheryl Sandberg
Favorite online tool? — Google Calendar
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —That it was okay to follow my curiosity
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:30 – Nathan’s introduction
01:47 – Cladwell helps you do more with fewer items of clothing
02:11 – They sell a tool that helps you to dress each day and cut down your wardrobe
03:19 – Founded 2 ½ years ago
03:20 – Over 200k people have filled out their initial questionnaire
03:42 – A B2C SaaS business - women’s side pays $15 per quarter and men’s side pays $21 per quarter
03:55 – Launched as a men’s business but women now make up 60% of business
04:15 – 11,500 customers in March 2016
04:46 – Customer Acquisition Cost is about $17
05:05 – Almost profitable - currently spending $30k per month on marketing
05:30 – Monthly Revenue Per User is about $6
05:40 – MRR is about $70k per month
05:57 – Have raised $1.8 million in funding
06:22 – Started with 3 other founders, and ended up with 1 other
07:00 – “My closest co-founder...we both realized that we were made to lead companies. We’re still really good friends”
07:55 – “If I could do it over again, I would have started bootstrapping”
08:54 – First year revenue was $1000
09:12 – Started out trying affiliate marketing and drop-shipping
10:00 – “We tested 22 different permutations of a business model until we came up with one that worked”
11:04 – First year revenue was really about $10k; second year $100k; “We’re planning to hit a million this year”
11:24 – They advertise in places where people are looking for advice
12:00 – Monthly churn is 5% - ‘It’s our worst number at the moment’
12:43 – Based in Cincinnati, Ohio
13:10 – 6 employees
14:16 – What valuation would Blake want for his first priced round? “Around $10 million”
15:37 – Blake doesn’t want to scale ad spend until he’s seriously tested each channel
16:13 – “We killed it on YouTube last summer by doing revenue shares with all the influencers in men’s fashion”
14:17 – Connect with Blake via email
18:55 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Spend smart. Don’t put more money into ad spend until you really understand every channel you’re using.
Test and test and test and pivot.
It’s okay to follow your curiosity and see where you end up
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Alex Taub, the co-founder of Social Rank. He and his co-founder created an algorithm to identify the ‘Most Valuable Follower’ on Twitter and other social media - and it went viral. Now they’re making over $50k each month from their social media analytics software. Listen in to hear why businesses are leaping on the chance to curate their followers, how Alex built his business so fast, and why you should work for someone else before you launch your big idea.
Famous 5:
Favorite Business Book? – I like blogs more - but I guess my book, Pitching and Closing
What CEO do you follow? —Marc Benioff
Favorite online tool? — Rapportive
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —Go to a medium sized startup and work there before you do your own thing
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:20 – Nathan’s introduction
02:06 – Social Rank is primarily for brands and agencies
01:50 – “We found out that in many cases, the most valuable followers are public figures”
02:56 – Social rank allows brands to analyze their followers
03:00 – They generate revenue through a premium subscription model
03:50 – Social Rank Premium is $50 per month, while the Market Intelligence model allows organizations to view the whole ecosystem and costs from $100 to several $1000 dollars
04:20 – Over 250,000 users, and over 50,000 paying customers on the Market Intelligence model
04:40 – Social Rank doesn’t focus on user growth - they look at MRR and customer growth
05:34 – Revenue has grown by 30% each month in 2016
05:40 – In early 2015, MRR was under $7k per month, while it’s now $50k per month
06:55 – How many basic subscribers upgrade to the premium model?
07:20 – “We’re more interested in using it as a potential leads generator”
07:56 – “It’s a non-traditional SaaS model...we’re using the premium model as a loss leader to find leads”
08:50 – Premium model has only been out for 2 weeks
10:00 – “Most Valuable Follower”, “Most Engaged Follower”, and “Best Follower” metrics
10:33 – “Those metrics are a very small piece of what we do”
11:00 – It’s a way to rank more valuable, in-demand, and interactive followers
12:25 – How is it valuable to curate followers?
12:45 – People use it to find the right people for events in specific areas
13:20 – The primary use case is finding the right people for the right things
13:54 – Raised a little over $2 million in seed rounds
14:17 – Connect with Alex on Twitter or via email
15:47 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Work for someone who knows what they’re doing before you strike out on your own
Curate your social media followers and find the right people to promote your events
If an idea works - run with it
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Brett Hagler, the founder of New Story a charity that’s transforming slums into sustainable communities worldwide. Brett and his team are determined to change the way charities work, and they’ve created their own software platform to maximize transparency, accountability, and user experience. Listen in to hear how Brett plans to build 1000 communities in the next 10 years, why he chose charity over social entrepreneurship, and why it’s crucial to follow your own path.
Famous 5:
Favorite Business Book? – Insanely Simple
What CEO do you follow? — Brian Chesky
Favorite online tool? — Audible
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —Don’t do what everybody else is doing. Spend time learning about the world and have an open mind.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:15 – Nathan’s introduction
01:23 – New Story transforms slums into sustainable communities
01:50 – They created a platform to crowdfund homes and public buildings for communities in the Third World
02:29 – 100% of crowdfunded donations go to the people on the website - there’s a separate group of ‘Angel Donors’ who have invested philanthropically in their operations
04:30 – “Venture capitalists
05:00 – New Story is 17 months old and has already generated $3 million in donations
05:50 – “We don’t measure success by what’s in our bank account, but by the impact we’re having on the world”
06:26 – Brett went to Haiti after the earthquake...and couldn’t find a charity to work for that he was excited about
07:36 – “We took our frustrations and made a better product and a better experience”
08:09 – “I never knew where my money was going or where it was helping”
08:50 – Built a database software to be extremely transparent
09:50 – Why go into charity rather than social entrepreneurship?
10:17 – “We’re passionate about building a better type of non-profit”
10:50 – Their key metric of success is 4 communities
11:20 – Have so far built 4 communities - over 300 homes at $6000 per home. Aiming to have built over 1000 communities in 10 years’ time
11:56 – Connect with Brett on Twitter or at New Story
13:45 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Don’t do what everybody else is doing. Open your mind.
Follow your own journey - make a difference in the way that makes you fired up.
Give to the world. Spend time with people who have less than you and work out how to serve them.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Max Nussenbaum, co-founder of Castle and a Venture for America fellow based in Detroit. Max and his co-founders are revolutionizing property management in one of America’s most opportunity-rich property markets. Tune in to hear what Max is doing differently, why he defends splitting equity evenly with his co-founders, and why you should be investing in Detroit.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Anything You Want
What CEO do you follow? — Henry Ward
Favorite online tool? — Instapaper
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Relax a little bit
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:27 – Nathan’s introduction
02:04 – Max is based in Detroit
02:20 – Castle manages rental properties for owners - they find tenants, collect rent, and coordinating repairs
02:29 – They make money by charging a flat fee of $79 per month per rental unit
03:00 – They want to simplify the pricing structures associated with regular property managers
05:30 – Founded in late 2014 and launched in 2015
05:47 – Currently managing 530 units, all in the Detroit area
06:10 – “Our target market is the regular-person property investor”
06:43 – First year revenue was around $100k last year
07:14 – The metric Max focuses on is MRR - the subscription model is similar to SaaS
08:12 – Raised around $3 million, most recently $2 million in a seed round
09:17 – Team of 10 people
09:35 – “Structurally we’re a lot like a SaaS business”
10:00 – Monthly RPU is $174, as the average customer has 2.2 units
10:35 – Switching costs are very high in terms of time and energy, so monthly churn is only around 1%
11:51 – “The bottom line is that we just don’t know lifetime value yet...we haven’t even been around for 2 years”
12:18 – They consider acquisition costs on a per-unit basis - and they’re willing to spend around $200 to acquire a unit
12:55 – Most customers are investing less than $1 million in property in Detroit in their lifetime
14:30 – There are a lot of cheap properties in Detroit - but generally you can’t get a mortgage for them
15:50 – The percentage of properties that have been vacant for more than 30 days is around 5%
17:17 – “There are still 700k people in Detroit and they’re regular people who just need places to live”
21:45 – Connect with Max on Twitter
20:04 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Don’t stress too much when you’re young. There’s plenty of time in life.
If you can simplify a complicated process, there’s a good chance you’ll make money
You don’t have to be bullied away from splitting equity evenly with co-founders - what each of you brings to the table is less than what you achieve working as a team
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
David Fortino, who discovered NetLine aged 26 and convinced the CEO to hire him. He’s now the head of Audience Development and has developed the Rev Response customer distribution network. Tune in to hear the inside story on the net’s biggest B2B lead generation and content publishing business.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Traction
What CEO do you follow? — Gabriel Weinberg
Favorite online tool? — Clearbit
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Focus on developing and refining cadence
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:10 – Nathan’s introduction
02:20 – Why did David want to work for NetLine?
02:50 – Being able to monetize a base through contextually relevant inclusions really appealed to him
03:44 – Netline is the world’s largest B2B-specific content syndication and lead generation platform
03:55 – They work with large enterprise technology companies to distribute their content to specific audience segments
04:30 – Nathan: “If I gave you a finance eBook, how would you generate leads for me?”
05:55 – They have relationships with over 15k web publishers
07:36 – “We’re driving the sales funnel for thousands of businesses”
08:00 – A CPL-based model, with an average value of $40-50 per lead
09:01 – There are 100 employees
09:10 – David heads up Audience Development
09:37 – There are around 300-400 active client campaigns at any time
10:00 – Current annual run rate is upwards of $20 million
10:25 – How predictable is revenue?
11:03 – Biggest cost is payout to individual publishers - around 20-30%
11:36 – Netline has various products to handle leads, from simple top-of-funnel generation to lead development
21:45 – Connect with David on Twitter or LinkedIn
14:20 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Refine your cadence. Find a rhythm and drive that helps you keep going.
Lead generation isn’t just about volume, but quality. Really refine your ideal customer - and hunt out exactly the people you want to connect to.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you want to work with
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Charles Gaudet, founder of Predictable Profits and author of The Predictable Profits Playbook. Charles is a business coaching and online marketing expert who’s made money in real estate, self-publishing, and private coaching. Listen in to find out how he became profitable after going $1 million into debt overnight, why you’ll do better if you write a book, and why entrepreneurs should be staying in line.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Losing my Virginity
What CEO do you follow? — Marcus Lemonis
Favorite online tool? — AdEspresso
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Stick with one strategy and master it
Time Stamped Show Notes:
00:55 – Nathan’s introduction
01:25 – Predictable Profits is a business coaching and marketing company
01:44 – Started his business on a pay-for-performance model, where he’s paid a percentage of the business increase he secures for his clients
03:00 – His pet health insurance company closed down in 2000 when the crash happened
04:10 – Ended up investing in real estate
05:30 –Bought his first property off his father on a financed loan
06:22 – “I found myself over $1 million in debt almost overnight”
07:36 – Attracted buyers with incentives for construction loans
08:38 – Developed affiliate relationships with tradespeople and related businesses
10:40 – “If you’re looking to get into real estate, align yourself with a private lender”
11:30 – How do you convince a private lender to invest in your deal?
15:00 – The Predictable Profits Playbook: why?
15:10 – “If you look at the most influential people in the world, they’ve got things in common, They’ve written a book, and they’re public speakers”
15:45 – If you want to be perceived as someone of influence...well, success leaves clues
16:15 – The book is published as a hybrid - it’s a combination of self-published and done through a traditional publisher
17:20 – The book sells for $17 on Amazon
17:44 – Around 1500 books have sold so far
18:24 – Charles sends copies of his book to potential clients as an advertising strategy
19:01 – Charles used a ghostwriter
20:10 – “Give the book away as much as you can. Give it away for free if you have to”
20:20 – Hard costs per book are under $3 per copy
20:43 – Most of Charles’s income last month came from private clients
21:45 – Connect with Charles at Predictable Profits
22:25 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Master one strategy at a time. Focus.
Writing a book positions you as an expert - use that influence!
Establish multiple income streams - you’ll be more financially stable
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Steve Olsher, sometimes called the world’s foremost re-invention expert. He’s known for the bestseller What Is Your WHAT? - helping businesses and individuals find the one amazing thing they were born to do. Steve writes, speaks, runs multiple businesses, and is the host of Reinvention Radio. Tune in to learn how Steve’s crushing it in e-commerce, the secrets behind his bestseller, and the one place where he’s generating 400k unique site visitors a month.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Guerilla Marketing
What CEO do you follow? — Adam Braun
Favorite online tool? — GetEmail
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — These are the golden years
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:20 – Nathan’s introduction
02:30 – Steve’s working on multiple projects simultaneously
03:12 – Liquor.com is crushing things right now
03:40 – It’s a site that connects brands to bartenders and liquor-lovers
04:20 – The site has had its ups and downs - they lost the domain name at one point
05:30 – In 1999, when the site was still an e-commerce business, they were making $3.5 million in annual sales
05:51 – Since then, they’ve moved to a newsletter and content marketing model, monetised through paid advertising
06:15 – Annual revenue in 2015 was $3 million; this year they’re hoping to reach $7.5 million
07:30 – Works with big brands from Bacardi to Jack Daniels
09:12 – One of their biggest sources of traffic is ZergNet, which brings around 400k unique visits per month to the site
12:22 – Steve’s books: why’s he writing them?
12:57 – “I know people who are getting 6 or 7 figure advances on their books”
13:10 – “It’s about platform”
13:45 – Steve knows someone who had a 7-figure advance on their book: their platform is one of the top 250 podcasts, with 850k downloads per month
15:40 – What Is Your WHAT? Was published by Wiley with a $15k advance
17:05 – Sold 25k hard copies between 20/09/13 - 15/05/16, not counting the free eBook
17:24 – Get the free eBook at What is Your WHAT?
17:50 – Steve’s email list was 40k when he started marketing
18:10 – He’s the sole author
18:55 – Royalty income is $50k
19:40 – Given the income he’s made - was it worth spending six figures in book marketing?
20:43 – Most of Steve’s income last month came from real estate
21:45 – Connect with Steve at Reinvention Radio
28:35 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Build your platform. Success comes from having a tribe.
Invest your time and money widely. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
Want to write a book? Understand why you want to write it before you start.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Cody McLain, the founder of Support Ninja. Cody launched his first business at 15, and sold it 18 months later, having made $150k in revenue. He’s an entrepreneur with incredible drive who’s been featured in Forbes, Mashable, Entrepreneur and more. Tune in to hear how Cody sold two businesses before he was 24, why he’s set up and outsourcing company, and why this relentless entrepreneur thinks that everyone just needs to slow down.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – The Entrepreneur Rollercoaster
What CEO do you follow? — Ben Casnocha
Favorite online tool? — Droplr
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — It’s not always about making money. Slow down and explore the connections you can make with other humans.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
00:56 – Nathan’s introduction
01:25 – Welcoming Cody to the show
01:30 – Starting your first business at FIFTEEN?
02:01 – His friend proposed starting a hosting company to pay for the new XBox
02:40 – It took several years to move from on-selling HostGator’s services to starting their own hosting company
03:17 – At 16 or 17 he merged with another partner, having made $150k in revenue
04:41 – He was in foster care when he started his first business
05:11 – Aged 19, was screwed over by a potential business partner who ended up in a litigation battle
06:00 – Lost customers because the buyer damaged the company’s reputation
07:09 – Servers were shut down and customers quit
07:55 – Cody walked away and moved to Seattle
08:29 – He started a new business, PacificHost
09:40 – Put around $30k of his $70k savings into the business before it was profitable
10:11 – PacificHost was making around $650k in annual revenue when he sold it
10:51 – Margins tend to be low in the hosting industry.
12:06 – Sold PacificHost for a little under $1 million aged 24
12:35 – Started an outsourcing business with a partner in India
13:11 – “I always wanted to be a startup...but I’m very risk-averse. So I took the opportunity to work with startups”
13:53 – Support Ninja was founded to provide outsourcing services for small startups
14:09 – 14 months in, they have over $1 million in contracts
15:23 – First-year revenue in 2015 was less than $500k
15:44 – “We didn’t even know what we were selling the first few months”
16:01 – “I would say we provide Outsourcing As A Service”
16:37 – Support Ninja uses similar metrics to SaaS and they expect a 40% net margin
18:38 – Cody’s eager to use the skills and platform of Support Ninja to launch new projects
19:05 – They currently have 10 clients
19:30 – Average annual contract size is $100k - $400k
19:40 – Team size is 5 in the USA, 100 in the Philippines
20:20 – Follow Cody on Twitter or check out his website
22:05 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
It’s not all about making money. Slow down. Connect with the people around you.
Know your own skills.
Always be looking ahead. Know where your current project can take you.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Max Coursey, a real estate broker and the founder of Tiger Prop - a real estate brokerage company that’s giving its buyers their money back. Tune in to hear about Max’s innovative brokerage model, how to create an insanely successful co-working space, and why you should be having more fun.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – The E-Myth Revisited
What CEO do you follow? — Elon Musk
Favorite online tool? — Paperless Pipeline
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — How to bite my tongue
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:04 – Nathan’s introduction
01:25 – Welcoming Max to the show
01:34 – Tiger Prop is a residential real estate brokerage in Boise
01:55 – They credit 20% of brokerage fees back to the buyer
03:22 – Why do people choose Tiger Prop over other brokerages?
03:25 – They standardize professional photography, signs, flyers, and videos
04:20 – They don’t take any money unless they move the property
05:30 – Tiger Prop was launched in 2013
06:04 – First-year revenue was around $200k
06:39 – Now have 39 agents
07:22 – 2015 total revenue was around $800k
08:20 – “We’re starting a new co-working space in downtown Boise”
08:45 – Sharing space with a designer furniture gallery
09:16 – All agents are on the same split - Tiger Prop takes 30% of the brokerage fee and agents take 70%
10:31 – The total revenue figures only include commission charged
12:09 – There are multiple revenue streams in the building: furniture, coffee, and - soon - printing
13:50 – Connect with Max on Twitter or at Tiger Prop
15:29 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
If you’re in the business of selling, then find and pay the best agents you possibly can. The better your people, the better your business.
Find ways to make the space you work in, pay.
Have as much frickin’ fun as humanly possible
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Justin Cooke, the co-founder and CMO of Empire Flippers - a brokerage platform that makes buying and selling websites incredible easy. After experimenting with website creation, Justin and his partner pivoted into brokerage in 2013 - and they’re handling millions in sales every year. Listen in to learn how the professionals value a website, how much the average site sells for, and why it’s best to be bold.
Famous Five:
Favorite Book? – Built to Sell
What CEO do you follow? — Clay Collins
Favorite online tool? — HubSpot
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — I should have been bolder. I could have made bigger business moves.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:29 – Nathan’s introduction
01:50 – Empire Flippers helps people buy and sell online businesses and apps
02:05 – Their biggest sale was $550k last month
02:26 – A recent sale was Rave Aid - an Ecstasy hangover cure site
02:56 – Individual sellers are the most common listers
03:25 – $297 listing fee for the first listing and $97 for repeat listings
03:45 – Some users have portfolios of up to 60 websites that they buy and sell on a regular basis
04:15 – The listing fee acts as a filter to keep out scammers and time-wasters
04:40 – The site pivoted to brokerage in 2013
05:00 – First-year revenue was around $275k in total sites sold
05:24 – The charge a 15% fee on sales
05:38 – Use a basic algorithm to help with valuation, then look at subjective factors
06:24 – 95% of revenue comes from the 15% brokerage fee
06:50 – Made $4.56 million in sales on 176 deals in 2015
07:30 – In April 2016, made $1 million in sales - meaning $150k in revenue to Empire Flipper
09:04 – How did Justin start Empire Flippers?
09:56 – “We realised there was a huge market of people looking for mini-businesses”
10:09 – In April 2016, between 20 and 30 sellers listed their businesses for sale
11:05 – About 15-20 of those sites were sold
11:28 – About half of the buyers are repeat buyers and half are unique
11:45 – The average deal size is $76k
12:24 – They’ve sold well over 1000 sites since their inception
13:35 – How do Empire Flippers value a site?
14:30 – The business is entirely bootstrapped
15:00 – At the beginning of creating an investor program to bring people with lots of money and no time into the site
13:30 – Connect with Justin on Twitter or at the Empire Flippers blog
18:55 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Be bold. Forge your own path - don’t be afraid to ignore what other people are doing.
Be willing to pivot as better markets reveals themselves
Listing fees and barriers to entry can add value to your business by keeping out tire-kickers and time-wasters
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Michael Gilroy, a tech investor and partner with Canaan investment. Canaan’s an early-stage venture firm with $4.2 billion of capital under management. Michael moved there when he realised he wanted to engage with the companies he was investing in. Listen in to hear the ins and outs of technology investment, just how Michael secured an investment deal with Bellhops, and why we should be working less.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Fooling Some of the People All of the Time
What CEO do you follow? — Dan Ruch
Favorite online tool? — TD Ameritrade
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Try to work less and be in the moment more
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:02 – Nathan’s introduction
02:00 – Welcoming Michael to the show
02:24 – Michael started his career working with M&A and private capital investment in Silicon Valley
02:50 – He was involved in the 2012 Oracle deal
03:58 – How did Michael get into technology investment?
04:28 – “I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up”
04:50 – “You genuinely have to be passionate about investment banking...you see a lot of people churn out”
05:25 – Michael worked at GCA for 5 years in New York
06:39 – “The great thing about venture capital is that when you invest, that’s just the start of the deal”
07:35 – Canaan is an early-stage investor - meaning that they support the companies they invest in
09:30 – What are the roles in a venture firm? And what’s Michael’s next step?
10:29 – How can Michael move up the ranks at Canaan?
11:28 – How do you bring in companies like Bellhops for investment?
11:40 – “It’s all about your network...And it’s important to go deep on a couple of different verticals. You can’t do everything”
13:08 – Michael’s looking to start making fintech deals
13:30 – Connect with Michael on Twitter
15:15 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Work less. Enjoy life.
Making good deals and bringing value to a company is all about your network. Nurture solid relationships with the people around you.
If you’re looking for early-stage investors, find a partner investor who’ll bring more than just money to the table. You’re building a long-term relationship!
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Dr Henry Cloud, a psychologist, business consultant, and bestselling author of over 45 books. His most recent book is The Power of the Other - offering powerful insights into how relationships shape our success. Listen in to hear about Dr Henry’s enormous experience in writing and publishing, why you need an agent, and exactly what the “power of the other” means for your business.
Famous 5:
Time Stamped Show Notes:
3 Key Points:
Resources Mentioned:
Steven Mazur, co-founder and CEO of Ash & Anvil, a clothing company for short guys. Steven co-founded the company last year and he’s excited about how many dedicated customers their store already has. Tune in to hear how Steven’s getting inventory orders right; the importance of connecting with the entrepreneurs around you; and why everything always takes longer than you think.
Famous 5:
Time Stamped Show Notes:
3 Key Points:
Resources Mentioned:
Jess Butcher, the co-founder of Blippar. It’s a mobile visual browser that lets you search the internet without words, simply by scanning the objects around you. As Chief Marketing Officer, she’s led Blippar to over 60 million app downloads. Listen in to hear about the crazy future of augmented reality and why Jess thinks that “blipping”, like “googling”, will become a verb before too long.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Anything by Seth Godin
What CEO do you follow? — Aaron Levie
Favourite online tool? —Twitter and Linkedin
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— Fake it til you make it. Stop being so cautious.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:08 – Nathan’s introduction
01:40 – Welcoming Jess to the show
01:53 – Blippar is a mobile visual browser that can recognise anything in the physical world and search for information on it - “Search without words”
03:15 – “We could play an audio file on the artwork you see - or open a link to buy the handbag that you see someone holding on the train”
03:40 – Currently working with Coca Cola and Lucky Charms to create interactive experiences with their physical products
03:35 – Founded in 2013; went to market in 2014
05:20 – Raised just over $100 million in funding
06:00 – “We’ve been in the market long enough that we have entrenched relationships with many of our clients. It’s a combination of consultancy and technology fixed fees”
07:30 – Mostly 7-figure retained relationships
08:15 – “Increasingly we’re moving the creative side onto agencies and focusing on tech”
08:30 – Average annual contract is in the mid 6 figures
08:45 – Currently working with well over 500 brands and asset owners
09:40 – Founded in 2011
09:50 – Around 300 team members in 14 offices around the world
11:40 – In addition to the brands they work closely with, Blippar has self-service tools that let smaller companies access their technology
12:20 – Blipp Builder is an affordable and accessible way into Blippar
13:30 – How do you incentivise users to come on board Blippar?
13:50 – “We’ve never sold this as people having access to everyone that uses Blippar...the idea is that the partners themselves are getting people to download the app”
16:00 – What’s the long term goal?
16:15 – “We want to become a verb in common parlance”
18:02 – Within the year, Blippar will be able to recognise its surroundings with the same level of complexity as an adult brain
18:20 – Connect with Jess on Twitter
21:10 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Visual search recognition is the next level of engagement with the internet - visual recognition and augmented reality are going to take off rapidly in the next few years
Fake it til you make it. Pretend you know what you’re doing and you’re where you want to be.
Have ambitious goals. Know when you’re onto a big idea - and chase it.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Saalim Chowdhury, a man who’s out to build the future of online talent sourcing. Saalim was CTO at Skillbridge - a premium talent-sourcing company that was acquired last week by Toptal. Listen in to hear Nathan and Saalim talk about why Skillbridge was keen to be acquired, how the human cloud economy works for high-level talent, and why sometimes you just need to keep going.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – The Hard Thing About Hard Things
What CEO do you follow? — No
Favourite online tool? —Thingthing keyboard
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— I wish I knew the value of persevering no matter what
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:10 – Nathan’s introduction
01:50 – Welcoming Saalim to the show
02:00 – Skillbridge is an online platform that brings management consultants to people who need them.
02:40 – “How do you make the human cloud economy work for people whose skills can’t be broken down into a 5-star rating?”
03:10 – Skillbridge breaks down what a company needs people to do, and then connects them with the people who have those skills
03:35 – Founded in 2013; went to market in 2014
04:30 – Saalim was the second customer of Skillbridge and found the exact person he needed there
05:50 – Skillbridge’s peak team size was 7 people
06:35 – Makes money from a 20% flat fee charged to the buyer
07:55 – Have been a total of 7.5k people listed; 1k people looking for skills
08:30 – Raised an angel investment round
10:00 – A typical project involve consulting, for example in the equity space - perhaps a week to 2 week project
11:00 – Typical project size is $5k-10k
11:50 – Deliberately high-quality, curated skills service
12:40 – In March 2016 just under $500k of projects placed on the platform
13:55 – Why sell the business?
14:15 – “We could either raise money and play catch-up, or we could sell to these guys and go in together”
15:10 – “Everybody was very happy with the deal”
16:00 – How is a business like Skillbridge valued?
18:02 – “Toptal are essentially building the future of on-demand talent”
18:20 – Connect with Saalim on Linkedin or via email
20:00 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Sometimes it’s best to join the people ahead of you instead of trying to play catch-up
Persevere. Work through the hard times.
The human cloud economy is complex - the platforms that manage it and connect people need to be able to handle the complexity of people’s skills and histories.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Ethan Appleby wants to get away from a world where everyone has the same Ikea print in their flat. He’s the founder of Vango - a startup that connects aspiring artists with novice art buyers. They’re currently making $1.6 million in revenue and hoping to grow this year. Listen in to hear Nathan and Ethan talk making art accessible, setting up a successful marketplace, and why Ethan’s raised three funding rounds via convertible note.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Zero to One
What CEO do you follow? — Stewart Butterfield
Favourite online tool? —5None
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— To take the step sooner to get into entrepreneurship
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:10 – Nathan’s introduction
01:51 – Welcoming Ethan to the show
02:00 – Vango is a marketplace that connects artists and art buyers. It makes money by taking 30% of every transaction
02:50 – “Art is something people are intrigued by, but intimidated by”
03:16 – Before starting Vango, Ethan was a Design Thinking consultant
03:54 – Started in 2013 - first-year revenue was zero
04:23 – As of March 2016, 20,000 sellers have an active profile
05:00 – Targeting new art buyers - around 100,000 buyers on their platform in total
05:45 – “We’re hustling every month to get new sales”
06:35 – Currently have a team of 12
06:44 – Raised around $3 million through 500 Startups
07:10 – All raised via convertible notes
07:55 – Convertible notes let you take funding without worrying about valuation
09:10 – “We like to help people engage with art directly”
09:44 – Total revenue in 2015 was $1.6 million
10:10 – Biggest cost is the team
10:45 – In March 2016, about 800 buyers and 320 sellers
11:25 – Once an artist sells 10 pieces, their likelihood to sell increases
12:18 – The benefit to artists comes from higher traffic
13:30 – Average order value on on Vango is $575
14:20 – Connect with Ethan via email or on twitter
16:05 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Get started. Create your business now.
To get sales, you need to hustle. Keep moving and building momentum
Art is an area where a marketplace to connect buyers and sellers directly has room to take off
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Jake Jorgovan, founder of Outbound Creative: an agency that goes the extra mile to help consultants secure their dream clients. Tune in to hear why it’s worth spending to acquire your perfect clients; why Jake’s sending cakes to top executives; and how he’s planning to multiply annual revenue by 10x this year.
Famous 5:
Time Stamped Show Notes:
3 Key Points:
Resources Mentioned:
Dave Nevogt is the co-founder of Hubstaff, has three kids, and gets more than 8 hours of sleep every night. Hubstaff is a SaaS company that helps virtual teams communicate better through online time tracking. They’ve just broken $1 million in annual revenue. Tune in to hear how Dave’s managing disagreements with his co-founder, a tight breakdown of his unit economics, and why you should be taking more risks.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – The 80/20 Principle
What CEO do you follow? — Hiten Shah
Favourite online tool? —Google Docs
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— More
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?— That taking risks is okay. Even if it doesn’t work out, you’ll learn from it.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:03 – Nathan’s introduction
01:28 – Welcoming Dave to the show
01:40 – Hubstaff is a SaaS business that helps track time and invoice clients
01:50 – Launched in 2013 - the business is entirely bootstrapped
02:20 – Split the original investment 50/50 with his partner
02:50 – What will Dave and his partner do if they disagree on something big?
03:15 – If there’s a disagreement, one person can buy the other one out
04:22 – Currently have 2600 paying customers
04:50 – Services track time and record activity, screenshots, what software is being used
05:35 – Average customer is paying $35 per month
06:22 – MRR in March 2016 was just under $88k
07:26 – 20 employees, with a head-count cost each month of around $46k
08:15 – Adding about 270 new customers each month
08:45 – Customer churn is 3.9%
09:12 – Lifetime value is around $660
09:55 – Founders based in Indianapolis, with a global team
10:50 – Paying around $90 on per-customer acquisition
11:14 – Spread through company to contractor to company
12:30 – Blog gets around 40k unique visitors per month
13:00 – Around a 7% conversion rate to free trial at the Hubstaff homepage
14:20 – Connect with Dave via email or through the Hubstaff website
16:25 – “We just want to build the business up to a healthy annual revenue and then live our lives”
16:55 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Always take risks. Even if things don’t work, you’ll learn.
Find a partner who’s on the same page as you. And even then, make sure you’re prepared for disagreements.
Have your numbers at your fingertips
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Kat Loterzo - a content machine who’s written 37 bestselling books and generates 3-4 emails for her list each day. Kat built her own 7-figure online fitness business before turning to coaching and writing. She now coaches businesses on how to have the same success she did. Tune in to hear how Kat brings people to her membership site, why she can’t get enough of writing, and the importance of listening to your gut.
Famous 5:
Favorite Book? – Big Magic
What CEO do you follow? — Grant Cardone
Favourite online tool? —None, I’m pretty old school
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Definitely not
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?—Listen to your gut and follow what you feel called to do
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:11 – Nathan’s introduction
01:45 – Welcoming Kat to the show
02:05 – Kat built Woman Incredible as an extension of her personal training business
03:10 – Started in 2007, became big in 2010
03:40 – She’s now dropped the business - but at its height it was making $80k a month
04:20 – Kat currently makes revenue from The Tribe, a coaching membership site
05:17 – First month is $97, subsequent months are $197
05:30 – Around 150 current members
05:50 – Made just over $500k from the site so far
06:20 – Membership gives free access to all of Kat’s content, and access to members’ community
08:22 – Keeping around 80% of members each month
08:50 – Average customer lifetime is around 5 months - but members will often buy other products
09:40 – Acquisition is mostly from referrals and social media. Kat’s only just now setting up a funnel
10:00 – Kat will email her list 2-3 times each day, and always includes links back to The Tribe website
10:55 – Kat also hosts the Success Smackdown podcast
11:20 – Produces several 4 or 5 minute episodes each week
11:40 – Each episode is hitting around 1,000 downloads
12:40 – Not monetising podcasts - just using them as content marketing
13:13 – Kat’s an Amazon bestselling author with around 1000 downloads per month
14:30 – “I can’t get enough of writing” - Kat’s written 37 books
15:30 – Publishing the next book through CreateSpace
16:20 – Facebook is Kat’s main source of traffic
16:50 – Connect with Kat on Facebook, Twitter, and at her website
19:00 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Create the content and people will come
Follow your gut and do what you feel called to do
It’s not the size of your list that matters, but how dedicated your following is. Find people who love what you do.
Resources Mentioned:
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
Jake Ducey is 24 years old and he’s already written three books with Penguin Random House. Jake’s making money from his books - but he’s out to make a difference. Last year he raised 345,000 pounds of food for homeless people off the back of his book tour. Tune in to hear Nathan and Jake talk self-publishing, how to launch your writing career, and why patience is everything.
Famous Five:
Favorite Book? – Pitch Anything
What CEO do you follow? — Oren Klaff
Favourite online tool? —Youtube
Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— Pretty close
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be?—Patience
Time Stamped Show Notes:
01:11 – Nathan’s introduction
01:45 – Welcoming Jake to the show
02:00 – Jake wrote a book not expecting to make money from it
02:55 – Wrote his first book, Into the Wind, aged 19
04:00 – Self-published; have now sold 30k copies
05:00 – Made around $100k from that book alone
05:40 – Got a literary agent because he wanted someone with experience and a mentor
06:30 – Founded in 2012 and had only $200 topline revenue
06:25 – Agent’s name is Bill Gladstone at Waterside Productions
06:50 – “I would recommend going through Amazon if you’re self-publishing”
07:35 – Next book, The Purpose Principles, was published by Penguin Random House
08:50 – Had an advance on the contract - around $30k
09:36 – Jake was starting to pick up momentum by this point
10:03 – “I want to influence people’s lives”
11:00 – Took Jake around 4 months to write his 60,000-word book
12:30 – “It’s nice to write a book with support and an editor and help”
13:37 – Having a publisher is also a credibility stamp for speaking engagements
14:00 – Jake mostly makes money through speaking engagements
15:13 – Hired Ryan Holiday for book launch strategy sessions
16:05 – The next book, Profit From Happiness, will be published in June 2016
17:40 – Plans to give away his book to underprivileged youth: for every book that’s bought, he’ll donate one
19:10 – Jake hopes to expand internationally and keep writing books
20:00 – Connect with Jake on Facebook
21:40 – The Famous Five
3 Key Points:
Don’t be afraid to self-publish. Publishing houses are more likely to pick you up if you’ve already had some success.
Profit has to intertwine with service and fulfilment. Make sure you’re helping other people.
Most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year and underestimate what they can accomplish in a decade. Be patient.
Resources Mentioned:
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives