Podcast Summary
Staying informed about marketing trends and business landscape: Understanding marketing trends and business landscape can optimize marketing efforts and run business efficiently. Competition and challenges are inevitable, but being prepared and informed can make a difference.
Staying informed about the latest marketing trends is crucial for business success, and the HubSpot 2,024 State of Marketing report is a valuable resource for identifying these trends. Ryan Breslow, founder of Bolt, shared his experience with the competitive and sometimes cutthroat nature of Silicon Valley, highlighting the importance of being aware of power dynamics and potential challenges in the business world. In simpler terms, keeping up with marketing trends and understanding the business landscape can help you optimize your marketing efforts and run your business more efficiently. Additionally, Ryan's story serves as a reminder that competition and challenges are inevitable in business, and being prepared and informed can make all the difference.
Competing with Market Dominators: Market dominators may discourage investments in non-competitive companies, but intentions behind their actions matter.
The business landscape can be challenging, with institutions and competitors potentially hindering the growth of emerging companies. The speaker shares their experience of pitching to investors who expressed interest but ultimately didn't invest due to pressure from Stripe. The speaker felt that this was unfair, as they didn't consider themselves direct competitors at the time. However, there might be differing perspectives on this issue. Some may argue that Stripe's actions were strategic and fair, given their market dominance. The speaker, however, emphasizes the importance of fair competition and long-term innovation, and has no issue with investors investing in tangential companies. Ultimately, the speaker's perspective is that the intentions behind these actions matter, and they have never directly prevented an investor from investing in a company.
Manipulating the Funding Landscape: In the tech industry, founders may face ethical dilemmas and competitive strategies, including platform manipulation and downvoting, which can impact their visibility and funding opportunities.
Starting a business in Silicon Valley can be a tough and competitive battlefield. The speaker shared an experience where a competitor, Stripe, allegedly manipulated the funding landscape and controlled a popular platform, Hacker News, to their advantage. This resulted in the speaker's company, Bolt, being pushed down in rankings and effectively hidden from potential investors. While some might view these actions as unethical, the speaker saw it as a part of the competitive strategy in the tech industry. However, they also pointed out that editorial manipulation and downvoting could be potential issues on such platforms. The speakers' assessment of the Stripe founders as "good dudes" was challenged, as they didn't meet the speaker's personal standards. This discussion serves as a reminder that building a business in the tech industry can be a complex and competitive environment, and founders need to be aware and prepared for potential challenges.
Create a brand beyond a personal one: Build a profitable audience by creating a brand around a lifestyle or interest, providing unique value and equity long-term.
Building a profitable and sustainable audience involves more than just personal branding. According to Nathan Barry, founder and CEO of ConvertKit, the most profitable way to monetize attention is by creating and driving it towards your own products and building equity long-term. This was highlighted through examples of movie stars like Jessica Alba and Ryan Reynolds, who made the majority of their wealth from their own companies instead of sponsorships. Rule number 1 in this regard is to build more than a personal brand. This means creating a brand around a lifestyle or interest, as shown by examples like Primal Kitchen's Jessica Mark. In essence, it's about creating a brand that goes beyond just a face or a name, and provides value to an audience through a unique product or service.
Build a brand beyond just a blog or audience: Mark saw an opportunity to expand beyond his blog and create a successful food brand, Primal Kitchen, instead of just selling endorsements or blog ads.
Mark, a popular health blogger with a blog called Mark's Daily Apple, leveraged his audience and reputation to create a successful food brand, Primal Kitchen, instead of just selling his blog. Mark's blog was a significant player in the paleo health space, and he could have made a substantial income from it. However, he saw an opportunity to expand beyond the blog and create a brand, selling paleo-friendly condiments. Mark sold Primal Kitchen to Craft for $200 million, keeping his audience and the ability to build more brands. Unlike celebrities like Kim Kardashian, who made money from endorsements, Mark became a competitor and launched his own brands, such as Skims (Kim Kardashian's shapewear brand), True American Jeans (Khloe Kardashian's jeans brand), and Yeezy shoes (Kanye West's shoe brand). LaVar Ball, a father of NBA players, also followed this strategy by launching his own brands instead of just endorsing products. This lesson emphasizes the importance of building a brand and equity beyond just a blog or audience.
The power of controlling one's own business or brand: Taking control can lead to unexpected success, even with initial imperfections. Risks and criticism are part of the journey, but maintaining control can lead to long-term rewards.
Taking control of one's own business and brand can lead to unexpected success, even if the initial execution is not perfect. The story of the basketball family who turned down a multimillion-dollar offer from Nike to create their own shoe line serves as a prime example. Despite initial setbacks, such as poor business management and underperformance from some family members, the youngest brother ultimately became a star player and turned the brand into a success. More recently, a college student demonstrated similar talent and ambition by leveraging social media to gain massive reach and attention. While the student's initial success was impressive, the advice given was for him to build on this foundation and create new ventures rather than seeking external investment for the existing project. This story highlights the potential rewards of taking risks and maintaining control over one's business or brand, even when faced with criticism or initial challenges.
Leverage your fame to build brands and businesses: Fame from a platform can be used to create income streams beyond the original source, such as building brands and businesses around your unique identity.
Instead of selling your attention or your platform to others, you can leverage it to create and monetize your own brands and businesses. Conor McGregor is a prime example of this strategy. He used his fame from UFC fighting to build a suite of brands around different aspects of his lifestyle, from suits and whiskey to fitness programs and recovery sprays. By doing so, he transformed fighting into just one part of his income stream and is on track to becoming a billionaire. This approach can be applied to anyone, regardless of the size or reach of their platform. The key is to identify what you're famous for and find ways to monetize it.
Evaluating Traditional Publishing vs Self-Publishing: Successful authors like Ryan Holiday weigh the benefits and challenges of traditional publishing versus self-publishing, considering factors like potential earnings, publisher offers, and resources required for self-publishing. They make informed decisions based on the unique aspects of each project.
Successful authors like Ryan Holiday carefully consider the benefits of working with traditional publishers despite common perceptions of them as middlemen. Holiday evaluates each project individually, considering the potential earnings, the publisher's offer, and the resources required for self-publishing. The math often favors traditional publishing, but there are exceptions. For instance, Holiday self-published a children's book when the publisher didn't fully understand the project. However, self-publishing comes with its own challenges, such as logistical complexities and distractions from the writing process. Ultimately, Holiday's approach demonstrates the importance of making informed decisions based on the unique aspects of each project.
Authors can earn more from speaking engagements and ancillary products: While books bring in income, speaking engagements and ancillary products can generate more revenue. Successful books open doors to additional opportunities, and most income comes from the backlist.
While books can be a significant source of income for authors, they may not be the primary revenue generator. Speaking engagements and other ancillary products can often bring in more money. Traditional publishing can be beneficial as publishers do not take a percentage of these additional revenue streams. The success of a book is crucial, as it can open doors to other opportunities. Most income in publishing comes from the backlist, titles that have already been published and continue to sell. The goal is to create a catalog of consistent sellers, rather than relying on one big hit. The author's experience with "The Daily Stoic" illustrates this, as it has become his best-selling book despite initial skepticism.
