Leveling Up with Eric Siu

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

Welcome to Growth Bites, a shorter format of Leveling Up, where Eric provides daily insights to help you step up your game. In this episode, we talk about why copywriters are the best hire you can make, the contributions they make to your business, and where to find the best ones in the business. Be sure to tune in today! TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES: [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast! [00:52] Why Eric believes the best hire you can make is a copywriter. [01:18] Hear about some of the skills that copywriters have.  [02:11] Eric’s positive experience of working with copywriters. [03:25] Some of the best copywriting books out there, according to Eric. [03:53] Words are what help products to sell. [04:25] Advice for those looking to find the best copywriters out there.  [05:30] How to get your hands on the first chapter of Eric’s upcoming book.   Resources From The Interview:   Marketing School Podcast Agora Financial   Breakthrough Advertising The 16-Word Sales Letter   Ben Settle Leveling Up   Leave Some Feedback:     What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below. Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here Subscribe to Leveling Up on iTunes Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed     Connect with Eric Siu:      Growth Everywhere Single Grain Eric Siu on Twitter    

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

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

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

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

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

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

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