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Learning
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Tom's Marketing Ideas
Color psychology is mostly nonsense 🌈
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Books
Authors
Alex Petrov
Erin Meyer
Keith Ferrazzi
Matthew Walker
Reed Hastings
Sönke Ahrens
Reviews
100M Offers. How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No
_100M Offers. How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No
Company of One
_Company of One
A Practical Approach to Starting a Business
Autonomy and Control in Work
Balancing Autonomy and Alignment
Building Authority Through Teaching
Career Growth in a Company of One
Crowdfunding as a Funding Model
Customer Education as Marketing
Customer Service as a Marketing Strategy
Customer Success as a Growth Strategy
Debugging the Myth of Indefatigable Leadership
Email Marketing for Companies of One
Empathy in Business
Envy in Business
Essential Setup for a Company of One
Ethical Outsourcing
Exist Strategy
Fascination as a Marketing Strategy
Focus on Existing Customers
Four Reasons for Growth
Four Traits of a Company of One
Growth Based on Realized Profit
Growth Can Be a Company's Downfall
Growth Through Betterment, Not Expansion
Growth Without Scaling
Ideas are Worthless, Execution is Everything
Incentivizing Referrals
Intrapreneurship
Introverted Leadership
Knowing When to Quit
Launch and Iterate in Tiny Steps
Launch Quickly and Launch Often
Leadership for Companies of One
Minimum Viable Profit
Mudita - Joy in the Success of Others
Owning Your Mistakes
Passion vs. Purpose
Personality as a Competitive Advantage
Purpose and Ego in Entrepreneurship
Questioning Growth
Relationships as a Business Strategy
Resilience in Business
Scalable Systems for Companies of One
Scaling Down Collaboration
Servant Leadership
Setting Upper Bounds on Goals
Simplicity in Business
Simplicity Sells Quickly
Social Capital
Speed as a Business Advantage
Start Small and Iterate
Starting Without Capital
Staying Small as an End Goal
Teach Everything You Know
The Attention Economy
The Dangers of Growth Hacking
The Dangers of Premature Scaling
The Disease of More
The Hustle Fallacy
The Importance of Purpose
The Myth of Busyness
The Passion Fallacy
The Pinboard and Delicious Story
The Power of Generalists
The Power of Niche Marketing
The Power of Peer Relationships
The Power of Polarization
The Power of Reciprocity in Customer Service
The Power of Single-Tasking
The Power Paradox
The Realities of Working for Yourself
The True Cost of Opportunities
Three Aspects of Trust
Three Strategies for Polarization
Too Small to Fail
Treat Every Customer Like Your Only Customer
Trust as a Business Strategy
Trust by Proxy
Trust Doesn't Require a Big Budget
Work Backwards From Your Ideal Life
Your Word is Your Contract
Database Internals
_ Database Internals
B-Tree
Column vs Row oriented databases
Hybrid transactional and analytical processing databases
Memory vs Disk based databases
Online analytical processing databases
Online transaction processing databases
Getting Acquired
_Getting Acquired
A 5-Point Checklist for Evaluating a SaaS Acquisition
Always Get Multiple Acquisition Offers
Angel Investment as Validation and Partnership
Ask for Advice to Get Investment
Bootstrapping Forces Efficiency and Customer Focus
Brand Storytelling Connects with Emotion
Build a Culture of Positivity
Building Credibility to Unlock Growth
Caring for Your Team During an Acquisition
Celebrate Small Wins to Maintain Momentum
Chance Favors Action
Competition as a Form of Flattery
Content as the Engine of Inbound Marketing
Continuously Learn From Your Customers
Create a Predictable and Repeatable Revenue Model
Customer Success as a Growth Strategy
Distribution as a Competitive Advantage
Emotional Detachment from Business Ideas
Entrepreneurship as Applied Learning
External Platform Risk
Focus on What Matters Most Customers
Focusing on High-Value Customer Segments
Founder Burnout and Readiness to Exit
Founder-Friendly Acquisition Offers
Frugality in Early-Stage Startups
Funding Stages and Acquisition Probability
Hire for Attitude and Motivation Over Experience
Identifying Opportunities by Observing Patterns
Inquiry as the Engine of Entrepreneurship
Internal Competition as a Motivational Tool
Key Metrics That Determine a Valuation Multiple
Key Negotiation Points for a Letter of Intent (LOI)
Leadership Failures in Communicating Big Changes
Listen to Your Customers to Find Solutions
Love for the Work Sustains Entrepreneurial Grind
Money is a Byproduct of Solving Problems
Negotiating Your First Investment
Persistent and Creative PR Outreach
Pivoting to a Progressive Web App as a Risk Mitigation Strategy
Profitability is Control
SDE vs EBITDA for Earnings Calculation
Seller Financing as an Acquisition Tool
Selling Benefits Over Features
Serial Entrepreneurship as a Career Path
Serve the Intent Behind Keywords
Show Dont Tell in Product Demos
Stories Make Complex Information Digestible
Strategic Platform Expansion
Strategic Relocation as a Profitability Lever
Strategic vs Financial Acquisitions
Strengthen Your Financial Model by Dominating One Channel
The Appeal of SaaS Businesses for Acquisition
The Best Time to Raise Money is When You Dont Need It
The CEO as Navigator and Obstacle Remover
The CEO's Primary Role is to Delegate
The Core Formula for Startup Valuation
The David vs Goliath Narrative
The dual motivations of entrepreneurship
The Evolving Nature of a Brand Story
The Intensity of Acquisition Due Diligence
The Law of Diminishing Returns in Customer Acquisition
The Leader's Role in Maintaining Team Harmony
The Loneliness of the CEO
The Portfolio Approach to Entrepreneurship
The Power of a Good Story for PR
The Power of a Minimum Viable Product
The Six Legal Stages of an Acquisition
The Strategic Wisdom of an Early Exit
The Three Pillars of a Successful Startup
The VC Funding Treadmill
The White-Label Reseller Model for Distribution
Trust Your Team and Relinquish Control
Use Competitors to Build Trust and Confidence
Using an SBA Loan to Finance an Acquisition
Using PR and Petitions to Influence Platform Holders
Using Revenue for High-Growth Valuation
What Acquirers Look For in a Startup
Your Company Mission is Your North Star
Guerrilla Marketing
_Guerrilla Marketing
A seven-step program for successful marketing
Act like a child
Appeal to both left-brained and right-brained people
Augment your marketing
Automate your marketing
Be easy to do business with
Be flexible to meet customer needs
Be generous with your customers
Build your own mailing list
Building customer confidence
Canvassing is the original marketing method
Commitment in marketing
Consistency in marketing
Content over style
Convenience for the customer
Cooperate with other businesses
Create a competitive advantage
Create a marketing calendar
Create a memorable theme line
Create a positive kinesthetic sensation
Create a seven-sentence guerrilla marketing strategy
Creative marketing is profitable marketing
Creativity comes from knowledge
Customer follow-up
Customer involvement
Develop a meme for your business
Develop an elevator speech
Direct mail allows for precise targeting
Distinguish between image and identity
Each marketing medium has its own strength
Embrace barter
Focus on existing customers
Focus on value not price
Focus your marketing on a core idea
Follow up or fail
Four methods of inexpensive research
Gaining consent in marketing
Generate word-of-mouth marketing
Get involved in your community
Give away valuable information
Grow geometrically not linearly
Guerrilla marketing focuses on profits not just sales
Guerrilla marketing is based on psychology not guesswork
Guerrilla marketing uses unconventional means to achieve conventional goals
Identify your target markets
Interdependence with other businesses
Join clubs and organizations to network
Leverage classified advertising
Leverage your inner circle
Maintain focus instead of diversifying
Market to the unconscious mind
Marketing as an assortment of weapons
Marketing as an investment
Marketing insight is seeing through your customers eyes
Marketing is a circle
Marketing is a process not an event
Marketing is about the customer not you
Marketing is every point of contact
Marketing is the art of changing minds
Marketing is the truth made fascinating
Master the yellow pages
Maximedia is now affordable for small businesses
Measurement in marketing
Minimedia marketing gives guerrillas an advantage
Neatness reflects on your business
Offer a strong guarantee
Offer free consultations to open doors
Offer gift certificates
Optimize your website for search engines
Passion is the fuel of marketing
Patience in marketing
Positioning is the single most important decision
Practice fervent follow-up
Profits come subsequent to the sale
Publish a newsletter to stay in touch with customers
Quality is a prerequisite for effective marketing
Research provides a connection with your customers
Respect your customers time
Service is whatever the customer wants it to be
Set up per-inquiry or per-order arrangements
Small size is an advantage in marketing
Speak at clubs and organizations to generate leads
Start with a creative strategy
Start with a plan and commit to it
Stick with your marketing program to save money
Technological armament
The element of amazement in marketing
The rule of thirds for online marketing
The Sixteen Monumental Secrets of Guerrilla Marketing
Use a combination of marketing weapons
Use a meme not just a logo
Use affiliate programs to expand your reach
Use blogs to connect with your audience
Use bulletin boards to reach a local audience
Use circulars and brochures to inform and sell
Use contests and sweepstakes to build your mailing list
Use cooperative advertising funds
Use free demonstrations to showcase your product
Use free seminars to attract and convert prospects
Use fusion marketing to share costs and expand your reach
Use magazines to build credibility
Use newspapers to reach a local audience
Use outdoor advertising as a reminder
Use party-plan marketing to create a buying frenzy
Use personal letters to build relationships
Use podcasting to reach a global audience
Use public relations to build credibility
Use radio to build an intimate connection
Use signs to trigger impulse purchases
Use telephone marketing to connect with prospects
Use television to demonstrate your product
Use trade shows to connect with serious buyers
Use webinars and teleseminars to educate and sell
Write articles and columns to establish your authority
You are your own best marketing weapon
Your business is a people business
Your company name is your first marketing weapon
Your telephone demeanor is a critical first impression
How to Take Smart Notes
3 types of notes
7 plus-minus 2 law
_ How to Take Smart Notes
Abstractions help in problem solving
Adding existing ideas and resolving conflicts
Archivist vs writer approach to keyword names
Being an expert is better than planning
Being flexible in changing the direction helps not to lose motivation
Building network helps finding important topics
Context is important to understand notes
Creativity helps applying same ideas in different contexts
Deal with confirmation bias when writing notes
Decision making takes resource, limiting the amount of decisions helps
Develop the notes
Discovery of structural patterns
Don't divide attention
External memory gives us right to forget information
Facing opposite ideas helps improving our thinking
How to add information to the slip-box
Learning is about building bridges and not about remembering facts
Link notes together
List of tools to take notes
Long term motivation is required to improve
Maintain the text structure
Make fleeting notes
Make notes while reading
Make permanent notes
Make sure you see what you think you see
Multitasking is bad
Nobody starts from scratch
Proofread the draft
Questions written during the note taking are perfect basement for our feature articles
Redefine the problem to apply the existing solutions
Remembering is harder than understanding
Rereading and rewriting are dangerous
Splitting tasks to smaller ones boosts productivity
Splitting work to smaller pieces helps finishing work faster
Spot patterns and find important points
Steps to take notes
Strict structure helps to improve creativity
Taking simple ideas seriously
The best ideas are not glimpse, they are results of long thinking
The faster we can reach a specific note from index the better
The more efforts we put into retrieving the information the better it works
Thinking beyond the context makes the difference
Thinking is only possible on paper
To a certain point learning is understanding
Turn the notes into a draft
Types of cross-references
Understanding is required for good notes
Use the notes to find the arguments
Work on different projects in the same time
Influence
_Influence
Captainitis - The Danger of Blindly Following Authority
Commitments are More Powerful When They Are Active, Public, and Effortful
Commitments Grow Their Own Legs
Controlled Responding vs. Automatic Responding
Exploiting Automatic Responses
Factors That Influence Liking
Fixed-Action Patterns Trigger Automatic Responses
Foot-in-the-Door Technique
Inner Choice and Commitment
Judgmental Heuristics
Modern Automaticity
Optimal Conditions for the Scarcity Principle
Primitive Automaticity
Psychological Reactance
Reciprocal Concessions
Rejection-Then-Retreat Technique
Scarcity Tactics
Similarity and Social Proof
Symbols of Authority
The Authority Principle
The Because Heuristic
The Contrast Principle
The Liking Principle
The Power of Commitment and Consistency
The Principle of Social Proof
The Rule of Reciprocation Can Trigger Unequal Exchanges
The Rule of Reciprocation Enforces Uninvited Debts
The Rule of Reciprocation Overpowers Liking
The Rule of Reciprocation
The Scarcity Principle
Trigger Feature
Uncertainty Makes Social Proof More Powerful
Laws of UX
_Laws of UX
Aesthetic–Usability Effect
Applying Psychology in Design
Cognitive Load
Doherty Threshold
Ethical Design
Fitts's Law
Hick's Law
Jakob's Law
Mental Model
Miller's Law
Peak–End Rule
Postel's Law
Tesler's Law
von Restorff Effect
Lean Analytics
_Lean Analytics
Bass diffusion curve
Conversion Funnel
Data-informed decision making
E-commerce business model
Empathy (startup stage)
Entrepreneurs are prone to self-deception
Free mobile app business model
Instincts are for inspiration, data is for validation
Intrapreneurship
Key Performance Indicator
Lines in the sand
Local maxima vs global maxima
Matching metrics to business model and startup stage
Media site business model
Revenue (startup stage)
SaaS business model
Scale (startup stage)
Segmentation in analytics
The five knobs of business growth
The five stages of a startup
The Lean Analytics philosophy
The One Metric That Matters (OMTM)
The role of the marketplace owner
Two-sided marketplace business model
User-Generated Content (UGC) business model
Virality (startup stage)
What to do when you don't have a baseline
Marketing High Technology
_Marketing High Technology
A Big Crisis Requires a Crusade
A Device is Not a Product Without the Right Distribution
A Marketing Crusade Requires Total Company Commitment
A Marketing Plan is a Communication Document
A Service Infrastructure is Essential for Good Service
A Service-Oriented Attitude is Not Enough
Aggressive Low Prices Can Create a Capacity Crisis
Annihilate Competitors When You Can
Bad Service Costs Money, Good Service Earns It
Be International or Fail
Be Significantly Different, Not Just Slightly Better
Big, Long-Term Plans are Risky
Charge What the Market Will Bear (Long-Term)
Competitors Can Legitimize Your Strategy
Customers are Getting Smarter About Service
Delegate Decision-Making to Local Management
Develop and Test Price Justifications
Device Homogenization Increases the Importance of Other Differentiators
Differentiate the Product, Not Just the Device
Differentiation is Also a Sacrifice
Don't Price by Cost Computation
Engage the Sales Force Early and Earn Their Buy-In
Execution Alone is Not Enough
Factory vs. Field Conflict is a Symptom of a Management Problem
Fitness for Needs
Focus on System-Level Advantages, Not Just Component Specs
For High-Tech, the Selling Process is the Promotion
Giving the Wrong Sales Force the Wrong Direction is a Formula for Disaster
Good Advertising and PR are Afterthoughts
Good Plans Increase the Chance of Success, They Don't Guarantee It
Good Service is a Juggernaut Differentiator
Good Service is a Strategic Problem, Not Just an Operational One
Good Service Starts at the Top
Great Devices are Invented in the Lab, Great Products in Marketing
Great Products Make Great Salespeople
Great Products Need a Soul
High Initial Prices Can Inhibit Market Adoption
High Product Quality is the Cornerstone of Good Service
High-Tech Marketing is Different from Consumer Marketing
High-Tech Pricing is Highly Subjective
In High-Tech, the Customer Often Comes Last in Planning
Intangibles are the Most Powerful Differentiators
International Operations Require High-Level Management
Invention Alone is Not Enough
Japanese Competitors Compete to the Death
Leaders Attack Abroad, Followers Defend at Home
Losing International Market Share Comes Home to Haunt You
Market Prices are Set by the Lowest-Cost Competitor
Market Segmentation is the Key to Survival
Market Segments are Defined by Customer Needs
Marketing as Civilized Warfare
Marketing Crises as Opportunities for Growth
Marketing Myopia is Defining Your Business by Product Instead of Need
Marketing Needs Crusaders, Not Just Managers or Champions
Marketing Plans Should Be Living Documents
Marketing's Job is to Make Products Easy to Sell
Plan at the Right Level (Device, Product, or Business)
Planning is a Means to an End, Not the End Itself
Positioning Creates Focus and Enables Repetition
Positioning is a Psychological Location in the Customer's Mind
Price and Position are Intimately Related
Price the Product, Not the Device
Pricing Must Account for Distributor Margins
Product Crusades are Waged by Product Champions
Products are Sold Through Distribution, Not To Distribution
Promotions are Born from Customer Benefits, Not Ad Agencies
Repositioning a Product by Bundling Strengths
Sales and Distribution are a Massively Underutilized Resource
Salespeople as Differentiators
Segment Barriers Protect Profitable Niches
Segmentation Allows Davids to Slay Goliaths
Selling a Dog
Service is Segmented
Service Must Be Designed Into the Product
Setting Audacious Goals to Rally a Team
Slightly Better is a Losing Strategy
Small Differences in Cost and Margin Create Large Differences in Price
Swallow Your Pride and Accept the Position the Market Gives You
The 15-30 Rule of Market Share and Profitability
The 80-20 Rule is Misleading for Service
The Company Itself is a Differentiator
The Cost of Completing a Product is Often Many Times the Cost of the Device
The Cost of Nationalism
The Customer's Inability to Perceive Difference
The First Task of Planning is to Define the Target Market Segment
The Hidden Cost of Misusing Distribution
The Investment Required to Attack a Leader is 70 Percent of Their Sales
The Peril of Mindless Market Share Pursuit
The Power of a Rallying Cry
The Product is Almost Right for Foreign Markets
The Product Must Evolve with the Customer Base
The Product of Business is Total Customer Satisfaction
The Purpose of a Business is to Create and Keep a Customer
The Strategic Principle of Marketing
Use a Specialist to Do a Specialized Job
Use Peer Pressure to Drive Performance
World Markets Add Stability
You Cannot Hold Two Divergent Positions at Once
You Must Participate in Foreign Markets to Understand Them
Misbelief
_Misbelief
A Lack of Control Increases Patternicity and Superstition
A Sense of Injustice Can Fuel Misbelief
Belief change is typically rare
Benjamin Franklin Effect
Birds Aren't Real as a Parody of Misbelief Communities
Blaming a Villain Provides a False Sense of Control
Building Cognitive Prosthetics to Counteract Misbelief
Cognitive Dissonance Entrenches Beliefs After Commitment
Confirmation Bias
Conspiracy Theories Are Built on a Scaffold of Trust
Direct confrontation fails with misbelievers
Dunning-Kruger Effect
Extreme Beliefs Can Function as a Shibboleth
Healthy skepticism vs dysfunctional doubt
Illusion of Explanatory Depth
Illusory Truth Effect
Intellectual Humility Is an Antidote to Misbelief
Intentional Harm Is Perceived as More Painful
Learned Helplessness
Loss of Trust Connects Disparate Misbeliefs
Magical Ideation and Faulty Memory Correlate with Misbelief
Misbelief affects all political affiliations
Misbelief as a distorted lens
Misbeliever Communities Provide Intense Social Belonging
Misinformation Is Engaging and Entertaining
Misinformation Is the Junk Food of the Mind
Mistrust Creates a Self-Reinforcing Spiral
Motivated Reasoning
Narcissism Can Increase Vulnerability to Misbelief
Patternicity Is the Tendency to Find Meaningful Patterns in Randomness
Personality Traits Can Increase Susceptibility to Misbelief
Proportionality Bias
Scarcity Mindset
Secure Attachment
Self-acceptance reduces psychological defenses
Sleep Paralysis Can Be Misinterpreted as a Paranormal Experience
Social Proof
Solution Aversion
Stress is Cumulative and Can Be Misattributed
The Benefits of Trust Outweigh the Costs of Betrayal
The Cognitive Reflection Test Measures the Tendency to Override Intuition
The Desire for Unique Knowledge Fuels Misbelief
The Four Elements of Misbelief
The Funnel of Misbelief
The Mind Is Not a Computer
The Pain of Ostracism Can Drive People to Fringe Groups
Trust Is the Lubricant of a Functioning Society
Video editing creates false evidence
Violation of the Social Contract Fuels Animosity Towards Misbelievers
Wason Selection Task
We All Use Cognitive Shortcuts to Form Beliefs
Move fast and break things
_Move fast and break things
Disintermediation
Information Wants to Be Free
Monopoly in the Digital Age
Network Effects
Regulatory Capture
The Attention Economy
The Centralization of the Internet and its Impact on Creative Arts
The Counter-Cultural Origins of the Internet
The Destruction of Creative Industries in the Digital Age
The Devaluation of Music in the Digital Age
The Illusion of Choice in a Centralized Web
The Impact of Technology on Our Humanity
The Influence of Libertarianism on the Internet
The Potential for a Digital Renaissance
The Symbiotic Relationship Between Piracy and the Tech Industry
The Tech Industry and Income Inequality
Never Eat Alone
_ Never Eat Alone
Adjust the Johari window
Always follow-up after connecting
Basic connecting rules
Create your online-identity
Define your goal
Develop your personal brand
Digital networking is important
Don't keep track of your givings
Find mentors and mentees
Find super-connectors and connect with them
Make more connections with powerful people
Party-hosting rules
Pinging people few times a year is necessary to maintain the connection
Prefer warm call over cold calls
Prepare before talking to people
Real networking is about making others more successful
Relationships are more stable than experience
Start building connections early
Track your connections, write lists
Use non-verbal cues
Use your money and time to build the connections
No Rules Rules. Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
4A feedback guidelines
_ No Rules Rules. Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention
Alignment is a tree and not a pyramid
Anonymous feedback works worse
As a lead or manager you should proactively ask for feedback
Feedback should be frequent
Feeling safe to dream and speak up is required for innovations
Giving direct and honest feedback boosts productivity a lot
Giving more freedom leads to more ownership and more responsible behavior
It is important to get feedback from very different people because of the different communication style
Lead with context, not control
Netflix Culture Deck
Netflix is a team, not a family
Not having secrets improves the team atmosphere
Paying a lot and removing bonuses will improve the level of freedom
Remove vacation policy and encourage people to use it
Socializing the ideas makes you understand more details about it.
Steps to establish atmosphere of freedom
Talented people work much more efficiently with each others
The keeper test
Types of meetings to get feedback
You should make decisions which are good for the company and not to please your boss
Obviously Awesome
"What Would Customers Do Without You?"
_Obviously Awesome
A Positioning Document is Better Than a Statement
Account-Based Marketing
Actionable Segmentation Goes Beyond Demographics
Any Product Can Be Positioned in Multiple Markets
Big Fish, Small Pond
Boring is Better Than Baffling
Choose a Market Frame of Reference Deliberately
Choose a Market That Highlights Your Strengths
Cluster Value into Themes
Competitive Alternatives
Consider an External Facilitator
Content Marketing
Context Shapes Perception of Value
Create a Master Messaging Document
Create a New Game
Customer Positioning vs. Investor Positioning
Deliberate Positioning is a Choice
Don't Assume Customers Will Figure it Out
Don't Let Trends Overshadow Your Market
Don't Start with the Product
Establish a Common Positioning Vocabulary
Features are Only Unique in Relation to Alternatives
Focus on Best-Fit Customers
Focus on Consideration, Not Retention, Attributes
Focus on Features, Not Value (For Now)
Focus on Your Best Customers' Alternatives
From Features to Benefits to Value
Get Buy-in from All Stakeholders
Great Positioning is a Superpower
Great Positioning is Deliberate
Group Alternatives into Categories
Head to Head
Leadership Must Drive Positioning
Let Go of Positioning Baggage
List Everything, Even the "Negatives"
Look for Patterns in Your Best Customers
Market Category
Market Confusion Starts with an Internal Disconnect
Positioning from Database to Data Warehouse
Positioning Impacts Product and Pricing
Positioning is a Skill, Not Fate
Positioning is a Team Sport
Positioning is Context Setting
Positioning is the Foundation of Marketing and Sales
Positioning Statements are a Trap
Product vs. Company Positioning
Products Can Be Many Things to Many People
Relevant Trends
Segmentation is About Who Cares the Most
Share Your Positioning Across the Organization
Start with Your Best Customers' Alternatives
Start with Your Best Customers
Target as Narrowly as You Can (For Now)
Target Market Characteristics
The Customer's Perspective on Competitors is What Matters
The Five Components of Effective Positioning
The Three Circles of Positioning
The Two Traps of Positioning
Three Styles of Market Positioning
Three Ways to Find Your Market
Track and Adjust Your Positioning Over Time
Translate Positioning into a Sales Story
Trends Add Relevance and Urgency
Trends are Optional
Unique Attributes
Use a Positioning Canvas
Use Trends Cautiously
Value (and proof)
Value is About Customer Goals
Weak Positioning Has Clear Symptoms
Your Opinion is Irrelevant Without Proof
Start Small
_Start Small
A 12-Step Guide to Pricing Your Product
A Free Approach to Measuring Market Demand
A Three-Step Process for Hiring a Virtual Assistant
Actionable Note-Taking
Building Your Email List
Dollarizing Your Time
Evaluating Market Size for a Niche
Market First vs Product First
Marketing as a Key Entrepreneurial Skill
Micropreneur vs Bootstrapper
Mobile Applications
Ownership as a Core Entrepreneurial Drive
Process as a Foundation for Freedom
Project vs Product
Self-Funded Startup Focus
Testing an Idea with a Mini Sales Site
The Advantages of Vertical Markets
The Build vs Buy Decision for Startups
The Challenge of Niche Selection
The Continuous Nature of a Startup
The Dangers of Inconsistency
The Dip in the Startup Journey
The Grow It Option After Launch
The Hamster Wheel of Technology
The Hidden Costs of Customer Support
The Hybrid Role of a Startup Entrepreneur
The Ideal Launch Strategy
The Importance of Clear Startup Goals
The Importance of Deliberate Rest
The Importance of Traffic Quality
The Importance of Warm Niches
The Market-First Approach to Startups
The Math of Online Sales
The Micropreneur Methodology for Niche Evaluation
The Necessity of an Online Target Market
The Perils of Venture Capital
The Power of Email Marketing
The Power of Niche Markets
The Power of Outsourcing for Startups
The Power of Podcasting and Video Blogging
The Power of Written and Public Goals
The Primary Goal of a Sales Website
The Product Success Triangle
The Pros and Cons of Multiple Products
The Reality of Social Media Marketing
The Reality of Startup Workload
The Sales Funnel
The Serial Micropreneurship Model
The Software Product Myth
The Startup Lottery
The Three Tiers of Keyword Difficulty Tools
The Two Faces of SEO
The Two Tiers of Traffic Strategies
The Upfront Investment of a Startup
The Value of a Small Initial Profit Goal
The Value Proposition of a Virtual Assistant
Third-Party Plug-ins
Three Hiring Arrangements for Virtual Assistants
Understanding Traffic Sources
Understanding Your Customer Profile
When a Virtual Assistant is Most Helpful
The 7 Day Startup
5 criteria for a scalable business model
9 Elements of a Great Bootstrapped Business Idea
10 Ways to Market Your Business
_The 7 Day Startup MoC
Ability to launch quickly
An asset you can sell
Avoid making assumptions
Avoid premature optimization
Avoid short-term thinking
Basic marketing funnel
Benchmark against the best
Build a business that can run without you
Build a website in one day
Case study of an unscalable business
Create Content on Your Site
Do what you say you will do
Doing Free Work
Enjoyable daily tasks
Entrepreneur vs Wantrepreneur
Fire bad customers
Flawed validation techniques
Focus on paying customers
Focus on retention
Forums and Online Groups
Guest Blogging
How to choose a business name
Hustle vs Anti-Hustle
Large market potential
Launch day is just the beginning
Operates profitably without the founder
Outlearn your competition
Parkinsons Law
Podcasting
Presenting
Startup vs Business
The 7 Day Startup
The importance of co-founders
The One Metric That Matters
Unique lead generation advantage
Validate monetization strategy early
The Automatic Customer
A strong brand is the best defense against giant retailers
Accurately calculating risk is critical for the peace-of-mind model
An ultimatum can force the subscription decision
Appealing to rationality is key for B2B subscriptions
Building network density is key to viability
Business-to-business membership sites are often the most profitable
Negative churn is the key to exponential growth
Recurring revenue increases business valuation
Subscription touchpoints create upsell opportunities
Subscriptions are a form of paid market research
Subscriptions automate and improve cash flow
Subscriptions create customer stickiness
Subscriptions increase customer lifetime value
Subscriptions provide valuable customer data
Subscriptions smooth out business demand
Switching to a subscription model can cause internal resistance
The Access Generation prefers access over ownership
The All-You-Can-Eat Library model provides unlimited access to a large content warehouse
The best time to upsell a customer is within 90 days of a purchase
The CAC Payback Period measures cash flow efficiency
The Consumables model automates the purchase of regularly needed products
The CUF to CAC ratio measures cash flow at the point of sale
The first 90 days are critical for customer retention
The Front-of-the-Line model sells priority access and service
The Long Tail enables niche subscription businesses
The LTV to CAC ratio is the key indicator of subscription business viability
The magic of float is a key profit driver in insurance models
The Membership Website model monetizes specialized knowledge
The network effect can work in reverse
The network effect creates a virtuous cycle of growth
The Network Model's value increases with more users
The Peace-of-Mind model sells insurance against a future problem
The Private Club model sells access to scarcity and status
The Sell-Do cycle creates business stress
The set it and forget it principle removes mental load
The Simplifier model automates recurring tasks for busy customers
The Simplifier model is most effective with affluent customers
The Subscription model is a fundamentally better way to do business
The Sunk Cost Fallacy drives subscription value
The surprise box can be a Trojan Horse for e-commerce
The Surprise Box model delivers a curated discovery experience
The three ways to fund a subscription business
The value of a private club is often the network not the asset
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
_The Hard Thing About Hard Things – Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
Hire for Strength Not Lack of Weakness
How to Demote a Loyal Friend
How to Fire an Executive
If You Are Going to Eat Shit Don't Nibble
Leadership Lessons from a Company's Near-Death Experience
Lies That Losers Tell
Nobody Cares
People Products Profits In That Order
Personal Experience Is the Only True Source of Knowledge
Prioritize What's Important Not Just What's Urgent
Seek Diverse Perspectives to Separate Fact from Perception
Tell It Like It Is
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
The Importance of a Plan B
The Right Way to Lay People Off
The Struggle
The Two Startup Emotions Euphoria and Terror
There Are No Formulas for the Hard Things
There Are No Silver Bullets Only Lead Bullets
The Lean Startup
_The Lean Startup
A Pivot is a Structured Course Correction
A Startup is a Human Institution Designed to Create New Products and Services Under Conditions of Extreme Uncertainty
A Startup's Runway is the Number of Pivots it Can Make
Achieving Failure is Successfully Executing a Flawed Plan
An Adaptive Organization Can Adjust its Process and Performance to Current Conditions
An Experiment is a Product
Analysis Paralysis is the Danger of Over-Analyzing and Under-Building
Building an MVP Involves Several Risks
Cohort Analysis is a Tool for Understanding Customer Behavior Over Time
Continuous Deployment Enables Small Batches
Early Adopters are Key to Testing an MVP
Entrepreneurial Management is a Discipline for Dealing with Extreme Uncertainty
Entrepreneurs are Everywhere
Genchi Gembutsu is the Principle of Go and See for Yourself
Hypothesis-Driven Pull Guides Product Development
Innovation Accounting is a System for Measuring Progress in a Startup
Innovation Accounting is a System for Tracking Progress in a Startup
Innovation is a Bottom-Up, Decentralized, and Unpredictable Process
Innovation Teams Require a Special Structure to Succeed
Intrapreneurship is the Practice of Entrepreneurship within a Large Organization
Kanban for Validated Learning
Leap-of-Faith Assumptions are the Riskiest Assumptions in a Startup's Business Plan
Portfolio Thinking for Innovation
Quality and Design in an MVP are Defined by the Customer
Small Batches Accelerate Learning
Startups as Experiments
Success is Not Delivering a Feature
Sustainable Growth Comes from the Actions of Past Customers
The Audacity of Zero
The Build-Measure-Learn Feedback Loop is the Core of the Lean Startup Methodology
The Concierge MVP is a Hands-On Approach to Testing a Business Idea
The Customer Archetype is a Guide for Product Development
The Engine of Growth is the Mechanism that Drives Sustainable Growth for a Startup
The Five Whys is a Tool for Root Cause Analysis
The Innovation Sandbox Protects Both the Startup and the Parent Company
The Lean Startup is a Methodology for Developing Businesses and Products
The Pivot Catalog
The Purpose of an MVP is to Start the Learning Process
The Three A's of Metrics - Actionable, Accessible, and Auditable
The Three Engines of Growth
The Three Learning Milestones of Innovation Accounting
The Value Hypothesis and the Growth Hypothesis are the Two Most Important Assumptions for a Startup
The Wizard of Oz MVP Creates the Illusion of a Fully Functional Product
Validated Learning is the Process of Demonstrating Progress in a Startup
Value vs. Waste in a Startup
Vanity Metrics Can Be Deceiving
Vision, Strategy, and Product Define the Direction of a Startup
Week-over-week Growth
The Right It
Data Beats Opinions
Failophobia
False Negatives
False Positives
FLOP
Market Engagement Hypothesis
Market Failure
Other Peoples Data (OPD)
Pretotyping
The Confirmation-Bias Problem
The Fake Door Pretotype
The No-Skin-in-the-Game Problem
The One-Night Stand Pretotype
The Pinocchio Pretotype
The Prediction Problem
The Rashomon Effect
The Relabel Pretotype
Think Cheap, Cheaper, Cheapest
Think Globally, Test Locally
Thoughtland
The SaaS Playbook
20 Common B2B SaaS Marketing Approaches
_The SaaS Playbook
A Deep Dive into the 3 High 3 Low Metrics Framework
A Framework for Prioritizing Marketing Approaches
A Framework for Your Next Hire
A Great Product Will Not Sell Itself
A Narrow Focus Enables an Actionable Playbook
Advice for Technical and Non-Technical Founders
Bootstrapping Is a Spectrum and a Mindset
Build a High-Performing Team Not a Family
Choose a Few Mentors Whose Success You Want to Emulate
Churn Is the Silent Killer of SaaS Businesses
Customer Conversations Are the Most Valuable Form of Market Research
Daily Active Users
Delegate Roles Not Tasks
Do You Need a Cofounder
Enterprise Plans Should Be Priced at a 10-20x Premium
Expansion Revenue Is a SaaS Growth Cheat Code
Filter Feature Requests to Maintain Product Vision
Focus on the Customer's Problem Not Their Suggested Solution
Focus on Your Customers Not Your Competition
Founder Effectiveness Is About Working on the Right Things
Founder Retreats Provide Clarity and Prevent Drift
Four Common Siren Songs for SaaS Founders
Four Defensible Moats for a SaaS Business
Freemium Is a Samurai Sword Not a Silver Bullet
Funding Is a Tool Not a Goal
High-Touch vs Low-Touch SaaS Marketing Funnels
How to Avoid Founder Burnout
How to Compete in a Competitive SaaS Market
How to Diagnose a Leaky SaaS Funnel
How to Hire Great People for a Bootstrapped SaaS
How to Incentivize Your SaaS Team
How to Raise Prices for a SaaS Product
Mastermind Groups Provide Growth Accountability and Support
MRR and Growth Rate Are Your North Star Metrics
Net Negative Churn Is the Holy Grail of SaaS
Pricing Is the Most Powerful Growth Lever in SaaS
Product-Market Fit vs Escape Velocity
Product-market fit
Raise Your Prices It Unlocks Growth
Reframe Obstacles as Speed Bumps Not Roadblocks
SaaS Cheat Codes
SaaS Is a Superior Business Model for Bootstrappers
Segment Churn to Understand Why Customers Leave
Segment Customers to Create Effective Pricing Tiers
The 3 High 3 Low Metrics Framework
The Bootstrapped Founder's Journey Is a Mix of Highs and Lows
The Consultative SaaS Sales Demo
The Dual Funnel Is a SaaS Growth Cheat Code
The Founder's Mindset Three Keys to Success
The Risk vs Certainty Framework for Founder Focus
The Stair Step Method of Entrepreneurship
The Three Levels of Thinkers Task Project and Owner
This Playbook Is for Building a 7-Figure SaaS
To Ask for a Credit Card Up Front or Not
Treat Marketing as a Series of Measured Experiments
Unique Features Are Not a Defensible Moat
Virality Is a SaaS Growth Cheat Code
What Makes a Good Manager
The Ultimate Sales Machine
_The Ultimate Sales Machine
Add-on Sales at the Point of Purchase
An Objection is an Opportunity to Close
Best Buyers vs. All Buyers
Brochures as Sales Tools
Change Starts at the Top
Contests to Drive Performance
Create Buy-in by Making People Feel the Pain
Crisis Scan Function
Descriptive Email Subject Lines
Document Everything
Dream Affiliates
Education-Based Marketing
Effective Direct Mail
Effective Training Sessions
Eight Common Mistakes Presenters Make
Fear as a Motivator
Features Tell, Benefits Sell
Formalized Training
Goal Setting as a Tool for Focus
Got-a-Minute Meetings
Hire for Personality, Not Background
How to Attract Superstars
How to Get Around the Gatekeeper
How to Manage Superstars
Impact Areas
Isolating the Objection
Leaders as Role Models
Leverage the Collective Intelligence of Your Team
Lifetime Value of a Client
Market Data vs. Product Data
Market Influencers
Measuring Effectiveness
People Respect What You Inspect
Performance-Based Compensation
Pigheaded Determination and Discipline
Prioritize Difficult Tasks
Proactive vs. Reactive Work
Public Relations as a Strategic Weapon
Rapport is Bulletproof
Repetition is Key to Mastery
Risk Reversal
Rules for Effective Advertising
Rules for Effective Presenting
Setting the Market's Buying Criteria
Sharpening the Saw
Six Steps to Great Time Management
Social Proof
Stacked Marketing
Straight Commission Sales Team
Strategy vs. Tactic
The 'Reject Them First' Prescreen
The 'Shy Yes' Page
The 10 Steps to Great Follow-up
The 10 Steps to Implement Any New Policy
The 80-20 Rule (Pareto Principle)
The Best-Neighborhood Strategy
The Buyer's Pyramid
The Dream 100
The Forgetting Curve
The Importance of Continuous Training
The Importance of Follow-Up
The Importance of Hiring Superstars
The Learning Mindset
The Moral Obligation to Close
The Power of 'Lumpy Mail'
The Power of Affirmations
The Power of Visuals
The Reticular Activating System (RAS)
The Sales Performance Worksheet
The Seven Musts of Marketing
The Seven Steps to Every Sale
The Six Most Important Tasks
The Six Steps of the Dream 100
The Smoking Gun
The Stadium Pitch (or Core Story)
The Three Modes of Communication
The Three Ps (Planning, Procedures, and Policies)
The Three Rules of a Great Trade Show
The Three-Step Superstar Interview
Think and Act Like a Big Company
Time Blocking
Top-of-Mind Awareness
Touch It Once
Training Methods
Training Sets Standards
Tribal Method of Training
Ultimate Strategic Position
What Makes a Superstar
Work on the Business, Not Just in the Business
Workshop-Style Meetings
Your Website as a Community
Traction
_Traction
A business should be a self-sustaining entity
Be Open-Minded, Growth-Oriented, and Vulnerable
Data Component
Defining Your Core Focus
Defining Your Core Values
Embracing the Entrepreneurial Journey
Five Common Entrepreneurial Frustrations
Hitting the Ceiling is Inevitable
The 10 Commandments of Solving Issues
The Accountability Chart
The EOS Implementation Sequence
The People Analyzer
The Six Key Components of EOS
Vision Component
Visionary and Integrator
Why we sleep
_Why we sleep
Adenosine forces us to sleep
All creatures have a built-in 24-hours schedule
Caffeine blocks adenosine
Definition and properties of sleeping
Morning larks and Night owls
Not many creatures sleep similarly to humans
Questions to check if we sleep enough
Sleeping is very important for our health
Types of sleep. REM and NREM
Zero to One
_Zero to One
A Founder's Greatest Danger Is Believing Their Own Myth
A startups foundation cannot be fixed
Build a Tightly-Knit Team, Not a Transactional Workplace
Capitalism and competition are opposites
Company Culture Is How the Company Works, Not Its Perks
Competition is a destructive ideology
Complementary Businesses Empower Humans
Complex Sales
Computers Are Complements, Not Substitutes for Humans
Contrarian thinking reveals the future
Define Roles to Reduce Internal Conflict
Distribution Is as Important as Product
Durability is more important than short-term growth
Founders as Modern Scapegoat-Kings
Four possible futures for humanity
Last Mover Advantage
Monopoly vs Perfect Competition
Popular beliefs can be delusional
Recruit on Specific Mission and Team Fit, Not Generic Perks
Selling Is More Than Just Selling a Product
Strong AI Is a Distant Concern, Complementarity Is the Present Opportunity
Success is not a matter of luck
Tesla's Success Is a Story of Answering the 7 Questions
The belief in luck can be a self-fulfilling prophecy
The Best Salesmanship Is Hidden
The Best Startups Are Like Cults
The choice between stagnation and singularity
The Distribution Spectrum
The Founder Archetype Is Defined by Extremes
The Founder's Paradox
The Future of Energy Innovation Requires Thinking Small
The Ideology of Computer Science Biases Towards Substitution
The importance of creating new things
The Myth of Social Entrepreneurship
The Power Law governs the universe
The Power Law of Distribution
The Seven Questions Every Business Must Answer
The value of a business is its future cash flow
The world still has secrets
Valuable companies are built on secrets
Value creation is not the same as value capture
Venture capital is a power law business
Viral Marketing Requires a Niche Starting Point
Viral Marketing
We live in a power law world
Why the Cleantech Bubble Failed
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
The Mom Test
Books
Courses
Visual Elements of User Interface Design
_ Visual Elements of User Interface Design
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Talks
YC
(X) How to Get Users and Grow (Gustaf Alstromer)
B2B Startup Metrics (Startup School)
Building Culture (Tim Brady)
Consumer Startup Metrics (Startup School)
How to Build An MVP (Startup School)
How to Evaluate Startup Ideas (Kevin Hale)
How to Get Your First Customers (Startup School)
How to Launch (Kat Mañalac)
How to Lead (Ali Rowghani)
How to Prioritize Your Time (Adora Cheung)
How to Set KPIs and Goals (Adora Cheung)
How To Talk To Users (Startup School)
How to Work Together (Kevin Hale)
Setting KPIs and Goals (Startup School)
Startup Business Models and Pricing (Startup School)
User acquision
5 “Boring” Decisions That Made Me a Multi-Millionaire
Break Through the 7 SaaS Plateaus
Hot to (not) invest?
YC Talks
Media MoC
Trying to track my stuff here!
Books
YC Talks
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