Leveling Up with Eric Siu

Latest Episodes:

How Andy Fowler, CEO of Nutshell, Built a Successful Business in the Crowded World of CRM Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

How do you start a successful business in the heavily crowded world of CRM? Today on Leveling Up, we talk to Andy Fowler, Cofounder and CEO of Nutshell, a user-friendly sales automation CRM that helps sales reps win more deals with fast onboarding, powerful reporting, and 100 percent free support. He shares some insight into how the business was established, how they developed a reputable sales process for sales automation, and why they made their developers and engineers answer customer calls when they first started out. Tuning in, you’ll learn why Nutshell is different from other CRMs and how, by listening to their customers, refining their product, and providing great service, they have grown into a successful company. Hear why they still make their product team members work with their support team and how they are managing to bring in more customers through helpful content than paid advertising. Tune in to discover how Nutshell has grown to the point that they are bringing in more than five million dollars in ARR, and the future plans for the company, including the launch of Nutshell Marketing!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:16] Introduction to Andy Fowler, Cofounder and CEO of Nutshell.
[00:57] How Andy met his Nutshell co-founders in high school.
[01:43] How Nutshell started out of the need for a CRM product for a friend’s business.
[03:41] Find out how Nutshell is different from the other CRMs out there: being easy to use.
[04:29] Why their reputable sales process for sales automation sets them apart.
[07:14] Nutshell’s new product: Nutshell Marketing.
[07:52] Nutshell’s number of customers, number of employees, and current ARR.
[09:29] How Nutshell competes in the crowded space of CRM through listening to customers, refinement, and great service.
[10:39] Some frameworks for customer development: why they make members of the product team get involved with the support team to hear directly from customers.
[12:16] Nutshell’s marketing strategy: how they are bringing in more customers through helpful content than paid advertising.
[15:05] Why they chose a free-trial offering over freemium.
[16:50] How they raised five million dollars and the long-term vision for the company.
[18:43] Where the company was at year three when most companies start making a profit.
[20:21] How Andy is getting better as a CEO by delegating the stuff he can do well.
[20:52] Andy’s favorite business book, The War of Art, and business tool, Google Sheets.
[22:52] Who can benefit from Nutshell: a sales team that takes many months to close a deal.

Resources From The Interview:

Must read book: Leveling Up

The War of Art

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What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.

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Growth Everywhere

Single Grain

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What Is The Peter Principle? (and How To Avoid It) Jun 04, 2021

Show notes

Today we are going to talk about the Peter Principle and how to avoid it.

Book Review - 7 Powers (and How I'm Using for My Businesses) Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

Today we are going to talk about the book 7 Powers and how I'm using it for my businesses.

Why Companies Should Allow Side Hustles Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

Today we are going to talk why companies should allow side hustles

How to Hire A-players Consistently With This Simple Hack Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

Today we are going to talk how to hire A-players consistently with this simple hack.

Lessons on Acquisitions and Income Share Agreements with Three-Time Founder and Grain CEO Mike Adams May 31, 2021

Show notes

Today’s guest is Mike Adams, Cofounder and CEO of Grain, a SaaS platform that records, transcribes, and shares highlights from Zoom video calls. Mike shares his history in the tech field, how he came to identify the need for a system like Grain, and how he founded it. He also mentions the many uses and benefits of the platform and its integrations with other platforms. As the founder of MissionU, which was shut down shortly after being acquired by WeWork, Mike talks through that process, the acquisition, and some of the valuable lessons he learned from its success and demise. Tuning in today, you’ll hear the pros and cons of income share agreements as vehicles to provide access to education and training instead of loans, and the importance of transparency. To find out more about Grain, how it makes money, and other insights from Mike as a successful three-time founder, make sure not to miss this episode!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:14] An introduction to three-time founder, Mike Adams.
[00:57] His history in tech and how he founded Grain.
[02:14] What inspired Mike to come up with the concept for Grain.
[04:02] Examples of use-cases of Grain, from interview settings and meetings between consultants and clients to general team knowledge.
[06:27] How Grain is different from similar products like Gong.
[08:16] The benefits of using Grain with embeddable partners like Slack.
[10:13] Other integrations, like Zapier, Dropbox Paper, Notion, Coda, and Miro, and the benefits of using embeddable media from Grain through them.
[12:00] How Grain makes money through subscriptions.
[12:59] Why Mike exited MissionU: not every VC-backed business is appropriately VC-backed.
[15:30] Why he didn’t actually make any money on the acquisition and why it was shut down shortly after.
[17:14] What he learned from the experience.
[17:46] The pros and cons of income share agreements as vehicles to provide access to education and training instead of loans.
[20:04] Mike’s history in education and training.
[21:22] Mike’s views on loans, financiers, and income share agreements in education and the importance of transparency.
[26:20] Mike’s cheat code for healthy living: training for triathlons.
[28:54] His favorite business tool and book.

Resources From The Interview:

Must read book: Inspired

The Mom Test

Mike Adams Email — mike@grain.co
Mike Adams Blog — mgadams.com

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

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Connect with Eric Siu:

Growth Everywhere

Single Grain

Eric Siu on Twitter

Are NFTs Dying? May 28, 2021

Show notes

Today we are going to talk about NFT and answer the question Are NFTs Dying?

How To Build An Audience With A Book May 26, 2021

Show notes

While book sales are rarely very lucrative, if you use your book to build an audience it can lead to success in other ways. Today Eric talks about the importance of having a strong message and using that message to build an audience. Tuning in, you’ll hear about why you should consider your book’s total addressable market before you write it, how understanding your audience will help you guide your marketing messaging, and how you can use your book to build your audience through other channels. Find out what we can learn from the success attained by the likes of Russell Brunson, Tim Ferriss, and Gary Vee through publishing books.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:23] The two things you have to do if you’re writing a book: Have a message and be willing to put in the work.
[00:55] Why Eric wrote his book Leveling Up and how it ties in with his life’s mission.
[01:57] The importance of thinking about your book’s total addressable market.
[02:23] How if the message is strong enough it will spread.
[02:57] How understanding your audience guides your marketing messaging.
[03:07] Thoughts on Russell Brunson and his success with book funnels.
[03:45] How you can use other channels along with your book to build your audience.
[04:21] How the publishing of books by Tim Ferriss and Gary Vee have led to their success.
[00:00] Closing thoughts on the value and timeless nature of books.
[05:31] Subscribe, hit the bell button, and let Eric know your thoughts in the comments.

Resources From The Interview:

Leveling Up

Russell Brunson

DotCom Secrets

Tim Ferriss

The 4-Hour Workweek

Gary Vaynerchuk

Crush It!

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

Leveling Up

Eric Siu on Twitter

Eric Siu on Instagram

How to Actually Make Money From Podcasting May 25, 2021

Show notes

Today we are going to talk How to Actually Make Money From Podcasting?

Why You Should Build Communities, Not Audiences with Tony Whatley May 24, 2021

Show notes

Why You Should Build Communities, Not Audiences with Tony Whatley

In the tech and software industry, there is a lot of skepticism around coaching. Too many people are coaching who haven’t actually achieved their own success. Today’s guest, Tony Whatley, is an exception. Tony is the founder of 365 Driven, a program to help entrepreneurs build and scale their businesses, as well as the author of Side Hustle Millionaire. He tells us how he built a business in the automotive community and sold it for a seven-figure exit before successfully replicating the model for another business, and how he got into the coaching industry after a near-death experience that changed his perspective and his priorities. Learn about 365 Driven, how it works, and how it’s different from other coaching programs, before understanding the difference between communities and audiences, and the importance of building life-long relationships in business. We discuss Clubhouse; how much time we spend on it, and some of our frustrations with it, as well as how it can be used as a powerful networking and business tool. Tune in today!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:15] An introduction to Tony Whatley.
[01:04] Learn about the previous company he built and sold, and how he got into coaching.
[02:08] A near-death experience and how it shifted Tony’s perspective.
[03:42] Eric and Tony share their thoughts on VR simulated near-death experiences to create perspective changes.
[04:44] 365 Driven, how it works, and how it is different from other coaching programs.
[06:34] The different groups and tiers of 365 Driven.
[07:39] Eric talks about the skepticism associated with coaching and how it can be used as a powerful funding mechanism.
[08:41] The importance of building communities in business and why Tony is doing more live events.
[09:32] The difference between communities and audiences or followers, and how Tony builds communities and relationships.
[11:30] How to find great community moderators to build and maintain communities.
[13:19] How much time Tony and Eric spend on Clubhouse.
[13:54] The value of Clubhouse as a networking and business tool.
[15:16] How Eric has benefited from Clubhouse.
[15:44] Find out how Tony has made $46 k through Clubhouse in less than two months.
[18:45] Tony talks about how he is building his coaching business through ads and webinars.
[19:50] Tony and Eric share their frustrations with Clubhouse.
[21:24] The value of creating a DM culture.
[22:40] Tony’s longterm mission: to help people become better individuals.
[23:32] What racing and cars have taught Tony about life and business.
[24:46] Tony’s favorite business book and business tool.