Leveling Up with Eric Siu

Latest Episodes:

Founding an Agriculture Management SaaS Platform with Allison Kopf, CEO of Artemis | Ep. #367 Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

Offering a SaaS product that services agriculture presents unique challenges for growth and today we chat with Allison Kopf, CEO of Artemis, about what this process looks like. Artemis is a cultivation management platform that enables growers to manage people, processes, and compliance all in one place while creating a virtually risk-free operation. Allison starts by telling us about her background in energy and what drew her obsession towards enterprise-level management and infrastructure in the agricultural industry, weighing in about how software can optimize farming and supply chains to streamline operations, bring growers closer to distributors, and more. We turn our attention to why Artemis services high-risk specialty crop farmers, and how the company makes money while encouraging compliance by using a subscription model that charges by acreage and complexity. From there, Allison talks metrics for growth rates before speaking to Artemis’ customer acquisition strategies and how direct to farmer lead generation in the format of digital events is faring since COVID. The risk of burnout due to over-productivity while working at home in the pandemic is real so we query Allison next about how her passion projects of baking, venture capital, and playing Zelda are working as buffers against this. Wrapping up, Allison weighs in on her favorite venture capital books and the massive strides Zoom and Slack have made in recent months. Tune in for this amazing conversation.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[00:42] Allison’s background in farming and idea to tweak supply chains by creating Artemis.
[02:25] What a cultivation management platform is and how software can optimize supply chains.
[03:13] Why Artemis works with high-risk specialty crops directly consumed by consumers.
[05:24] How Artemis makes its money using a subscription-based SaaS model.
[05:43] Encouraging compliance and why Artemis charges by acreage not user.
[06:26] Employee size and growth rates at Artemis for Q1 and COVID’s influence.
[07:16] Unique customer acquisition challenges Artemis faces as an agri-SaaS product.
[09:58] Talking virtual events as a way of generating quality leads during the pandemic.
[12:08] Allison’s focus on baking, venture capital, and Zelda since COVID to resist overworking.
[16:30] New creative business models since COVID and venture deals Allison has closed.
[17:22] Favorite books of Allison’s about venture capital and underrepresented founders.
[18:29] Talking Zoom’s growth, Slack’s usefulness, and Allison’s favorite work tools.

Resources From The Interview:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Shoe Dog

Little Black Stretchy Pants

Must read book: Raising the Bar, and It’s About Damn Time

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

7 Game-Changing Growth Tools for Marketers on a Budget Jul 03, 2020

Show notes

In episode #1432, we are going to be giving you seven game-changing tools for marketers on a budget. This great session covers Eric and Neil’s famous self-made tools for optimizing traffic and SEO, getting more views on YouTube, tightening up your copy, and so much more! Tune in and find some tools that should accelerate your growth and which you can either get for super cheap or better yet, absolutely free!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:25] Today’s topic: 7 Game-Changing Growth Tools for Marketers on a Budget.
[00:30] How good and cheap Ubersuggest and Neil’s offerings are for SEO.
[01:00] Using Content Decay to identify and maintain parts of your site that are losing traffic.
[01:38] Making the most of your content by streaming it to multiple sources.
[02:18] Getting way more traffic from YouTube using vidIQ!
[02:36] How much more effective you become as a writer using Grammarly.
[03:18] Connecting all marketing sources in one place using Google Data Studio.
[03:53] Using fast-growing Zapier to build marketing workflows.
[04:53] That’s it for today!
[04:55] To stay updated with events and learn more about our mastermind, go to the Marketing School site for more information.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Ubersuggest

Content Decay Restream

vidIQ

Grammarly

Google Data Studio Zapier

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What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review.

Fostering Honest SaaS Conversations with Austin Petersmith, CEO of Capiche | Ep. #366 Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

With the explosive proliferation of SaaS products, it can be difficult to keep up to speed with developments such as pricing trends. While there are review sites for products, these have largely become an extension of marketing and sales rather than objective information for customers. Capiche is looking to turn this model on its head, and CEO, Austin Petersmith, joins us to share insights into the exciting platform. Capiche is a secret society for SaaS products, showing pricing data for a variety of companies. We kick off the episode by learning more about Austin and the company. With a background in journalism and experience in tech startups, Austin saw the flawed software development review ecosystem that comes from a pay to play model. He realized the need for elevated conversations, which set the wheels in motion for the creation of Capiche. We then move to discuss the pricing data the site has available. With pricing asymmetry and opacity as the biggest problems, by making data available, Capiche puts users back in the driver’s seat. From there, we then look at the platform’s approach to monetization and why they are opting to build their community first. Their customer-centric approach ensures that they stay true to the transparent ethos which the platform was built on. We round the show off with some tips from Austin for anyone looking to build community and more. Be sure to tune in today!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:31] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[01:00] Find out more about Austin’s story and what led to the creation of Capiche.
[03:56] What Austin thought was missing with SaaS products and the conversations about them.
[04:42] The SaaS pricing data that Capiche has available and the benefits for users.
[06:42] Capiche’s growth plan and why they’re opting for high quality over monetization now.
[08:00] What Capiche is working on currently.
[09:22] Some of the ways that Austin has thought about monetizing Capiche.
[11:27] How Capiche looks to turn the conventional review site approach on its head.
[11:57] Capiche user metrics and other data.
[14:52] Lessons that Austin has learned from the mistakes he made building Capiche.
[17:52] Austin’s favorite business tool at the moment.
[19:03] A recent great business book Austin has read.

Resources From The Interview:

Austin Petersmith on LinkedIn

Austin Petersmith on Twitter

Austin Petersmith’s email

Capiche

Jon Stewart

Jason Calacanis

Inside.com

Notion

Wirecutter

Hacker News

Figma

Must read book: The Great CEO Within

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

7 Jeff Bezos Frameworks That Will Supercharge Your Growth Jun 30, 2020

Show notes

Today, we are going to talk about seven Jeff Bezos frameworks that will supercharge your growth. These are frameworks that not a lot of people talk about, but when you think about business growth, when you think about longterm business, Amazon is the perfect example of that. No matter how much crap people talk about Amazon.

The Conversation Conversion Model with Tanner Chidester, CEO of Elite CEOs and Fit Warrior. | Ep. #365 Jun 29, 2020

Show notes

How many CEOs are running a million dollars a month, ad to webinar? Tanner Chidester is one of them and he joins us today to talk about qualifying calls and what it’s like grossing $12 million annually at 28 years old. Tanner is CEO of Elite CEOs and Fit Warrior, two high ticket coaching businesses that offer one on one mentorship in the fitness and entrepreneurship spaces. We hear from Tanner about how he went from playing D-I football to dropping out of college to pursue entrepreneurship following the advice of a mentor. Tanner weighs in on how he built Fit Warrior’s high ticket coaching service and used that business as a platform to start Elite CEOs. He talks about how his businesses make money, shares metrics about his staff count and monthly revenue, and also speaks to the resilience of the high ticket coaching model in this time of the worldwide pandemic. We hear more about Tanner’s business model which stresses many touchpoints between coaches and clients, and he talks about their subscription lengths, billing structures, success rates, and ideal clients. From there, we get into one of today’s biggest takeaways, with Tanner sharing about how he can close 60 percent of the calls his sales team take by using a conversion conversation model that qualifies calls for only a third of the cost that most businesses would pay. Wrapping up, we talk about some mindset hacks for optimizing the wellness side of entrepreneurship, and Tanner gives his recommendations for a favorite app and book to this end. Tune in for some lesser-used conversion strategies and nuggets about the effectiveness of high ticket offerings!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[00:44] How Tanner dropped out of college to pursue entrepreneurship and made millions.
[03:25] Why Tanner is focusing on Elite CEOs now and how he used Fit Warrior as a platform.
[04:18] How Tanner made money initially with Fit Warrior by selling high ticket services online.
[05:17] Advertising, sales, service packages, and staff count metrics for Tanner’s businesses.
[06:09] How COVID is affecting conversion rates for Tanner’s sales funnels.
[06:49] The high level, one to one coaching business model Tanner uses in both businesses.
[09:50] Ideal client types and why Tanner prefers coaching clients with high ticket offerings.
[10:56] Why Tanner’s conversion conversation model has been so successful for him.
[14:00] How Tanner only pays around $250 rather than $600 for a qualified call.
[16:26] Additional information about how Tanner’s team qualifies clients on the front end.
[18:58] How helpful The Calm App has been for Tanner’s mental wellbeing.
[19:52] The use of seeing a therapist for aiding in mental health.
[20:55] Happiness after wealth and why Tanner loves High Performance Habits.
[21:28] The best way to connect with Tanner online.

Resources From The Interview:

Must read book: High Performance Habits.

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

The Ultimate Checklist for Selling High-Ticket Products and Services Jun 26, 2020

Show notes

Today

we share the ultimate checklist for selling high-ticket products and services. Some of the benefits of higher price points are that you have more flexibility and margin for making mistakes, and you should use this to your benefit. Tune in to hear the array of benefits to hosting a webinar and where to learn how to structure them for maximum benefit!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:25] Today’s topic: The Ultimate Checklist for Selling High-Ticket Products and Services.
[00:35] Don’t think that having your offer on your website is enough—get on the phone.
[01:05] A higher price means more flexibility and more margin for mistakes.
[01:25] Retarget people who have hit your page or have shown interest.
[02:02] Get tips from Sam Ovens and Russell Brunson on structuring webinars.
[02:17] The benefits of hosting a webinar and the best platforms to use.
[02:30] Think about building an ascension funnel and learn how from Dotcom Secrets.
[03:05] Ensure that your price points are above $1000.
[03:35] Continue marketing to people once you get their email address.
[04:22] Use count-down timers to encourage people to buy before a certain time.
[04:36] Adding a survey to determine which funnel you should send prospects to.
[05:04] That’s it for today!
[05:12] To stay updated with events and learn more about our mastermind, go to the Marketing School site for more information.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Leave Some Feedback:

What should we talk about next? Please let us know in the comments below

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review.

The One Marketing Strategy I Would Bet Everything On In 2020 Jun 25, 2020

Show notes

2020 is full of unpredictability. This is a long term strategy that is almost guaranteed to build growth, if you can implement it.

Product Led Growth has worked extremely well for companies like HubSpot. How can you apply it in your own business?

Redefining E-Commerce Automation SaaS with Derek O’Carroll, CEO of Brightpearl | Ep. #364 Jun 24, 2020

Show notes

Not enough people in the SaaS world are customer-obsessed, but Derek O’Carroll, CEO of Brightpearl is changing that, and he joins us today to dive into how. Brightpearl is a scalable retail operations platform designed specifically for high growth multi-channel retailers wishing to automate and integrate their e-commerce and accounting operations. Derek got into startups in the 90s and while Senior Vice President of Global Field Sales and Marketing for Norton under Symantec he was responsible for $1.7 billion in global revenue. Today, Derek talks about leaving Symantec to join Brightpearl after looking for an area in the market that was undergoing disruption with a good product but challenges on product/market fit. He gets into what exactly Brightpearl does, how they make money, their deal client types, and their amazing growth metrics since he joined the team. After that, we turn our attention to how Derek manages teams with a focus on communication and the benefits of this approach, before zooming further into one of the biggest takeaways for today: how Brightpearl differentiates themselves by locating functional and non-functional attributes to build into their product. Here Derek talks about the process they went through to arrive at fast deployment, pricing, customer success, and automation. Next up, we chat about changes in customer behavior post-COVID and Brightpearl’s swift response to it, before wrapping things up with our usual rapid-fire questions for our guest.

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[00:50] Startups in B2B/e-commerce Derek was involved in leading up to Brightpearl.
[02:21] Complexities Brightpearl manages around the process after a product is bought online.
[02:57] The transparent, configurable subscription model Brightpearl uses to make money.
[03:56] Brightpearl’s clients: merchants trading across multiple channels with above $1M GMV.
[04:30] The thread running through Derek’s projects; differentiation in disruptive spaces.
[06:31] Derek’s approach to managing teams focussing on optimizing communication.
[10:09] Statistics of Brightpearl’s yearly order value, market location, revenue, and more.
[12:00] Functional and non-functional differentiators of Brightpearl’s product.
[15:10] Time to value and how Brightpearl’s deployment speed frees client resources.
[16:48] The fluidity of customer behavior post-COVID and how Brightpearl has dealt with that.
[20:49] Tools Derek recently added to optimize his business: Slack and Donut.
[21:44] A book recommendation from Derek.

Resources From The Interview:

Escaping the Build Trap

Must read book: Rubicon

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

Why Your Network is Your Net Worth with Jeff Fenster, CEO of Everbowl | Ep. #363 Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

Everbowl is a superfood brand, headed up by their inspiring founder and CEO, Jeff Fenster. Jeff joins us on Leveling Up today to talk about his amazing business and the impressive growth it is experienced in its young life. Jeff unpacks the idea of relationship capital, a concept that has made a huge impact on his success and how he goes about his work. We hear from him about his formative years and how his original plan to be a sports agent did not pan out in the way he initially imagined. Now Jeff aims to help everyone be their best selves through eating and moving the way that we are meant to. This means better, healthier practices throughout the day and that is where his amazing acai bowls come into the picture. They are packed with superfoods and all the stuff your diet might be missing to get you to your peak performance. Jeff generously shares some inside information about the company, his eight minute trick to making the most of his time and why he aims to be the dumbest guy in the room! We also touch on his parallel superfood coffee business, Superfuel Coffee! So for all that and then some, be sure to listen in!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:31] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate, review, and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
[01:05] The quick and dirty version of Jeff's story leading up to Everbowl.
[04:03] Jeff's passion for serial entrepreneurship and health.
[05:53] The products that Everbowl offers and their reliance on real food.
[07:05] Employee numbers, 2019 revenue and future prospects for the company.
[08:11] The merging of superfood and coffee for something unique to the market.
[09:02] Jeff's concept of vertical integration and why more entrepreneurs should be using it.
[11:30] Factors that have contributed to Everbowl's impressive growth.
[13:20] Jeff's deep care for relationship building and the idea of relationship capital.
[19:40] How to get started with a great network; Jeff's rules for amassing relationship capital.
[22:01] Jeff's overarching mission in his business and life; helping improve lives.
[22:51] Daily routines and practices that keep Jeff healthy and happy.
[25:55] The main challenge that Jeff has faced in his life as an entrepreneur.
[29:06] Jeff's favorite business tool and business book currently!
[30:48] The two CEO's that Jeff is most inspired by: Steve Ells and Elon Musk.

Resources From The Interview:

Must read book: Relentless

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

How Your Mental Health Affects Your Marketing (And How To Keep It Healthy) Jun 19, 2020

Show notes

We speak about how your mental health affects your marketing and how to keep it healthy. Having the right mindset is so important for being effective and jumping on opportunities when they arrive, especially at a time like this. Tune in and hear some great hacks for optimizing your well-being, from setting a cap on daily calls to meditating, journaling, and a whole lot more!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

[00:25] Today’s topic: How Your Mental Health Affects Your Marketing and How to Keep It Healthy.
[00:30] Mental health doesn’t just affect marketing, but your overall effectiveness!
[00:45] To be able to recognize a good opportunity, one has to be in the right mind frame!
[01:25] Actions and habits that affect your life all start with your mental health.
[01:55] The stress of the pandemic and how it encourages getting depressed or overworking.
[02:56] Setting boundaries about how many calls to do per day.
[03:50] Trying to only fill your calendar with things that produce ROI.
[04:07] A tip for comparing yourself to others to get perspective and stay level headed.
[04:50] Clearing your mind by meditating and taking time off.
[05:28] Giving yourself time to be unproductive.
[05:56] Setting things in order by journalling in The Five Minute Journal.
[06:16] Going outside for a walk and monitoring your HRV using an Oura Ring.
[06:55] That’s it for today!
[06:56] To stay updated with events and learn more about our mastermind, go to the Marketing School site for more information.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Calm

Headspace

Peloton

The Five Minute Journal

Oura Ring

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