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EP 400: AdEspresso Hits $20M Valuation, 4000 Customers, $400k MRR with CEO Massimo Chieruzzi Aug 28, 2016

Show notes

Massimo Chieruzzi, CEO of AdEspresso. His company, founded in 2013, is now so profitable that he says they don't need fundraising! Massimo sees only growth for AdEspresso in the future as Facebook ads continue to evolve and improve.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Predictably Irrational
What CEO do you follow? — Rand Fishkin
Favorite online tool? — HubSpot

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don't start a startup. Get some experience for a corporate business first.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Massimo
01:30 – AdEspresso was first on The Top on Episode 70
01:50 – Focus on growing and reducing churn
02:25 – Revenue is about $400k/month
02:38 – 2015 total revenue was $3M
02:50 – Fundraising has reached $1.8 Million
03:30 – "We have been profitable this last year, so we don't need the money."
04:00 – More than 4000 customers
04:45 – Learn about AdEspresso at Adespresso.com
05:00 – Churn is 7% and is decreasing
06:00 – How long their customers stay
07:10 – 35 people on their team
07:20 – Monthly expenses are around $280k
07:45 – They are growing by at least 15% every month
08:00 – How the company is sustainable
08:30 – Customer acquisition is less than $10
08:45 – Paid acquisition is only content promotion
09:20 – They were founded in 2013
09:30 – What would Massimo sell his company for?
10:20 – @MassimoCw on Twitter or massimo@adespresso.com
12:10 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Allow yourself to gain knowledge from different experiences.
Find ways to lower your acquisition costs.
Get into an industry that has a long life ahead of it.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
HubSpot – Massimo's favorite online tool
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 399: $1m+ Mattresses Sold using Toptal.com with Adam Tishman of HelixSleep Aug 27, 2016

Show notes

Adam Tishman, cofounder of Helix Sleep. His company gives every customer a custom-made mattress that is even more affordable then retail brands. With several options, customers can come up with hundreds of different combinations to build their perfect, individualized mattress. Learn about Helix Sleep's goals to continue expanding and to provide the best customer experience.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Made to Stick
What CEO do you follow? — Jeff Gross
Favorite online tool? — Moat.com

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—About 7.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Learn about customer lifetime value and customer acquisition. Take risks earlier.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:25 – Nathan introduces Adam
01:45 – Helix Sleep
01:55 – Custom-made mattresses
02:20 – The price is always the same for the consumer
02:50 – Costs to produce are up to $500 in the mattress industry
03:50 – Net margin
04:20 – Growth of the business
04:35 – Founded a year ago
04:45 – Thousands of mattresses already sold
05:10 – Acquisition
05:40 – Podcasts and radio
- 06:30 – Really successful in the mattress industry
07:05 – A business model that they can scale
08:10 – A simple game, with one product
08:30 – They use their revenue to fuel growth
09:50 – Capital
- 10:10 – Seed round just under $1M
10:45 – Team of 16
11:00 – First year revenue was lower than their monthly revenue now
11:55 – The technology
- 12:10 – An algorithm to make the customized mattresses
- 12:25 – Coding is outsourced
13:10 – The process for finding a developer on Toptal
- 14:25 – Everyone is pre-screened
- 14:50 – Legally, you still own the code
- 15:20 – More affordable
16:10 – Why they chose Toptal
17:00 – Churn is not a focus for this type of business
17:40 – Focus on building the brand
17:55 – The customer experience
18:14 – Hundreds of skews
19:35 – Goals for 2016
20:35 – helixsleep.com, blog.helixsleep.com, and Adam Tishman on LinkedIn or adam@helixsleep.com
23:00 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Find a way to provide high-quality products at a more affordable price.
Take risks earlier, and jump up the business ladder.
Come up with a business model that can be scaled.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Moat.com – Adam's favorite online tool to see how he compares to his competitors
Toptal – A platform for finding freelancers
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 398: 5 Million Users, $250k in MRR, SaaS Founder Michael Hollauf of MindMiester.com Aug 26, 2016

Show notes

Michael Hollauf, cofounder and CEO of MeisterLabs. The company works to provide resources to collaborate across digital platforms. Now they are introducing a new service, MeisterTask, which focuses on better task management and a fun user experience. Hear about how MeisterLabs has hit the ground running and is continuing to introduce new tools to help businesses and entrepreneurs succeed.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Rich Dad Poor Dad
What CEO do you follow? — Stewart Butterfield
Favorite online tool? — Slack

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Buy a flat in London. Be bold. Do it earlier.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Michael
01:35 – Managing director of MeisterLabs
02:20 – MeisterTask
03:10 – Trello was their inspiration
- 03:40 – Better task management
- 04:00 – Something more fun to use and focused on tasks
04:15 – 550000 users
05:10 – 60% of the downloads are through the app store
05:30 – Some features only available in the premium model
06:00 – 5000 paying customers
06:50 – Why people upgrade
- 07:00 – Better integration
07:20 – Funding
08:00 – MeisterTask revenue for 2015 was $20k
08:20 – MindMeister was $2.5 M
- 08:35 – Monthly recurring was $220k
- 09:00 – 5 million users
- 09:15 – 30000 paying customers
- Collaboration for mind maps
10:10 – Cost to acquire a new customer is about $30
10:30 – 27% annual churn
11:50 – Average customer stays for about 20 months
- 12:05 – Monthly plan was changed to a longer plan, which increased retention
12:30 – How MindMeister is growing
- 12:40 – about $25k/month on Google Ads
- 13:00 – best keyword is "mind mapping"
13:30 – Competitors
14:00 – Goal for the business is to create a suite of products
14:50 – MeisterTask valuation
16:00 – Michael Hollauf on LinkedIn
16:22 – michael@meisterlabs.com
28:35 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Don't be afraid to draw from ideas of existing companies.
Establish your end goal for your business.
Be bold. Start your business early.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Trello – A similar service to MeisterTask that inspired Michael
Slack -- Another online tool that inspires Michael and his team
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 397: ProsperWorks SaaS 40k Paying Customers, Announces New Funding Adding to $10M Already Aug 25, 2016

Show notes

Jon Lee, CEO of ProsperWorks. Jon has jumped to many different industries, from gaming to tech to banking. As an entrepreneur with success in multiple companies, he believes in going after your business goals as soon as possible. Listen to his journey through his businesses and how he ended up with ProsperWorks.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Crossing the Chasm
What CEO do you follow? — Marc Benioff
Favorite online tool? — Google Apps

Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Start your companies earlier.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Jon Lee
02:10 – "Banking to tech to Yahoo to gaming"
02:40 – He saw a need for advertisers when he worked for Yahoo
03:10 – Bizarre Advertising
03:25 – They automated the business
04:10 – How they got revenue
04:35 – Started in their apartment in Palo Alto
04:50 -- $47-million business in two years
05:10 – Applied algorithms to find success
05:35 – Bound to confidentiality on the exit value
06:00 – Balance between cost and revenue
06:40 – How he got into the gaming industry
06:45 – Background in mathematics
07:00 – DNA games
07:15 – They could provide different gaming experiences according to the customer
08:00 – Stickiness is measured according to a customer's engagement
08:20 – Lifetime value helped companies build better games and make more money
09:10 – They sold when Facebook changed their gaming policies
09:50 – They partnered with a larger company
10:10 – ChefVille
10:40 – A good exit for the investors and the company
11:00 – ProsperWorks
12:00 – CRM
12:10 – Partnering with Google Apps
12:30 – Problems with bad data
13:00 – Automating the data entry
13:30 – They have raised of $10 million
14:20 – Founded in 2011
14:30 – A SaaS platform
14:40 – 40000 customers
14:55 -- The Famous Five
15:00 – Profitable sales and marketing
15:15 – Free two-week trial
15:45 – You want a profitable acquisition
16:00 – Focus on building great partnerships and relationships
16:35 – For every $1 spent, they get a $6 return
17:10 – A less mature product needs funding to get customer feedback
17:35 – Team of 67
17:50 – Diminishing marginal returns
18:15 – Invest and get the right type of customer
18:30 – Building up the sales team
19:15 – Average customer pays $49
19:50 – Majority of their contracts are annual
20:30 – Focus to build a useful product
21:00 – Attracting small and medium-sized businesses
21:30 – Revenue churn is negative
23:00 – Jon Lee on LinkedIn or Twitter @prosperworks

3 Key Points:

If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, pursue your ideas immediately.
Be realistic about what is best for your company.
Partner with big companies to gain credibility.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Google Apps – The online tool that has partnered with ProsperWorks
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 396: Why He Raised $3m Then Merged With #1 Competitor Aug 24, 2016

Show notes

Kevin Davis, who came up with a creative solution for tech support. After waiting weeks to get his computer back from the Geek Squad, he thought there had to be a quicker, better solution. He created Geekatoo as a platform for people to find tech experts in their own neighborhoods.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Jason Calacanis's Podcast
What CEO do you follow? — Not really, I look at other marketplaces.
Favorite online tool? — Base

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Make sure that you get your startup out as soon as possible.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:25 – Nathan introduces Kevin
01:50 – Musician, tech guy, and geek
02:10 – Geekatoo, "like an Uber for tech support"
03:00 – They started out aiming for a nationwide company
04:10 – A platform
04:50 – Founded in 2010
04:55 – First-year revenue was literally nothing
- 05:30 – It took over a year to get the product out
- 06:20 – He supported himself by living back home
07:00 – Now it is much quicker to bootstrap a launch
07:45 – They take a percentage for every job that comes through
08:00 – Switched to solving larger-level problems
08:50 – Three different plans and other services
09:30 – Customers are covered for the long term
10:00 – Onboarding takes people from one service to a monthly plan
10:30 – Total customers is 40000
10:50 -- $2.7 M in capital
11:10 – 2015 revenue was almost $4 M
11:25 – Biggest costs
- 11:50 – Provider payout and overseas center
- 12:25 – Ad words
13:20 – A focus on positive economics
14:15 – Average project value is about $130
- 14:40 – Acquisition cost is $20 to $30
- 15:15 – A large volume of customers had $0 acquisition cost
16:00 – Reasoning behind the merger with HelloTech
- 17:35 – "A bigger pie"
- 18:00 – New partners coming forward
18:35 – kevin@hellotech.com or @geekatoo on Twitter
21:15 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Don't worry about perfecting your business—get it out there as quickly as possible
Do what is best to help your business grow.
Find a simple way to communicate with your customers.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Base – Kevin's favorite online tool
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 395: Survival Frog Does $4.7M in 2015, 25% Gross Margin, 10% Net with Founder Byron Walker Aug 23, 2016

Show notes

Byron Walker, owner of Survival Frog. Byron is passionate about scaling businesses that will change the world. Hear the breakdown of Survival Frog and what launched this company into huge success.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Ready Aim Fire!
What CEO do you follow? — No
Favorite online tool? — Evernote

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Welcome adversity.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:10 – Nathan introduces Byron
01:40 – Survival Frog
02:00 -- $4.7 million last year
02:20 – Started in 2009
02:30 – Info publishing company
03:00 – One product exploded in 2012
- 03:30 – 500000 purchases
03:50 – How they got the first sales
- 04:00 – Paid traffic
- 04:10 – Banner ads and paid email
04:20 – What is paid email
- 05:15 – Conversations are around 3 to 5 percent
05:20 – Split testing to find the right price
05:55 – Upsells make money for them
06:15 – Average profit is $5
06:30 – Over a million spent on paid marketing
07:00 – How to buy email lists
- 07:15 – List brokers
- 07:40 – Dedicated Emails, Bryan Litman
- 07:50 -- James R. Whalen
08:30 – Short emails get people to the landing page
08:55 – Now they are 100% physical products
09:50 – Gross margin is up to 35% this year
10:15 – 15 team members
10:40 – Products are sourced and bought in bulk
11:50 – Buying power with companies
12:10 – Forecasting the right amount of inventory
12:45 – LinkedIn or survivalfrog.com
14:40 – Discovery Channel on Blue Collar Backers
16:30 – Hundreds of thousands of units moved
17:00 – Profit in 2015 was $500k
17:35 – Valuation for the business
18:10 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Adjust your business model to improve your margins.
Challenges in your life will put you on a better, more rewarding path.
Continue doing what you are passionate about.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
James R. Whalen and Dedicated Emails – Email list brokers
Evernote – Byron's favorite online tool
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 394: Create SnapChat Stories Like Featured Brands, 20k Views Each Snap Aug 22, 2016

Show notes

Hamza Amir, who is the CEO of Blurbiz. As a marketing guru working for household names like Disney and Coca-Cola, Hamza saw a problem in the industry with mobile videos. He kept hearing the same complaints, but no one was doing anything about it. Hamza came up with the solution when he created Blurbiz.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Zero to One
What CEO do you follow? — Mark Suster: msuster on Snapchat
Favorite online tool? — Scoutapp

Do you get 8 hours of sleep? — No.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Move to Silicon Valley faster.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Hamza
01:40 – He is not the guy behind the Chewbacca mask
02:00 – Blurbiz assists with mobile ad videos
03:00 – Up to $5000/month per account
03:20 – 20 customers right now
03:40 – He used to do influencer marketing work
- 04:05 – He saw a gap in mobile content
04:35 – Blurbiz was the solution to that gap
04:40 – Expected to raise $2 M by the end of the month
05:05 – They are working out terms with a new investor
05:20 – Angel funding
07:00 – His advice for entrepreneurs about investing
07:20 – Competitors
08:00 – "Fundraising is more of an art than a science."
09:05 – How to use the service
- 09:20 – Create and publish a video from your mobile device
- 09:50 – Creating a Snapchat through Blurbiz
10:50 – Allowing companies to use different platforms
12:20 – Funds go to the business first. Anything left over goes to salaries.
- 13:00 – Salary was $2500 last month
13:20 – Twitter: @hamza3amir and Snapchat: hamza3amir
16:00 -- The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

If there is a persistent problem in an industry, come up with a solution.
Understand the best types of fundraising for your new business.
Make a business that stems from your expertise.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Scoutapp – Hamza's favorite online tool

Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 393: How to Do Your Own Thing at 22 with Danavir Sarria of CopyMonk Aug 21, 2016

Show notes

Danavir Sarria. After working as a freelance copywriter, Danavir wanted to stop working with clients and start working for himself. He created CopyMonk, a service that teaches people how to increase sales by producing effective copy. At only 22 years old, Danavir is making a place for himself as an expert copywriter.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Rework
What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuck
Favorite online tool? — MindMeister

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Focus on your efforts, and not on your passion.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:25 – Nathan introduces Danavir
01:40 – CopyMonk
02:15 – Total revenue is $6k in two months
02:30 – How he became a copywriting expert
03:00 – 1700 people on his email list
03:40 – 40 sales over four days
04:20 – How to manage his email list
- 04:45 – Teach people and build a relationship
06:00 – How you know if someone is a good copywriter
- 06:30 – Sales and good engagement
- 07:00 – Knows copy and marketing
- 08:00 – Connecting with people who read your content
08:15 – Freelance copywriting
09:30 – Working with clients makes it hard to see results
10:20 – How he improved one business
11:30 – Client work vs. working for himself
12:25 – Copymonk.com or their Facebook page
14:25 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Focus on your efforts and your expertise.
If you don't like working under someone else, start your own business.
When you write copy, find ways to connect to your audience.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
MindMeister – Danavir's favorite online tool
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 392: 3M Publishers Use Issu, 100,000 Have Paid with CEO Joe Hyrkin Aug 20, 2016

Show notes

Joe Hyrkin, CEO of Issuu. Joe enjoys working in the publishing industry because it is driven by passion. It is a collective space for people who are moved about something to experience that thing together. Listen as Joe talks about Issuu, which has brought the publishing industry into a modern, digital context.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – The Hard Thing about Hard Things
What CEO do you follow? — Mark Zuckerberg
Favorite online tool? — Slack

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Not now.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Put in effort to make an impact. Have a broader learning perspective. Care and effort matter over anything else.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Joe
01:40 – Issuu is a modern media company
02:20 – Tools for publishers
02:45 – Access to premium tools brings in revenue
03:05 – Revenue from Issuu itself
03:40 – Started in Copenhagen
03:55 – A more current platform of digital media
04:15 – He was not part of the original founding team
04:50 – A focus on giving great content to people who are passionate about it
05:20 – It grew through word of mouth and digital marketing
05:30 – Over 3 million publishers have used Issuu
06:20 – Almost 100,000 publishers had paid for the service
06:40 – Primarily recurring revenue payment
07:30 – 90% of revenue is recurring revenue
08:15 – The new subscription plan
08:45 – Most pay $35/month
09:30 – Publishers come and go
10:00 – Customer churn is 2%/month
10:30 – Focus is to help the customers
10:50 – The new plan helps with collaborative efforts
12:00 – Center of the business is in the west coast
12:40 – Raised $21 million
13:30 – His focus is to create products that have an impact
14:40 – Team of 60 people
15:20 – Acquisition costs
- 15:30 – Not much is spent on marketing
- 15:50 – They are found through search engines and word of mouth
- 16:10 – "We're clearly the leader in the space."
- 16:40 – About $40/customer
17:30 – Customers see the value
18:00 – Why publishing?
- 18:20 – "It's about what moves people in their lives."
- 18:50 – Example of Malala's birthday celebration
19:35 – Getting publishers into podcasting
20:00 -- @yankeejoe or jhy@issue.com
22:00 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Get into an industry that you are passionate about.
Take an ancient product or service and update it for today's world.
Focus on doing what's best for your customers.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Slack – The online tool Joe uses
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

EP 391: Why Gary V Led $1.5M Round In This Cosmetics Company Aug 19, 2016

Show notes

Julie Fredrickson from Stowaway Cosmetics. Have you ever felt like your purse was so heavy it could take someone out with one swing? Every lip gloss, concealer, and eyeliner really adds up! Julie has a found a solution to this problem with Stowaway Cosmetics, which focuses on creating a more mobile product for women on the go. Listen as she tells us how she has transformed the beauty industry with products that actually get used.

Famous Five:

Favorite Book? – Five Dysfunctions of a Team
What CEO do you follow? — Gary Vaynerchuck
Favorite online tool? — Google Apps

Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Religiously.
If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Don't be a jerk. Being kind costs you nothing.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

01:05 – Nathan introduces Julie
01:30 – Stowaway Cosmetics is about mobile products that women can use anywhere
02:10 – Launched 18 months ago
02:25 – Learning to run an effective ecommerce business
02:35 -- $1.5 M in capital
- 02:45 – Equity
- 03:15 – Valuation is private at an early stage
- 03:45 – A good valuation is a balance
- 05:15 – Gary Vaynerchuck
05:40 – The beauty industry has been giving out products that people don't finish
06:50 – Brands need to see more repeat purchasing
07:25 – Margins for a palette of eyeshadow
08:10 – Effective and a better value than their competitors
08:30 – Direct consumers
08:45 – A normal margin is about 50% through retailers
09:20 – Their margin is about 85%
09:45 – Monopolies in the makeup industry
10:15 – "You should have a choice as a consumer to carry a product that fits your lifestyle."
11:00 – Weighing down your purse with cosmetics
11:35 – Launched in Feb 2015
12:00 – Fundraising started in early 2014
12:15 – Valuation was based on pre-sales
13:25 – Influence in the marketplace
14:05 – Passed $100k in lipsticks sold
14:20 – Their focus changed to repeat purchasing and having a comfortable growing rate
15:20 – Now they spend nothing on marketing
16:25 – They care more about repeat customers than getting more customers
17:30 – On average, women come back to purchase again in 90 days
- 18:20 – 40% have made at least 3 purchases
- 19:00 – minimalists vs. maximalists
19:30 – Follow at Julie at @stowaway on Twitter and on Anchor
21:55 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

Find a problem and do the research to come up with a good solution.
Look at a particular industry and evaluate where its setbacks are.
Develop a relationship with your customers.

Resources Mentioned:

Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
Google Apps – Julie's favorite online tool for her business
Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives

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