WHERE THOUSANDS OF ENTREPRENEURS LEARN HOW TO GROW WEEKLY
Start with the market, not the product: How to nail product-market fit with Nicole Basset, co-founder The Renewal Workshop
Learn from Nicole Basset, co-founder of The Renewal Workshop
You're viewing an archive of Get Sh!t Done Weekly Email Traction Briefings. Join free to receive your weekly 5-minute growth playbooks & grow alongside thousands of entrepreneurs
Hey, It's Alex!
🍵 Here's Your Weekly Tea
Some lucky son of a gun in Illinois won $1.3 Billion in the lottery. Power to em' BUT it also pissed me off. I started thinking about how we're socialized into a lottery mentality. We get stuck in systems that benefit from us playing the game while we hold on for dear life waiting and hoping for our "very own" lottery moment. What if we stopped playing the lottery in business & life?🤔
Let's get into your weekly briefing!
💸 HERE'S YOUR TRACTION BRIEFING
Founder: Nicole Basset | Company: The Renewal Workshop | Location: Cascade Locks, OR
Receipts: Nicole successfully scaled a sustainable brand, raised $12M, and got to an exit.
Here's your traction playbook...
How To Find The Right Product-Market Fit
Make Yourself The Customer: "I think the biggest and best thing (which is hard advice to give) was, I was the consumer for years. So when I went out and started researching solutions for us as a company, I had very clear criteria of what purposes it had to serve." - Nicole Bassett. Providing value is the name of the game. Unfortunately finding the right product-market fit can be difficult especially early on. Nicole Bassett learned how to communicate that value because she was the end consumer of her product. She learned what customers wanted to see and what services they required from her company. Learn more here.
How To Craft A Successful Go-To-Market Strategy
Get Clear On Your Goals: When creating her business, Nicole set clear criteria for her business. Understanding what her goals were helped her make key decisions that were a big part of her go-to-market strategy. She understood everything from what she wanted her business to achieve to how it would connect to the market that was available. Learn more here.
How To Exit From The Company You Founded and Love
Find An Acquirer That's A Great Fit: Leaving a company you founded and love is never easy. For many, it's a painful process. While processing the emotions that come with exiting your company can take a while, there's comfort in knowing that your business is going in a direction that you initially had for your company. What made the exit easy for Nicole was the fact that she and her partner were able to find a great fit for their company and their overall goals. Learn more here.
Support Nicole in Scaling Impact: Simply take care of yourselves.
TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...
How-To Guide To Product-Market Fit: Start with the market, not the product. Here's a guide to get started.
Get Your First 100 Customers: Here's a foolproof guide for getting your first 100 customers.
Craft A Successful GTM Strategy: Here's a proven process of developing your go-to-market strategy.
Product Testing: Find out how our queen Jacquelyn De Jesu used product testing to create what her customers actually needed here.
How To Prepare For An Exit: Here's how Mia Saini was able to prepare for an early
🤗 JOIN THE COMMUNITY: Join our community membership waitlist here.
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Focus On Your 1%: The Secret To Building A Community-Based Business with Sarah Smith, co-founder The Dyrt
Learn from Sarah Smith, co-founder of The Dyrt
You're viewing an archive of Get Sh!t Done Weekly Email Traction Briefings. Join free to receive your weekly 5-minute growth playbooks & grow alongside thousands of entrepreneurs
Hey, It's Alex!
🍵 Here's Your Weekly Tea
Do we really need to keep hearing about the consistent bad behavior in both business and in the personal life of some guy so thirsty for attention that he wanted to prove he could buy a company without the intention of actually doing it? Here's the thing about assets - the most valuable is your time. Anything taking up your time but not adding value - gotta go. The folks at Twitter know this well that's why their trial was expedited because ain't nobody got time. I think we can all agree that the public ego stroking of yet another narcissist in business - gotta go! Let's carry on like the queens and kings we are, shall we?
Let's get into your weekly briefing!
⭐ COMMUNITY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Learn how Queen Jillian Rothe increased sales 482% MOM YTD here.
Join our community membership waitlist here.
💸 HERE'S YOUR TRACTION BRIEFING
Founder: Sarah Smith | Company: The Dyrt | Location: Portland, OR
Receipts: Sarah scaled a camping community through user-generated content, well thought out monetization strategy and in the process raised $22 million.
Here's your traction playbook...
How To Build A Solid Community
Focus On The 1% And Keep Them Happy: 1% of your community will provide you with free content, 9% will engage with that content and 90% will simply consume. The reality is a large number of your community/audience will not do more than consume your content. Realizing this, The Dyrt put their focus on finding ways to intrigue and excite the 1%. By making them happy, they created a solid team of reviewers who were ready and willing to provide free content. Learn more here.
How To Monetize Your Platform
Listen To What Your Users Want: In the beginning, Sarah and her team didn't have a clear path to monetization. By listening to her community and learning from them, she found areas where she could provide more value at a cost. Simply putting their ears to ground helped them come up with The Dyrt Pro a $36 a year membership that has been their biggest success yet. Learn more here.
How To Fundraise For Your Business
Find People Who Believe In Your Idea: It took The Dyrt a year and a half to raise their seed round of $500,000 and less time to raise $11,000,000. The lesson? Initially not many people will believe or understand how your idea provides value. Finding a few people who do gives you credibility and makes it so much easier for others to get on board. Not everyone has to believe in you, you just need to find the right ones. Learn more here.
Support Sarah in Scaling Impact: Check out, buy from, and review The Dyrt. Also, go camping🏕️!
TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...
Encourage User Generated Content: Here are 5 steps to turn your customers into advocates.
Guide To Raising Capital: The ultimate guide to raising capital for your startup here.
Build A Strong Community: Here's how you can build a strong community around your brand.
Make Your Customers Your Community Members: Find out how our queen Ceata Lash was able to turn her customers into an engaging community here.
Create Mutually Beneficial Partnerships: Here's how Tanya Van Court used the right strategies to secure partnerships.
GET YOUR FREE 5-MIN WEEKLY GROWTH PLAYBOOKS
How to Scale & Get to an Exit in 36 Months with Mia Saini Duchnowski, founder Oars & Alps
Learn from Mia Saini Duchnowski, founder of Oars + Alps.
You're viewing an archive of Get Sh!t Done Weekly Email Traction Briefings. Join free to receive your weekly 5-minute growth playbooks & grow alongside thousands of entrepreneurs
"Never outsource your customer service. " - Mia Saini Duchnowski
Hey, It's Alex!
Who knows what your customers want better than your customers?
Listening to your customers requires more than having them fill out forms and questionnaires.
Actively listening& learning is a daily practice involved at every touchpoint.
You can't do that when you're following the "move fast and break s**t" model. Let's retire this played-out mantra consistently resulting in the public implosion of startups.
Learning how to listen will inform what to operationalize so you can grow and scale the impact you envisioned on your terms while adding value to your #1 investor - customers.
What you'll find in this traction briefing:
How to beta test your concept before fully bringing it to market.
How to successfully set up operations, procedures, and processes at the start of your business.
How to communicate with your customers to gain valuable feedback and insights.
The $300 Million Dollar F*ck Up!
Founder: Mia Saini Duchnowski| Company: Oars + Alps| Location: Chicago, IL
Where was she before Oars + Alps?
Mia is a seasoned business broadcast journalist with experience working for some of the biggest media giants including Bloomberg and Forbes TV. Her time spent in the makeup chair as a journalist created a deep interest in skincare. She then turned her passion and collection of experiences into a business.
Problem
There are hella companies that address women's skincare needs but Mia found that when it came to men's skincare, there was a noticeable gap. Oars + Alps was born out of the increase in men interested in taking care of their overall health but a market that wasn't catering to them. Companies like Dollar Shave Clubs were popping up every day but still not addressing the underlying desire men had but weren't talking about openly - skincare linked to overall health.
Here's what you'll learn...
Why Beta Testing Is Key For Your Business
Validate Your Idea:
While you might think your business idea is the next best thing since the iPhone, your target customer might have other ideas. How do you definitively know what they want? Through beta-testing.
Lesson - Beta testing is one of the strongest customer validating methodologies. Mia and her co-founder killed it with beta testing by leveraging their own capital and network to validate the concept. Through this process, they were able to gauge how satisfied their customers were with your product before doing a full product launch. Regardless of whether you're launching a new startup or rolling out a new product or service, beta test every single time . This will allow you to test your assumptions, get valuable feedback on its reliability, functionality, and usability. Learn more.
Learn how to run a successful Beta Program here.
The Importance Of Investing Early In Operations, Procedures, and Processes Early On
It Saves You Time: Creating clear and trackable operations, procedures and processes is often the last thing new founders think about - and for good reason. We're often bogged down with basically everything under the sun that all seems urgent. But here's the thing about mapping operations early - it makes everything else easier. That content that seemingly takes too much time, that dreadful feeling of onboarding new hires because they all seem to "not get it right" and costing you more time and money, etc.
Lesson - This is EXACTLY what Mia and her co-founder did from jump street and didn't wait until they scaled! They started mapping out operations, procedures, and processes from day 1 so they had templates they could pass on to make it easier for expansion. Setting up basic procedures and processes early on will save you time down the road. You do NOT need a fancy agency to start this process. Simply start with Google Docs, Notion, or free tools that allow you to get processes in your head out on paper so you can co-create and collaborate with your team. Mapping operations early and often allows your team to capitalize on momentum even as you grow. Learn more.
How To Maintain Regular Communication With Your Customers
Your Greatest Source Of Insight: Your customer is your greatest asset. Period! How else will you know what's working if you do not have a way to interact with them? Data from external sources is important, but they'll never replace direct feedback from your customer.
Lesson - Don't outsource customer service. Listen in to conversations that you and your team have with customers. Again, this can be a template you copy and paste from tools like Google Docs and Notion so you're not reinventing the wheel. By doing that, you'll find out what customers like, what they don't, and how you can change to improve their overall experience. Learn more.
Here are 16 important points to help you improve your customer service
Here's Your Weekly Tea
The 300 Million Dollar F*ck Up!
Speaking of not listening to your customers - CNNs $300 million streaming service crashed and burned in 3 weeks!! With their ratings progressively declining, CNN+ was their last-ditch effort at generating new interest. Here's how it all went wrong:
Don't Lean On Brand Recognition Alone: CNN's brand just ain't what it used to be. Although they have been a news powerhouse for years, the media industry has changed tremendously in the last 10 years. Competition to capture eyeballs is tougher than it has ever been - especially when it comes to streaming.
Don't Do it Because Everybody Else Is: Many of us are guilty of rolling out something we think consumers want but not what our customers need from us. This is exactly what CNN did. Just because everybody and their mama is getting into the subscription streaming game, doesn't mean that's what the CNN audience needed from them. CNN+'s content simply didn't resonate. It was a mish-mash of news and other B-rated content that if you were to have to pick where to invest your eyeballs that day, it wouldn't even be your 5th choice
Don't Compete with Your Own Team: CNN's parent company was going through a merge with the Discovery company. Both companies had their own streaming companies(HBO Max, and Discovery+). CNN+ should have been merged into their overall streaming strategy but instead was treated like Cinderella but without a happy ending. Lack of communication and internal friction hindered its growth.
Key Takeaway: The streaming industry is complex. People want better content, better experience, and more value. If we have said it once, we have said it 1000 times - know your audience and give them what they want! Don't be a bandwagon bae.
TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...
Nail Beta-Testing: Learn how to uncover kinks in your product before releasing the complete product to your market. Here is everything you need to know about running a successful beta test.
How to Build Successful Systems: Get the tools for how to make it happen to onboard new hires here.
Word Of Mouth Is Your Secret Weapon: Engaging with your customers not only gives you valuable feedback, but it creates loyalty. Learn how to turn your customers into a marketing powerhouse here.
Listening to Customers grew her business through 50% organic marketing to 7-figures in 3-years. Make it happen here.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Explore community membership here.
GET YOUR WEEKLY 5-MIN TRACTION BRIEFINGS SO YOU CAN GROW
How to Build a $50k Waitlist & Raise $3M with Tiffany Dufu, founder The Cru
Learn from Tiffany Dufu, founder of The Cru.
You're viewing an archive of Get Sh!t Done Weekly Email Traction Briefings. Join free to receive your weekly 5-minute growth playbooks & grow alongside thousands of entrepreneurs
"Startups exist not just to make stuff, make $, or even serve customers. They exist to learn how to build a sustainable business. This learning can be validated scientifically by running frequent experiments that allow you to test each element of your vision"
Tiffany Dufu validated the crap out of her business idea by building a $50,000 waitlist before launching which led to raising $3M from investors.
Founders build a lot of shit no one asked for.
They may be following a trend or, more likely, building something that solves the wrong problem because they didn't experiment and listen to feedback.
Founders fall victim to overhyped "motivational speakers" yelling at us on the internet to go "all-in" so we may go "all-in" on something that doesn't matter.
But here's what they don't tell us about going "all-in"...
Going all in is an intentional process that takes time and is ever-evolving. Not an overnight action made on a whim.
Ready to learn how to build with intention while getting to the bag?
What we'll brief you on:
How to validate a concept through a landing page.
How to build a $50k waitlist and what Tiffany did with it.
How to develop tech as a non-technical founder.
How to determine what to charge.
How to raise $3M from investors not knowing anyone in the VC world.
Learn the #1 thing we ALL need to get better at.
Founder: Tiffany Dufu | Company: The Cru | Location: New York, NY
Receipts before The Cru
Prior to The Cru, Tiffany had already dedicated her life’s work to advancing women and girls. She spent a decade curating and developing leadership through a peer inquiry-based model to support your peers working for organizations like Forte. Tiffany learned that having a supportive network of peers was key to her success and would often tell other women to do the same.
Problem-solving
You’ve probably heard the saying that your network is your net worth. However, what if you aren’t in a place or position to invest in building your network, especially when you have a high-demand job and life? Tiffany found that while she was preaching about building a crew because she already built one, most women she spoke with didn’t have the bandwidth to build their own.
Solution
Through one of "Tiffany’s Epiphanies" (dope AF, right?!) She realized that offering a service that matched women who were mid-level professionals with their own crew could be powerful. And this just wasn't a good idea in theory - with the rise of coaching and mentor platforms, there's a need. 79% of millennials see mentors as crucial to their success.
It Started with 1 Landing Page...
If you’re an OG Get Sh!t Done Queen or Comrade, you know we started with 1 email. No website. That was similar for The Cru. She started with 1 landing page detailing her background with images of her personal crew, how her crew has driven her success, and a CTA (call to action) to sign-up if you wanted to take the headache of networking and get a Cru. She simply promoted across her social platforms and had several women sign up. From that initial landing page, they got 400 people to sign-up. A quick note - this is a POWERFUL approach that I recommend to test concepts. However, if you do not get the volume Tiffany did, that does NOT mean you failed. Keep in mind that Tiffany had already built some level of influence through speaking and a book prior to launching her business. Even if you get dozens, that’s awesome. #ComparisonIsAThief Learn how Tiffany set up her landing page and what she put on it.
How they validated the Concept of The Cru.
Tiffany went to werk! They did interviews with every.single.person. It took the entire summer, which served as additional market research and to know who would fit well in a Cru together. Don’t worry - her personal Cru showed up to help her do the interviews ;) The moment of truth for whether this concept would work was determined by 2 things - Them sending an email "We found your Cru. Sign-up" and if the person was willing to pay $499. 90% of women signed up and paid within 24 hours. Learn how they got to this conversion rate here.
How they Developed Tech.
You would have thought I was looking for another husband. Tiffany was now sitting on $50,000 given the women who signed up. 50% of that would build the initial tech platform to eliminate the manual nature of matching. However, going tech first wouldn’t have given them the rich data they needed to know WHAT to build. Too often founders jump to building technical products without knowing what they’re solving for and what features actually matter. Once the matches were made, she engaged an engineer to build the 1st algorithm, which is how they make matches today. Learn how she became the architect of what was built as a non-technical founder.
How they determined what to charge.
Tiffany is a self-proclaimed "joiner". She is a member of several communities. The way she determined pricing was by taking all of her memberships and then averaging out the annual membership. It ended up being $1k. She then told herself - "cut it in half". Learn how she determined pricing here.
She Raised $3M by learning about VC through Google.
When Tiffany launched, she had no idea what venture capital was. Not even kidding. However, as the Cru was growing from the original $50k they got from launching the landing page, they learned the cost of taking care of Cru’s was more than the $499. She decided she needed to get additional capital to create a high-quality experience. However, she had to ask herself whether or not VC was in alignment with her values and the vision she had for the company because Tiffany quickly learned that all money is not good money. Learn how Tiffany stayed true to her vision and values, and successfully raised $3M by finding the right sponsors to help her demystify the process.
How to Ask for Support.
There is no one that has invested in Tiffany Dufu that regrets investing in Tiffany Dufu. We are here for this BVE (big vagina energy) Tiffany has made strides across her career because she not only believed she was worthy but also knew that getting support would be critical to her success. The biggest barrier women have asking for help is that they see the other person is giving them something but they don’t understand their own value. Learn how Tiffany learned how to ask for support and her advice for how you.
Where You Can Support Tiffany?
If you know a woman who needs a Cru, check them out. And if you’re an investor who cares about community, connect with Tiffany.
TRACTION TOOLS: How to get it done...
Here are some tools that will help you build product for the low & raise capital<3
Why Build a Waitlist Before Building the Product. Hint: Save Hella $
Minimum Lovable Product: Learn how to build a Minimum Lovable Product from a queen who has raised $130M.
Not a designer? Neither are we. Learn how to create a simple yet successful landing page here.
Learn How this Company Grew Their Waitlist to 200,000 users.
Building Community: Tiffany essentially built a community. Learn how this queen built a 7-figure bootstrapped community.
Learn how this company grew a 1M waitlist before launching.
Get Feedback to Know What to Build: by listening to your customers and driving 50% revenues through organic marketing here.
How to Raise $11M 16 Months Post Launch with Queen Betsy Fore.
Turn an Investor No into a Yes with queen Jihan Thompson *with consent, allwwwayyys ;)
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Explore community membership here.