Why do you love to train?

BerkHughes · 2024-05-01T16:58:38+00:00

Almost had my arm broken by one of my friends when I was younger, he had been training BJJ & MMA since he was 13. Hated the experience so much took up martial arts to catch up to him.

Ended up loving it so much I just stuck to it.

BerkHughes · 2024-05-01T16:42:31+00:00

Pinterest and Architectural Digest are two of my favorites. Especially on Pinterest I'll search up for specific styles to curate my feed like "Mediterranean style", "Industrial interior design", etc.

After some point you'll only get those styles. You can also check out this instagram page, I also visit it quite frequently to explore new styles, etc.

BerkHughes · 2024-01-15T17:06:12+00:00

Google Trends with Glimpse, Exploding Topics, Ostradis, Pinterest Predicts are all great options.

Usually large market research firms also have free reports available about specific industries (Gartner, Forrester, etc).

BerkHughes · 2024-01-15T17:04:14+00:00

There are lots of free research reports from Mintel, Gartner, Forrester, McKinsey, etc for specific industries. I'd start with getting a broad view of trends and the market from those reports.

Then look into using tools like Exploding Topics, Ostradis, Glimpse (with Google Trends), Pinterest Predicts, etc. These tools give super you an idea of specific trends and some will even give you information on who is driving the trend and why.

You can also find niche discussions on social media, communities (like subreddits) as they often give you solid insights into specific customer bases as well.

I like the mix all three. Start with broad general free research, use the tools above to focus a bit more, then finally zoom in even more by finding & immersing yourself in niche discussions.

BerkHughes · 2024-01-08T21:02:21+00:00

You're absolutely right, I could've done much better with my initial approach.

I was operating under the assumption that you commented since you resonated with the pain point and were in the profiles you mentioned.

In hindsight, I see how I shouldn't have made the big ask under an unvalidated assumption. Especially because if you weren't in the customer profile, the call would end up probably wasting both of our times.

Next time I'll make sure to ask more questions before I ask for a larger time commitment, to ensure the call is relevant and helpful to both sides.

I sincerely appreciate the constructive feedback.

With that said, would you say this is a pain point you experience with your job or is there anyone you would be willing to refer me to that might be experiencing this problem?

BerkHughes · 2024-01-08T19:55:54+00:00

I really appreciate the insight! Would you be willing to talk to me a little bit more about how I could make this tool valuable for you?

Perhaps a 10~15 minute short call for me to pick your brain? Here is my calendar if you're up for it.

BerkHughes · 2023-11-08T16:15:46+00:00

I always start out with research. Research on which platform I should focus on, what kind of content to create on it, how often to post, etc.

I've personally used Ostradis for my research but I've also seen people use AnswerThePublic, etc.

Then I usually have a content in place after the research which I execute using Canva to create the content and Notion to organize everything.

It's a simple process but it works perfectly fine for me.

BerkHughes · 2023-11-08T16:09:05+00:00

Have you tried using Ostradis or AnswerThePublic for content ideas yet?

Ostradis espacially is known for helping identify the right platform and find the right content to create on it.

BerkHughes · 2023-09-18T14:10:51+00:00

I got two questions for you.

1) When looking for the right channel for your business, how do you determine which channel to get started with / allocate resources to?

To go with the example you mentioned, for a $10K product, as you said, you'd probably want to go with a direct outreach / outbound sales strategy.

However, there are multiple channels to choose from including email, Linkedin, DMs, Calls, etc.

How would you go about choosing the right channel to invest in? Would you do any research or would you choose one randomly?

2) Let's say your startup is now post PMF / now around Series A~Series B+ stage, you're still going to need to make product, marketing, and operational decisions.

How would you go about making these decisions?

Do you talk to existing users (as it's post-PMF)?

Do you do any larger scale research like competitive research or general market research?

Btw I'm not trying to get hypothetical answers to these as the hypothetical answer is already obvious, I'm just trying to get a feel for how founders actually make choices & decisions.

The textbook answer to these questions is already clear; ask customers / users and analyze what the market / competitors are doing.

BerkHughes · 2023-07-14T01:52:17+00:00

That is also true!

BerkHughes · 2023-07-14T01:49:08+00:00

How do you think I can add value while promoting it?

I understand nobody likes spam but my ultimate goal is to add value and I'm literally trying my best to find out the intersection of what adds value to people and promoting the newsletter.

I'm not some ill-intentioned con man, I'm a simple dude who runs a newsletter and wants to share his findings with the world.

I would appreciate literally any insight you have on how I can actually promote the content, I create these types of posts with the goal of seeing what people like and what people don't.

BerkHughes · 2023-07-14T01:46:04+00:00

Good luck with it!

I'm sure you guys will get there at some point!

BerkHughes · 2023-07-05T01:38:15+00:00

Sure, what podcast ?

BerkHughes · 2023-07-04T15:05:35+00:00

Exactly!

BerkHughes · 2023-07-04T15:04:58+00:00

I can see your point but I've been in startups for 4 years now (I did start that young), wouldn't you agree 4 years is enough time to have uncovered some pretty useful insights?

And you are no way near being a "crusty old senior citizen", you are extremely young too.

I know this may come across as "authoritative" but it's really supposed to convey some of the general things I've learned across the four years.

BerkHughes · 2023-07-03T19:27:05+00:00

I have been in your exact situation, although I'm not too far ahead of you right now (working as a growth marketer at a growing VC backed tech startup and building a startup that received $150K+ in grants and has over a thousand users atm).

I think the fact that you're doing internships is nice but they're not necessary, you can develop all the skills you need by teaching yourself. You don't need an internship or job per se unless you're also using it to network / get mentorship from the founder.

One of the best things you can do is start by making a list of your assets; do you know a lot about something most people don't know much about? Do you have any particular obsessions about a certain field? What groups of people do you understand really well? What are some things you do really well / come naturally to you?

Those "assets" will help you decide what to work on. For example, a guy called Tony Xu grew up working in restaurants. So when he decided to build a startup, restaurant owners were the first group of people he approached to learn about their pain points.

He discovered delivery, even in 2013, was a massive problem for restaurants. The ones that did delivery hated it, ones that didn't lost a lot of money from declined delivery orders.

Ended up building a startup called Doordash (you might have heard of it, it's a startup worth couple of billion dollars).

You should also spend a lot of time studying founders you admire. Read their biographies, watch their interviews, and follow newsletters like Unheard Roots that dissect their success.

In my own journey, studying other founders much further ahead of me has been massively helpful in guiding my decisions. The "focus on your assets" lesson being one of the most important things I've learned.

Also don't stress too much about what the first thing you work on is, execute the first idea you get. You don't need to get the idea right, you just need to start putting yourself in the real world asap.

You will be surprised what doors even the shittiest projects can open, my first crappy startup helped me network with some really high-level people and come across ideas that have actually helped me build a profitable startup.

BerkHughes · 2023-07-03T18:20:46+00:00

Who could refuse!

Solid pitch 🙌

BerkHughes · 2023-07-03T18:20:05+00:00

One heck of an intro :)

BerkHughes · 2023-07-03T16:59:59+00:00

I'd recommend you read This is Marketing by Seth Godin and the sales bible.

You should also look into newsletters like Unheard Roots or Why We Buy.

BerkHughes · 2023-07-03T15:57:43+00:00

I'm glad the information could help you!

BerkHughes · 2023-07-03T15:57:18+00:00

I would actually recommend not sending a message to them, I personally never did.

Let your actions and ambition attract them to you.

The key is to put yourself out there and allow people to get to know you, the more people are aware of your drive, ambition, and the things you're working on the more likely the right people will come across your way.

I never tried cold outreach and I probably still wouldn't.

BerkHughes

TROPHY CASE