the blog
Semi-regular musings on all things marketing, data, product, and business.
How a few nerds made me a better marketer
This likely doesn’t come as a shock to most of us marketers, but we’re being asked to do more with less -- smaller budgets, shrinking head count, less time. But how did we get here? And how can we change it?
Why marketing departments need a rebrand
The problem with marketing orgs is that, to many, the discipline is seen as an art, something that has an indirect impact on a business. And if I’m being honest, their perceptions aren’t completely off. How do we change the narrative?
Data-driven gone wrong: when single metrics breed unintended consequences
As a marketer, how often do you focus on metrics like impressions, or whatever Google Ads or Facebook Ads tell you, without really focusing on the business metrics? Read this post so you don't become one of those marketers
Startup Bootcamp, Part 15: Building a Wizard of Oz MVP
you’ve gotten a few sign-ups and determined there’s general interest in your idea. You guessed it; there’s still work to be done. The good news? This is the best part of the process.
Startup Bootcamp, Part 7: Identify your target audience
While you may think your idea is so groundbreaking the whole world will want it, you’ll need to narrow your scope. Having a product a few people love and would recommend to their friends is much more valuable than many people who think your product is “just OK.” This is where you flesh out who you think will care about your idea..
Startup Bootcamp, Part 6: Stalk your competitors
Ever “stumble upon” the Facebook profile of the person you’re meeting later for coffee? Search for your boss’ Zillow listing? See? You’ve been preparing to stalk your competition your whole life and you didn’t even know it. Dig a little deeper to see how worthy these adversaries are and how they might impact you.
Startup Bootcamp, Part 5: Identify your competitors
Have you discussed your exes with your current partner? Why do we do it? That was a rhetorical question! We know the answer; it’s to identify the competition. Deploy a similar strategy with your business idea. Prevent a false start by identifying the competitive landscape early in the process. Dedicate no more than 30 minutes by following these three rules:
Startup Bootcamp, Part 4: Framing your MVP like a science experiment
Remember your middle school science fair? Hastily designed tri-fold poster boards and the ribbons that had no monetary value, but carried more weight than gold? Channel your adolescence and apply the scientific method to your MVP. State your hypothesis, make your assumptions, outline how you’ll measure success and record your observations. Glue sticks not required (you’ll need those for a later section).
Startup Bootcamp, Part 3: The sniff test
The sniff test is an analysis using no outside research to quickly determine if your idea is worth pursuing. We explain how to get it done. And fast.
Startup Bootcamp, Part 2: The minimum viable product explained
MVP--most valuable player? Not exactly. While you’ll always be the MVP to us, in this guide MVP stands for minimum viable product. The MVP isn’t your final product; it’s the minimum amount of time, effort and resources required to put your idea in front of your target audience and test your business hypothesis before fully building it out.