Oct 25Framework for Early Revenue ($10k MRR)I’ve helped Sarah, Luigi, and dozens more create VC-backed companies through FoundersCafe. I’ve bootstrapped to 450k myself. Here’s the framework I use with my members for early startup building No process = No direction The problem that most people encounter is — direction. What should I be focusing on right now? Not having clarity on…Founders5 min readFounders5 min read
Oct 24How to write LinkedIn posts that drive inboundsI’ve bootstrapped businesses to $450k using LinkedIn as a channel, even with a tiny following (2,500). I’ve also helped my clients do the same. Here’s the biggest learnings using LI to get inbounds: 1) Get over the fear of posting When I launched my new business StoryMage.ai, I decided to write some posts on LinkedIn. This post…LinkedIn3 min readLinkedIn3 min read
Oct 22Manual Work is the New Path to Product-Market FitBreak free from the perfection trap and start gaining real customer traction. — Many startup founders often feel the pressure to make everything flawless before they release their product to the world. They think that they need to have Stripe billing set up perfectly, a smooth user login process, and everything should be in tip-top shape before they can launch. You’re seeing your…Product3 min readProduct3 min read
Oct 18What I learned from talking to 20 founders & consultantsI spoke to 20 founders/consultant. Here’s what I learned. They all have the same problem — top of funnel! For example, Andrew runs Series B Consulting & People Leader Accelerator. He’d spend 2–3 hours/week building thought leadership on LinkedIn. The biggest problem he had was with consistency. He’d make 3 posts in 1 day, then go dark for 3 weeks. …Startups3 min readStartups3 min read
Oct 17How I fixed low engagement after onboarding 400+ customersI’ve bootstrapped to 450k. Onboarded over 400+ customers. Here’s 3 ways I fixed low engagement: 1) Increasing price Early on for StoryMage.ai, podcasters would pay us $20 to turn existing content into LinkedIn posts for them. But after we’d given them the posts, they’d fall off. When we asked for feedback on the…3 min read3 min read
Sep 27How to get 15 calls a week as a FounderLearn how to go from 2 calls per week to over 15 calls per week! :D — By Maddie Wang In this post, I’ll share techniques I’ve used to go from 2 calls per week to over 15 calls per week at my startup Founders Cafe. At Founders Cafe, we help startup founders get their first 5–10 paying customers in 2 months. I’ll show you how proper…Customers5 min readCustomers5 min read
Sep 12What I learned bootstrapping 3 companies to $450kI built 3 bootstrapped companies to $450k. Here are 3 important lessons I learned. 1) Sell before you build. For my first startup, I spent a year building the perfect product. I coded every day, had 1,000 DAU, and lived in my parent's basement. Then one year later, I monetized it. … No one wanted…Founders4 min readFounders4 min read
Sep 11How to grow your consulting business on LinkedInI am a Stanford founder who used to work on my consulting business (240k revenue). I work with numerous consultants, charging between 4k-30k/mo per client. Here’s what they tell me: I get my inbounds from LinkedIn I post stream-of-consciousness updates on LinkedIn 2x a week. All my best content comes from calls Why are you coming to me? I don’t have…Consulting3 min readConsulting3 min read
Sep 11Why should I build a brand? My horror storyWhy should I build my personal brand? When I could be doing 10 things Like cold outbound, ads, or SEO … Founders often ask me this question They’ve done everything except build their brand Then come to me, struggling to acquire customers Here’s what tell them …. Back at Stanford…Branding2 min readBranding2 min read
Sep 8Generic content doesn’t sellWhat do you think would convert more customers The jasper-written article called “5 Ways to please customers” OR “How I got 95% retention [B2B SAAS]” … One provides no value. The other is loaded with INSIGHTS!! … SELL YOUR ACTUAL STORIES Not generic crap! … When I was trying to…SEO2 min readSEO2 min read
