Idea to Startup
Brian Scordato | Tacklebox
A podcast for people working on startup ideas. We have 15-minute tactical episodes and occasional interviews with people who did the early things exceptionally well. We've helped launch hundreds of startups worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and these are the building blocks.
"This is, without a doubt, the best podcast for people trying to build startups out there."
"If you aren't listening to this podcast and you're considering building a business (or you're already building one), what are you doing?"
"Must listen for first-time entrepreneurs - excellent storyteller."
"This is, without a doubt, the best podcast for people trying to build startups out there."
"If you aren't listening to this podcast and you're considering building a business (or you're already building one), what are you doing?"
"Must listen for first-time entrepreneurs - excellent storyteller."
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 18, 2020 • 14min
Ladders and Lobsters
"Chaos isn't a pit, chaos is a ladder." Coronavirus is an inflection point that will change all sorts of behavior and create all sorts of opportunity for startups. This podcast looks at the opportunities that'll be created and how you should approach them within the startup world.
Mar 11, 2020 • 56min
INTERVIEW: Agatha Kulaga on building Ovenly, turning your creative outlet into a scalable business, and baking the best cookies I've ever tasted.
Agatha Kulaga - co-founder of Ovenly, an award-winning retail and wholesale bakery with a global footprint - stops by to talk through the early days. How do you turn your creative outlet into a business? How do you scale high quality? How do you build a distinct brand as a wholesaler? A great conversation with a very smart and talented founder.
Mar 4, 2020 • 16min
How to Evaluate a Startup Idea
What should it look like when you have a startup idea? What do you do first? How do you know if it's a good idea for you? We go through seven archetypes of innovation, then go through a framework to understand if you're uniquely positioned to pursue that idea. We then apply it all to a startup idea Brian has. This is the first of a few episodes testing out an idea Brian has in the food space.
Feb 26, 2020 • 52min
INTERVIEW: Brian Linton on building United By Blue, removing millions of pounds of trash from the ocean, and scaling a purpose-driven brand.
Brian Linton, founder of outdoor apparel and accessory brand United By Blue, stops by to tell the story of how he built a purpose-driven brand that's removed over 2 million pounds of trash from the ocean. He talks through the earliest days - how driving up and down the east coast selling t-shirts gave him the foundation to build an omni-channel brand - and the tradeoffs necessary to build a profitable brand that also has a clear philanthropic North Star.
Feb 19, 2020 • 17min
The Selfish Score: How to build a great customer acquisition funnel
To build a great company, you need to build a healthy customer acquisition funnel. You need a consistent flow of customers coming in the top, tactics to keep them engaged as you build your brand and story, and urgency to get them to pull the trigger. The way to measure how effective your company can be at this is to measure how selfish you can be with your customers. How often can you contact them before they get pissed? The Selfish Score measures the potential for your company to have a solid growth flywheel. So let’s get into it.
Feb 12, 2020 • 58min
INTERVIEW: Rob Petrozzo on building Rally Rd, how to test startup ideas before you quit your job, storytelling, leveraging personas for brand and marketing, raising money, and differentiation.
Rob Petrozzo, co-founder of Rally Rd, stops by for an awesome interview that at it's core is about storytelling. Rally Rd is growing incredibly fast, but the early days were tougher to navigate. Rob talks through how building storytelling into the DNA of the product laid the groundwork for future growth, and how early stage founders can do the same. We touch on personas, customer segmentation, fundraising, growth, team building and composition, design, and more. Enjoy!
Feb 5, 2020 • 13min
Two mental models that'll make or break your startup + a mystery company that can't stop growing because of them
There's a mystery company that is one of the 10 best performing stocks since 2010. You've heard of them. You've eaten (hint) their product. You'd never in a million years guess who they are. They've grown because of two mental models, and we break down how you can leverage them for your startup.
Jan 29, 2020 • 1h 1min
INTERVIEW: Ashley Merrill on building Lunya, the beauty of capital-constrained businesses, true differentiation, and self-doubt
Ashley Merrill, the founder of premium sleepwear brand Lunya, stops by and delivers a masterclass on how to build a brand in the DTC era. She talks about the earliest days, about what differentiation in a crowded space really looks like, about pricing and business model, brick and mortar, focus and prioritization, and self-doubt. If you're a startup founder interested in brand, or trying to start a DTC company, get a notebook ready. This is packed with insight.
Jan 22, 2020 • 17min
The Secret Formula to Hot Ones' Success
Hot Ones is a show on Youtube that you've probably heard of. A host interviews guests while they each eat 10 progressively hotter hot wings. The growth is preposterous - episodes routinely get over 10 million views. Hot Ones structure is brilliant - it creates and drives the growth - and it's something you can (and better) implement in your startup.
Jan 15, 2020 • 1h 14min
INTERVIEW: Marc Merrill on building Riot Games (League of Legends), prioritization frameworks, and focused growth
Marc Merrill, founder of Riot Games, joins the podcast to talk about building League of Legends into a cultural phenomenon (with over $20bn in revenue). We discuss the early days - how he built a complex product for customers with high expectations, fundraising, managing people, growth, prioritization, and more. It's an amazing conversation with one of the sharpest and most thoughtful people I've met. Enjoy!
