The Shopify Growth Show
Jim Huffman
What would you do if you were starting today? To help, here are half-baked startup ideas, growth marketing tactics, and stories from founders and creators - including my own journey as a bootstrapped business owner. All of the content is centered around helping founders, creators, and investors starting today.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 24, 2022 • 53min
Our 2022 Predictions and 5 Startups to Launch this Year (#59)
Rob Sobers joins Jim again to look ahead at 2022 with tips on what to watch and trends to keep an eye on before They share several half-baked startup ideas for the new year.TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODEMarketing trends to watch in 2022Industries to watch in 2022 Company / startup to watch in 2022Person to watch in 2022What will flop in 2022? Half-baked startups for 2022Resources:· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Jan 17, 2022 • 43min
How We Launched a DTC Brand (and Website) in Under 4 Weeks with Angela Brugioni (#58)
Jim is joined by Angela Brugioni, the creative director for GrowthHit. Angela shares her experience and knowledge and walks through some of the strategies for brand creation and standing up creative materials on a tight deadline.TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE· What are the bare-bones brand elements necessary to launch a product or service· The differences between B2B and B2C marketing strategy· What questions do you ask to drive your brand strategy· Establishing a visual language for Brand· How to present options and mock-ups· How much do names matter, and what does that process look like· How much time do you spend on a logo· Takeaways from Handsome Chaos processResources:· Handsome Chaos· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Jan 10, 2022 • 30min
My Goals for 2022 (and the system for managing them) (#57)
Jim and Yonathan reflect on the wins and misses from 2021 and look forward to a new year with some of their favorite frameworks to set and achieve goals.TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE· Wins and Misses from 2021· Understanding why you don’t hit some goals· Jim and Yonathan personal and professional goals for 2022· Frameworks for setting goals and allocating energy RESOURCES:· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Jan 3, 2022 • 27min
Mike Michalowicz: Being a Solopreneur, Making Millions as an Author, & a 'Get Different' Approach to Marketing (#56)
Jim is joined by New York Times best-selling author Mike Michalowicz, who's most recent book 'Get Different' is out right now and tearing up the charts. They talk about Mike's experience owning equity in multiple multi-million dollar companies, marketing tips, and keys to becoming a successful author.TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE· How to own equity in multiple businesses and be a full-time author· How to keep your employees satisfied in their roles· How to overcome the fear of putting yourself out there· Why is marketing an ultimate act of kindness· The importance of marketing relentlessly, especially in publishingResources:· Mike’s Website· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Dec 27, 2021 • 14min
We Unveil the Problem We’re Solving with Our D2C Brand (#55)
For the last episode of 2021, Jim gives an update on an important milestone for the $3M Challenge, and unveils their new D2C brand and talks about the process of validating the business as well as the business itself. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE· What are the steps to validating a D2C business· Finding a manufacturer· What problem does the product solve· What type of market research we’ve utilized· What are the key metrics for success· Pros and Cons· Steps moving forward Resources:· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Dec 20, 2021 • 27min
2021 Reflections: Our Highlights (and Lowlights) from the Year (#54)
Jim and Yonathan discuss an incredibly eventful and overall very productive year. They discuss wins and losses, major projects, and what will be helpful moving into a new year.TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE· Look back at 2021· Quantitative and qualitative reflection· Podcast, startup studio, and team changes· What got us here won’t get us there· Making the business units self-sustaining· Personal lifestyle design Resources:· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Dec 13, 2021 • 42min
How to Go From Idea to 9 Figure D2C Brand by Owning a Niche with Bear Handlon (#53)
Bear Handlon joins to talk about his bootstrapped niche-apparel company Born Primitive. Bear talks about his experience starting his brand from a single product and building it up without any investment at all. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE· How to turn a product into a company· How to build a supply chain· When do you make a side hustle your main focus· How to own the niche· How to choose between bootstrapping and funding· Lessons in brand building· How to turn rejection into motivation· The power of Branding· How do athletic disciplines translate to business· The importance of authenticity Resources: · bornprimitive.com· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Dec 6, 2021 • 53min
Richard White: Getting into Y-Combinator, Starting 2 Startups, and the Cold Email that Changed His Career (#52)
Jim is joined by Richard White, Founder and CEO of businesses like UserVoice and Fathom. He takes us through his journey from being a part of the first YCombinator batch in Cambridge in 2005 with the founders from Reddit, Dropbox and Twitch to his latest YC backed startup, Fathom.TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE· The power of a cold email· How to get noticed by accelerators like Ycombinator· What advantages does Fathom bring to Zoom meetings· Fundraising strategies· Generating revenue when starting with a free service· Should you prioritize Monetizations or Growth· Stories from a startup· Half-baked idea to disrupt CEO headhunting Resources: · Fathom.video/pod· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Nov 29, 2021 • 26min
How We're Validating Startup Ideas (#51)
Yonathan and Jim get into the nitty-gritty of a hugely important step on their $3M Challenge journey: validating startup ideas. They discuss how to identify, quantify, and increase product market fit and other helpful tips for deciding what startups present good investment opportunities.TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE · What is product market fit· How to measure market fit· What can you do to increase market fit· What are definitive examples· Best sample sizes· Pitfalls and variables Resources: · Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
Nov 22, 2021 • 24min
What We Learned Walking Away from a $300k Deal with Yonathan Ayenew (#50)
The first check in since GrowthHit started its $3M challenge. A $300k deal fails, but Yonathan Ayenew joins to discuss key takeaways and important lessons we learned from the first step on this journey. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE · What are the Criteria for good investments· Where and how do you find opportunities· What is due diligence and how do you enact that· What were the red flags· De-risking strategies· The Walk-Away Takeaways Resources:· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook
