The Shopify Growth Show

Patrick Dossett, co-founder of the personal development toolkit Madefor joins to chat about how his time in the Navy SEALS prepared him for the unique challenges of founding his own startup, and he shares his tips for success and how to manage your team well even in a crisis. TOPICS DISCUSSED IN TODAY’S EPISODE· How important is Grit and the ability to endure for founders· Can stress be useful· How a good team can make the difference· The benefits of being mission driven· Tips and tricks for leading through a crisis RESOURCES· Madefor· Jim Huffman website· Jim's Twitter· GrowthHit· The Growth Marketer's Playbook

Growth Hit begins an exciting (and possibly crazy) journey as Yonathan and Jim announce the beginning of the $3M challenge and a transition to working in public. We put a cherry on top of this exciting chat with a visit from Mike Sroka, who is tearing things up in the Real-Estate software space. Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:The $3M Challenge·      What are the benefits of working in public·      Announce The $3M Challenge by GrowthHit·      Which businesses have done the best in this space·      What are the mechanics of this model·      Acquiring vs building·      Raising money or re-investing·      What information gets put out there  Mike Sroka of Dealpath·      Where does inspiration for ideas come from·      How do you launch in an industry that doesn’t support beta testing·      Half-baked idea for the futureResources:The $3M Challenge by GrowthHitLearn more about DealpathJim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook

Chris Lu joins me to chat about  the wildly successful Copy.ai service and how he grew it from a startup to a 200k revenue a month with the right approach, a little luck, and an extremely effective tweet.Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:Why should we care about AIBest use-cases for AI in businessCan AI create original content?What a well-placed tweet can accomplishHow to get to the magic SaaS moment quicklyThe value of an annual plan for bootstrappersPros and Cons of operating in publicThe choice to seek out VC and where to allocate investmentThe necessity to think bigNew ideas and opportunities in the AI and new-tech spaceResources:Try copy.ai for freeJim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook

Today, we focus on the why as much as we do the how when it comes to starting businesses and being successful in the launchpad space. Mark Sandeno brings his insight from starting several successful businesses and shares strategies on how to take your successes and re-invest them wisely. Key Ideas from this episode:Where should you focus your timeStructuring teams for successHow does Airbnb sell experiencesThe benefits of diving in too fast and too earlyBest practices for launchpad agenciesWhen is a successful business not worth pursuingWhat makes the experience app specialWhy is it important for founders to build relationships with other foundersResources:Experiences AppHelpful HumanJim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook

Listen to today’s episode about how Paul Graham, Y-combinator Founder, gives advice on how to come up with startup ideas.Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:The blog post How to Get Startup Ideas by Paul GrahamWhat makes Paul Graham impressiveMain takeaways from the blog postOrganic vs recipe startup generationBest quotes from the blog postSome of the best points from the postDisagreements with the blog postWhy this read is iconicWho should read this blog post and whyResources:How to Get Startup IdeasJim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook

Today, we're sharing financials.  From losing $400k in 48 hours to hitting $2M in sales, I bring my business partner on to talk about the lessons learned growing our agency. Plus, hear how we met and become partners - it's not the traditional story.Here are some of the lessons learned running the agency:Niche Down in Your FocusFocus on Systems and OnboardingValue Based Pricing Invest in a premium website if you charge premium pricesCulture is EverythingResources:Losing $400k in 48 hoursJim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook

In today’s podcast episode, you’ll hear from Ben Wilson, who has his own podcast: How to Take Over the World. Listen in to hear about the energy, charisma, and common traits of people like Jobs, Edison, Napoleon, and Alexander the Great.Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:How Ben came up with the name and concept of his podcastTraits you need to have to take over the worldThe energy of the people who are the best in their fieldsHow to maximize where energy goesThe function of charismaWhat it means to be half-insider half-outsiderAn unexpected common trait among leadersHalf-baked startup ideas that Ben hasThe nicest thing someone has done for Ben in his professional careerResources:How to Take Over the WorldJim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook

In today’s episode, we discuss an iconic blog post from Nathan Barry -  The Ladders of Wealth Creation: a Step-by-Step Roadmap to Building Wealth. Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:Who Nathan Barry and his path to creating ConvertKitThe main takeaways from the blog postWhat is the Ladder of Wealth CreationHow building wealth as a skillInvesting your time in wealth creation or wealth creation skillsWhy SAAS companies should have their own ladderDisagreements with the author’s workWhy this is an iconic readWho should read this blog post and whenResources:The Ladders of Wealth Creation: a Step-by-Step Roadmap to Building WealthJim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook

Nathan Barry is the CEO of ConvertKit, an email service provider that's gone from idea to $30M in ARR with zero funding.Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:Nathan’s explains his framework: Ladders of Wealth CreationShould you start something yourself or acquire a businessWhy you should focus on a small niche when competing against a powerful incumbentHow he has grown ConvertKit from idea to $30M ARRHow he approaches capital allocation and leverage as a bootstrapped ownerHow to attract talented people when you have less money to offerWhat aged well and what didn't with Nathan's book Authority Resources:Nathan BarryConvertKitAuthority Jim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook

In today’s episode, Miguel Fernandez talks about Capchase and how he was able to raise over $280M.Topics Discussed in Today’s Episode:What problem Miguel wanted to solve with Capchase and whyWhat the people who borrow from Capchase use the money forAdvice for bootstrap founders that are worried about raising moneyHow Miguel approached growing at such a large scale so quicklyWhat makes Miguel good at salesMiguel’s half-baked startup ideasThe nicest thing anyone has done for Miguel in his professional careerResources:Miguel FernandezCapchaseJim Huffman websiteJim's TwitterGrowthHitThe Growth Marketer's Playbook