Startup Hypeman: The GOAT to Market Show

The Discover Your Inner Awesome Podcast is dead.Sort of.Introducing Startup Hypeman: The Podcast. Listen to this short episode where I give a eulogy for Discover Your Inner Awesome, share why I killed it, and what you can expect from its reboot as Startup Hypeman: The Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if your company reached a point where running an ad campaign challenged your personal values and set of morals? Where the upside means massive success, but the downside means doing something that you believe is wrong? In our Season 10 finale I tackle the topic of marketing vs. Propaganda with hip hop recording artist Sir The Baptist. Sir’s music is our show’s theme song — as the self-proclaimed Hip Hop Chaplain, he’s been endorsed by the likes of Jay-Z and Stevie Wonder, and collaborated with artists like Killer Mike and Chance The Rapper. He’s developed an incredible marketing acumen in his time, working at Leo Burnett and even conducting firsthand market research for his album while driving Lyft. He’s also had his own belief set challenged, and we dig into that fine line between marketing and propaganda. There are so many lessons for entrepreneurs packed into this one, and I’m excited to share it with you in our season finale.Get episode updates and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the HypeNation at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I have a feeling this episode is gonna get A LOT of downloads. If you're a pre-revenue startup, I'm sure you've thought to yourself, "How do we raise money??" Or maybe you've been out there trying to fundraise and having no luck. Well, brew a pot of coffee or crack open a cold one, sit back and take notes for this one. Amber McDonald is the CEO and Cofounder of Indemnis, a company expanding the commercial use of drones and enabling services like drone delivery. She is a Founder in arguably the most unique situation I've ever encountered -- 1. Indemnis operates in a government-regulated industry, 2. She had her first child while still in college, 3. Indemnis is based out of ALASKA.Indemnis has raised nearly $4 MILLION in outside capital without generating a single dollar in revenue. She shares her story and strategies with me here.Amber wrote an in-depth blog post that expands on this topic. Get the article, episode updates, and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the HypeNation at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How different is your brand? No, really different? Without using the words 'disruptive', 'innovative', or 'game-changing' how are you truly challenging the incumbents in your industry and breaking norms? Erin & Leif Frey cofounded FREY--a clothing care line that I believe actually is game-changing. And they don't use a single buzzword to break the norms of their industry. Through branding, messaging, and a unique business model, the Brothers Frey are taking on a massive industry, going up against the P&G's of the world. In this episode, we have an incredible conversation around the strategic decisions these Y-Combinator graduates have made that I believe put them in position to actually disrupt the industry. Oh and, after we recorded this they sent me a sample kit. All I have to say is it felt like I was unboxing a BMW, and after I did my laundry it smelled so good that all I wanted to do was roll around in my clothes. Check out our story this week on Instagram @startuphypeman for videos of the unboxing.Erin & Leif wrote an in-depth blog post that expands on this topic. Get the article, episode updates, and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the HypeNation at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I've long held the belief that one of the best ways to gain access to potential customers is to find and leverage access points--hubs that give you access to many customers at one time. Some people call this channel marketing, I call these hubs "Superconnectors", but whatever you call it the point is these are partnerships. Allison Lee is CEO and Cofounder of Hemster. Before founding Hemster she was the Director of Monetization at IoT startup Peel, where she grew company revenue from $20K to $10M in less than 18 months. Hemster began when Allison saw a unique and efficient tool to understand consumers personalized fit when it came to tailoring and was inspired to start her own company. She wanted to create a holistic tailoring solution that allows shoppers to accomplish the perfect fit anywhere, while revamping a dying and outdated industry. Hemster's early success is due in large part to building large-scale partnerships, and in this episode she shares their strategy.Allison wrote an in-depth blog post that expands on this topic. Get the article, episode updates, and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the Hypeman tribe at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Okay, you founded a company. Are you an innovator? Is your company innovative? Many of us think because we're in the 'startup ecosystem' we're practicing innovation by default. Monica Kang has a different viewpoint. She's the Founder of Innovators Box, an innovation consultancy, and author of the book "Rethink Creativity". As a first-generation American, she's been practicing innovation before she even realized it, having to learn two cultures at the same time. She's worked at the U.S. Department of State, and even the NSA as a --wait for it -- Nuclear Nonproliferation Strategist. In our conversation we dive into building innovative practices you can put into place today, so that, as your company grows and you hire employees, your company culture is one of innovation.Get episode updates, full show notes, and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the Hypeman tribe at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's getting off the ground to try to just get to 1, but we all know that 1 is not enough. A true startup looks at growing from 1 to 100, to 1000, to 1 million, all the way to X. That's what we call scale. But how come when we look at scale, we only ever focus on product, sales, and the market? Alida Miranda-Wolff is on a mission to change the conversation around growth and scale. Her company, Ethos, helps growth-stage startups achieve scale through its PEOPLE. How do you scale as leaders, as teams, and culturally how do you use that to scale your organization? She joins me on the show today to discuss how to grow teams that fuel rocket ship companies. What I find so fascinating about this episode is the wealth of knowledge Alida has around philosophy, human interactions, and how that influences her work at Ethos. Bring a notebook for this one!Get episode updates, full show notes, and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the Hypeman tribe at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On day 1 all the responsibility falls on you and your cofounder's shoulders. But as you grow, you can't manage everything yourselves. One of the hardest things to do is embrace the idea of "letting go" and entrusting others with responsibilities. Gregory Heilers is Cofounder of content marketing agency Jolly Content. In less than 2 years Jolly Content has scaled to six figure revenue with zero outside investment capital. This growth has forced him to embrace delegation. He joins the show today to talk all about his experience with growth and letting go of doing everything himself.Get episode updates, full show notes, and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the Hypeman tribe at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As an entrepreneur, you're on a mission to share your vision for the way the world should work. Whether that's to investors, customers, or other stakeholders. Sharing your vision, and convincing others of it, is not an easy task, especially if it's a radical shift from existing norms and behaviors. Sarah Doherty is Cofounder and CTO of TeleHealth Robotics. Her company's vision is to change the field of medicine through the adoption of robotics-led patient care. Most people hear this and either get scared, offended, or say, "you're crazy". In our conversation today, Sarah sheds light on how her team is working to convince the world of their vision.Get episode updates, full show notes, and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the Hypeman tribe at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to make the Inc. 5000 list? Be more community-minded. Matt Wilson Cofounded Under30Experiences on the basic premise that young adults should get out and see more of the world. In 5 years, U30X has grown to a multi-million dollar organization, most recently making the Inc. 5000, and being awarded the #1 Fastest Growing Travel Company, with 70% of customers making repeat purchases! I've personally traveled on 3 different U30X trips, and as I've sat back and observed their growth, I am constantly amazed at how well they have built a COMMUNITY around travel. Matt joins today from his home in Costa Rica, returning to the show for a 3rd time (he was the first ever guest of this podcast in 2015), and in this conversation he pulls back the curtain and shares tips on how Under30Experiences has achieved such explosive growth with zero outside investment, on the backs of their customers, who they truly view as community members. By complete accident, this caps off a run of 3 straight episodes all about customers.Get episode updates, full show notes, and strategies to build your startup's hype by joining the Hypeman tribe at www.startuphypeman.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.