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Growth Stacking Show with Dan Martell

Dan Martell is a Canadian serial entrepreneur and angel investor. Subscribe now and learn his best strategies to build and scale successful products and businesses. Now hit that button and start the show. It's FREE.
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Now displaying: August, 2017
Aug 28, 2017

How does Richard Branson manage 400+ companies?

He doesn’t.

Over the years he’s learned how to build teams and split ownership in a way that drives everything forward.

In 2004, after 2 failed companies, I finally learnt this lesson.

When I started my company Spheric Technologies I started it with partners.

Why? I realized if I wanted to go far – and get there faster – I needed other people on the team that had a piece of the business.

One of the strategies I teach my high-end coaching clients ($5M+ / year in revenue) is how to build and structure teams to take on new initiatives outside their businesses.

I’m all about focus, but it doesn’t mean you can’t bring other ideas to life…

… what it does take is the right structure amongst a team to ensure it’s win-win for everyone involved.

It’s what Richard Branson does, and so can you.

In this week’s video I share how to think about ownership splits when building a new company in a way that reduces the downside when things get tough.

When I think about ownership splits, I always break it down into a few key areas:

  1. What’s the current value today? (investor valuation, or market)
  2. What would the caliber of the people be worth in the open market?
  3. Who else would be critical to bring on to make this a huge success?
  4. How much more capital would be required to get to break even?
  5. How do we test the relationships / collaboration of everyone coming together?

One of my favourite quotes by Seth Godin is “I can’t work with you, until I work with you.”

When you bring a bunch of people together that haven’t worked together, you need to quickly test their working relationships.

That’s why I always start there, even before we get into the equity splits.

Over the years I’ve been involved in starting, investing or mentoring hundreds of new businesses, so I’ve seen this play out many times.

What people fail to do is plan for SUCCESS!

When this takes off, how are people going to feel?

Most people never do that and it’s a mistake.

So, what about you? Have you done anything creative when working with partners on a new project, or business idea?

I’d love to hear your ideas below in the comments.

Hope this video finds you well!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

Aug 21, 2017

In 2001, I got a job I wasn’t qualified for.

I was hired by a big oil company to lead a new project with dozens of developers to build a product that would be used by every employee in the company.

No pressure, right?

On the first day, the hiring manager realized I was in way over my head and pulled me aside to tell me I had 2 weeks to “figure things out”.

Umm… ok?

I had no clue what that meant… but the stakes were clear, and I couldn’t lose this project.

I hadn’t worked in 2 months and if I failed, it meant moving back in with my parents.

In this week’s video I share the journey of how I went from a newbie leader on the verge of being forced onto my mother’s couch…

… to someone who successfully managed a multi-million dollar project for 2 years.

The best way for me to show you the difference is by using a real world example…

… so this week I use our new set design (it’s still not finished – it’s an iteration away but watch the video above to check it out).

I worked with my buddy Tim to build it out and let’s just say there were some hiccups.

So in many ways this video is for him… a primer on how to manage projects with a bend on software (my world)!

I go over:

— How to use time blocking to define constraints & force creativity

— How to write outcome driven user stories to set expectations

— Why you should prototype the unknowns

— The right way to validate interdepencies amongst various departments

I also wrap up with a myth that needs to be squashed around “planning” and why nothing works out the way it should and how to overcome that.

Recently I got a call from a founder who had invested $1.5M into a software project.

It had been 2 years and they still hadn’t launched.

In many ways, this video is for them, too.

Now it’s your turn… what have you learned about managing projects over the years?

What are some tricks for keeping people on scope, on budget and on track?

Leave a comment with your best strategies!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

Aug 14, 2017

The other day I had an old highschool friend invite me to a private facebook group for their network marketing product.

When I scanned the posts in the group, they were ALL promotional and salesy.

Nothing added value to their customers lives.

It was all about them.

Unfriend.

I have a real problem with any company that doesn’t think of helping their customers BEFORE they ask for a sale.

It just seems backwards.

But how do you do that?

By offering visitors highly valuable content that helps solve a problem in exchange for their email, typically called a Lead Magnet.

Where most people get this wrong is they think they need to give something HUGE… like a 75 page e-book / report, or a free multi-series video training program…

… but the the truth is, the best performing lead magnets follow the 5-10 Principle.

In this week’s video I also share a simple strategy using S.A.G.E, created by my friend Taki Moore.

Over the years I’ve been involved in creating hundreds of pieces of content that we offer in exchange for a customer’s email.

This is especially important if you have a software product, and the only thing on your site is a signup button.

Add some content to capture your potential buyer’s email even if they’re not ready to sign up at that moment.

That way you can keep in contact, add value, and prime them to become buyers in the near future.

Here are the stats: 67% of the people visiting your site won’t buy today but they could in the future.

Create a great Lead Magnet to start the relationship.

So, what are you going to create?

Leave a comment describing the specific piece of content you’re going to create to serve your customer.

Don’t be a full time promoter.

Share the knowledge, build the relationships and continue adding value.

See you in the comments.

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

Aug 7, 2017

What would it feel like hiring 150 sales people for your company in 6 months?

That’s the question I asked Scot, the founder of Classy, a few months ago.

Their story is EPIC!

I’ll fast track his answer… essentially, he started out for many years being the primary salesperson, then hired around him, but remained inseparable from that process.

After years of hustling and grinding he eventually hired his first VP of Sales.

I still remember our first advisory board meeting and how excited I got about their new plans to scale sales.

How did he do it?

That’s what I share in this week’s video inspired through the experience I gained from watching Scot execute…

… and listening to the other pros in the room, like Alex Bard who at the time was the youngest executive vice president at SalesForce, accountable for a BILLION dollar division.

Over the years I’ve coached many of my clients on building & scaling their sales teams.

It really comes down to these core phases:

  • Sourcing
  • Closing
  • Developing

In this week’s video I dive into each phase, and the key areas you should be focused on.

Also, at the end I share a tip for when it’s the right time to hire the next person in the chain.

So…

Do you have a sales team?

If not, what’s holding you back?

Leave a comment below with your answer and I’ll be sure to point you in the right direction.

Keep up the hustle!

--

Dan Martell has advised more startups than his hometown has people and teaches startup founders like you how to scale. (Get the free 3 videos to grow your business here.) He previously created, raised venture funding for and successfully exited two tech startups: Flowtown and Clarity.fm. You should follow him on twitter@danmartell for tweets that are actually awesome.

Are you an entrepreneur? Get free weekly video training here:
http://www.danmartell.com/newsletter

+ Join me on FB: http://FB.com/DanMartell
+ Connect w/ me live: http://periscope.tv/danmartell
+ Tweet me: http://twitter.com/danmartell
+ Instagram awesomeness: http://instagram.com/danmartell

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