Community

Oct 02

3 Question Frameworks You NEED To Use For Product Development

By Dan Martell | Community, Marketing, Startups | 4 Comments

It’s 2011 and I’m pacing back and forth in a parking lot in LA.

I’m about to go on This Week in Startups to talk about Flowtown which had just been acquired, but I’m stressing out…

I’m on the phone with Sean Ellis – the creator of the Customer Development survey – walking through the customer feedback I’m getting for a new product I’m starting to work on called Clarity.

I’m having a hard time figuring out my next steps.

People are signing up, but many aren’t making calls or coming back…

… so I’ve sent out a survey to ask them specific questions so I can better understand their needs and expectations.

That’s when Sean shares with me the Rosetta Stone of understanding my customer’s suggestions. Read More

Aug 28

How To Divide Ownership Fairly When Forming A Startup

By Dan Martell | Community, Financial, Startups | One Comment

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… Read More

Jul 31

The Emotions To Nail When Creating a SaaS Lead Magnet

By Dan Martell | Community, Marketing, Startups | No Comments

If you want a good laugh, watch this week’s video.

There may be some singing / rapping in it (if you want to call it that).

What’s important though, are the lyrics.

“Nurture – nurture – nurture that lead!”

Even more important…

… how many leads are you generating per month?

If that number is 0, or not growing, then the business isn’t growing.

Period.

The best way to capture a visitor who’s on your site is to offer them valuable content… Read More

May 22

How to Run a Remote Team – 5 Strategies To Keep Them Productive

By Dan Martell | Community, Leadership, Startups | No Comments

Did you know that Slideshare.net built their product in India?

Automattic (creators of WordPress) – 2,000 people in a distributed team.

Even GitHub (raised $250M+ in funding) has a global team of remote workers.

The future of teams are distributed.

Over my past 3 companies (Spheric, Flowtown, Clarity) and everything in between, I’ve always had world class team members work from wherever they lived.

In many cases we had an office, but not everyone worked from there – and truth was – we just used it to get together and meet with partners.

Now, over the years I’ve learned A LOT about building and managing distributed teams without sacrificing our culture. Read More

May 15

7 Live Chat Steps for Startups To Increase Sales

By Dan Martell | Community, Marketing, Sales | 2 Comments

Can you explain your business to someone who’s outside your industry?

That’s been the benefit of having a father who has no clue what I’ve done for most of my career :).

It’s also helped me learn how to explain my company’s benefits to a new customer.

One way to do that in a scalable way is to use live chat on your business site.

A few months ago I was in the middle a of a big sales project and I had chat setup on the page.

After a few days, I finally decided to dive into the trenches.

The experience blew my mind. Read More

Apr 03

The Power of a Private Facebook Group To Build Your Network

By Dan Martell | Community, Leadership | 4 Comments

My barber blew my mind.

I’m sitting there and he’s cutting my hair and we’re talking about advice and mentorship…

… so I shared with him this silly Facebook group I started that eventually became one of the most valuable resources in my professional life.

That’s when he told me he was part of a similar group with barbers from other major cities…

… and they all connect online to share best practices, resources and stories to help each other out?!

Mr. Ryan Browne – my barber – has a virtual mastermind group?!!!

What? Read More

Mar 06

5 Steps That Will Take The Fear Out of Talking With a Mentor

By Dan Martell | Community, Education, Startups | No Comments

After failing twice in business I decided I needed help from a mentor.

The first person I identified was named Larry and he lived 1500 miles away.

After sitting on it for weeks, I finally hit send on the email asking him to meet.

Within 30 minutes he replied and agreed with a recommendation for a spot.

I lied about being in his city in a few weeks assuming that if he agreed that I could buy a flight…

… so that’s what I did.

It was on a Monday at 6:30pm and he was late.

We met in an old seafood restaurant off the highway and I was nervous.

What if he didn’t show up?

What if I say something stupid?

What if he sends someone else in his spot? Read More

Feb 27

Build Your Startup Team With These 6 Characteristics To Filter Out The Duds

By Dan Martell | Community, Leadership, Startups | 18 Comments

Over the years I’ve been involved in hiring 100’s of people for my companies.

In the early days when I started a new project I would just grab whoever was nearby and free.

There was ZERO process.

That’s why I struggled to succeed.

I’d say between the ages of 18 – 24 I worked with dozens of different people and most fell extremely short of my expectations.

I hired a bunch of duds.

Why? Read More

Jan 30

How To Research, Recruit, And Compensate Great Advisors For Your Business

By Dan Martell | Community, Leadership, Startups | 3 Comments

Am I the only one whose Apple Watch is always dead?

I can’t seem to remember to charge it up…

… anyway, I digress.

When I started Clarity I put in the time to build one of the best advisory boards for the business.

It cost me time and $$$ but in the end, the ROI was 100X.

Having the best people in your corner to help guide strategic decision, solve major issues and pull you up when you’re feeling like a sack of potatoes is invaluable.

The challenge is finding them, negotiating compensation and deciding how to best leverage them. Read More

Jul 04

“Founder Dinners” a Micro-Doc

By Dan Martell | Community, Life Hacks, Personal | 5 Comments

Want to learn how I got invited to spend a week with Richard Branson?

… or how I ended up meeting Mark Cuban, who eventually invested in my last company?

It all started back in 2004.

After 2 failed companies I decided to give it another shot but this time it would be different… I decided to READ!?!

This was the list I started with.

What you won’t find on that book list is THE book that changed my life. Read More