Startups

Sep 18

Where to find a code-cranking unicorn (aka CTO)

By Dan Martell | Leadership, Startups, Strategy | One Comment

Steve Jobs (Apple) had Steve Wozniak.
Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) had Dustin Moskovitz.
Bill Gates (Microsoft) had Paul Allen.

Even though they could all code themselves, the greatest business leaders of our generation, all had a technical co-founder by their side.

Why?

They knew they’d need help building the actual product as their focus shifted to growing the business.

I had the same experience in my companies.

How did they find these people?

How did they convince them to join them in their vision? Read More

Sep 11

8 Ways To Make Money (for Teenagers)

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

Did you know that at age 13, John D Rockefeller – the richest man in the world – built his family a house?!!!

As a teenager I was definitely not a productive member of society.

Quite the opposite actually.

That being said, I continue to believe that we all underestimate what kids can accomplish at every age.

If you have teenagers in your life, this video is for them.

Over the past few months I’ve received dozens of emails and comments on my videos from young entrepreneurs (9-15 year olds) asking for advice.

So after a few emails I decided to create a video sharing the 8 ways I would start making money if I were starting over in my teens. Read More

Sep 04

Why I had to crush a 15 year old’s dream (I’m not sorry)

By Dan Martell | Growth Engine, Startups, Strategy | 2 Comments

A few months ago I had lunch with a bunch of highschool aged entrepreneurs to give them feedback on their idea.

They were planning on building an energy generating play park for kids.

Now, I don’t mean to come off as a direct poo-pooer of dreams…

… but after 15 minutes of listening to their pitch I decided to ask some questions that I knew were going to shatter their excitement.

Have you figured out the average time a kid plays on a play park?
If they did play with your version of a swing, how much energy would it generate?
Does that amount generate a sizable amount of energy?
What’s the added cost to build a swing your way vs. the existing way?
Does the assumed energy production cover the additional cost?

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

Aug 21

Tools For Entrepreneurs: Managing Software Development

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

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. Read More

Aug 14

The 5-10 Principle for Creating High Converting SaaS Lead Magnets

By Dan Martell | Growth Engine, Marketing, Startups | 4 Comments

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? Read More

Aug 07

The 3 Activities of the SaaS Sales Process

By Dan Martell | Sales, Startups, Strategy | No Comments

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? 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

Jul 24

5 Things That All GREAT Startups Have

By Dan Martell | Growth Engine, Startups, Strategy | No Comments

“This is totally a company you would create!”

That’s what people would say every time I showed them the prototype for Clarity.

My passion for connecting people to have a conversation was something I had been doing for years…

… first starting with Founder Dinners, and morphing over the years to my entrepreneurial events like Maple Summit, Idea to Exit, etc.

What I quickly realized is that most great companies were started by founders who had a passion for the problem way before they discovered the solution. Read More

Jul 10

The 3 Inputs to a Great Product Roadmap

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

When I first built Clarity.fm, it wasn’t a marketplace.

It was a call list app.

The concept was that I could add anyone to my list, with phone number and description, then it would robo call each person, reading to me the name of the person and reason for the call.

In short…

I was building a productivity tool, NOT a marketplace.

A strategic “face palm” that would greatly handicap the business’ potential for growth. (#2 on my list of inputs to build great product).

Even after I held a 300 person launch event in my hometown of Moncton, I refused to build search into the product.

What I did instead was build a page that listed all of the experts who were available for a call.

Stupid.

It wasn’t until after months of getting emails to our support team that I realized we needed to add a search feature.

What happened next was the beginning of what made Clarity a huge success. Read More