Unpopular opinion. Working at a startup is trendy, appealing, & exciting. But it is not necessarily the right choice for everyone.
Working in a startup requires the type of personality that is OK to break things and move fast. To be flexible enough to accept that sometimes you need to get things done and not perfect.
It requires a fast-pace and a whole lot of motivation to accept rapid, frequent changes, and product pivoting.
Stress. A startup is demanding, It needs quick learning and product knowledge — like it or not, the team is small and you have to work together for its growth. You have to know a bit of everything and ace what you do, so you can easily…
A story of how I decided to keep $1 to remind me that there was a moment when someone trusted me when I needed it most and its impact almost 10 years later.
The first time when I had a (paid) gig in dollars was in 2013. It felt like a big deal, especially as I was just a student (or maybe a pretty fresh graduate?).
The previous gigs were quite small and paid in lei (or some barter agreements); having a client from abroad felt like a breakthrough — it was the moment it hit me: what I actually love to do can have an impact anywhere in the world. That My content, ideas, and actions go beyond an average Romanian city. And get paid for it.
Amazing! — I thought.
I…
Will businesses (e.g., SaaS) and media companies target and acquire newsletters to get quick access to their ideal customers?
The HubSpot acquired The Hustle.
HubSpot, the customer relationship management (CRM) platform for scaling companies, announced today it has signed an agreement to acquire The Hustle, a media company that produces a newsletter, podcast, and premium research content. The move will give HubSpot more ways to offer its community of scaling companies valuable content across a broader range of topics and a more diverse set of media.
Insider, Inc. (parent company of Business Insider) acquired Morning Brew*
While the broader digital news media is struggling in a landscape dominated by tech behemoths, Morning Brew found success by building strong relationships in one of the most underappreciated places: the email inbox.
Is this the beginning of a new chapter in the acquisitions’ world?
There is no need to…
Moderators can make or break an online community! Here are a few tips I’ve learned from moderating communities of thousands of people across different platforms (Slack, Facebook, Clubhouse)
We all love a place to (virtually) hang out, ask questions, meet like-minded people, and learn/share knowledge.
Moderators can make or break an online community!
I’ve been some sort of a community glue for a while now — from managing a coworking space and all its events & people around it to being part of a team moderating a Slack Workspace with +30k people.
(maybe it is worth mentioning that there were a couple of Facebook groups with thousands of people in between too).
But this post is about what I’ve learned and a few tips to keep a clean…
A short take on what the CMO role is versus any other Marketing role within an organization — Manager, Director, Head of, VP, etc.
What makes someone a CMO? at which point do I say I’m doing CMO work? these questions popped up in my feed and workspaces lots of time. And the truth is I heard it countless times as well.
There are dozens of people asking me what should they do to get a promotion, to create strategies, to make it at the decisions’ table — and the question is always around the title they should aim for, the one missing skill, or the books I recommend.
And there is no recipe for it: there is no go-to-book to give you all…
Everyone has some lists to recommend these days. But looking at everything, I could only see what society wants to see: the inspirational “not good, not terrible” type of story. But it was a terrible year.
It still is a terrible year, and it is not like starting from the 1st of January the whole corona novel will be completely erased. 2021 will have new challenges, new ways to make us think and grow. That is for sure!
On the other hand, it would be foolish of me to not say that 2020 was a year that we all learned from. It was a year that hit us differently and we will always remember it. And the next year(s) will be hard as well — the virus is still roaming around, the economy is shaky, and there are thousands of people looking for a job now.
2020 was proof that we are living at the hinge of history and this can only be a good lesson for us and make us take note of everything we’ve experienced.
So, here’s my list of takeaways and learnings in 2020
- resilience…
2020 taught us a zillion things and this is how it will impact the marketing trends and principles of 2021!
2020 is one of the few years that we grew a collective experience: no matter where you are in the world, what you do for a living, what language you speak, or to whom you dedicate most of your time, we all share the same struggles now.
We are all apart and distanced, yet together. 2020 was a tough year for sure. However, it taught us a lot of things.
A short take on The Social Dilemma that might upset some people. And 6 verticals to cover in terms of Ethical Marketing.
Yes, we do live in a data-driven world. And yes, everything we do or say in the digital world is tracked — every pixel of it. And it got out of hand.
Seeing marketers who are outraged is a bit funny to me, as 99% of them (in my opinion) go on the paid ads route because it’s the easiest & fastest way to get revenue. And yet, they are not happy to have their data tracked & processed.
As for the entrepreneurs in tech who are also debating this online — you were the first ones to ask for…
A set of ideas and action points for any marketer and entrepreneur working on their strategy!
We are living challenging times and most companies change their strategies now and analyze all their assets. And one of the key elements I learned from David Parish and his book, T-shirts and Suits, is to do a proper internal analysis.
So, if you are building a new strategy for your business, here’s what to consider in terms of internal analysis and strategy direction!👇
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬
👥People: what are the strengths and weaknesses of our people: employees, directors, members, etc.
😎Reputation (or Brand). What is our reputation with our target customers? What are the strengths or weaknesses of our brand?
📚Intellectual…
What is a Pitch and how should I create one? How to adapt my startup/business idea to my audience or to an investor? There is no one-way-fits-all. Neither a successful recipe, but I can help with some good guidelines.
One of the most common questions I get is How to pitch my startup? and, unfortunately, there is no one-way-fits-all. Neither a successful recipe, but I can help you with some good guidelines and directions.
Before jumping to the tips, it is highly important to keep in mind that you should always know your investor. If you are using the same pitching story and deck to everyone, you will not (really) succeed. The very same applies to your audience and customers.
Make sure you know their background and previous investments, bridge the gap between their interests and your startup, make…
