Vancouver Growth Hackers Archives

August 26 2017

How to identify your top growth channels that will hit your marketing goals

ftyang Archive, Business Seminar Business Seminar, Siddharth Bharath, Vancouver Growth Hackers 0

Date: August 23, 2017 Name: How to identify your top growth channels that will hit your marketing goals Presenter: Siddharth Bharath Successful entrepreneurs need to identify their growth opportunities for their businesses. Moreover, they can focus the right resources at the right target. Vancouver Growth Hackers meetup invites Siddharth Bharath, the Vice President of Growth at Thinkific, to discuss the strategies to discover the top growth channels for any business. In this presentation, Siddharth Bharath will share his personal 5 step system to determine the growth channels. In addition, entrepreneurs will learn how to prioritize and determine where to focus their resources, hit their targets and expand their team. Siddharth Bharath is the Vice President of Growth at Thinkific. He helps many young entrepreneurs to start their new business and provide innovative solutions to their business problems. He was the Marketing Manager for LemonStand and the Founder of The Adventure Inc, and Treadalong. Currently, he is also the Content Marketing Consultant for Siddharth Bharath Marketing, where he focuses on content marketing for business owners. “I’m full of shit, but its good shit” Bharath believes finding the right growth channel is essential for any business. Many entrepreneurs are using the wrong approaches. In addition, Bharath realizes there is a way to tie in the framework and processes to reach growth goals. In business, many entrepreneurs receive conflicting advices from too many different options. To achieve growth, many entrepreneurs are having the shiny object syndrome, which causes them to keep switching different marketing strategies. They do not give enough channel time. Because of changes, many current skills are not leading to the right goals and marketing trends are not identified in advance. Many entrepreneurs are placing them in situations with a lack of research based on what they think they need. They are ignoring obvious ROI. Bharath indicates there is a need to systemize the way to identify high ROI. He designs a 5-step system to help entrepreneurs. Step #1: Customer Persona It is important for entrepreneurs to understand who they are selling to and where are their customers online. Entrepreneurs need to look for their background, demographic, identifiers, goals and challenges. They also need to identify how their customers help others, their real quotes, their common objections, marketing message, elevator pitch and their social message. Bharath identifies the major problem with research is that it does not tell the mental state of the customer at current moment. It is hard to tell if they are ready to buy. Therefore, timing is important factor to be relevant. Step #2: Customer Journey Bharath believes there are 5 steps in any customer journey.

Unaware
Problem Aware
Solution Aware
Product Aware
Decision

Entrepreneurs need to understand each channel that triggers the customer from one stage to another. Example of the channels are blogs, video, articles, friends influence, or story. It is important to understand customer’s mindset; be in their shoes and walk their journey. Entrepreneurs can help customer build their persona’s journey. By understand each step, entrepreneurs will know how ready their customers are willing to purchase. In addition, entrepreneurs can create the most relevant channels to help customers through their journey. Step #3: Bullseye Once entrepreneurs discover their highest ROI channels, they need to do resource optimization. Bharath wants entrepreneurs to take all the channels and categorize them into 3 different sections inner circle, promising, and long shot. Entrepreneurs will start their work in the inner circle section immediately. The key is to create fast results for customers to move from solution aware to product aware. One channel can affect multiple stages, so scalability is something entrepreneurs need to consider. Other things Bharath wants entrepreneurs to consider are cost, time, money, human capital, and speed of traction. Step #4: Experiments During this step, entrepreneurs still need to make assumptions. They need to test their channels before invest. Bharath shares a process called “High Temp Testing Growth Process”. It starts from unbridled ideation, prioritize backlog, launch tests, capture growth and repeat back to unbridled ideation. This is a cycle process. Bharath suggests entrepreneurs to start with a theory, execute quick test and then gather results. If the result is valid, it is time to scale up. If the result is invalid, it is time to begin another channel. Step #5: Scaling After entrepreneurs narrow down the right channels, they need to scale up. Bharath provides 3 options: automate, outsource, and hire. Entrepreneurs should automate repeatable tasks, such as lead identification. They should outsource all non-brand tasks, such as link building. Lastly, they will hire brand-related tasks, such as content or partnership. “Action beats perfection” Questions and Answers After the task of lead identification, Bharath will categorize them into different lists based on what information they can find. These should be automated. Entrepreneurs need to test as much channel as possible. To track experiments, Bharath will use Google Docs online and share them with other teammates. They will document their hypothesis, execution, results, learning outcomes, and action to go forward. During the experiment level, Bharath will stick to the channel until there is a result. Blog can take a while to test, so Bharath suggests entrepreneurs to do advertisement experiment with the title to see if people are willing to click it. When the testing shows that there is no problem with the copy, it normally means there is a problem in the message. If there is no traffic, it is the channel. Bharath indicates the best way to know the right channel is to analyze the audience during the stage of customer research. See what triggers them to go to the next step.

October 22 2016

Talking growth and traction for early-stage startups

ftyang Archive, Business Seminar Business Seminar, Jayesh Parmar, Vancouver Growth Hackers 0

Date: October 19, 2016

Name: Talking growth and traction for early-stage startups

Presenter: Jayesh Parmar

It is not easy for entrepreneurs to gain growth and traction at early-stage startups. Moreover, they often do not know where to focus at early stage. Vancouver Growth Hackers meetup invites Jayesh Parmar, the co-Founder of Picatic, to discuss his early stage entrepreneurship. In this presentation, Jayesh Parmar will reveal his success tips to help entrepreneurs avoid common business mistakes. In addition, Jayesh Parmar will show entrepreneurs the importance of building the right product at the right time.

Jayesh Parmar is the co-Founder and CEO of Picatic. With over 20 years of event industry experience, he helped and mentored many young entrepreneurs to start their businesses. He is a serial entrepreneur and he is one of the world’s top 10 Tech Entrepreneurs Disrupting The Event Industry. He is also the winner of SISO 2013 breakthrough event technology award. Furthermore, he is a speaker that motivates many leaders in many industries.

Jayesh Parmar’s entrepreneurship started in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He worked in many real estate and music companies. One day, he had the opportunity to pitch his idea to a serial entrepreneur and he was invited to work in Silicon Valley. The experience in the valley got him anxiety because people he met were out of his range. It was tough to survive there and he came to the realization that he needed more training to step up in their ecosystem.

Parmar took the initiative to get into an accelerator program in Toronto. He built his first startup and receive a quarter of million-dollar opportunity. He continued his path and went to New York. He managed to learn the environment and able to close the round.

While he was building his startup, he received a “5 minute long” advice from his mentor that he never forget. The advice was “Have you talk to your wife or girlfriend?”. Whenever there is stress, entrepreneurs should have a chat with someone who is close to them. Family support is important for Parmar. Whenever Parmar is in stress, he will remember his family support and continue to overcome his next obstacle.

“If you do not have family support, you cannot start this”

Parmar mentions he have many business failures. It takes many tries to come up with the current business model for Picatic.

His first idea for Picatic was the crowdfunding method. First, entrepreneurs need to create a track. Second, they will get the funding. Third, they need to launch the event successfully. If not, they will not get funded. The idea worked; however, Parmar encountered a problem and that was Picatic could not provide life time valve for entrepreneurs. If entrepreneurs have a successful event, they do not need Picatic because they have their own database or customers. It took Parmar over a million dollars spending to notice and address this major problem.

The second idea was to implement Picatic to a new business model called “Pay what you want”. Picatic allowed entrepreneurs to pick how much they want to pay for service fees. This allowed entrepreneurs to break through the economic barrier; however, the idea failed again because it created more business barriers.

Parmar changed the business model into “Freemium to Premium”. Picatic is now able to select different plans for their membership. Many entrepreneurs are giving themselves a year to try. The business model works and the sales are starting to increase. Picatic is now partnering with many big corporations.

“Every idea, we died every time because there is no road map”

Parmar shares some valuable lessons with entrepreneurs during his entrepreneurship.

Lesson #1: Team

Parmar believes team is like a marriage. The best thing for business is to get the right members into the team. Products will change, but entrepreneurs need a team to be there for the change.

Lesson #2: Market

Parmar believes entrepreneurs need to know their market size and the venture map. In British Columbia, funds will only be secured if entrepreneurs can provide enough support to investors that it has the potential to reach a billion-dollar market. Therefore, it is important for entrepreneurs to address the market carefully.

Lesson #3: Value

Parmar believes entrepreneurs need value creation. When value exceeds payment, entrepreneurs will have the sales right away. Entrepreneurs need to tell the story that adds value to customers.

“Are you a painkiller or vitamin?”

Lesson #4: Hustle

Parmar believes entrepreneurs need to keep selling and keep talking. They need to nail down that pitch, get out there and sell it. Business can only be done by handshakes and relationship starts outside of the comfort zone. Parmar mentions a statement “Stop being a Canadian” because he feels Canadian are too polite and they are not hustling enough. Moreover, there are many things out here when entrepreneurs ask.

“If it is in your mind, go out and hustle”

Lesson #5: Listen

Parmar believes entrepreneurs need to go out there and listen. If entrepreneurs are not embarrassed by their products in six months, it is not good enough. Entrepreneurs will need to push out there and let others know. For entrepreneurs who have no experience in startups, Parmar suggests if they want to do a startup, they should work in startup and learn how to do a startup first. The startup should be a space where they likely to work in future.

“Products do not belong to us, yet it belongs to users”

Parmar believes in alignment. In his team, he needs to make sure everyone is on the same page. They will have consolidated road map that expect what everyone needs to accomplish. There is no silver bullet because there is no short cut in entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs need to hustle everything. Products can be a disaster at the beginning, but that is the main reason why entrepreneurs need to keep painting the picture and try new things.

Parmar feels he is living his life because he gets to hear other people’s success stories. He emphasizes entrepreneurship is the most fun and it also the most painful experience.

“There is no silver bullet in this game”

“Nothing beats product and value”

Parmar reveals the process of startup.

TechCrunch of initiation
Wearing off of novelty
Through of sorrow
Release of improvement
Crash of ineptitude
Wiggles of false hope
The promised land
Acquisition of liquidity
Upside of buyer

The main reason why Parmar can raise funds successfully is to speak to investors every month. He updates investors monthly to create relationship and trust.

Questions and answers

Parmer did not continue the crowdfunding method is because he focused on addressable market. In his family dynamic, he allows his wife to see how fast he needs to go in business. When she understands, he is able to fully launch himself into the business. There is no best strategy in any business, so entrepreneurs need to do their homework in advance. They need to check what other people other there are doing.

“We live in the bubble, get out of it”

There are two defense in business: users and revenue. Parmar’s strategy is to get as much users as possible because later they will bring in revenue. He will ask the inside sales to promote the users to the next level in membership. Many users in the top enterprise level membership are using the Pro level as a sandbox. This means customer value creation is essential.

Parmar believes discipline can help him move forward. The right discipline creates right hustle to win. Entrepreneurs need to be a problem solver. They need to stay consistent and stay discipline.

Parmar suggests entrepreneurs to look at their average revenue per users. Another tool they can use is NPS score. The key to help employee to move forward is to introduce the employee stock plan. When entrepreneurs have employee stock plan and hire super players, it creates alignment. Parmar recommends ideas, such as open doors, Town hall meeting, dinner with employee families, introduce people, demo day, or standups, can help employees improve their motivation to go forward.