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Traction: A Startup Guide to Getting Customers
Gabriel Weinberg - 2014
What failed startups don't have are enough customers.Founders and employees fail to spend time thinking about (and working on) traction in the same way they work on building a product. This shortsighted approach has startups trying random tactics - some ads, a blog post or two - in an unstructured way that's guaranteed to fail. This book changes that. Traction Book provides startup founders and employees with the framework successful companies have used to get traction. It allows you to think about which marketing channels make sense for you, given your industry and company stage. This framework has been used by founders like Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), Alexis Ohanian (Reddit), Paul English (Kayak.com), and Alex Pachikov (Evernote) to build some of the biggest companies and organizations in the world. We interviewed each of the above founders - along with 35+ others - and pulled out the repeatable tactics and strategies they used to get traction. We then cover every possible marketing channel you can use to get traction, and show you which channels will be your key to growth. This book shows you how to grow at a time when getting traction is more important than ever. Below are the channels we cover in the book:Viral Marketing Public Relations (PR) Unconventional PR Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Social and Display Ads Offline Ads Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Content Marketing Email Marketing Engineering as Marketing Target Market Blogs Business Development (BD) Sales Affiliate Programs Existing Platforms Trade Shows Offline Events Speaking Engagements Community BuildingThis book draws on interviews with the following individuals: Jimmy Wales, Co-founder of Wikipedia Alexis Ohanian, Co-founder of reddit Eric Ries, Author of The Lean Startup Rand Fishkin, Founder of SEOmoz Noah Kagan, Founder of AppSumo Patrick McKenzie, CEO of Bingo Card Creator Sam Yagan, Co-founder of OkCupid Andrew Chen, Investor at 500 Startups Justin Kan, Founder of Justin.tv Mark Cramer, CEO of SurfCanyon Colin Nederkoorn, CEO of Customer.io Jason Cohen, Founder of WP Engine Chris Fralic, Partner at First Round Paul English, CEO of Kayak.com Rob Walling, Founder of MicroConf Brian Riley, Co-founder of SlidePad Steve Welch, Co-founder of DreamIt Jason Kincaid, Blogger at TechCrunch Nikhil Sethi, Founder of Adaptly Rick Perreault, CEO of Unbounce Alex Pachikov, Co-founder of Evernote David Skok, Partner at Matrix Ashish Kundra, CEO of myZamana David Hauser, Founder of Grasshopper Matt Monahan, CEO of Inflection Jeff Atwood, Co-founder of Discourse Dan Martell, CEO of Clarity.fm Chris McCann, Founder of StartupDigest Ryan Holiday, Exec at American Apparel Todd Vollmer, Enterprise Sales Veteran Sandi MacPherson, Founder of Quibb Andrew Warner, Founder of Mixergy Sean Murphy, Founder of SKMurphy Satish Dharmaraj, Partner at Redpoint Garry Tan, Partner at Y Combinator Steve Barsh, CEO of Packlate Michael Bodekaer, Co-founder of Smart Launch Zack Linford, Founder of Optimozo
L.E.O.: The True Stories of Lt. Wayne Cotes
Wayne Cotes - 2018
Some of his tales will seem far fetched, unless you're a cop and then you know that anything can happen - and just when you think you've seen it all, someone will surprise you.
MRF Shadow Troop: The untold true story of top secret British military intelligence undercover operations in Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1972-1974
Simon Cursey - 2013
They are 300 times more effective than an ordinary patrol... If we are going to have murderers and terrorists roaming the towns, then we have to have somebody who is able to go out and find them.” Contemporary press report Some think it stood for ‘Military Reconnaissance Force’, others ‘Mobile Reconnaissance Force’. Many people thought it didn’t exist at all and was made up, a figment of the press’s imagination. To the members of the group that was just fine. It added to the illusion, and the speculation about the unit’s name and mission only added to the uncertainty amongst their targets — terrorists — members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the IRA, the provos. For decades there has been argument in the media and amongst politicians about the possible existence and extent of a shoot-to-kill policy in Northern Ireland. MRF Shadow Troop confirms there was such an agenda in the early, chaotic days of British military intervention across the Irish Sea. Amongst the mountain of speculation there is little of any accuracy or authority relating to this period. Simon Cursey was recruited into the Military Reaction Force — the unit’s true name — in 1972. This book is his personal account of his time with the group and in it he reveals the truth about their operations — the briefings, missions, political wrangling, and government-sanctioned law-bending. With documents and photographs to corroborate all his revelations, MRF Shadow Troop is a fascinating, exciting but above all accurate historical text about the pioneers of counter-terrorism.
Outside In: The Power of Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business
Harley Manning - 2012
Customer experience is, quite simply, how your customers perceive their every interaction with your company. It’s a fundamental business driver. Here’s proof: over a recent five-year period during which the S&P 500 was flat, a stock portfolio of customer experience leaders grew twenty-two percent. In an age when customers have access to vast amounts of data about your company and its competitors, customer experience is the only sustainable source of competitive advantage. But how to excel at it? Based on fourteen years of research by the customer experience leaders at Forrester Research, Outside In offers a complete roadmap to attaining the experience advantage. It starts with the concept of the Customer Experience Ecosystem—proof that the roots of customer experience problems lie not just with customer-facing employees like your sales staff, but with behind-the-scenes employees like accountants, lawyers, and programmers, as well as the policies, processes, and technologies that all your employees use every day. Identifying and solving these problems has the potential to dramatically increase sales and decrease costs.
The Art of War: Sun Tsu - The Key Book of the Way of the Warrior
Alfredo Tucci - 2001
Know Your Onions: Web Design: How to Become a Top-class Money Making Web Designer Without Learning Code
Drew de Soto - 2013
The book reads in a conversational style and is more like having a chat with a bloke that knows his stuff than any kind of "how-to" manual. This is the sequel to Know Your Onions: Graphic Design by the same author.
The Win Without Pitching Manifesto
Blair Enns - 2010
The twelve proclamations were written to inspire owners of independent creative businesses (e.g.: design firms & advertising agencies) to rethink how their services are bought and sold. Anyone who sells ideas or advice will find relevance in their teachings.
The Slight Edge Combo Pack
Jeff Olson - 2011
It simply shows you how to create powerful results from the simple daily activities of your life, by using tools that are already within you.What do you need to make that happen? Discover that one thing that will help you achieve that goal, realize a life-long dream or propel you up the ladder to success.Once you've got it, then you will discover how your philosophy... creates your attitude... creates your actions... creates your results... creates YOUR LIFE!The Slight Edge is a way of thinking, a way of processing information that enables you to make the daily choices that will lead you to the success you desire. The Slight Edge is the key that
No, No, No, No, No, Yes. Insights From a Creative Journey: Motivation & Self-Improvement (Creative & Innovation series Book 1)
Gideon Amichay - 2014
But rather an essential tool for direction, motivation and innovation.
No, No, No, No, No, Yes is the perfect inspirational Christmas gift for that someone in your life embarking on a great new challenge. Whether they just graduated from college, are changing careers, have set out to achieve something in the arts or the business realm, or just aspire to do something seemingly impossible, No, No, No, No, No, Yes will help them see that the “no’s” they will confront are simply directions on the map to “yes”. No. It is a word that every CEO, entrepreneur and creative professional has confronted. It is a word that both novices and seasoned professionals dread. It is a word that can easily seem like death to a dream. And yet it is also a word that can point in the right direction. It is a word that motivates us to do something differently, try something else, get better, innovate, keep going. No is a word that looms over every business person's, innovator's, and artist's life. And yet the word is universally met with trepidation and fear because the value of being told No is so little understood. ˃˃˃ No is a facilitator In No, No, No, No, No, Yes. Insights From A Creative Journey, award winning creator of visionary ad campaigns (Cannes Lions, Clios); ad exec (the Shalmor Avnon Amichay/Y&R agency); cartoonist (The New Yorker); speaker (TEDx); and teacher (School of Visual Arts) Gideon Amichay demonstrates that No is not a barrier to success it s a facilitator. No is not the end, but rather an essential tool for direction, motivation and innovation. Based on Amichay s best-selling book in Israel (published by Gordon Books in 2011) and 2013 TEDx talk of the same name, No, No, No, No, No, Yes takes the reader on an illustrated journey of the author's own lifetime confrontation, negotiation and relationship with No . Walking the reader through critical No s in his own 25 year career pitching cartoons to the New Yorker, risky ad campaign concepts as head of one of Israel s biggest ad agencies, impossible outdoor ad installations -- Amichay reveals the wisdom that No rarely ends with an exclamation point. ˃˃˃ No ends with a comma Rather, Amichay demonstrates that No usually ends with a comma: No comma, we don't have the time. No comma, we don't have the budget. No comma, can we see another option? By discovering which No comma he was confronting, Amichay shows how No s in fact led him to eventual Yes s -- including the waiting, the rejections, and the revisions and demonstrates that No, forces us to reexamine, to explore, to rethink, to change directions, to get better. ˃˃˃ No can be the best answer to get In No, No, No, No, No, Yes Amichay shares the essential revelation that sometimes No can be the best answer to get. Through illuminating anecdotes from his own illustrious career running the gamut between business and the arts, Gideon Amichay demonstrates unequivocally that No's, whether from colleagues, from clients, from life, or from within have great power, and are simply directions on the map to Yes. Authoritative, funny, whimsical, wise, and pragmatic, No, No, No, No, No, Yes. Insights From A Creative Journey. is the essential companion for every executive, innovator and artist to navigate the unavoidable odyssey of No in order to find the eventual Yes.
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Quitter: Closing the Gap Between Your Day Job and Your Dream Job
Jon Acuff - 2011
At first I thought I was the only one who felt that way, but then I started to talk to people and realized we're becoming the "I'm, but" generation. When we talk about what we do for a living we inevitably say, "I'm a teacher, but I want to be an artist." "I'm a CPA, but I'd love to start my own business." "I'm a _____, but I want to be a ______." All too often, we hear that dreaming big means you quit your day job, sell everything you own, and move to Guam. But what if there were a different way? What if you could blow up your dream without blowing up your life? What if you could go for broke without going broke? What if you could start today? What if you already have everything you need to begin? From figuring out what your dream is to quitting in a way that exponentially increases your chance of success, Quitter is full of inspiring stories and actionable advice. This book is based on 12 years of cubicle living and my true story of cultivating a dream job that changed my life and the world in the process. It's time to close the gap between your day job and your dream job. It's time to be a Quitter.
Laurie Baker: Life, Works & Writings
Gautam Bhatia - 2000
His distinctive brand of architecture, usually moulded around local building traditions (especially those of Kerela, his adopted home state in south India), is instantly identifiable and has, unsurprisingly, revolutionized traditional concepts of architecture in India. Baker's architecture is responsive, uses local materials and lays stress on low-cost design.This biograpy of Laurie Baker, like his work, is direct, simple and comprehensive; further embellished with sketches, plans, photographs and some of Baker's own writings, the book offers the professional architect view of the life, methods and thoughts of an unorthodox genius.
Self-Publishing Manual, Volume II: How to Write, Print, and Sell Your Own Book Employing the Latest Technologies and the Newest Techniques
Dan Poynter - 2009
The Self-Publishing Manual, Volume 2, the sequel to the best selling Self Publishing Manual describes how to use new techniques to write your book even faster, use new technology to publish it for less, and how to use social media for promotion.
The Strait Path to Real Estate Wealth
Kris Krohn - 2010
Meanwhile, Kris Krohn and investors in his Real Estate Investment Companies are basking in record profits. Their secret? Strait Path real estate, which Kris created after analyzing and experiencing virtually every form of real estate investing. The proprietary system incorporates the strengths and eliminates the flaws of all other strategies. It takes the least time, effort, and risk, creates the most value for society, and generates the greatest profits. Best of all, the system is proven to work in every market, especially down markets. In The Strait Path to Real Estate Wealth, Kris explains the system in depth. He demonstrates why other strategies and systems fail and reveals how to escape their pitfalls. He also exposes the flaws of Americas traditional retirement advice and products and offers a refreshing, practical, and safe alternative. His advice will empower you to move beyond simple education to actual implementation. Read this book to learn why the next ten years could be the most profitable years of your life, regardless of economic conditions. Testimonial: My previous experiences in real estate have involved a lot of time and disorganization, and the results have been very poor, losing my money and my familys money. Strait Path real estate looks at the big picture and has minimized my time, effort, and risk while providing superior returns, independent of market conditions.--Dennis N.
The Escape Manifesto: Quit Your Corporate Job. Do Something Different!
Escape the City - 2013
BE BRAVE AND START SOMETHING YOU LOVE.Does this sound familiar... You tick all the right boxes; school, university, corporate career. You have a sensible profession, a fancy job title, proud parents, decent salary, pricey holidays…but there’s a nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right? A realisation that you’re not completely fulfilled? Surely you should be as happy as Larry – are you being ungrateful? HELL NO. You want a different life – no spreadsheets, no commute, no late nights at the office. But if not that…then what? That is exactly what Escape The City are here to do – show you what other options are open to you.Escape The City is a community based website built around a simple concept: there is more to life than doing unfulfilling work in big corporate companies. The online platform is designed to help corporate professionals find exciting jobs, start their own businesses, and go on big adventures. The Escape Manifesto is here to support, inspire and encourage us all to make big and brave transitions in our lives.• Examines the reasons why so many people are unsatisfied with the corporate world• Explores the alternatives and the common barriers to achieving your dreams• Advice and support for making the transition to something new and developing a strategy for work and life• Contains tons of real-life examples of people who have made the leap
Loonshots: How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
Safi Bahcall - 2019
Mountains of print have been written about culture. Loonshots identifies the small shifts in structure that control this transition, the same way that temperature controls the change from water to ice.Using examples that range from the spread of fires in forests to the hunt for terrorists online, and stories of thieves and geniuses and kings, Bahcall shows how this new kind of science helps us understand the behavior of companies and the fate of empires. Loonshots distills these insights into lessons for creatives, entrepreneurs, and visionaries everywhere.