John Rougeux ⛰️

Today is an important milestone for Punchbowl News — We are announcing The Portal with Enbloc AI. Since we launched in 2021, we've heard consistently that our community isn't happy with their data subscriptions that they pay thousands of dollars for but aren't actually that useful. That gave us the idea to create a platform that changes the way Washington works, made with Washington in mind. At the end of last year, we bought Electo Analytics, a congressional data startup. We then redesigned the entire platform, using our deep knowledge of what Capitol Hill and K Street need every single day. This became The Portal, which includes integrated news, congressional directories, legislative text, regulations, real-time alerts and much more. The Portal members will also receive a weekly Monday newsletter and a mid-week update to keep them ahead of the game when it comes to legislative news. Come January, subscribers will start to use Enbloc AI, a Punchbowl News-designed AI platform embedded in The Portal that brings together all of the databases that you use every day in Washington, overlaid with our news and proprietary Washington data. Enbloc AI's searches will also be embedded in Punchbowl News newsletters. Enbloc AI uses natural language searches to help you do your job more quickly and efficiently. This will save you time, money and make you smarter and sharper. This has truly been a full-team effort to take this from an idea to a market-ready product. Rachel Schindler has been integral in leading this massive project. Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan, Dave Clarke and the editorial team are at the center of Enbloc AI. And our tech and product team deserve huge kudos for the late nights, problem-solving and creative thinking that have brought this to life — Mary Tyler (MT) March, Soraya Bagheri, Elizabeth Turner, Anthony Garreffa, and Brandon Chiazza. Interested in learning more? Check it out: https://lnkd.in/edxtR8nR

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3 years of pricing lessons at Equals condensed into one blog post. Since starting the company, we've tinkered a lot with pricing and packaging. It's one of the single most impactful levers early stage companies can pull. I think folks *don't* experiment with pricing enough, or take big enough bets when they do. We've tried free. We've tried completely sales led. We've tried not listing pricing on the site. Matt Hodges details all the plans we've had, why, and what we've learned in our latest installment on Wrap Text. https://lnkd.in/ecckEDba

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Want to know if a dev agency is truly on your side? See if they push back. A lot of agencies just chase billable hours, agreeing to every tech need without question. But the best agencies focus on building something meaningful— products that people love and client partnerships they’re proud of. They don’t just say “yes” to every feature request. They ask tough questions, challenge assumptions, and keep the dialogue going. They want clients to win because successful clients become their best sales reps.

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Tech founders often struggle with defining their product category. They either try to invent a new category because nothing feels quite right, or they aim for a broad category, hoping to capture more customers, but end up getting lost in the noise. What are the benefits of identifying the right product/market category for your business? - Clarity for customers: in a crowded market, a clear category helps customers quickly grasp your core product value - Clarity for your team: your product category guides the best channels for marketing and sales - Removes a friction point from purchasing process: when your product fits a recognized category, it’s easier for customers to allocate funds - Focus: a well-defined category helps you pinpoint customer pain points, so that customers can recognize themselves If you’re unclear about your product/market category, your potential clients will be too. How to find it? - Re-evaluate your current positioning. Does it clearly highlight your differentiation? - Consider a broader category that is aligned to your product core value. Too broad? Narrow it down to a niche where your value is obvious, and you can stand out. - Too niche? Examine closely related or adjacent categories that align with your strengths. Check out LAUNCHub Ventures fund portfolio paying attention to the industry (the broader category) and one-liner (the product category). https://lnkd.in/d2U6DRpg #startup #enterpreneurship #techstartup #b2b

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The Friends and Family round of funding for a startup is often a make or break for the company. It’s a crucial step in survival. And most don’t survive. If you’re looking around at your network freaking out because you don’t have anyone to talk to Hop into this webinar this week. There are 3 options to attend. Before it’s over, you’ll have knowledge and a level up in skills to find what I call ‘LinkedIn Money.’ We got this! 🤘 https://lnkd.in/gnyB9bYq #capitalraising #friendsandfamily #startuplife #organicmarketing

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VENTURE STUDIO MYTH:  “Cofounders have less of a stake in the game.” Let’s fact-check. … I look forward to hearing your insights and comments. 😀 False Industry Perception… 🔻 Cofounders get diluted too much and may leave  🔻 Cofounders are not incentivized to remain dedicated 🔻 Cofounders don’t receive a fair reward Venture Studio Facts ✅ Studios grind it out to exit, including fundraising ✅ Studios carry the most risk - investing, building, and launching ✅ Cofounders invest no capital, they are rewarded for growth ✅ Studios are established, experienced startup experts ✅ Founders are 30% more likely to succeed (compared to traditional startups*) - Global Startup Studio Network #venturestudio #startup #myth Nobody Studios

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🗣 Startup Founders (particular early stage) I'd love to pay it forward and help you! What's top of mind or what questions do you have that I can (potentially) share thoughts on? From hiring and team building, to designing a cohesive product or fundraising. Run wild!

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Sale Ends Tonight! Don't miss your chance to jumpstart your marketing with Ernie's hands-on, 4-hour Generative AI workshop in Salt Lake City (SLC)! Join me and a handful of other small business marketers for an engaging in-person session where you'll master the art of Generative AI and learn how to supercharge your marketing strategies. This is your opportunity to dive deep into AI technologies that are transforming the industry—all in just half a day! Why You Should Attend: Hands-On Experience: Work directly with cutting-edge AI tools. Expert Guidance: Learn from industry professionals. Immediate Impact: Apply new skills to your marketing efforts right away. Networking Opportunities: Connect with like-minded professionals in SLC. But hurry—the sale ends at midnight! Secure your spot now and take the first step towards revolutionizing your marketing approach. Let me know if you'd like a link to register.

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Marketers spend so much time and energy creating personas. Who do we target within our ICP? What do they care about? What are their pain points? What motivates them? We create beautiful decks with differentiated messaging and value props for each persona... but then when it comes to turning that work into practical application, most companies don't have a way to even map titles of leads into those persona buckets to make this useful😆 Here's a quick and easy way to use a tool like Tofu or your other favorite AI tool to map titles to personas and help flesh out your persona-based messaging!

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"I have a confession to make (looks down contritely). Sometimes... when no one is looking, I prowl job ads on LinkedIn, and anyone who admits to “growing fast” goes into a hit list. Forgive me, reader, I can’t help it..." Here's a marketing tear-down of one of those companies in my snoop list: Landytech. #marketing #verticalsoftware #fintech #fintechmarketing

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👀 If you're in a fundraising round, BrightPulse Marketing put together a blog post to help you secure that funding, including actual pitch decks from brands like Yammer and Peloton. ✅ Check out How to Use Marketing Concepts in Your Fundraising Pitch: bit.ly/4ha0W0A #StartupMarketing #Entrepreneurs #BrightPulse #Startup #Solopreneur #Fundraising #Preseed #Seriesa #Funding

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Nuggets of wisdom from my convo with Nick Doyle — Part 1: "Trust is purely emotional, but results are rational." Nick shared a powerful insight with me from his new book about the parallel tracks of marketing: - Performance marketing drives short-term results through clear calls-to-action - Brand marketing builds long-term trust through emotional connection You need both. Performance without brand becomes a race to the bottom. Brand without performance is a beautiful story nobody hears. Find more insights in his book, “Outmarket the Competition,” which drops February 18th.

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We're now letting people use our product without login. Are we crazy? In a "prosumer" sales motion, showing immediate value isn't just nice—it's necessary. Even in our enterprise motion, it can be surprisingly helpful. We've been wrestling with this at Flowsend. Sure, we have a free trial. But could we make it even easier? Our thought process: 1) Users need to understand what we do / our value ASAP 2) Creating a login is still friction 3) What if we could show value with zero commitment? So we did something a big change. We added a "Try for Free" box right on our homepage. Drag any audio or video file, and boom—interesting pull quotes in seconds. No login. No email. Just instant value. Want to see the rest of our "standard" outputs - and experience more personalization? Complete account creation. Is this the right move? Honestly, we're not sure yet – and it could be improved (e.g. maybe "quotes"/clips isn't best). But here's what we do know: • It removes all barriers to entry • It gives a taste of our capabilities • It might just hook people enough to sign up We're all about transparency here, so I'll keep you updated on how this performs. What do you think? Smart move or giving away too much? Is there another more valuable output we could show? -- Interesting note: Last week, when I posted about removing our credit card requirement, Kyle Poyar commented that many products now have a fully free version without login. -- Not sure if that's right for us, but it's a step. We're learning and iterating. Your insights could shape our next move.

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📚 Blueprint Podcast is now available: On the Blueprint podcast, Tia & Max (AI Host) break down research that have been done on small business and entrepreneurship, making it simple and digestible in a form of podcast format. You can find links to the original research articles in the show notes for each episode. Build on top of Convex and Google Gemini #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #Research #BlueprintPodcast #AI

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The majority of founders in private startups make less than an average FANG developer. But it's not that simple, many find creative ways to supplement their base with other comp. We surveyed 150+ founders in Hampton, & compiled a killer dataset: Grab the report free: https://lnkd.in/euSUJawe

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As marketers, we all try to boost the effectiveness of our outbound email campaigns. This might come in the form of trying a fun new subject line, changing up the preheader text, or adjusting your CTA’s. Earlier in my career, those were the things I looked for. They were what I changed, boosted, and tweaked. What I never looked at was the way I signed off on my emails. That is, until a colleague of mine took a look and saw me making one of the most common email mistakes. Read on to see what that mistake is and how to avoid it in your outbound email campaigns: https://lnkd.in/e9Z537G6 

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Want to be miserable? Trade your time for money. Want to be happy? Sell value. As someone who has built an agency on a commission-based model, I can’t agree with Greg Shove more on this. When we drive outsized results for clients, we receive outsized financial returns. This approach aligns our incentives, and allows us to work harder for our clients while extracting more value per client. By prioritizing quality over quantity, we build deeper relationships and achieve greater success together, while also needing less clients to reach our financial goals. Breaking free from the rat race comes with discovering the power of selling value, not time.

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I've ventured onto Substack with Growth Through Knowledge. Talking about it here on LinkedIn confuses some folks, so if you're interested and over there, please check it out: https://lnkd.in/gVTRd_jS Growth Through Knowledge is for those considering starting a small business, and small business owners who want to achieve more. Inform This section will provide information for small business owners; questions I get asked frequently, like “Which software is best for running a business?” will be covered here. It will help you to build the knowledge you need to run a business, and develop core competences for your role of CEO-of-everything, everywhere, all at once. Perform Here is where I’ll talk about achieving success, and being the best you can be in terms of business performance and your own skills. Expect some actionable tips and tricks, and Top X lists here. Transform A transformation is dramatic, extreme and radical; you might need to pivot or reinvent your business due to changes in the marketplace, or you could be seeking an internal shift that will enable you to achieve your full potential as a small business owner. Either way its big, its scary, and it could get messy without some support.

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