Steve August’s Post

"We've never had a response like this" Recently of the Founders in my 2X Accelerator community reported a great win. We had supported her on refining her offer around helping CEO's stand up a weekly podcast that can help drive business. She committed to sending out an email to her list to see who in her world might be interested. Me and the 2X group helped her tune the email, which essentially described the offer, who it was for and simply asked those interested to reply. The result? "We've never had a response like that!" She's now excitedly working through the bounty of those inbound requests. There's a couple of takeaways from this win: 1. Focusing on making your offer as easy to say yes to can be the biggest leverage in your business. 2. Despite all the shiny bells and whistles of CRM software providers, it turns out you don't need to spin up complicated funnels or build elaborate sales pages to start testing your offer. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: - Why focusing on your offer vs your product can be the most impactful thing you can do - A simple format to test your offer via an email This 7-minute episode is short, but impactful. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

How a Founder's Oura Ring Confirmed Product market fit. This week I was having a session with one of my private clients. I've been working with this Founder for a couple of years since their original Seed funding. It's been a long journey to product market fit, with many a twist and turn. But in this session, this Founder reported that the signals were finally turning green: - Customers signing deals - Partners eager to integrate their offering to keep their own customers - A pipeline that is starting to fill nicely But the clincher was when he said, "my Oura ring alerted me that my heart rate variability (a stress indicator) has gone way down over the past couple of months." There it was. Quantified proof that he'd cracked it. There's something that happens when you start getting "when can we start?" yeses. There's a confidence that emerges when you start feeling like it's not luck and you can replicate it. Stress goes way down and things start getting fun. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: - Why it can be a long and winding journey to product market fit and reliable growth. - 2 keys to to shorten the journey. - 3 signs to know when you've cracked it (for now). This 13-minute episode is short, but impactful. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

How a Founder's Oura Ring Confirmed Product market fit. This week I was having a session with one of my private clients. I've been working with this Founder for a couple of years since their original Seed funding. It's been a long journey to product market fit, with many a twist and turn. But in this session, this Founder reported that the signals were finally turning green: - Customers signing deals - Partners eager to integrate their offering to keep their own customers - A pipeline that is starting to fill nicely But the clincher was when he said, "my Oura ring alerted me that my heart rate variability (a stress indicator) has go way down over the past couple of months." There is was. Quantified proof that he'd cracked it. There's something that happens when you start getting "when can we start?" yeses. There's a confidence that emerges when you start feeling like it's not luck and you can replicate it. Stress goes way down and things start getting fun. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about: - Why it can be a long and winding journey to product market fit and reliable growth. - 2 keys to to shorten the journey. - 3 signs to know when you've cracked it (for now). This 13-minute episode is short, but impactful. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

May 31, 2024 marked an auspicious milestone: 10 years ago I completed the exit of my first startup. I can still remember May 31, 2014 vividly. The feeling of finishing up a million pieces of paperwork and then refreshing the screen on my bank account online until there it was: a big lump of money for all of the work of the past 7 years. I felt a mix of emotions. I felt joy. I felt exhaustion. I felt a sense of disbelief that it actually was going to all go through. But if I'm being honest, the biggest emotion I felt was relief. It had been a huge lift to get the business to that point. With the plentiful resources of our acquiring company and this was the right move for the business and for me. For many Founders, Exits are the holy grail. The literal pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There's almost a mythology that's built up around them, so I wanted to share three lessons about exits I've learned over the past 10 years. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about 3 myths and lessons of Exits looking back 10 years later. I'll cover: Lesson 1: Exits can be life changing, but they are rarely "you changing" While a successful exit can bring financial transformation, don't expect one to change or "fix" you. Lesson 2: The Work is actually the Thing Embrace the journey and the daily grind, as the process of building and growing your business is where the action is. Lesson 3: Everything is a series offers Learn to see everything in your business as a series of offers, helping you navigate your journey with more clarity and purpose. Even this podcast is an offer. This 12-minute episode offers perspective from the other side of the Exit! #founders #startups #entrepreneurship #growth #exit

Some words of perspective and wisdom on Exits from this guy....

This week I've been digging in deep with with private clients and the members of my 2X Accelerator community on the biggest leverage point in their businesses. It's not their product or service, though a brilliant product/service is essential. It's not their team, though great teams will move mountains. It's not their brand, marketing or funnels. So if not any of the above, what's the biggest point of leverage for your business? It's your offer. This might sound controversial, but customers don't buy your product/service, your team, or your brand and marketing. They buy your offer. Everything else supports either building trust in your offer (brand/marketing) or delivering the promise of your offer (product/team). The more compelling your offer, the easier it is for customers to to say yes to it. The highest level of yes is, 'when can we get started?!' yes. When you have this kind of energy coming from customers, EVERYTHING in your business gets easier. That energy creates momentum that consistently drives exciting, fun growth. That's what makes it the biggest point of leverage in your business. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about creating the 'when can we get started?!" yes: - What conditions need to be present to get this type of yes - Why to focus on making your offer 'Stupid' - The two key components of creating a Stupid Offer This 11-minute episode is short, yet chock-full of wisdom. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

This week I've been digging in deep with with private clients and the members of my 2X Accelerator community on the biggest leverage point in their businesses. It's not their product or service, though a brilliant product/service is essential. It's not their team, though great teams will move mountains. It's not their brand, marketing or funnels. So if not any of the above, what's the biggest point of leverage for your business? It's your offer. This might sound controversial, but customers don't buy your product/service, your team, or your brand and marketing. They buy your offer. Everything else supports either building trust in your offer (brand/marketing) or delivering the promise of your offer (product/team). The more compelling your offer, the easier it is for customers to to say yes to it. The highest level of yes is, 'when can we get started?!' yes. When you have this kind of energy coming from customers, EVERYTHING in your business gets easier. That energy creates momentum that consistently drives exciting, fun growth. That's what makes it the biggest point of leverage in your business. In this week’s Rocket Ship Founder Podcast, I talk about creating the 'when can we get started?!" yes: - What conditions need to be present to get this type of yes - Why to focus on making your offer 'Stupid' - The two key components of creating a Stupid Offer This 11-minute episode is short, yet chock-full of wisdom. #startups #startupgrowth #founders #entrepreneurship

🚀 How to Attract Your First Customers as a Startup 🚀 Getting those initial customers can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. But in reality, it’s about building relationships, targeting the right people, and adding value from day one. Here’s a peek into my latest episode on the Startup Growth Podcast, where I dive into practical steps to attract and keep your first few customers – without feeling pushy or salesy. In this episode, I talk about: 📍 Identifying your niche and focusing on early adopters. 🎁 Providing value first to build trust and credibility. 📣 Using social proof to show potential customers they're making the right choice. 🤝 Building long-term relationships with the customers who believed in you early on. If you're looking to build a solid customer base right from the start, this episode is for you. Give it a listen and start building those genuine connections that can take your business to the next level! 🎧 Check it out and let me know your thoughts in the comments! 👇 #StartupSuccess #CustomerAcquisition #BusinessGrowth #EntrepreneurTips #EarlyAdopters #Startup #entrepreneurship #success #business

Calling all B2B Startup Founders! Are you still waiting for that call from investors to get your startup funded? It might be because your 43-slides pitch deck is not getting their attention. We’re not saying this, but, Anthony Ronga, the mastermind behind creating compelling pitch decks for B2B startups. In this podcast, Saad Arshed, COO of Xgrid, hosts Anthony Ronga, who shares valuable insights and strategies for creating a pitch deck that gets you noticed. Learn how to use the 3 Micro-Story Formula to captivate investors. Discover the right pitching approach for Seed vs. Series A funding, balance text and design for maximum impact, and master the ideal pitch deck structure. Get the insights you need to raise funds and much more! Watch Now: https://lnkd.in/ebEjKu9P Get back to building your B2B startup while our Branding POD service transforms your pitch deck into a funding magnet: https://bit.ly/3WIsQJ8

All B2B startups struggling with pitch decks, your day is about to be saved! This podcast, hosted by the COO of Xgrid.co, Saad Arshed, featuring Anthony Ronga, a pitch deck mastermind, is packed with actionable tips!