Why Tech WON'T Fix Your Business A while back, a friend asked me what I thought about him taking a job offer at MIX. “They’re the reboot of StumbledUpon,” he’d told me. “They want me to improve their recommendation engine, to keep the users they have with better recs, and to get new users by … Continue reading What Happened at MIX
What motivates people to RESPOND (click, like, share, comment), and CONVERT (buy, try, sign-up, subscribe) from your marketing efforts? This is a very important question, because the point of marketing is to get people to [think or] do what our campaigns [suggest or] direct them to do. At the foundation of all marketing is Psychology. … Continue reading Marketing Data Science
Startup MVPs are a FAILED biz model, but I did one anyway... “Looks like cancer to me,” the PA said while I wiped off the ultrasound goop. She’d just taken samples of the 15mm ‘lesion’ in my neck with a fine needle. I stared at her trying to process what she’d just said while she … Continue reading My First, Last, and Only MVP
Marketing 101: How to motivate people to DO what you want them to do… An entrepreneur recently asked me: “What specific skills or knowledge do you believe will be most crucial for aspiring entrepreneurs in 2025 to navigate this complex and dynamic environment?” My response: “The greater understanding one has of what motivates people, individually … Continue reading Engage in Learning About People
Saas Apps that Screw You or Why U Can’t Get that House, that Job, those Tickets… I’ve been house hunting on REDFIN for over 5 yrs with no luck. The homes I want are either too expensive, a flat-out ripoff, or an offer is accepted within 24 hrs of listing. We’ve bid on 5 houses, … Continue reading SaaS Apps that F**k You
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2mZnXeKz2I9AwrAugpTtQF?si=xbDknxyRRw2dxhlhT2am0w My second job out of college I was the Art Director for 1928 Jewelry Co. The company is still alive and vital today, quite a monument to startup lore. My boss, Fred Burglass, was the best boss I've ever had. Funny. Kind. Patient. Smart. I really loved that man. He was like a father … Continue reading On Networking
I hate running. It hurts my legs, my lungs, my back, my tits. I run between 3 and 4+ miles, five days a week. And I'll continue to run as long as the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. I hate feeling fat, and running is the quickest calorie burn I know of (my me-time is hugely … Continue reading Marketing 101
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6P4XfxWPS2TMHbfHxmJK2d?si=1PIvWMFiQimW1wMIByISdQ I teach my students at Berkeley and Stanford that the foundation of marketing is psychology. Marketing is manipulating people to do what we want, so to get people to do what we want, we have to understand how they think, what they feel, and why. I also teach that the foundation of psychology, what … Continue reading The Psychology of Marketing
Had an interview for a Copywriting contract that required a 'test.' Here's the 'test:' Create five (5) YouTube Channels that can “go viral,” which, according to this 'digital marketing agency' was “20 million views in one week,” with these prompts: Create a “Seek and Find” YouTube channel.Create a “Mouse Maze” YouTube channel.Create a [tween] YouTube … Continue reading Copywriting “Test”
This morning I came into my office and there was an email from my husband. It was title, "The terminator is coming..." No joke. That was the exact SUBJECT LINE of his email. I don't care that another Terminator movie is coming out. I liked only the first and second Terminator movies, and thought the rest … Continue reading A True Email Tale
