Tag: startups
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60: Richard White, Found/CEO of Fathom and User Voice
Richard White, Founder/CEO of Fathom, shares his strategy for acquiring first customers. He believes in giving away something for free to build trust and create word-of-mouth virality. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on building a sticky product that users love before worrying about monetization. In this episode of the First Customers podcast, Richard White,…
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56: Jeremy Parker, Co-Founder of Swag.com & Swag Space
Full Episode Summary Discover how Jeremy’s innovative approach to customer acquisition and branding propelled Swag.com to become the fastest-growing company in its sector, ultimately leading to its acquisition by Custom Ink. Now at the helm of Swag Space, Jeremy shares invaluable insights into starting from the top, the importance of focusing on unscalable things in…
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55: Arthur Petropoulos: Building to Sell – Strategies for Maximizing Business Value
Summary On First Customers 55 Arthur Petropoulos, Founder/Managing Partner at Hill View Partners, goes deep into the process of building a business with the intention to sell. Arthur shares valuable insights on enhancing enterprise value, strategic customer acquisition, and the pivotal roles of people, process, and product in preparing for a successful transaction. Episode Highlights…
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53: Bryce Wuori Explains How AI is Transforming the Construction Industry
In this episode, Bryce Wuori, the CEO of Pavewise talks with host Paris Vega about how he’s using AI to change the construction industry. He explains how Pavewise started as a simple project tool and grew into a big software company that’s now changing how construction projects are managed. Main Points: Bryce Wuori’s Key Quotes:…
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52: Graham Stewart is Revolutionizing the Cotton Processing Industry with Fibre52
Summary First Customers #52 features Graham Stewart, founder of Fibre52, discussing his groundbreaking process to make cotton and textile industry more sustainable by replacing harmful chemicals with eco-friendly bioproducts. He shares insights into the challenges of introducing new technologies into traditional industries and the positive environmental and economic impacts of Fibre52’s innovation. Mentions & Links…
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51: Goldback’s Rise from Zero to One Million Customers
Summary Goldback, a company that offers a gold-based physical currency, experienced rapid growth in just four years from zero customers in 2019 to over 1 million customers today. Benjamin Shaffer shares the story of how their gold-backed currency solves the problem of making small transactions with gold. Mentions & Links Quotes Takeaways Key Moments 00:00…
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49: Christoffer Sigshøj brings portable wind turbines to the masses.
Watch/listen to First Customers 49 on all major video & podcasting platforms. In episode 49 of the First Customers, we talk with Christoffer Sigshøj, co-founder of KiteX.tech, a Denmark-based company that’s pioneering the world’s lightest portable wind turbines. Christoffer shares the company’s journey from its initial concept of flying wind turbines to creating portable, efficient,…
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45: Varag Gharibjanian works with companies like Qualcom, Lenovo, & Bose to grow their revenue
Get ready to dive straight into the world of sales with Varag, who is here to spill the secrets on snagging those crucial first customers. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to revamp your sales strategy, this episode is packed with golden nuggets on building a sales process that truly works. Don’t miss Varag’s…
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44: Master of Crowdfunding, Eli Packouz, Explains His $2.5 million Dollar Kickstarter Campaign Success
In episode 44 of the First Customers podcast, I chat with the Eli Packouz, an inventor and crowd funding master. Eli created eight products over the last several years including his most recent and disruptive ‘Instafloss’. He shares the story of his exciting business adventures, how he recently raised $2.5 million from crowdfunding, and the…
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42: From Cold Calls to $150M of Renewable Energy: VECKTA’s Journey with Gareth Evans
In episode 42 of the First Customers podcast, we’re joined by Gareth Evans, the dynamic founder and CEO of VECKTA. VECKTA’s marketplace has made impressive strides in the renewable energy sector, recently facilitating $150 million of renewable energy projects. With clients like Raytheon and Honeywell, Gareth sheds light on VECKTA’s journey, its mission, and the…
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38: Matheus Riolfi raised $30 million in VC funding. How did he find his first customers?
Matheus Riolfi is the CEO & Cofounder of Tint, an embedded insurance platform that raised $30 million in venture capital investment from Y Combinator and others. They’ve worked with clients like Uship, Deel, and Outdoorsy. Show Links Show Transcript Paris Vega (00:00.97)Welcome to the first customers podcast. I’m Paris Vega, your host. Today we are…
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37: Jon Darbyshire sold a company for $200 million, now has 600 customers at his new startup. How does he find his first customers?
Jon Darbyshire ran the global security practice for Ernst & young, then started a company called Archer Technologies that he sold for $200 million after 9.5 years, and now he’s currently Founder & CEO of SmartSuite, a company he’s grown to 600 customers after 2.5 years. Show Links Watch the full version of the First…
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35: How did Karthik Suresh’s startup Ignition raise $5 million and find their first customers?
Karthik Suresh, ex Facebook product manager, is now the co-founder/CTO of Ignition, the world’s first go-to-market ops platform. They raised $5 million in VC funds, including lead investor Altman capital (Sam Altman of Open AI fame and his brothers). He’s a go-to-market expert so his insights are perfect for the show. He delivers a ton…
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34: How did David CM Carter, the world’s leading CEO mentor, find his own first customers?
In episode 34 of the First Customers podcast we have an inspiring conversation with David C.M. Carter, the world’s leading CEO mentor. David takes us through his entrepreneurial journey, starting from his first venture at age 14. He shares insights into mentoring CEOs, his bestselling book “Breakthrough,” and the experiences that shaped his career, like…
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33: How did Alex Levin & the Regal.io team drive over $1 billion in revenue for their customers?
Alex Levin is a Harvard grad and the Founder/CEO of Regal.io, an Outbound Phone & SMS Sales Platform. Starting in 2020 with 0 customers, their service has now generated over $1 billion in revenue for their customers a few years later. Alex has a clear and proven perspective on how startups are built. He delivers…
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32: How did Mark Ross Smith revolutionize the airline industry’s rewards programs with Status Match?
Mark Ross Smith, CEO & Founder of StatusMatch.com, revolutionized the way airlines run their incentive programs for frequent travelers. Through Status Match he’s brought over one billion dollars in new customer value to major airlines, like Emirates, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and more. Show Links Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn…
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31: Why did Billy Samoa Saleebey leave Tesla to start Podify?
First Customers podcast episode 31: Billy Samoa Saleebey (available on all podcasting platforms + YouTube). Billy Samoa Saleebey is an Ex-Tesla Global Leader and Cofounder/CEO of Podify, a service that produces podcasts like Language of Love with DR. Laura Berman from Oprah’s TV network. He’s also a slef-proclaimed ramen addict. Billy gives great advice for entrepreneurs…
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29: How did Andres Glusman get the first customers for Meetup.com & DoWhatWorks?
Andres Glusman helped get Meetup.com’s first customer and first $14 of revenue. Meetup later sold for $200 million. Now Andres is the cofounder and CEO of Do What Works. His experience spans across decades, from the birth of the internet in the 1990s to modern day startups. This episode is packed with extremely valuable practical…
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27: How did Esteban Dalel raise $250k for Watermelon Tools before getting their first customer?
Esteban Dalel, CTO/Co-Founder of Watermelon Tools, raised $250k before getting their first customer and now has over 4,000 users. Get insight into how a scrappy team of two programmers got their first investors, users, and how they plan to get their first paying customers. Show Links Show Transcript This transcript was generated automatically, please forgive…
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Why take risks?
It’s easy to convince yourself that if you never take risks, you will always be safe. If you don’t move, if you don’t speak up, if you don’t try, you will never fail. But that’s simply not true. Choosing not to explore is choosing ignorance of what would be explored. Choosing not to take a…
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20: How did Ukranian entrepreneur, Sergey Lechshenko, find his first customers in the middle of war?
Sergey Lechshenko, Founder/CEO of Beverly English Career Coaching, a business he started in Kiev, Ukraine before the war. When the war started he had to adapt to find customers and continue growing his business. Listen to the story of an entrepreneur with a dream to serve customers around the world while helping his home country’s…
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18: How did Omayya Atout get Songlorious on Shark Tank and $5 million in 2.5 yrs?
Omayya Atout, Founder & CEO of Songlorious, a Shark Tank featured company that hit $5 million in revenue after only 2.5 years. You can hire their roster of musicians to write and record custom songs for any occasion to tell your story. How did Omaaya find their first customers? Show Links In addition to YouTube,…
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16: How did CEO Matt Leavell grow Buy Low Warehouse to $1 million in the first year?
Matt Leavell, CEO of BuyLowWarehouse.com, earned $1 million in their first year and ranked in the Inc 5000 fastest growing companies in the USA in 2022. This episode of the First Customers podcast is available on all major podcasting platforms including YouTube. After decades of taking business risks and learning hard lessons along the way, Matt found…
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9: JK Molina grew Tweet Hunter to over $1 Million in ARR
JK Molina grew Tweet Hunter to over $1 Million in ARR & recently sold the business. With 175,000+ Followers on Twitter, JK is now showing you how to monetize (not grow) your audience at Tweets and Clients. Lot’s of sales and startups lessons told through several great stories packed into this episode. Topics Covered JK Molina…
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7: Daniel Johnson sold first business at 17, now the cofounder of We Scale Startups
Daniel Johnson shares his story about starting in South Africa and immigrating to the UK, selling his first business at 17, and starting a successful marketing agency that works with clients around the world. We go deep into his marketing philosophy, marketing strategy, and the marketing tactics he uses to work with clients like Google,…
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How to start a business and make your first sale?
I started an entire podcast about this exact question. It’s called the First Customers podcast. I ask entrepreneurs, sales experts, and marketers how they got their very first customers. Every episode teaches me something new. Every business is a little different. But common patterns arise. Using what I’ve learned from the show, here’s how a…
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4: What’s Caren Schwannauer’s secret for getting consistent sales?
Caren Schwannauer, co-founder of Staq, offers valuable advice on sales, content marketing, and event networking. She also shares the story of how their first client grew into a successful billion dollar company. She convinced me to change my own tactics during this conversation. I highly recommended taking notes & learning from this high performer. How…
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2: Josh Pigford, Founder of Baremetrics, a powerful subscription analytics software for SaaS companies
Our guest today is Josh Pigford, the founder of Baremetrics. His company has grown steadily every year since launching in 2013, and currently generates $1.4 million/year in recurring revenue. Baremetrics customers are made up of over 800 SaaS and subscription businesses that rely on the metrics, dunning, and engagement tools built by Josh and his…