Case studies

Podcast

Daniel Ludwig: How the Invisible Billionaire Built a Global Shipping Empire

Founders April 21, 2019

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Case studies 10

Business models 8

Bootstrapping 6

• Use an oil charter as bank collateral to buy ships with zero personal capital.
• Buy assets at 10% of value, strip salvage to recover cost, pocket the rest.
• Frontier locations eliminate competition — Ludwig built the world's largest salt plant in remote Baja.

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Pricing strategy

YouTube

How Alan Weiss built a million-dollar solo consulting practice

Noah Kagan April 19, 2019

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Pricing strategy 9

Prospecting & outreach 7

Identity & self-belief 6

• Charge for results, not time — most consultants leave money on the table
• Language and self-esteem are the real barriers to high fees
• No office, no staff: 90% of revenue kept by staying lean

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Pricing psychology

YouTube

How to charge premium prices by adding perceived value with words

StoryBrand With Donald Miller April 19, 2019

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Pricing psychology 9

Copywriting 6

• Words alone can multiply a product's perceived value for free
• Frame your offer across emotional, social, and philosophical dimensions
• Competitors lose because they sell the product, not the meaning

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Copywriting

YouTube

How to write a website headline that converts visitors

StoryBrand With Donald Miller April 18, 2019

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Copywriting 9

Conversion rate optimisation 8

• Clever website headers cost you customers — clarity wins every time.
• Your header must offer a tangible outcome visitors can grasp instantly.
• If visitors can't see the offer above the fold, you're losing money.

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Hiring & recruitment

YouTube

Three qualities to look for when hiring early-stage startup employees

Y Combinator April 18, 2019

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Hiring & recruitment 9

• Hire people you already trust — prior relationship beats credentials.
• Deep specialisation at the early stage constrains your product direction.
• Early employees must flex across design, code, customers, and partnerships.

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Culture building

YouTube

Verne Harnish on building a learning culture to outpace competitors

Bill Gallagher April 17, 2019

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Culture building 8

Business operating systems 6

Management 5

• Learning is now the primary competitive weapon, not cheap labour
• Sending your team to learn — not just yourself — drives implementation
• A 40% discretionary effort gap exists; tapping it beats hiring more people

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Copywriting

YouTube

Customer-Centric "About Us" Pages Convert Better Than Self-Focused Ones

StoryBrand With Donald Miller April 17, 2019

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Copywriting 8

Conversion rate optimisation 7

• Visitors don't care about your history — only their problem.
• Reframe every sentence to answer: how does this serve me?
• Customer-centric bios and copy build trust and drive conversions.

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Communication

YouTube

The most important job of a leader: repeat the vision

StoryBrand With Donald Miller April 16, 2019

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Communication 9

Vision & mission 7

• Repeating the vision is a leader's single most important job
• People follow clear leaders more than kind ones
• A vision must open every meeting until everyone has it memorised

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Email marketing

YouTube

Two rules to get more people opening your emails

StoryBrand With Donald Miller April 15, 2019

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Email marketing 9

Copywriting 8

• Vague subject lines get deleted; state a clear benefit or open a story loop.
• Specificity wins: '40% off sale' beats 'it's that time of year again' every time.
• Audit your last 10–15 emails against these two rules and rewrite any that fail.

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