Case studies

YouTube

How Justin Mares built Kettle and Fire from a $100 smoke test

Noah Kagan December 26, 2020

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Case studies 9

MVP & prototyping 8

Niche selection 6

• Validate demand with a landing page and ads before building anything
• Being first in a niche gave Kettle and Fire an uncontested affiliate channel
• When a channel works, double down — don't pivot to something unproven

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Outsourcing & delegation

YouTube

How virtual assistants and outsourcing buy back your time as a business owner

Bill Gallagher December 23, 2020

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Outsourcing & delegation 9

Time management 7

Delegation 6

• Audit every task for dollar-productivity, then delegate or drop the rest.
• A blended model of specialists plus virtual assistants can triple revenue.
• Documented systems are the asset that makes a business sellable and scalable.

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Content marketing

YouTube

How Graham Stephan grew to 2.6 million YouTube subscribers in four years

Noah Kagan December 23, 2020

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Content marketing 9

Growth hacking 8

Copywriting 6

• 52 of 64 uploads were repeats of proven series formats
• Broad outcome-focused titles beat niche titles for reach
• A secondary channel protects main channel metrics from experimental content

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Deep work & focus

Podcast

Cal Newport on habits: task systems, Twitter, vacation work, and thesis pacing

Deep Questions with Cal Newport December 23, 2020

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Deep work & focus 9

Productivity & habits 8

Processes & SOPs 5

• Academic Twitter delivers almost no real career benefit for professors
• Two focused hours daily beats sporadic all-day sprints on big projects
• Vacation productivity needs structure, but far less than a normal workday

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Management

YouTube

Using employee net promoter scores to improve team engagement

Bill Gallagher December 22, 2020

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Management 8

Processes & SOPs 6

• Two questions reveal who shouldn't be on your team at all
• Monthly rolling surveys beat annual ones for fast culture feedback
• Better engagement compounds into retention, recruiting, and profit gains

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Culture building

YouTube

Using employee net promoter scores to fix team disconnection

Bill Gallagher December 22, 2020

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Culture building 8

Processes & SOPs 6

• Two survey questions reveal who loves your culture — and who doesn't
• Detractors split into fixable problems and poor-fit employees
• Rolling monthly eNPS beats annual surveys for acting on results

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Deep work & focus

Podcast

Deep Questions with Cal Newport: work focus, digital detox, and life reset

Deep Questions with Cal Newport December 21, 2020

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Deep work & focus 9

Productivity & habits 8

• Surviving a shallow team: build quiet internal systems, not arguments
• Digital detox cravings last 10–14 days — friction and replacements are key
• Pair a radical physical change with each behavioural goal to build momentum

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Origin stories

Podcast

Andy Grove's survival story and the roots of his management philosophy

Founders December 21, 2020

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Origin stories 10

Management 5

• Grove survived Nazis, Soviets, and communists before escaping Hungary at 20
• Watching totalitarian incompetence directly shaped Intel's flat, paranoid management style
• A midnight border crossing and a rejected visa interview led Grove to America

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