Contagious Narrative

22 Episodes

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Should BDRs live in Sales, or Marketing?

2019-05-0704:04

Whether you call the them Business Development Reps, Sales Development Reps, Inside Sales Reps, etc... Should the team responsible for outbound demand gen live in the marketing or the sales organization? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

Thoughts from NFT_NYC Show: Competition, Community & Culture

2022-06-2414:11

Spent the week in NY at the big NFT show, here are my big takeaways.

What does it mean to "tell the story" of your Web3 project?

2022-06-0919:01

What does it really mean to put a story at the tip of the spear in creating a community around your Web3 project? How do you craft that story, in a way that will attract the right kinds of people, and get them to bring others like them on board? And what exactly, is the vessel for such a story, once you have it?

Apes are one thing... Should you launch a REAL crypto project with a "story?"

2022-06-0312:15

The power of stories to drive novelty crypto projects like Dogecoin and Bored Ape is pretty obvious. But how do you put that power to work for a more traditional commercial venture? What are the secrets to doing that in Web3, and what do they mean for building a brand? This episode compares two projects for the answer, Terra, and PolkaDot. Terra Whitepaper PolkaDot Litepaper

What’s different about building brands in Web3?

2022-05-2609:48

Brands have always lived in the space between a product and a customer. What’s really changed in Web3? Two things, actually. And if you’re trying to build the community necessary to support a successful Web3 project, you really need to understand them, and put them to work for you.

START HERE: Why "Contagious Narrative?"

2022-05-2111:15

I've been thinking a lot about the intersection of brand building, storytelling, community, and Web3. It's a space I'd like to explore in more detail, and that's what I plan to do here. For more on how I got here and where I plan to go, give this a listen. Show Links: Headless Brands, by Bryan Lehrer Toby Shorin, Sam Hart, Laura Lotti

What’s the buzziest buzzword in marketing these days?

2019-03-1104:21

Jon Gilman (@jongilman) asks: "What’s the buzziest buzzword tossed around the marketing world these days that you’d like to eradicate from the english language?" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

Is it worth fighting a trademark dispute with a giant?

2019-02-2803:56

Alex Cook (@aacook) asks: "I'm working on a bootstrapped startup https://nanagram.co . We help people send printed photos in the mail by text message or email, mostly to grandparents. I'm being pursued by one of the social media giants, claiming they own the word "gram." I'm at a crossroads. On one hand, I like the name as it pays homage to "telegrams" which were also sent in the mail like our photos and "gram" is a nickname for grandmother. On the other, I don't have resources to fight a long legal battle. So now onto my question… If you were me, would you fight trademark dispute, or cave and change the name, putting energy elsewhere? FWIW, the US Trademark Office was on my side when they reached out to me a couple weeks ago." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

How do I choose a positioning?

2019-11-1203:59

Jwan sells a high quality herbal tea, and is debating whether to position it as an afternoon pick-me-up, or a niche brand that identifies its consumers as discerning tea drinkers. So what’s the right answer? --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

Is it better to fly or train from Boston to New York?

2019-11-0604:01

Omar asks, “You’re in New York a lot... is it better to fly, or take the train?” Easy one, Omar, on the math, and the art. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

What sets the pace of growth?

2019-11-0503:35

Tom Huntington (@thuntin) asks... "I heard a B2B SaaS CFO say that keeping pace with growth was the hardest thing. I asked who set the pace and CFO responded, “the market.” For non-web sales biz, I don’t really buy this. Someone internal is setting the pace, no? Can you unpack pace-setting?" Sure. I'd start by making the important distinction between customer and capital markets... --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

What's the best way to cold call an executive?

2019-03-2504:18

Jason from Boston asks, "How do corporate level execs prefer to be approached by young talent seeking opportunity? Are they flattered or annoyed? Do they prefer straight to the point requests, or being asked for advice?" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

What's the difference between a VP of Marketing and a CMO?

2019-03-2002:14

An anonymous listener asks, "What's the difference between a VP of Marketing and a CMO?" I get asked this a lot... the answer is important, and it's really one of orientation. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

Should VCs care about startup brand building from the start?

2019-03-1504:31

Giuseppe Marzio asks, "Should VCs care whether their portfolio companies work on building a strong brand from the start?" I think so, and this one certainly does. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

How do you measure the ROI of inbound leads?

2019-03-1305:51

Dave Melville of Bowdoin Group asks, "How do you measure marketing ROI outside of inbound leads?" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

What are the best branding hacks in the DTC space?

2019-03-0805:33

Fellow VC Kirsten Barnett asks, “What are the most creative and effective branding hacks you’ve seen in the DTC product space?” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

When should startups invest in branding?

2019-03-0603:49

“How much time should people spend on branding in earliest stages of startups? Feel like a lot of people focus on locking down domains, handles, names, logos - before product is made or proven. I’ve made this mistake too. When do you invest that time/effort?” Well, that depends on what you mean by “branding...” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

What marketing tactic do startups waste money on?

2019-03-0405:13

Boston entrepreneur Dan Sullivan asks, "What's a generally good marketing tactic startups fail at when they do it too early? Conversely, what's a tactic that works early on, but doesn't as you start to scale?" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

What have you learned as a VC you wish you’d known as an operator?

2019-03-0104:05

Having spent most of my life as an ad guy or entrepreneur, I switched over to the dark side about 2 years ago to become a General Partner in G20 Ventures. Fellow recovering operator and VC Gayatri Sarkar asked what I've learned that I wish I knew then, and the answer may surprise you. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

What has cooking taught you about business?

2019-02-2706:00

Today's question comes from Jon Gilman (@jongilman) "I’ve noticed your love of cooking. What is it that you love about cooking and what, if anything, has cooking taught you about business?" --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/miketrap/message

#box-pro-ellipsis-17350109347677{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}Contagious Narrative