Brandon Builds #5
Brandon Builds #5
How to test, fail, learn, and test again
đ„ WHY I am Sharing Failures This Newsletter
Wouldnât it be great if you had an idea for a startup, implemented a strategy to get it going, and customers just started pouring in?
Well thatâs not how the real world works.
The reality is you will try dozens, even hundreds of tests, strategies, and tactics before you find the ever elusive product market fit. It would be wonderful if every newsletter I could tell I did something that made my startup successful. But since you are following along from the beginning of building this, you are going to see a lot of things that did not work.
But there is so much to learn from failures as well!
My goal is that in sharing these failures, both you and I can gain some valuable insight into what NOT to do. So letâs dive in!
â WHAT I Built But Did Not Work
Itâs been 2 months since the last newsletter describing ways to identify and start finding your ideal audience. I spent the bulk of October trying several strategies to getting Plato University in front of my ideal audience.
For my efforts I had:
49 People visit the landing page
8 clicks on the âApply Nowâ = 16% conversion
2 people complete and submit an application = 25% conversion
Those numbers are not good or bad. The problem is that there is not enough data to know how the idea is landing with people. It also took me weeks to get those people there. If I am to get enough people for a 30 person pilot, I am going to need much more effective ways of doing so.
I will explain below, but here is the list of tests I tried:
Google ads
Cold outreach on LinkedIn
Posting daily content on LinkedIn
Commenting on posts on Reddit
Cold outreach on WONDR
Cold emailing guidance counselors at alternative schools
Applying to On Deckâs ODF
đš HOW I Built This
Lets breakdown each of the tactics I used, the results I got, and why it did not work.
Google Ads
I donât really recommend starting with paid ads until you have a clear understanding of who your audience is and have the budget to get enough data. However I thought I would give it a chance. So I created a list of keywords related to my university and put $5 a day towards the campaign.
Time: 1.5 hrs researching keywords and setting up campaign
Result: 0 Clicks
Why it didnât work: I have never run google ads before so I am a novice when it comes to targeting. I also donât know my audience intimately enough to know if I was targeting the right keywords. And I only put up 5 dollars a day.
Posting Daily Content on LinkedIn
I committed about 2 weeks to posting daily on LinkedIn. I tried posting content that would attract, speak to, and help my ideal audience. I think this is a good strategy if you stay consistent and continue to post everyday.
Time: 30-60 mins daily
Results: This post received 7,823 views. And this post pulled in new followers because of itâs message. However itâs hard to know how much led to actual views of the landing page.
Why it didnât work: This is hard for me because I donât enjoy being on social media. A strategy like this takes on consistent posting day in and day out. An excellent example of someone who does this well is Reno Perry who used his LinkedIn following to start his startup.
Cold Outreach on LinkedIn
I am more experienced with cold outreach. If you are targeting the right people, it can be incredibly effective. However, it can be time consuming. The key to targeting people on LinkedIn is to use the search bar and look for people who:
Have association with a keyword. For example, I searched social impact and found people who post about social impact or have taken courses on LinkedIn Learning.
Have a certain type of education. I targeted people who have gone to alternative types of education before like gap year programs, Coursera courses, or done fellowships like On Deck or Civics Unplugged.
Follow one of your Dream 100. These people either like, comment, or follow the pages of your Dream 100. (More about the Dream 100 here.)
Work a certain type of job. I was looking for those working low paying jobs or have an interest in social impact careers.
Time: 5 hrs/ week
Results: One application! Many of the response I received were generally warm and interested, but were already engaged in other opportunities. Hereâs an example.
Why it didnât work: The people who are most ideal for Plato University are those who are deeply dispassionate about their current jobs and want something more meaningful. Unfortunately, I canât search âI hate my job and donât know what my purpose isâ on LinkedIn.
Commenting on posts on Reddit
Now, Reddit is somewhere I can search for people who say âI hate my job and donât know what my purpose isâ. The key to finding your audience on Reddit is knowing your audience intimately, the topics they follow and questions they ask. Then you have to go give value in those communities and subtlety mentioning your startup. You can see some examples on my Reddit profile.
Time: 5hrs/ week
Results: I actually have been slowly getting some referral traffic from Reddit which can be tracked through something like Google Analytics.
Why it didnât work: I spent only a few days posting and have not actually dedicated enough time to using this strategy yet. Itâs something I plan on returning to.
Cold outreach on WONDR
WONDR is a platform for people who care about the planet and want to learn in communities AKA my kind of people! Itâs startup that has been getting traction in the UK and expanding. The strategy on this platform is largely similar to the one on LinkedIn.
Time: 3hrs/ week
Results: One application!
Why it DID work: The platform is already congregating the people I am looking for. I decided to reach out to the founder Sam Reader and we are discussing some potential partnerships between WONDR and Plato University!
Cold emailing guidance counselors at alternative schools
This was an idea that many high school students who are already attending alternative schools may transition seamlessly into an alternative university. I spent about a week email guidance counselors to see if their students would be interested in something like Plato.
Time: 3hrs/ week
Results: Very few responses backâŠ
Why it didnât work: Plato University first audience are aspiring young professionals who want a more fulfilling career. Eventually we will be serving high school students coming into college, but we are not yet positioned to serve them best. As a result, the messaging is not directed towards high school students and counselors probably did not see this was for them. Additionally, I did not send enough emails to really perfect the email script to get more responses back.
Applying to On Deckâs Founders
On Deck Founders is a program that helps you explore ideas, meet collaborators, and gain conviction on your next venture. If you need to leave your job, they will support you with $25,000. When you're ready to build, they will fund you through ODX.
I decided to apply the day after the program was announced. The program would be a great help for me to find a cofounder, quit my part time job and focus full time on Plato University, and gain founder skills I still need to learn.
Time: 1hr application + 20min interview
Results: I was NOT accepted into the programâŠ
Why it didnât work: I tried asking for feedback but unfortunately did not receive any. My best guess for why I was not accepted is for two reasons:
They got hundreds of applications. My chances were slim. Thatâs out of my control.
I donât have much to show for traction yet. I have two applications. Thatâs hardly a signal of Plato being a success. This is entirely in my control.
I plan on reapplying after I have more traction. Until then, back to the drawing board.
đ WHAT I am Doing Next
During this last month I had a call with Oliver Rutherford, CEO & Co-founder at UniRise, who gave me some great advice. He told me about when he first started UniRise he was trying to find away he could get a bunch of people to his service. He asked himself
âWhat could I give away for free, that would attract tons of people, and provide them with so much value, they want to use our service?â
His answer was to create the The WTF Should I Study At Uni Guide, which after creating attracted over 70,000 views and the much needed kickstart for his startup.
Ollie asked me the same question.
So I have decide to start building 30 day courses around topics purpose finding, global challenges, and social impact career skills that would attract people to Plato and releasing them for free.
How do I know this will work? Well I canât be sure, but I have some evidence from my Power to Podcast course I created in 2019 about how to start a podcast. This course has had over 80,000 plays since I launched it and drives people to the Power to Podcast website.
I still get hundreds of visits and a few sales for this every month. So I believe I can duplicate the strategy over for other courses to drive traffic to Plato University. (In fact I am going to rebrand the podcast course under Plato and run traffic from it as well!)
Other things Iâm working on
As I described in Brandon Builds #4, part of my strategy is getting in front of people who are already congregating my ideal audience. So I have decided to launch a media network focused on social impact. We are starting with podcasts and will expand to newsletters and YouTube channels as we grow. These people speak to audiences who care about making a difference in the world, people who may be great students for Plato University. The network is called the Social Good Media Network.
đ WHO I Recently Interviewed on Evolve
While doing all this I also took some time to interview some amazing people. The podcast is both a passion project and a way to attract my ideal audience. For me I get to network and ask questions of successful people who are making change in the world. For my audience, the goal is to help my listeners understand these global problems from first principles and how effective existing solutions are so they may contribute to those solutions or be inspired to create new ones.
Celine Halioua on Cracking the Code on Longevity
Claire Schmidt on Making All Voices Heard in a Safe Workplace
Rodney Campbell & Keith Richardson on Compassionate Conversations to Heal Society
â WILL You Take This Call To Action?
My call to action?
Keep going.
Most of what I tried the last couple months has not worked. But that does not mean itâs a bad idea, that Iâm not good at being a founder, or that this will never work. It just means I have not tried enough things yet to find what sticks.
My bet is that you are in a similar position. Here is a secret that many entrepreneurs may not openly say⊠They are making it up as they go along. Many tried dozens of things that failed before they saw success.
So donât give up. Keep going.