Category: Own Your Platform (page 1 of 3)

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After hanging his solopreneur shingle, Isaiah McPeak learned some quick lessons about building a consulting practice. Most careers in tech include a consulting phase. Isaiah’s lessons learned will help yours.

• Selecting a consulting delivery model
• Structuring a consulting practice and partnerships
• The difference between project and advisory work
• How to price consulting services
• Why knowing yourself helps you work for yourself
• When to say “no” to consulting work

Credits

Co-host: Isaiah McPeak

Co-host and show notes: Nathanael Yellis

Producer: Elijah Schow

Sound Effect: Luffy

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The “product approach” could be the most important way to work in the tech space. Isaiah McPeak is an experienced product manager who cut his teeth in product before he earned the job title. In this episode, Isaiah reflects on how to approach many kinds of work with product thinking. He also tells us when product thinking is the wrong approach to your work.

Credits

Co-host: Isaiah McPeak

Co-host and show notes: Nathanael Yellis

Producer: Elijah Schow

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Isaiah McPeak took the helm for this instant-classic episode of live coaching with Cory McCain. After hearing about Cory’s new podcast about fitness and health, Isaiah helped Cory with software sales challenges. Cory runs WeStrive, a software platform for fitness trainers (westriveapp.com).

Software sales challenges they covered:

• How to scale by adding salespeople without losing performance.
• Deciding the in-source vs. out-source as you scale a software company.
• Why demoing software is a bad approach, and how to use the tabs-menu approach to make “demos” live and dynamic.
• How to land the choose-your-own-adventure software demo with a value-finding question.

Credits

Co-host: Isaiah McPeak

Co-host and show notes: Nathanael Yellis

Producer: Elijah Schow

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Isaiah McPeak opens the show talking about his successful fundraising round for Pinwheel. We delve into raising money, communicating well, and relating to investors like people:

• The difference between raising money pre- or post-revenue (why Isaiah’s company said no to Jason Calacanis)
• How new company founders find investors to pitch: building a network and getting introductions
• Why a network matters and how repeat founders can be in a better spot
• How to practice your pitch for investors
• Pitch meetings structure: one cool trick to making a slide deck help the conversation move
• How to make your presentations more interesting: don’t start with slide one
• Why showing that you’re intimidated by potential funders sets you up to fail

Read more: Navigating Fundraising Advice for Startups (from Isaiah)

Concision: Put Yourself on the Clock (from Nathanael)

Credits

Co-host: Isaiah McPeak

Co-host and show notes: Nathanael Yellis

Producer: Elijah Schow

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“My co-workers are too nice. How can I get useful feedback?,” “What’s the best place to practice professional communication?” In this episode, the hosts answer listeners’ questions. Tune in for solid advice and practical insights.

Credits

Co-host: Isaiah McPeak

Co-host: Nathanael Yellis

Producer: Elijah Schow

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• Isaiah opens with a quick time machine to remind us why the pod is called “own your platform.”
• Steven jumps into the drivers’ seat of the pod, asking your hosts questions.
• Nathanael quotes Steven’s definition of communication, referencing stick figures drawn on one of Acton MBA’s massive whiteboards, “land on their island.”
• What to do about weaponized communication: when people think of communicating as just wanting to win an argument.
• How Steven starts his coaching in a human, honest place, with a generous intention.
• Learn about the one secret tool that makes communications coaching work: a camera, allowing the client to see themselves.

Credits

Co-host: Isaiah McPeak

Co-host: Nathanael Yellis

Producer: Elijah Schow

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Isaiah and Nathanael welcome a guest to the podcast. He’s a business owner with a specific challenge: how to pitch his service to new clients. Isaiah and Nathanael help him identify the kinds of potential clients, and figure out what to bring to pitch conversations. Of all the things a salesperson can say, what should they bring up? How can sales pitches be playful, generative, and helpful to all participants?Isaiah gives you a few playbooks to take to your next pitch, all under the heading of making the pitch more of a dialog.

Other notable moments:

• We learn just how many debate partners Isaiah had–and where some of them are now.
• Why “pitches” aren’t really pitches, 8 out of 10 times.
• Get a peek behind the curtain of how Isaiah McPeak coaches entrepreneurial communication.

Credits

Co-host: Isaiah McPeak

Co-host: Nathanael Yellis

Producer: Elijah Schow

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Nathanael picks up shattered pieces of his ego after returning from the Marketo marketing conference. He and Isaiah analyze what went wrong during his presentation, why it went wrong, and how to improve.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

ROADMAP

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Nathanael eviscerates Isaiah’s venture capital pitch about Moneyball for Soccer. Tune in (uh…download in?) for another live coaching workshop.

Part 1, Part 2,Part 3

Roadmap