Blitzscaling – how to grow fast

During the fall of 2015, several well-known entrepreneurs, including Linkedin-founder Reid Hoffman and former Mozilla CEO John Lilly, taught a class at Stanford about Blitzscaling; how companies grow very fast. This post contains videos of each session, links to class notes and eventually a short abstract about each session.

Blitzscaling session 1: Household stage

Class notes Blitzscaling session 1: Household stage

View at Medium.com

 

Blitzscaling session 2: Sam Altman

Class notes Blitzscaling session 2: Sam Altman

View at Medium.com

Blitzscaling session 3: Michael Dearing

Class notes Blitzscaling session 3: Michael Dearing

View at Medium.com

Blitzscaling session 4: Ann Miura-Ko

Class notes Blitzscaling session 4: Ann Miura-Ko

View at Medium.com

Blitzscaling session 5: Tribal stage

Class notes Blitzscaling session 5: Tribal stage

View at Medium.com

Blitzscaling session 6: Jennifer Pahlka

Class notes Blitzscaling session 6: Jennifer Pahlka

View at Medium.com

Blitzscaling session 7: Mariam Naficy

Class notes Blitzscaling session 7: Mariam Naficy

View at Medium.com

Blitzscaling session 8: Eric Schmidt

Class notes Blitzscaling session 8: Eric Schmidt

View at Medium.com

Blitzscaling session 9: Village stage

Class notes Blitzscaling session 9: Village stage

 

Blitzscaling session 10: Selina Tobaccowala

 

The Facebook post and push technique

The Facebook post and push technique recently helped a small Norwegian startup attract over 20 000 fans and thousands of e-mail addresses in just a few weeks.

The technique is simple:

Run a Facebook promotion with a small tweak(read the exact details below).

The goal of the promotion is to get people to comment on a Facebook post and thereafter take advantage of Facebook push notifications to directly communicate with people that have commented and get them to register for a newsletter.

Here´s the simple formula:

Step 1: Write a stunning Facebook post – short, to the point, and easy to understand

SWEEPSTAKES – Win ABC product 🙂
– Write “YES” in the comment field to enter to win a FREE ABC product.

We will draw a winner tonight already!!

Original post(link to Facebook post – 1400 comments):

PastedGraphic-1

Key learning points in the post:

  • Make it stand out in the feed- think mobile
  • Make it easy for people to take action
  • Create a sense of instant gratification – people can win almost immediately
  • Follow up with multiple posts as the deadline approaches

Step 2. Announce the winner as comments with a link in the same thread.

Announcing the promotion winner link in the same thread as the promotion will trigger a push notification to all the people that have commented. Don´t be afraid to post frequently as the promotion deadline approaches. We know from experience  that people have a high tolerance for frequent Facebook notifications.
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Announce winners in the comment field(this will trigger highly effective push notification to all original participants):

Post link to the list of winners in the original thread

Post often and more frequently as the deadline approaches

Step 3. Get the attention from your fans through push notifications

When you publish your link in the comment field, all the people that have previously commented on the same post will receive a push notification through Facebook. Screenshot 2015-09-08 16.22.29

In a world where it becomes more difficult to attract consumer attention, small tweaks and techniques can have a great impact. If you try out the Facebook post and push technique, feel free to share your experience in the comments below.

Disclaimer: The post and push technique is not for everyone and you might know about it already, but it works well for companies that are willing to experiment and that are playful in their communication style.

Bullshit detector – 5 questions you should ask consultants

Bullshit detector – 5 questions you should ask consultants

It´s a jungle out there. There are vendors for everything. Consultants, advisors, strategists, specialists, experts and developers. All of them  telling you how amazing they are and how they easily can solve all your problems.

The reality is that success requires lots of hard work and that ability to execute is more important than fancy words(Research indicates that 70% of strategies fail, source: Tribal Leadership).

Don´t misunderstand. External vendors can help you, but it´s important to be critical and show common sense. Remember that vendors are normal people – they are not super heros. Use consultants to bridge knowledge gaps in your organization and to help you get things done faster and smarter! Don´t let them run your organization and don´t outsource your core competencies for too long!

To help detect the bullshiters among vendors, We´ve put together a list of critical questions that you can ask potential vendors.

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Norway´s 50 most important e-commerce stores

A jury consisting of five profiled Norwegian e-commerce experts have picked out what they believe are the 50 most important e-commerce stores in Norway.

The jury:
jury

The Jury: Karl Philip Lund (t.v), Eric Sandtrø, Anne Murstad, Kenneth Dreyer and Ole Martin N. Evensmo

  • Karl Philip Lund: Leading online marketing and e-commerce expert. He´s an experienced speaker and he has worked with several successful companies (Enklere Liv, Netthandelen.no, Blivakker.no og Hurtigruten).
  • Eric Sandtrø: Managing director of Fjellsport.no and co-owner of Jollyroom. Founded and managed Komplett.no, one of Norway´s largest e-commerce stores.
  • Anne Murstad: interaction designer that has worked with e-commerce and digital channels for nearly 10 years. Prior to this she worked in sales and customer service for companies such as British Airways, Eurocard and SEB. In 2005 she started the online store fess.no, which won the “Newcomer of the Year 2006“.  She works at the Norwegian Postal service and Bring as business developer and partner responsible for e-commerce.
  • Kenneth Dreyer Passionate about technology, marketing and design. Organizer of ECommerce Day, partner at digital agency Inevo and part owner of a small shop.
  • Ole Martin N. Evensmo: Editor of Netthandel.no. Has experience with online shopping at several large and medium-sized eCommerce and multichannel companies.

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Speaker prep notes

I go to a lot of conferences and I see a lot of bad presentations. According to world renowned speaker Guy Kawasaki, 99% of presentations suck. If you´re scheduled to present at a conference in the near future, you need to read this blog post!

First of all: A presentation is not a series of powerpoint slides. The slides should not be the central part of your presentation. If you´re dependent on you slides, you´re not ready to present.

 

  1. Read PresentationZen. Get the basics right: Show up on time, know your stuff, be yourself and more.
  2. Tell a story. If you want your presentation to be remembered – tell a story!
  3. Learn from the best. The 5 best presentations in the world – what makes them so special?
  4. Nail the first 60 seconds. If you want to captivate the audience – nail the first 60 seconds!
  5. Avoid the obvious mistakes. Watch this 2 minute video and NEVER make these mistakes again.
  6. Really BAD powerpoints. Avoid  powerpoint mistakes.
  7. How to not suck at presentations. CEO writes

If you don´t have time to review the above sources, please at least make sure you avoid the basic mistakes in the world´s worst presentation! Feel free to add your best advice and share with conference organizers around the world. If you attend a boring presentation, feel free to share this post with the presenter. Don´t be rude, just help them become better presenters.

 

Other resources: