The Startup Chat With Steli And Hiten

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to get marketing attribution right. One of the most important thing a marketer needs to know is whether your campaigns are driving revenue or not. If you’re unable to answer this, you’ll struggle making the right marketing campaigns. While vanity metrics like number of shares on social media and open rates for your emails are super easy to find, the important data - the one that tells you which helped close a  sale - is less obvious. In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about what marketing attribution is, what startups need to do to get marketing attribution right, why you should do the best you can with what you’ve got right now and much more.  Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:30 Why this topic was chosen. 02:40 What startups need to do to get marketing attribution right. 03:59 How to make decisions based on the data you collect. 04:22 Why you should do the best you can with what you’ve got right now. 04:53

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about encouragement vs advice and the importance of encouragement. This episode comes after a recent tweet by Hiten about the power of encouragement and the impact it can have on the person who is being encouraged.  In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the definition of encouragement, why this tweet resonated strongly with Steli, the best thing we can do for other people when it comes to giving advice and much more.  Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:39 Why this topic was created. 01:13 What prompted Hiten to share this thought. 03:04 How we really can’t do much to get somebody else to do something. 03:42 What people tend to care about. 04:03 How Hiten hardly does anything with great advice he gets. 04:59 The best thing we can do for other people. 06:00 Why this tweet resonated with Steli. 06:30 The definition of encouragement. 06:41 How Steli typically sees encouragement. 3 Key Points: We really can’t do much to get s

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about we they recently learned as dads that helped them as founders. For most people, our first teacher is usually our fathers. From riding a bicycle to playing football, fathers typically teach us many lessons when we were children. Our dads typically are there for us through our heartbreaks and failures, and heartily encourage and pat us on our back when we achieved something. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about what made this year's father’s day different, an example of a situation where a person never had a father, special moments and lessons they learned from their kids and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:33 Why this topic was chosen. 02:30 What made Steli appreciate being a dad. 03:00 What made this year's father’s day different. 04:18 An example of a situation where a person never had a father. 05:59 Steli shares a special moment he had with his kids. 09:03 How Steli can sometimes be part of the prob

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about lies founders tell themselves and others. It’s common for founders to unknowingly tell themselves and others lies about the state of their companies. And not realizing that what you may be saying to yourself about your company can lead to the lack of growth of your company or worse. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the common lies founders tell themselves, how to realise that you’re telling yourself these lies, how to prevent telling these lies and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 00:35 Why this topic was chosen. 01:30 The most common lie founders tell themselves and others. 02:27 Why your belief in the success of your product is a lie. 03:40 Why you should use your belief of success to figure out how to make it happen. 04:34 The second most common lie founders tell. 05:47 Why this lie is a way of covering up the truth. 06:57 How things aren’t going well for startups most of the time. 07:3

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to create a successful pilot program for your startup. In the startup world, running a pilot program for your startup is a great way to fine-tune your solution and get in some early customers. Sadly, many pilots end up failing due to mistakes made during them, and this is something that Steli and Hiten explore in this episode.   In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how to do pilot programs correctly, why you need to be clear about KPIs, why you need to be as hands-on as possible during the pilot and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:46 Why this topic was chosen. 02:36 Why you need to be clear about KPIs. 04:46 Why clarity is super important. 04:16 Why you need to be as hands-on as possible during the pilot. 05:13 How you need to babysit the pilot. 06:36 How to get more advice about your pilot. 06:41 How to handle contracts and timelines. 06:50 Why want to learn from your customers past. 06:33 A questi

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about the value of overcommunicating. Communicating effectively in a startup is super important to the success of not just your startup, but also the businesses of those you serve. And it’s up to the leadership of a startup to communicate effectively. In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about why you need to be incredibly disciplined about how you communicate, why overcommunication is usually the reason projects succeed, the most powerful thing about “beating the drum” and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:33 Why this topic was chosen. 01:10 Why you need to be incredibly disciplined about how you communicate. 01:59 Why overcommunication is usually the reason projects succeed. 03:13 Why you need to learn how to overcommunicate. 04:56 How Hiten writes more of his ideas down than share it with people. 06:37 How Hiten continues to beat the drum. 06:59 The most powerful thing about beating the drum. 07:40 An exa

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about how to keep morale up in your company. In all startups, there are times where the moral or the mood of the team is not at it’s highest. When the morale of your team is low, it is important that you take steps to raise your team's morale quickly, so that they can handle issues in your company better. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about what morale is, why keeping up morale in your team applies to everybody, how to measure morale in your team and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:30 Why this topic was chosen. 00:40 Why keeping up morale applies to everybody in your team. 01:00 The definition of morale. 02:46 Why morale is a very interesting topic. 03:17 How to think about morale in your company. 04:03 How to measure morale in your team. 04:56 Why morale is important. 06:33 Why you need to ask people how they’re feeling about something. 3 Key Points: I don’t think this only applies to managers and leaders

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about Steli's outbound recruiting hack. Hiring a new member of staff can be challenging. If you want to find the right person for the role, you need to invest a lot of time and sometimes money on the whole process. One way to approach the whole hiring process is by seeking the advice of people who are overqualified for the job, and this can lead to a lot of benefits for you. In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how hiring for a role at Close is going for them, how approached the recruiting for the position at his company, how people can be very helpful when you seek their advice and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:41 Why this topic was created. 01:56 How Steli approached the recruiting of a position at his company. 02:44 How people can be very helpful when seeking advice. 03:31 How one simple question led to a ton of recommendations and referrals. 03:50 How this approach allowed Steli to meet people that

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about introverts that learned to talk. It’s common to assume we know the difference between extroverts and introverts. One might be forgiven in believing that extroverts are talkative and outgoing people, while introverts are quiet and tend to be very private. However, this is not always the case. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the history of the startup chat, the idea of being introverted versus extroverted, the difference between an introvert and an extrovert, why categorizing people isn’t helpful and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 00:41 Why this topic was chosen. 01:00 The idea of being introverted versus extroverted. 02:11 The difference between an introvert and an extrovert. 03:20 Examples of introverts being extroverted. 04:05 Why categorising people isn’t helpful. 05:00 Why this might be more of an activity. 06:12 How one can use their fears as excuses. 06:44 How personality is a spec

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about the benefits of therapy for a founder. Running a startup comes with a lot of strain and stress, and if not managed properly, can affect your mental health. As a founder, if you feel you need help to get you over these trying times, it may be a good idea to talk to a therapist. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the history of the startup chat, why the name was chosen, why the show is all about startup mentality and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 00:41 Why this topic was chosen. 01:25 Steli’s experience with therapy. 02:24 How we sometimes give the answers we want to give. 03:18 Why every therapy session is different. 05:05 More on Steli’s experience with therapy. 06:00 What makes a therapy valuable. 07:14 Steli’s thoughts on mental health. 08:39 How to find the right therapist. 09:00 Why it’s important to understand the you’re paying them to help you. 3 Key Points: In some ways, a lot of o

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about the difference between running a fully remote company versus semi-remote companies. The business world has changed. It’s now possible for employees to work outside of an office and be very productive at it. But deciding if your company should be a remote company or a semi-remote company is a critical decision a founder can make In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how Close started as a semi-remote company, why remote employees shouldn’t be treated or feel like second class employees, how Hitens company managed their remote teams. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 01:10 Why this topic was chosen. 02:00 How Close started as a semi-remote company. 03:39 Why remote employees shouldn’t be treated or feel like second class employees. 03:37 Why Airbnb stopped referring to their headquarters as HQ. 04:44 How companies fail to understand how to make remote working work. 05:05 How Hitens company managed their remote teams. 05:5

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about remote work or distributed work. The topic of having remote or distributed teams is a hot one in the startup world. It is common for some startups that implement remote work policies to see increased productivity, efficiency, and fulfillment from their employees. However, the reverse can be the case when a remote team is not managed properly In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about having a remote work or distributed work, what the workforce could look like in the future, how the business landscape has changed and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 01:44 Why this topic was chosen. 02:10 One side of the trend line. 04:34 Another side of the trend line. 06:40 What the workforce could look like in the future. 07:31 How we’re going to get better at managing remote teams. 08:16 Why the growth rate of distributed companies is going to play a bigger role in the future. 08:56 Companies that have had success being

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about what to consider before changing your domain name. There are multitudes of reasons why a startup might want to change it’s website’s domain name. This could be due to rebranding or switching to something entirely new. While this can be an exciting time for your startup, there are risks to this and it can also be one of the scariest you may ever do for your business. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about why close.io purchased the domain name close.com, risks involved when changing a domain name, things to keep in mind before changing a domain name and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:34 Why this topic was chosen. 02:13 The first reason why they purchased close.com. 03:05 The second reason why they purchased close.com. 03:46 The third reason why they purchased close.com. 04:23 Risks involved when changing a domain name. 05:37 Things to keep in mind before changing a domain name. 05:56 What typically happe

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about building your content muscle. As founders, sometimes we want to create content, but we talk ourselves out of it. And this could be due to many reasons, and one of those is that we overthink it and strive for perfection in version 1, and then when you start doing it, it feels wrong and this takes all the sails out of your wind. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about how to get comfortable at creating content, why you shouldn’t over think your content strategy, the importance of understanding that you might suck in the beginning and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:28 Why this topic was chosen. 01:52 Why you shouldn’t over think your content strategy. 04:05 Why you should start with whatever comes easiest for you. 05:16 Why you should find the form factor that’s easy for you and start there. 05:50 The importance of understanding that you might suck in the beginning. 07:05 How consistency can help you be gre

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about effort vs leverage. Using leverage can be seen as being lazy by some and being smart by others. Sometimes it might be in your best interest to put in the effort to perform a task or it might better to have someone else who better at it than you do that task for you. In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about when to use effort vs leveraging what you have, the idea of working hard versus working smart, what approach to take at the early stages and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 00:24 Why this topic was created. 01:37 How people tend to see leverage. 02:50 The two sides to leverage versus leverage. 03:37 Why you have to be more mindful where you put your effort and when to use your leverage. 04:46 What approach to take at the early stages. 05:01 Hiten’s point of view on the issue. 05:54 How most people are not naturally inclined to get other people to do stuff for them. 05:50 Why you probably have more lever

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about the new positioning for The Startup Chat. After over 400 episodes of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten have decided to step back a little and review the podcast positioning, content and brand. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the history of the Startup Chat, why the name was chosen, why the show is all about startup mentality and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About the topic of today’s episode 00:35 Why this topic was chosen. 02:25 A little bit of the history of the podcast. 03:24 What Steli thinks of the name of the show. 05:05 What Hiten thinks of the name of the show. 06:48 Why the show is all about startup mentality. 07:28 How the content of the show helps a wide range of people. 08:24 About the show’s tagline. 08:58 A more accurate description of the show. 10:18 How you don’t need to be starting a startup to get value out of the show. 3 Key Points: It’s really about the startup mentalityThe name could be misleading

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about The Energy-Thoughts-Action Framework. The thoughts that we have in our your mind play a huge role in the actions we take. And our thoughts influence how we behave, our attitudes to things in life, and they also control how you react to different situations as well. In this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about what the Energy-Thoughts-Action Framework is, the hierarchy of action, how behavior usually leads to action and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 01:00 Why this topic was chosen. 01:50 What is the Energy-Thoughts-Action Framework. 03:39 Why Hiten calls it the hierarchy of action. 04:37 Things that come before thought. 04:44 How behavior usually leads to action 05:05 How the ultimate thing that you’re looking for is your actions. 05:42 Why the trigger part is crucial. 05:48 How most of us are not aware of how susceptible we are to external factors. 08:17 The importance of setting positive triggers for ourselves.

In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about the importance of choosing the right market for your product. When developing a SaaS product, choosing the right target market is the most critical step in planning a successful launch of your product. And making this choice comes down to understanding two things - tailwind and trend. In this week’s episode, Steli and Hiten if the CRM market is still a good market to get into, why you shouldn’t worry so much about the right market and focus more on executing properly, the two T’s to determine a good market and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic. 01:44 Why this topic was chosen. 02:12 Steli’s response to the question of if the CRM Is a good market. 02:47 Why you shouldn’t worry about the right market. 04:00 The two T’s to determine a good market. 04:43 How to know a good market from a bad one. 05:55 The importance of thinking through if a product has tailwind and if it’s a trend. 07:38 How there’s a growing trend for

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about bragging versus being humble. How you feel about an entrepreneur who brags about his successes or is humble about them is something that is very subjective in nature. However, there are certain situations where bragging or pumping yourself up might be the right thing to do and vice versa. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about why people feel differently about humble founders versus those who brag often, the big revelation he made, why what’s important is the motivation behind people’s actions, the utility of being confident and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:28 Why this topic was chosen. 00:52 How people typically look at bragging versus humble. 04:35 Why the motivation behind what you do matters so much. 05:50 How you can never know the motive of people actions. 06:27 How people that are good at what they do, hardly have to say it. 07:00 How our attitudes towards people can affect how we look at them.

Today on The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about Hiten's Billion Dollar Mistake. This episode comes after a blog post that Hiten wrote a couple weeks ago that blew up on the internet. It’s about a billion dollar mistake he made at his company KISSmetrics. In today’s episode of the show, Steli and Hiten talk about the reaction to the blog post, the big revelation he made, lessons he learned from it and much more. Time Stamped Show Notes: 00:00 About today’s topic 00:55 Why this topic was chosen. 02:15 One reason why his blog post blew up. 02:34 The second reason why it blew up. 03:31 Some statements about the Hiten bomb. 05:16 The reason Hiten believes this post resonated with people. 05:32 An experience you’ve probably had at your team. 06:56 The reaction to the blog post. 08:00 Why Hiten is no longer feels bad about the situation. 3 Key Points: We were ahead of the market by 3 years.Product development and building products is hard.If you are a team member in a company, you’ve had this experience. [0:0