How does Alex grow as an entrepreneur over the course of the episodes?
Alex grows as an entrepreneur in the course of the episodes in several ways. First, he learns from his mistakes and corrects them. For instance, Alex learns that connections cannot get one as far as they need; there are more qualities that are required. Connections can only get you so far.in the first season of startup, the pod cast begins as Alex makes a pitch to Silicon Valley Legend, Chris Sacca. Alex had met Chris during his days at Planet Money. However, it was easily the worst pitch and cringe worthy too. Alex discovered that investors always ask the hard questions regardless of relationship. The episode is not recommended for individuals who are unable to handle or suffer from second hand embarrassment. Chris is quick to pick at Alexs pitch and asks crucial questions that Alex had totally failed to consider.
After his first pitch to Chris goes terribly wrong, Alex makes changes to it and does a better job pitching to Chris partner Matt. Though he likes it, the suggestions that Matt make are essential for the business. Matt advices him to tailor the show for bigger audiences and also get a suitable company name; advice that turns out vital eventually. It was as a result of this talk that Alex was encouraged to try his idea and put it into practice. And he got valuable advice from the startup power broker. He then requested for the money that is funding for the seed funding stage that was two million dollars.
How does Gimlet Media grow over the course of the episodes?
Gimlet Media grows from a barely self-sufficient business to a stable business in a series of steps that are characterized by actions taken by its founders. To begin with, the company benefits most from the lessons that are learned in its journey. From the start, Alex is faced with the problem of pressure in terms of work that needs to be done and emotional turmoil. He opts to find a co-founder and that is where he meets Matt. They disagree over ownership until after research; Alex finds out that there is no right answer over who should own how much. Eventually, they agree and become partners. Their agreement and cooperation is an important step for the company. Alex and Matts experiences enable them to grow the company. For instance, they are faced with the problem of choosing a suitable company name. However, they overcome this hurdle and Gimlet Media comes into existence.
Gimlet Media grows through the skillsets of its founders and their determination. Chris starts a business in a field that he is highly skilled in and solves a problem that he is deeply aware of. Alex is an award winning radio producer who has decades of experience in the industry. He has gained a large following of dedicated listeners from his times at This American Life and Planet Monday. Gimlet Media also grows steadily in popularity as Alex and his cofounder listen to the feedback from listeners and they integrate the feedback into the show and boost its popularity. Eventually, using his existing fan base, Alex grows Gimlet Media to increase the popularity of The Startup Podcast and raise capital for his show.
Alex and his co-founder Matter get to conversing with people and getting to an idea of what they really want as well as after testing their business idea, they are now in a position to make it official and launch their startup. This is the stage that faced many of risks. In addition, it is the primary stage that about 25% of the startups fail at the fifth year. As soon after he got the funding he together with his co-founder Matthew Lieber located a suitable space for setting his business that they rented for less than 10,000. He implemented the idea by gathering one million and a half that was the initial capital for the startup. Six guys were employed to launch the podcast in the next 12 months
After securing funding, the startup business was expected to generate income as well as taking in new customers. It is also characterized by having cash flow, which helps to cover the ongoing expenses. it is at this stage however that the realization of profits becomes possible. The biggest challenge at this stage, however, was dividing the time between attending to customers, managing the increasing levels of revenue as well as expanding the workforce. It is at this stage that one has to be careful in hiring new employees whereby they should have the competent skills required. Gimlet gained roots and within a span of six months, it had gained popularity among millions of Americans as well as across the globe. Research has indicated that by the sixth month, the podcasts had received about six million downloads in one month.
Later, after it had stabilized, Gimelt Media considered expanding their horizons and offering entries to new geographies. After narrating his journey from the time of inception to the stage that the company is at now, Alex is planning on expanding his company in several ways such as producing more podcasts by the year 2017 to increase them from the previous four podcasts to twelve.
At his stage and time, the company is expected to be able to realize a stable profit from one year to another. It is the stage whereby the entrepreneur decides on where to expand further or to exit the business, this is because things may be different depending on the business at hand for example is that some companies may at a decent pace continue to grow while other at this time may be struggling to enjoy the same high rates. The company is still growing and the owners are more convinced more than ever before about its success.
What does Alex learn about heading a start up?
Alex learns that leading a startup involves a continuous process of resilience, learning from mistakes and always looking to improve. In addition, it is an emotionally and physically draining affair that requires an individual to be mentally and physically prepared.
Some of the things that Blumberg learned from his whole experience were that it is good to be realistic when developing a business idea and be optimistic it is the only way he will be able to realize his dream. When talking with Sacca, he did not sound that confidence and kept on saying I think but that eventually changed and he was now ready more than ever to realize his dream.
He also learned that a startup company requires one to have a tremendous amount of confidence, be creative as well as motivated and finally have focus. Sacca was the source f motivation for Alex, Alex, on the other hand, was focused on the idea that such kind of a business had never existed and this was the source of confidence despite the likely hood of facing competitors such as Apple and Google. Other lesson learned
He further learned that it is always very important for one to care about their work as it is the only ways to which those who are working for you will care about what they are doing too. He describes his team as enthusiastic and that they are genuinely excited about what they are doing this way they give their utmost in the work in terms of talents and time. They feel motivated t work harder.
Some of the other things that he learns as being the company head are the importance of transparency. He argues that transparency with the employees is very critical especially about the state of the company so that one is no accused of hiding anything from the owner which as a result may spur less trust between the workers. Pasinli argues that being transparent is important especially with the employees and customers whereby one is expected to own up to their mistakes in case they make any so that they can build a strong customer relationship and in turn ensure a strong product for market fit.
The other lesson is that it is good to cooperate with they would as it will make your business become a competitor. This is demonstrated when the first episode of the startup is aired in The American Life. This gave them a big boost as this show was the leading show in American and as so it was easy to lure people and gain following for their new product.
What mistakes does Alex learn over the course of the episodes?
Some of the mistakes that Alex made in these episodes included the mistake they realized they had made after the launching of the new show that replied All, the debut episodes whereby the young company became the center of an internet controversy. Alex, however, learnt that it is very important to own one's mistakes as it is the only way one can make them become rights. He also learned about the importance of establishing guidelines and systems of a good company.
Another mistake made is using the interview with the mother of a nine year old for an ad without the consent of the mother. However, they accepted the failure and owning up managed to clear up the issue.
What qualities of the business and its founders make it possible for Gimlet to secure financing?
Alex Blumberg was popular among the American audience as he had worked as a radio presenter of the show American Life and Planets Money, these two significantly contributed to his success as he managed to start a podcast during its financial crisis. The reputation that he had gained as a radio presenter made it easy for him to attract listeners who had previously appreciated and followed his previous shows. His new show was accepted with the same magnitude. It can be argue that Alex was selling something he believed in. The other quality that might have led to this success is the fact that he was very creative and he developed a very creative idea which with the help of Chris Sacca was able to materialize. Alexs creativity is evident in the manner which he handled issues that were related to the show. Alex calls back listeners who gave feedback on the show and questions them to gain valuable information on how to improve the show. It is a smart move considering some of the feedback was negative and a person without the sharp instinct of Alex would not identify this feedback as an opportunity for growth.
Alex is also resilient. From the start, things do not go his way but he picks up and rises again. Despite experiencing the fear of missing out after his pitch to Chris, Alex is undauntedly positive and persist in his effort to raise the startup. Alex is also brave because he endures the mental anguish that torments him when Chris takes his pitch and gives it back to him as Alex should have done initially. Here, the fear of missing out is prominent because Alex feels that he has lost the opportunity to impress a potential investor.
Matt Lieber on the other had contributed significantly to the success of Gimlet. This is because he was also a radio presenter and he already had a companys brand name this made things much easier for them in the market entry. This brand name helped them gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. The business itself was one of a kind as the idea was a unique one during his interview in episode one he makes fun of himself and tells Chris that there is no one else who can do that shit apart from himself.
Alex and Matt are both smart. They approach issues from an analytical point of view. When they are faced with the dilemma of valuation, they seek assistance from other sources to gain perspective. They end up getting a suitable solution to their problem. They are smart enough to understand that for companies in a similar position, there is no right answer to their problem each company has a unique solution to its problem. They therefore act accordingly to determine their value cap.
What qualities of the business and its founders make it possible for Gimlet to get off the ground?
The business is also a unique proposition. The offerings that Gimlet makes to investors are inviting. The native approach to advertising that Gimlet adopted was...
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