Telling stories of startups outside of Silicon Valley. Called āAlmost as good as getting an MBAā by @businessinsider. Hosted by @ekhornung & @jayclouse.
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Welcome to the upside NETWORK, a localized media network about emerging businesses - early stage startups, brands, and franchises that can scale beyond their geography - and those that fund and support them
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I am in awe of @joincolossus Review.
Five years ago @jayclouse and I had an idea to publish an in depth quarterly business review focused on the best builders and investors outside SV.
We called it the update by @upsidefm
It was a TON of work and we delivered on three publications we were proud of. Top position in Hacker News, tens of thousands of impressions⦠but was it perfect?
Artie Isaac, professor of entrepreneurship at OSU, once told me that āwhen your skill lack behind your vision, you end up frustrated because you canāt deliver on what your brain sees.ā
We didnāt have the skill to deliver on the vision.
A few years later @aebridgeman launched the Operators Handbook and I thought that was even better. I loved the print element, the depth, and the variety.
Then I saw what @patrick_oshag and his team did with the Review⦠damn near perfect. So happy to have been an early subscriber.
The mix between Serif & sans-Serif fonts, the white space, the print construct. Depth of research, simplicity of sentence structure, uniqueness of subjects covered.
Itās beautiful.
Iāve read Issue 1 twice. Canāt wait for Issue 2.
Announcement time!
Today, I'm launching the Creator Science Syndicate ā a community of creators, investors, and subject matter experts investing in the best companies in the creator economy. š„
WHY A SYNDICATE
Over the last several years, not only have I built relationships with a ton of creators, but also the founders of creator economy companies.
It's given me the opportunity to personally invest in a handful of companies inside of the creator economy ā companies like @MavenHQ and @intros_ai.
The Creator Science universe has grown a lot:
⢠40K email subscribers
⢠15K YouTube subscribers
⢠2M podcast downloads
ā¢Ā 40K friends on Twitter
⢠30K friends on LinkedIn
And it's created a new opportunity: connecting the creators in my audience to these investment opportunities too.
OUR TEAM
For this syndicate, I've partnered with @johnmgannon of Venture5 Media, one of the original creators focused on the VC space and an active angel investor.
He also cofounded GoingVC, a leading VC education program with 500+ alumni around the globe. I read John's blog for years before he became both a member of The Lab and a personal friend.
I'm excited about working with John because of his experience in the venture world, and because he has global reach into hundreds of VC firms that our portfolio companies will be able to tap into as they grow.
THE BACKSTORY
I first became interested in the syndicate model when I met Peter Livingston (@unpopularvc) in 2020 (this conversation is recorded as a podcast, by the way).
Peter showed me that, in a lot of ways, running a syndicate was much more like being a blogger than a venture capitalist.
I was studying investing at the time but becoming more interested in being a creator ā so this spoke to me.
Today, we've come full circle.
HOW TO JOIN
The creators of the creator economy are doing better than ever ā and so are some of the companies supporting them.
We wonāt just invest inĀ companies that we believe in, but companies whoseĀ products we personally use. We have investment experience as well as a unique perspective on creators, their needs, and which companies areĀ actuallyĀ addressing them.
If you're an accredited investor and are interested in investing in some of the best companies in the creator economy...this is for you.
I'll add a link to the syndicate in the tweet below and my DMs are open.
Our first deal will be shared next week.
I'm on pace to break $300K this year as a creator.
But that's not from one single product or service ā it's split between a bunch of different income streams.
Here are 8 revenue streams you can add to your own business: š§µ
I've made a lot of mistakes in 6 years as a creator.
But those mistakes have put me on track to earn $300K this year.
Here are 20 lessons I wish I'd learned sooner: š§µ
This is not new. The shift to the Unvalleyāor Mighty Middle, or Rise of the Restā has been happening for a long time.
Now we're seeing that it's an exponential curve and not linear.
@RiseOfRest@alexisohanian@drivecapital@upsidefm@PowderkegHQ
https://t.co/2rnDL5MGdY
/5
On today's episode, we throw it back to a masterclass in podcasting with the master podcaster and serial entrepreneur himself @jayclouse of @upsidefm
https://t.co/izCby4BC6G
1/ Outside VC firms that have made 2 or more investments into MN startups.
If you're a MN software startup that will likely raise venture $ and have most/all of your time is in Minnesota, you might find this relevant.
Excited to share that #Tweet100 is featured on @ProductHunt today!
To date, #Tweet100 has helped more than 1,200 people gain more than 110,000 followers š¤Æ
Learn more and support the campaign here.
I'd love your support on the campaign š
https://t.co/Q4k9ee7dF1
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