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The Startup Marketers Tech Stack (12 Tools To Use) 🧰

So you’re a marketer at a startup. Rad. I am too. That is neat. If there’s two things to know at a startup it’s that cash is precious and growth is king! Now, you’re probably racking your brain trying to help you find the right tools that can help you maximize performance without breaking the bank. I’ve been there. The problem when you...

Portico Darwin: Yawn

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS Ho hum. Another mass shooting, and this time, 19 school children and 2 teachers were murdered in cold blood. First black shoppers in Buffalo, and now Hispanic kids in Uvalde, Texas. I lay this directly at the (surely hideous) feet of Donald Trump. It is his normalizing of cruelty and racism that has led us to yet anot...

Theoretical books > practical books + why that's true.

I recently read a book called The Power Of Ignorance by Dave Trott. It's a lot like the book Alchemy by Rory Sutherland in that it conveys wisdom through stories. It's like the Bible (i.e., teaching through stories and parables). This made me realize there are two types of books: • Practical (Improve your action) • Theoretical (Improve...

Bullshit jobs hide more easily in big companies

The late, great David Graeber struck a nerve with his 2013 essay On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs. It diagnosed the "moral and spiritual damage" caused to our "collective soul" when masses of white-collar employees work pointless jobs. The thesis was confirmed by a startling poll a few years later that showed 37% of British workers t...

2 ways to be more brief (with writing and talking).

If you know me, you know I’m long-winded. I could talk for days. That directly correlates to my writing. Put simply; I struggle with brevity. I’m a verbose guy. If I can say something with five words, I’ll use fifteen. I’ve always been that way. But over time, I’ve realized that it’s a significant weakness. It’s a weakness in a couple ...

the graduate

A ceremony 2 years belated…marking what is likely the end of my formal schooling, and the end of my undergrad/grad 🍎Columbia🦁 tenure: A bit rainy & gray Caught on the kiss-cam From where I sat, I could see the windows of my undergrad freshman, sophomore, and junior year dorms 😭😭😭 2022 // 2014 accoutrements 🧙🏻♀ *CLAIRE COMMENCEMENT MAYB...

Relentless focus on the basics

Relentless focus on the basics is what separates winners in life and business from people who have massive plans but never get anywhere. Novak Djokovic focuses on just hitting the ball, really well. Kobe Bryant focused on free throw after free throw, thousands of repetitions on that basic shot. Tiger Woods played putt after putt after ...

Portico Darwin: Chesa Chess Game

TODAY'S RAMBLINGS The blog is back. Everyone can now resume their normal lives. My time away brought me to a number of locales, including Chicago, Tupper Lake, and my glorious hometown of Albany. Huge thanks to Steven Simon and his rock star wife, the gorgeous Stacey Moen Simon, for our two nights in Chicago at their Diamond Certified ...

Build products with a stance and point of view 🎭

The other day, my flight from LAX to LAS was delayed a few hours. To kill some time, I took to twitter and opened up an AMA. That’s when this great question came my way: Product before branding or visa versa? As someone that does both marketing and product, I thought this was a particularly interesting question. To me, it’s not a matte...

The best marketers do this…

I've never had surgery before (aside from getting my wisdom teeth out). But I bet you have. And, even if you haven't, this analogy should still make sense. Imagine you go in for a complicated surgery. You're nervous and a little weary. However, that changes as a professional-looking woman greets you. She is genuine and seems to "care."...