Startup Hypeman: The GOAT to Market Show

What does it take to turn an idea for a boutique 7-11 into a tech-driven consumer market, into a national brand that merged with one of the biggest names in grocery? Enjoy this special episode, a replay of my interview with Foxtrot CEO & Cofounder Mike LaVitola live from the Startup Grind Chicago 4th Annual Great Chicago Food Bash in January 2024. Mike shares overcoming rejection for his crazy idea in the early days, to raising nearly $200M and scaling up nationally. He talks about the importance of optimizing for brand experience, identifying adjacencies in customer behavior, and why data actually isn't everything.Original interview date: January 18, 2024Find Mike online:LinkedInFind Foxtrot online:WebsiteThis episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot).Get your FREE 2-week trial here! (affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

I think we can all agree AI is seemingly everywhere.But what does that actually mean for a startup?Enjoy this special episode, a replay of my interview with Techstars Managing Director Tricia Martinez-Saab live from the Startup Grind Chicago AI Showcase in November 2023.Tricia leads the AI and deep-tech verticals at Techstars and shares her perspective on the good and bad of AI's permeation, how to approach integrating AI into your product, the ethics behind an AI-powered future, and how she makes investment decisions for AI startups at Techstars.Find Tricia online:LinkedInFind Techstars online:WebsiteTricia is also hopping into our member community, GOAT to Market Club, for an Ask Me Anything this week. Got Q's you want to ask Tricia personally? Join for free today! This episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot).Get your FREE 2-week trial here! (affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

The 3-letter acronym every startup obsesses with is TAM.But what is your TAM comprised of, and specifically WHO makes up your TAM?When you go to market, you may think your target is one group, but then find it includes others you weren't previously considering.That was the case for Cardio Diagnostics, who built a solution with a clear end user but involved multiple ancillary decision makers and economic buyers, and alternative use cases.This forced them to expand their TAM in order to successfully penetrate the market and grow revenue.And with a team of just 10 they've managed to go public on the NASDAQ.Their Co-founder & CEO, Meesha Dogan, steps to the mic in this week's episode to share how they have strategically charted their market and TAM to win the big deals that take a long time to close, and the small deals that turn around quickly.Find Meesha online:LinkedInFind Cardio Diagnostic online:WebsiteThis episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot). Get your FREE 2-week trial here!(affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

In a down economy, runway is everything.But it should also be everything in a boom economy.Great companies figure out how to spend less, and make more.Jordan Tepper cofounded the cocktail brand Apologue in 2017, and in the 7 years since he's achieved over $1M annual revenue, while raising just $2.5M in that time, and as of this writing still carrying $1M of that raise in the bank.For a CPG brand with significant fixed expenses, Apologue's story is a clinic on meaningful growth and spend.Jordan steps to the mic in our season premiere to share the specific hacks his team has employed to make the most of every dollar since day one.Find Jordan online:LinkedInFind HostesCocktails online:InstagramFind Apologue online: InstagramThis episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot). Get your FREE 2-week trial here: https://www.activecampaign.com/?_r=RDNU9V97 (affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

We've officially dropped the first-ever startup hip-hop album, GOAT To Market! Season 2 of The GTM Show is a companion podcast on the making-of, where RajNATION gets interviewed by the album's Creative Director Pablo Gonzalez (founder of Be The Stage), for an exclusive behind-the-scenes listen.GOAT To Market is available now on all streaming platforms. Listen to the album in full then come here, or one track at a time and come here for each corresponding episode. However, you want to listen is the right way to listen.Want to chat with RajNATION directly about the music, or about anything you’re going through with your startup — whether that’s pitching, figuring out your go-to-market, or something else — you can do that and get access to additional GTM content if you join our online founder community, The GOAT To Market CLUB at startuphypeman.com/gtm-club.This episode was brought to you by our friends at Akava. Akava is THE software development partner to help you go from zero to 1. Startups like Stride Health, Haveno, Olive, Side, and more trust Akava from their first dollar all the way to their billion-dollar valuation, and they're ready to help YOU become the GOAT to Market. Learn more at akava.io.

We've officially dropped the first-ever startup hip-hop album, GOAT To Market! Season 2 of The GTM Show is a companion podcast on the making-of, where RajNATION gets interviewed by the album's Creative Director Pablo Gonzalez (founder of Be The Stage), for an exclusive behind-the-scenes listen.GOAT To Market is available now on all streaming platforms. Listen to the album in full then come here, or one track at a time and come here for each corresponding episode. However, you want to listen is the right way to listen.Want to chat with RajNATION directly about the music, or about anything you’re going through with your startup — whether that’s pitching, figuring out your go-to-market, or something else — you can do that and get access to additional GTM content if you join our online founder community, The GOAT To Market CLUB at startuphypeman.com/gtm-club.This episode was brought to you by our friends at Akava. Akava is THE software development partner to help you go from zero to 1. Startups like Stride Health, Haveno, Olive, Side, and more trust Akava from their first dollar all the way to their billion-dollar valuation, and they're ready to help YOU become the GOAT to Market. Learn more at akava.io.

We've officially dropped the first-ever startup hip-hop album, GOAT To Market! Season 2 of The GTM Show is a companion podcast on the making-of, where RajNATION gets interviewed by the album's Creative Director Pablo Gonzalez (founder of Be The Stage), for an exclusive behind-the-scenes listen.GOAT To Market is available now on all streaming platforms. Listen to the album in full then come here, or one track at a time and come here for each corresponding episode. However, you want to listen is the right way to listen.Want to chat with RajNATION directly about the music, or about anything you’re going through with your startup — whether that’s pitching, figuring out your go-to-market, or something else — you can do that and get access to additional GTM content if you join our online founder community, The GOAT To Market CLUB at startuphypeman.com/gtm-club.This episode was brought to you by our friends at Akava. Akava is THE software development partner to help you go from zero to 1. Startups like Stride Health, Haveno, Olive, Side, and more trust Akava from their first dollar all the way to their billion-dollar valuation, and they're ready to help YOU become the GOAT to Market. Learn more at akava.io.

We've officially dropped the first-ever startup hip-hop album, GOAT To Market! Season 2 of The GTM Show is a companion podcast on the making-of, where RajNATION gets interviewed by the album's Creative Director Pablo Gonzalez (founder of Be The Stage), for an exclusive behind-the-scenes listen.GOAT To Market is available now on all streaming platforms. Listen to the album in full then come here, or one track at a time and come here for each corresponding episode. However, you want to listen is the right way to listen.Want to chat with RajNATION directly about the music, or about anything you’re going through with your startup — whether that’s pitching, figuring out your go-to-market, or something else — you can do that and get access to additional GTM content if you join our online founder community, The GOAT To Market CLUB at startuphypeman.com/gtm-club.This episode was brought to you by our friends at Akava. Akava is THE software development partner to help you go from zero to 1. Startups like Stride Health, Haveno, Olive, Side, and more trust Akava from their first dollar all the way to their billion-dollar valuation, and they're ready to help YOU become the GOAT to Market. Learn more at akava.io.

We've officially dropped the first-ever startup hip-hop album, GOAT To Market! Season 2 of The GTM Show is a companion podcast on the making-of, where RajNATION gets interviewed by the album's Creative Director Pablo Gonzalez (founder of Be The Stage), for an exclusive behind-the-scenes listen.GOAT To Market is available now on all streaming platforms. Listen to the album in full then come here, or one track at a time and come here for each corresponding episode. However, you want to listen is the right way to listen.Want to chat with RajNATION directly about the music, or about anything you’re going through with your startup — whether that’s pitching, figuring out your go-to-market, or something else — you can do that and get access to additional GTM content if you join our online founder community, The GOAT To Market CLUB at startuphypeman.com/gtm-club.This episode was brought to you by our friends at Akava. Akava is THE software development partner to help you go from zero to 1. Startups like Stride Health, Haveno, Olive, Side, and more trust Akava from their first dollar all the way to their billion-dollar valuation, and they're ready to help YOU become the GOAT to Market. Learn more at akava.io.