How to NOT get friend-zoned in business
The big mistake I’ve made in my many startup efforts (7 in total) was trying to cater to everyone.
My thinking was
“The world is big. Why not go after all of it?”
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work.
Every time I've done this, it has backfired.
It made us plain vanilla.
It made us sand down all of our edges to try to be smooth and likable to everyone.
And so people liked us, but nobody loved us.
It’s the equivalent of that guy a girl goes out with and then when her friends ask how it went, she says “he was nice.”
#friendzone
And so in effort to learn from the past, we didn’t do that with
@ForgePrep
We like to say
“We are a school for anybody, but we are not for everybody.”
We have a clear viewpoint on what education for 2040, not 1940 looks like, and we ensure that comes through in everything, including our website.
We are unapologetically a bit smash-mouthed and talk isht when asked
Love us or hate us, you will have an opinion.
And it’s working.
Since we announced our campus in Livingston, NJ in mid-December, 1007 families have signed up to learn more about Forge
And by the end of next week, I’ll have had 137 conversations with these families.
It feels like the early days of
@CBinsights. Where are you Harrison?!? (iykyk)
Our early decision applications close on January 15th, and we’re seeing the right types of folks apply mostly because we have a viewpoint and it resonates w/ them.
And it repels others.
Which means when I jump on the phone with a family, they're already aligned.
They still want to learn more but they've self-selected in cuz they're already part of the tribe (at least philosophically)
* They're the kind of parents who are fine with their kid being independent and failing sometimes.
* They have kids who are deeply curious, creative and capable but who are bored with school.
They all think trad school has lots of problems
So for any startup founders out there...
If everyone is a potential customer, nobody is.
Clarity attracts.
Having some sharp edges repels.
Both are good and necessary (especially in the early days)