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Don’t miss out! Check out the previous chapters here:

–Chapter One
–Chapter Two
–Chapter Three
–Chapter Four

CHAPTER FIVE: Build Priority Folders

In This Chapter:

• Easily access the most important emails first with priority folders
• Build a response system based off importance—not time.

So, one of our biggest goals is to get rid of all of the time sucking aspects of email. Email drains our time because we don’t process it properly.

For example—take a quick peek at your inbox.

Are you back? Cool.

Well, you’ll note that there is typically only one factor that sorts all of those wonderful and random messages—and that is Time.

While this will help you figure out who’s emailing you at 3am, and who emailed you a few seconds ago—it really doesn...

We’ve all been there: You’re searching the web for some new shoes but then get distracted by a TV show or an incoming text message. Upon opening up your laptop again, you notice that there’s magically an ad for the running shoes you were looking at before.

Coincidence? Not in the slightest.

Smart marketers understand that there is no magic wand needed for this trick. Instead, they strategically utilize retargeting to reengage missed consumer opportunities.

This powerful strategy — when implemented properly — can inspire casual browsers to convert into customers. And many companies are willing to pay more for retargeted ads because they appear for consumers whose intent to purchase is typically higher, such as shoppers who have abandoned an ...

Wil Schroter: Baremetrics did the unthinkable – it showed the rest of the world what other companies were doing in revenues – publicly. It pulled back the most sacred curtain. Why in the hell would you have ever thought that would be a good idea when so much common business practice does the opposite?

Josh Pigford: Our transparency is rooted in laziness! Back when I first launched Baremetrics I felt strongly about having a live demo instead of some screenshots. I could have generated an infinite amount of fake data, but that’d have taken a lot of time and I don’t think it’d have felt as authentic.

On top of that, my friends at Buffer and Groove and clearly had some success in being transparent, so figured what the heck!

At that point Barem...

Today I’m ridiculously excited to tell you about a product I’ve been personally waiting on for a very, very long time – Startups Live!

Startups Live is a moderated, members-only Slack community where we’re pulling together the smartest Founders (and their teams) into a single discussion for one hour every day.

Real Time, Moderated, Focused

None of us have time for another forum or Slack community of random chatter. We’re not interested in sifting through trolls or hoping someone comes up with a topic that might be interesting in a chat room somewhere.

That’s why we’re keeping it short – 1 hour, every day – at 11a EST / 8a PST.

Each day we’ll be moderating the discussion to keep it fresh with new topics and adding in special guests and exp...

When people talk about the transformative innovations shaping business in the 21st century, you may hear them talk about the influence of automation or the impact of increasing globalization. But one of the most revolutionary aspects of the digital revolution often goes unmentioned: social media.

Because so many of us tweet and post and share day in and day out on our personal accounts, it’s easy to think that social media is… well… easy.

But social media has completely transformed the way businesses connect with their audiences. And as any Founder who has struggled and failed to drum up an online audience for their brand can tell you, effective social media strategy is deceptively hard to get right. It takes a delicate balance of strategy ...

In January 2016, after 8 years in the British Military, I left to enter our crazy world of startups. Over the past 8 months I have pivoted three times from my original idea.

That’s a lot in a short space of time but it has helped me find product market fit. I can attribute some of this speed to my military background. There is a lot of advice out there from the military to business and vice versa but here are some direct lessons I believe the military can teach the Pre Seed Startup:

The Why

No soldier is going to follow you to into combat unless he/she knows why they are doing it. When I started my first company KitShare (an Air BnB for surfboards, skis, etc) because I had no employees I hadn’t given it much thought until an investor asked ...

When you’re looking at grants for nonprofit startups, you’re looking at an area that’s crowded with a lot of competition. But, if there’s one thing startup entrepreneurs are known for, it’s tenacity.

The reason there’s so much competition is, a) there are a limited number of grants and, b) grants — unlike other forms of funding — don’t have to be paid back. Sounds appealing, doesn’t it?

But if there’s one field that’s very familiar with grants, it’s the nonprofit field. Here’s an overview of how to secure grants to start to nonprofit startup, as well as a few types of grants for starting a nonprofit.

What is a nonprofit?

A nonprofit is an organization that puts their social mission before profit. In contrast, a social enterprise is a for-p...

Here’s the short version:

I created Startups.co as my dream job. There wasn’t any magic to it – but I had to be painfully honest about how I really wanted the rest of my life to play out.

This is how I did it.

Imagine this: as of today, you are now working at your dream job.

What would that look like?

Get really detailed with it: How would every hour of the day go? What would you get to do? What would you never, ever, ever, ever have to do again? Have you written all of this down and made a plan around it?

Yeah, neither did I – for about 18 years in a row.

And then I did, and it was the most profound and relatively simple change I ever made. So much so that I have dedicated the rest of my life to helping my fellow Founders align what they ...

For a growing product startup, there is no better triumph than seeing your product on the shelves and online store of a billion-dollar retailer. It provides incredible social proof, validates your concept, and shows you’ve got what it takes to scale into a profitable business.

Unfortunately, for many startup founders, there exists a veil of mystery over what it actually takes to stand out to retailers in a crowded sea of established product companies and competing product startups.

Fortunately for you, we have the inside scoop from Rick Rommel, a partner at Sprosty Network and founder of RetailXelerator. Rick is a former Best Buy SVP, and was founder of its Exclusive Brands private-label business. He spent a decade both selecting and develo...

I was fortunate enough to travel to San Francisco for a week in early May and on one of my evenings I attended a pitch night which was moderated and judged by 500 Startups. These tips don’t just apply in the startup-world, but also apply for any type of persuasive presentation environment. Here’s what I learned:

1. Tell a story

I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times. However, what does that mean? For starters, when you’re explaining your product, don’t be so transactional — e.g. try not to explain your pitch as follows “if you struggle to track your logistics when you go for traveling, use our app.” It won’t help you to connect with your audience, it won’t help your audience remember your solution, and your audience won’t be able to r...