In this episode, Aljaz Peklaj is joined by Ivana Todorovic, co-founder of AuthoredUp.

She shares her journey in starting the company and the lessons she learned along the way. She also discusses the importance of understanding customer needs and providing value, as well as the challenges of selling to end users versus agencies.

Takeaways

• Understand customer needs and provide value to build a strong brand and position in the market.
• Focus on the customer and their pain points, and continuously improve based on feedback.
• Selling to end users requires a different approach than selling to agencies, and it's important to understand the specific needs of each customer segment.
• Launching globally from the beginning can provide valuable insights into different markets and user preferences.
• Bootstrapping can allow for more control over the company and product development, but it requires careful financial management.
• Building a strong onboarding process and providing support can help users quickly understand and benefit from the product.
• Developing free tools and providing value to the community can help build brand awareness and attract new users. AuthoredUp allows users to save and repurpose posts for future use.
• The tool provides analytics and suggestions for the best time to post on LinkedIn.
• Personalization is a key aspect of AuthoredUp, with more personalized features to come.
• AuthoredUp is highly integrated with LinkedIn, making it easy to use and enhancing the LinkedIn experience.

Timestamps

• (00:00) Introduction and Background
• (02:02) Previous Startup: TalentKit
• (03:01) Starting AuthoredUp
• (06:02) Transition to AuthoredUp
• (08:23) Charging and User Drop
• (10:02) Marketing Strategy
• (12:23) Selling to End Users vs. Agencies
• (16:24) - Global Launch and Market Focus
• (18:41) - Approach to Market
• (21:33) - Bootstrapping and Investor Approach
• (23:42) - New Website and User Engagement
• (25:47) - Website and Landing Page Iterations
• (29:43) - Team Size and Customer Success
• (31:11) - Onboarding Process and Support
• (33:22) - Development of Free Tools
• (35:24) - Importance of Chrome Extension
• (36:39) - Focus on Customer Needs
• (39:49) - Advice for Startups
• (42:51) - Roadmap for AuthoredUp
• (43:30) - Features of AuthoredUp
• (44:10) - Best Time to Post
• (45:06) - Personalization
• (46:00) Integration and Ease of Use

Send guest pitches and ideas to hello@grouglobal.com.

Join the Groucast community at https://grouglobal.com/community/.

Follow Authored up on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/authoredup/

Follow Ivana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanatodorovic/

Follow Aljaz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aljazpeklaj/

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• Consistently showing up on LinkedIn is crucial for building a personal brand and growing your network.
• Overcoming writer's block can be achieved by starting with commenting on other posts before diving into writing your own content.
• AI tools can be useful for productivity and note-taking, but they are not yet capable of replacing human copywriters.
• Finding your niche on LinkedIn is a process that evolves over time, and it's important to listen to the feedback and engagement from your audience.