Have feedback or a question? Text us!

We sit down with Ben Sharf, Co-Founder of Platter, to discuss making the leap from being an Agency to becoming a SaaS.

🎧 Episode Highlights:

Taking The Leap: Discover what made Ben turn down a lucrative consulting job just 12 hours before his first day to join an early-stage COVID testing startup that scaled to $50 million in revenue in just five months.

Identifying Pain Points: Platter started as an e-commerce agency. Ben shares how they identified recurring pain points in the Shopify ecosystem and turned them into a productized solution. 🛒

Incentive Structures: We unpack how misaligned incentives can disrupt business processes. Ben explains why agencies often struggle to productize their services. 📊

Plotting Your Course: Ben talks about the challenges and strategies for transitioning from an Agency to a SaaS company. "You're not going to get to where you want to go if you don't know where it is that you're trying to get to." 🗺️

Monetizing Excess Value Creation: Learn why focusing on profitability instead of just revenue is crucial, especially in today's market. Ben shares how Platter aims to make and save money for their clients, at the same time. 💰

Saying No to Bad Revenue: Ben discusses the importance of recognizing and avoiding bad revenue. "The people with the least amount of money end up having the most amount of problems." 🚫💸

The Role of AI: Discover how AI is integrated into Platter's operations and the importance of staying ahead of technological advancements. 🤖

Self-Awareness & Vulnerability: Ben opens up about the importance of self-awareness and vulnerability in both personal and professional life. "Regret hurts a lot more than failure. Take the risk and do the things that consume your mind." 🧠


📌 Why You Should Listen:

This episode is packed with actionable insights and real-world experiences that can help you navigate your own entrepreneurial journey. Whether you're looking to transition from an Agency model to a SaaS company, or simply want to hear an inspiring story of resilience and innovation, this episode has something for you.

🔗 Listen Now:

🎙️ https://www.theoohinsider.com/ben-sharf-platter

📬 Connect with Ben:

• Social Media:@BenSharf
• Email: ben@platter.co

🌟 Don't Forget:

If you found this episode helpful, please share it with someone who could benefit. And as always, make sure to smash that subscribe button and leave us a review wherever you're listening. Your support helps us grow and continue bringing you valuable content.

Thank you for being a part of our community!

- Tim

P.S. Have feedback or questions? Email us at tim@theoohinsider.com

Get the entire back catalogue of OOH Insider, since 2019 at https://www.theoohinsider.com/

Have feedback or a question? Text us!

The Art of Agency Acquisition: What Kyle Hunt Looks for in a Buyout

Are you built to scale?

Built for sale?

Or built for fail?

TL;DR: Tune into this episode of OOH Insider with Tim Rowe and Kyle Hunt if you’re thinking about starting your own ad agency, especially if you want to work with D2C and ecom brands.

• Learn the key pitfalls that make an agency unacquirable
• The critical difference between working in your business vs. on your business
• And the seasonal dynamics that impact ad spending

Discover what makes a company an attractive acquisition target and why owning brands could be a strategic move for agencies. Get insights on prioritizing effective merchandising over basic marketing, the risks and rewards of making significant business bets, and the common trap of chasing new ventures at the expense of expanding what already works. This episode is packed with actionable strategies for anyone looking to elevate their agency-operational acumen.

Scaling agencies is hard BUT there are a few common mistakes that can hinder growth and make them less attractive as acquisition targets - how do you know if you’re making them or not?

Thinking about starting an agency? Here’s how to know when it’s the right time.

• 00:03:29-00:03:39 - "I'm making so much money for these guys. I should be doing this on my own and starting something else."

BEWARE The Brilliant Bottleneck - Does this sound like anyone you know?

• 00:06:53-00:07:04 - "The Brilliant Bottleneck is where they are so involved in working in the business and they know where all of the deep tribal knowledge is buried. They know how it should look and feel, (so much so) that they themselves become the thing preventing the agency from actually scaling."

The #1 Shortcut to Building a Better Business

• 00:16:09-00:16:19 - "It's a little bit of good old fashioned roll up your sleeves and figure it out. Talk to humans."

Is the silent killer lurking in your day-to-day?

• 00:24:07-00:24:17 - "I think shiny object syndrome is the number one killer of great entrepreneurs because it pushes your focus to multiple places."

Top 3 Things I Learned From Kyle Hunt:

1. Avoid being the "brilliant bottleneck": Agency owners should learn to delegate and trust their team, rather than being the bottleneck for decision-making and progress. This allows for scalability and growth.
2. Be cautious of shiny object syndrome: Agency owners should resist the temptation to constantly chase new strategies and channels. Instead, focus on doing more of what is already working and optimizing those areas for better results.
3. Plan ahead for peak seasons: Proper planning and preparation are key for successful peak seasons like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Start planning well in advance to ensure smooth operations and avoid last-minute chaos.

📧 Connect with Kyle

Kyle offers a free 21-point agency assessment: If you are an agency owner in the one to five million dollars per year revenue range and looking to exit, you can reach out to Kyle Hunt for a free 21-point agency assessment to explore potential opportunities.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/huntkyle

Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/kyledtc

Get the entire back catalogue of OOH Insider, since 2019 at https://www.theoohinsider.com/

Have feedback or a question? Text us!

There are more than 4.4M sites hosted on Shopify.

Best known for as a powerhouse platform enabling DTC and E-Commerce brands, Shopify isn't just for boutique challengers. It's trusted by Blue Chips like Heinz, Tesla, and Red Bull too, but regardless of size - your site speed is a HUGE part of your customer's experience and ultimately, revenue 🤑

Why does it matter?

Because media money drives interest. Interest drives intent.
And intent shows up as bricks or clicks - store visits or web visits.

Imagine 9 out of every 10 customers who walked into your brick-and-mortar store turning around and walking out before buying or even talking to anyone.

Would you consider that a success? Of course not.

Deloitte Insights 📰

"A staggering 70% of consumers admit that a slow-loading website negatively affects their willingness to make purchases from online retailers"

A delay of 1-3 seconds in page load time increases the likelihood of a bounce by 32%.

As the delay increases to five seconds, the bounce rate jumps to 90%.

This means that 9 out of every 10 customers will leave the site if it takes five seconds to load.

Now consider the opening question..."Why does it matter?"

Find out:

1) How the scam works 😲
2) How to identify if you or someone you're working with has been duped 🧐
3) Why it matters to anyone responsible for driving traffic 📈

What does site speed and media mix say about YOUR brand?

00:10:55-00:11:05 - "If it takes that long to load, I'm thinking personally..."Ah, you know, they're advertising on a billboard. They're old school. They're not quite online-ready." So they're not cool. In my mind. I'm going to go get this brand.

How much is a slow site costing?

00:17:29-00:17:40 - "A page load time goes from one to three seconds? The probability of a bounce increases by 32%."

Click-and-Mortar - How are offline retail and DTC most similar?

00:52:18-00:52:29 - "How quickly is someone coming to greet me? How friendly are they? How quickly are they asking me the right questions to get me moving towards the right part of the store? How effectively are they building rapport as we're walking to that area of the store? How's their eye contact? It's just all these, it's like the, you know, speeds version of, you know, how quickly are they relaying the information to me and not rambling random"

Search 'OOH Insider' wherever you enjoy fine podcasts or directly, here: https://www.theoohinsider.com/shopifyspeedscam

Get in touch with Lukas here:

• On Twitter https://twitter.com/igobylukas
• On LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukastanasiuk/
• With The Nice Agency https://www.theniceagency.co/

Get the entire back catalogue of OOH Insider, since 2019 at https://www.theoohinsider.com/