POPULARITY
Stanley wants nothing more than to become a comic book artist and create heroes and villains for the comic books he loves so much. After a crazy turn of events, Stanley's heroes come alive! And so does the dreaded super-villain Doctor Shock Clock. It is up to Stanley to save the day with his own superheroes — charismatic but egotistical Star Guy, speedy Triple Time, environmentally correct Blossom, and cranky little Wombat Woman! Buy Tickets at https://janesvillepac.org/box-office/?eid=87954&edid=0 March 17-19, 2023 at the Janesville Performing Arts Center
Maneesh is the founder of Pavlok and Shock Clock, helping people change their habits for good. In 2008, Maneesh took a two year break from studying at Stanford to travel and start hackthesystem.com, a travel blog about credit card hacking and digital nomads. In 2012, his article, “Why I Hired a Girl on Craigslist to Slap Me in the Face- And How it Quadrupled my Productivity”, went viral. In 2013, he took that idea to start a company that earned almost 8 figures in revenue over the last several years building devices that use psychology and sensory stimuli to help you change habits and wake up early. That company helped over 75,000 customers wake up in the morning, reduce cravings, quit smoking and defend against distractions, and, therefore, essentially helping people get fitter and healthier.
Maneesh Seethi runs the company Pavlok, which produces wearable products to help keep you on task, including waking up in the morning, and they also offer coaching. It goes back to when they introduced the Shock Clock into the world. Maneesh spends about half the year in Medellin, Columbia, these days, and works with a remote company team that's based far afield, including in the UK, Asia and the U.S. He talks about the influence of the book The 4-Hour Work Week on his life, his objective with his wearables, which includes a different way for people to rewire their learning habits, how he manages to live on only about $2000 a month while his company "owes" him about 100k, and how he's going to be doing Pavlok until the day he dies.
Hey everyone, welcome to the overview episode of the Launch and Scale Podcast. I'm Khierstyn Ross, and I am so excited to be officially kicking this off. For those that have been following the Crowdfunding Uncut podcast for a while, you know that I did that for the last three years where that podcast focused really heavily on how to bring physical products to market through the Kickstarter route. Over my last four years being in the trenches with creators, really bringing products to market, managing very large crowdfunding campaigns of multiple six-figures, and advising E-commerce brands on how to bring new products to market, I felt that it was time to evolve the brand. And really evolve the conversation to taking everything I've learned from the Kickstarter route, and bringing products to market successfully, and really applying that to any product launch online. Because what I've noticed is with Kickstarter launches you have one chance, really, to make a great first impression. You have one chance to position your product properly, one chance to make sure that your message is right, the pricing is right, and not only that, but that you have an intimate understanding of why your customer is going to buy this product so that you can have a great sales message, a great video and all that. What I've found is that with Kickstarter campaigns, because it is, traditionally, people have a very high failure rate on Kickstarter whereas the success rate on Kickstarter's about 37%. The big factor with that is to make sure that you not only have an audience of people ready to buy your product when you're live but the other side is making sure you have the right audience because you want to make sure you're building up the right audience of people that are actually going to resonate with your product and love your products so that they buy it on your Crowdfunding campaign when it goes live. And so because of that and because of the whole getting to know your customer and how much it builds into positioning your product properly, I find that the work that we've done and why I have such a high success rate of campaign success on Kickstarter is because we do a lot of due diligence leading up to a launch of who is your customer. Let's prove that hypothesis through Facebook marketing, let's prove that hypothesis through customer interviews through a structured beta test, which we talk about in episode two, and through different things like that to really make sure that the assumptions we make about our product and who is going to buy and why people love it, we make sure that that is market tested and proven so that when we go to spend so much time and resources launching this product that we get it right the first time. So, I've found that after working with beginner brands who were using Kickstarter for launch that first product versus an eCommerce client that maybe selling a dozen or so products on Amazon and they know want to build up their audience using Kickstarter as an addition platform, I noticed a trend in that the things we do so early stage with beginner brands to really scope who the customer is, market test demographics and make sure that they are predictably setting up the way we position our product. I realized that that in a lot of the eCommerce brands like the current ones that we approaching me didn't have that locked in. So, I thought, okay, well, I want to take this conversation more mainstream and everything that we have done with Kickstarter campaigns to make sure that we have a six-figure launch, to make sure we are positioning the product and the message we have really resonates with the person we put it in front of. I wanted to take that conversation more so that people who are looking at taking their product off of Amazon and selling on their Shopify site or building a physical product or even looking to create that round two of a product for a launch, if you're on the Kickstarter side of things, you can use this information to make sure that you are going to have an even more successful product launch. So, what we're covering in Launch and Scale Podcast is, really, how to build a strong foundation for your eCommerce physical product even if you're using Kickstarter, you're using Amazon or whatnot because ultimately there is a reason why I've had such a strong track record bringing products to market and I want to make sure that information is available to more of you guys. So, what you can expect of this podcast where Crowdfunding Uncut was heavily focused on the interview side of things, this time around it's going to be a less formal approach. So I'm looking to doing a mix of shorter episodes where it will be led by questions submitted by the audience or I'll do a 10 to 15-minute segment on answering that question. We'll be doing behind the scenes experiments. If there is a topic through an expert that I want to bring on then we will do a more long-form interview. So, the format is going to be loose, it's going to evolve with the show and evolve with feedback. What I've done is I've created the first few episodes off of questions that were emailed in from the Crowdfunding Uncut family. So we're in for a really juicy start. Thank you so much for your support. If this is the first time listening to the Launch and Scale Podcast, please be sure to head over to khierstyn.com/podcast and in there you will be able to select iTunes or Stitcher and go in and subscribe to the show. And if you love the content, please do leave an honest review of the show. It does help other people think the content that is helpful for them and their unique situation. My name is also impossible to spell so it's K-H-I-E-R-S-T-Y-N.com/podcast. Apart from that, if you are not familiar with my story and how the heck I got into product launches, this is where I'm going to talk about that. So, about four and a half years ago, I went to a networking event and I had a little bit of experience online and I ran into this founder of this quirky product that he eventually sold me on it and he got the idea, because we were talking about Matt Ward from Art of the Kickstart before he sold it to Aventis with Roy [Morjan 00:06:47], and a few days later, Adam came back to me and he's like, "Hey, so this product, I've been thinking more about it and I want to bring it to Kickstarter." And I was like, "Huh, interesting. I don't know anything about Kickstarter." And so the conversation goes back and forth, he's like, "No, no, no, I think it could be really good if we partnered up on this. You know the marketing side of things and I'm the product creator. A perfect world." I was like, "Okay, cool." So, eventually, a few weeks go by and I commit to helping him market this product. And we go and we spend about three months preparing for it, really not knowing anything of what we were doing and if what we were doing was right and we went up to this launch. And that very first launch we did on Indiegogo and it was an absolute disaster. We made every mistake in the book but at the time we didn't know that. So we pressed the launch and then nothing happened. So, over I think it was a 34-day campaign we ended up failing horribly so we set our goal at $50,000 and by the end, we only raised about $17,000. It was a disaster, to say the least. After that campaign failed we had two options. We could quit and pack up shop or we could really explore and see what we did wrong. After feedback from a few marketing professionals, we realized that it actually wasn't the product. The product was pretty good and it was most likely to sell. What was wrong was how we approached the campaign. So we used that time, about four months, to readjust and redo our marketing plan. So we realized where we went wrong was a classic mistake. On Kickstarter, you have to go in with an audience of people ready to buy so that the algorithm picks you up and shows you to more people and creates a snowball effect. So there's that. But the other thing is we completely butchered the product positioning. Here we were, two skinny people, trying to sell a weight loss product in an industry that neither of us really understood and we didn't take the time to really talk to our customer and get to make sure that the product positioning and I guess the sales pitch and the video we'd put together to make sure that it was actually in alignment with what would get people to buy and it really wasn't. So we took this feedback and we ended up going to our market, getting feedback to completely change our product positioning and building up an audience. So we did those two things really differently, really focused on that for the next three to four months and then we relaunched that product. And when we launched it, that time, the thing explodes. We end up raising just shy of $600,000 on Indiegogo for this product. And that really launched my career. I was in denial at the time because I was like, "I hate Kickstarter. I don't want to do it." But it's funny because a couple of months after that point, I was forced to do a talk in Toronto because the founder didn't want to do it and so I did the talk on the transition between how we went from a $17,000 failure to a $600,000 success. And there was the founder of my second official campaign or client in the audience, David from Tapplock. And he's like, "I really like what you did with this product. Can we talk?" And so I ended up working with Tapplock and that was my second big win where Tapplock went and raised $342,000 on Indiegogo. And then from that, I got partnered up with Maneesh Sethi of Pavlok where we launched the Shock Clock 2 and that ended up doing another $350,000. And then I eventually met Chris from Jam Stack. Again, he's one of my most talked about case studies. We did an $82,000 launch and then a $362,000 launch and it just kind of went from there. So, that's when, about three years ago, I committed to niching completely into Kickstarter Indiegogo launches and built the podcast and really here we are today. So, over the time that I've spent in the trenches in the last four years, I've had some major wins bringing physical products to market. I've been in the trenches with people and success speaks for itself and that's really my backstory. If we ever get on a call, if you're listening to this, if you want to find a little more information, happy to share but that's kind of like the Cliff Coles Notes version of what the brand was with Crowdfunding Uncut and the reason I've decided to really create this new brand Launch and Scale is because I absolutely love products that are different and unique and serve a specific purpose in the market. And I've noticed that Kickstarter is an amazing platform to give your brand momentum. So, it's been a great way to literally kickstart a couple of seven-figure brands that I've worked with and multiple other people. And so I thought my sweet spot is not only in product launches but is really helping with that early stage development of fast scale, fast growth, from zero to $5 million points of strong foundations and building an amazing product off of customer feedback, really that is what I've been doing in the field. And so I felt that in keeping the Crowdfunding Uncut podcast to be specific to Kickstarter but now we're really talking about launching and scaling profitable, eCommerce physical brands with predictably and success. So really excited. As mentioned before, episodes are crafted off of your feedback so if you have a question, a topic or you just want to say hi, the best thing to do is to send our team an email at support@khierstyn.com. So again, it's K-H-I-E-R-S-T-Y-N.com. And if you actually schedule a call with me to talk about your product, please head over to khierstyn.com/schedule. Apart from that, I am going to wrap up this intro episode and jump into the first official episode where we are handling the debate between brands or me too products.
Maneesh is the founder of Pavlok and Shock Clock, products designed to help people change their habits for good. In 2008 Maneesh took a 2 year break from studying at Stanford to travel and start hackthesystem.com, a travel blog about credit card hacking/digital nomads. In 2012 his article, titled “Why I Hired A Girl On Craigslist to Slap Me In The Face — And How It Quadrupled My Productivity” on HTS went viral. Naturally in 2013 he took that slapping idea to start a company that has earned almost 8 figures in revenue, building devices that use psychology and sensory stimuli to help you change habits and wake up early. Places to Find Maneesh: Pavlok https://pavlok.com/ (website) Follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/msethi (Maneesh Sethi) Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pavlok/ (@Pavlok) Show Notes: [2:30] minute: Set the stage for us, what was life like for you growing up and what beliefs around money and success were ingrained in you early on? Grew up in suburb of Sacramento with immigrant parents. Entrepreneurial at a very young age with multiple businesses during his school years. Tells the story of his idol telling him a person his age could never write a programming book and then Maneesh going out writing a bestseller. “Make money but don’t worry about having stuff” [6:30] minute: What did you take from your hero telling you something like that, that had to build some self-confidence, has that served you well? How we respond to negative criticism. Negative reinforcement vs positive reinforcement. Examples of why people respond to different cues. [9:45] minute: I think the accountability piece is so crucial there. Take me back to when you wrote this article about hiring a girl on craigslist to slap you, how did you get that idea and what was that like? Previously wrote a blog called hackthesystem.com where he wrote about experiments he was doing on himself to try to create habits. Would ask followers to pick a random thing for him to go figure out how to do, and this turned into an interest in biohacking. Went viral for a blog about him paying someone off of craigslists to hold him accountable for writing all day long. Using the app RescueTime his productivity score went from 38% productive to 98% productive. Became famous for a 3 day news cycle. Decided he should try something else interesting, so he built a shock collar for himself to help form new habits, and that turned into his business, Pavlok. [15:20] minute: Dorothy tells the story of her first interaction with Pavlok. [16:00] minute: What is the psychology behind Pavlok that makes it work so well in breaking these bad habits? Behavioral training device that can vibrate for positive reinforcement, beep for warnings, and zap for negative reinforcements. Three areas they work in: breaking bad habits, creating good habits, and helping people wake up in the morning. [17:00] minute: Walk me through breaking bad habits. Aversion therapy explanation, history, and benefits. Explanation of one of the biggest aversion therapy experiments conducted on heavy cigarette smokers. Tested their product on cigarette smokers first to large success. [21:45] minute: How does the component of self policing play into it? How do you make sure people stay accountable to themselves and zap themselves? Everyone goes through a course that is training your brain. It’s a 5 day course, and the success rate for those who do the full course are very high. [24:15] minute: Eliminating bad habits with Pavlok makes a lot of sense so talk to me now about creating good habits, does there have to be the negative reinforcement involved there too? Pavlok is world class when it comes to stopping bad habits, but is not a magic pill for creating good habits. Negative reinforcement can help you start to form a good habit, but positive reinforcement is what will solidify that...
051 | Maneesh Sethi Survived 4 Business Deaths and the Shark Tank Squad before the “Shocking” Success! Maneesh Sethi is the founder of Pavlok. The maker of hardware, software, and services that help people change their habits for good. The two flagship products are Pavlok and Shock Clock. Do you have a few days every month where you worry and stress over whether your business will have enough money for the month? Whether payroll will be covered or any debt getting paid off? This week’s guest, Maneesh Sethi, went through 4 near-business-death experiences. His fourth one is what led to his breakthrough, realizing that adjusting his terms with his suppliers would make a huge difference in his finances. By swapping to 63 day net terms with his supplier and 60 day net terms with Amazon, he got rid of the days where there wasn’t enough money to pay the bills. If you have a product based business and are continually struggling with a few days gap of cash flow problems, it’s time to sit down and have that tough conversation with your manufacturers, suppliers & distributors. In this episode Maneesh and I discuss how best to do that! If you’re ready to stop stressing about your finances and ask for new terms from your manufacturers, suppliers, or distributors, this episode of Success Unfiltered is a MUST LISTEN! Enjoy, and thank you for listening and tuning into Success Unfiltered! To share your thoughts: Email The Pitch Queen @ hello@thepitchqueen.com Ask a question over at www.ThePitchQueen.com Share Success Unfiltered on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, & LinkedIn To help the show out: Please leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one. Subscribe to the show on iTunes. Special thanks goes out to Maneesh Sethi for taking the time to chat with Michelle. Be sure to join us next week for our next new episode! P.S. Business Risks Can Be Foolish Sometimes. But NOT taking risks at all is just as short-sighted! If you want to get to the next level in your business, you’re going to have to put yourself out there. But you don’t have to bet the farm to score a win, either. Learn how to take risks in business the smart, savvy, and courageous way. Click HERE for my checklist, “The Calculated Risk Checklist: 3 Ways To Take Business Risks With CONFIDENCE.” Here are a few key secrets we talked about in this episode: Michelle introduces Maneesh. Maneesh’s first NO occurred when he was just 12 years old. That big NO actually led Maneesh to write his very first book that turned into an international best seller. Positive reinforcement does not work for Maneesh, but he explains what does. 50% or so of people are motivated by NO, Maneesh is one of those people. One of Maneesh’s biggest NO’s occurred while he was working at his incubator. After several VC’s told Maneesh NO, he knew that in order to get his products out on the market, he’d have to sell them, rather than give them away. He shares the full story in this interview! A webinar led to over $30K in pre-orders. Maneesh shares how he was able to get so many people onto his webinar, and have such success. Pavlok, Maneesh’s company, experienced 4 business death situations, he shares the 4th, and what he thought was the final one. Negotiating his terms, led to real success for Maneesh and Pavlok. “Money is a story and that story is told each time a transaction takes place and that that story is a story of trust.” ~ Maneesh Sethi Understanding trust and building it, is what has led Maneesh to a fundamental breakthrough with his business. Maneesh’s most accomplished NO was his experience on the show Shark Tank. This is a GREAT story! Maneesh’s experience on Shark Tank led him to spend the next year and a half mastering his product. People have experienced 70 to 80 percent success from the Pavlok products. Inkwell investment company offered Maneesh $250K, but he turned them down. He explain why, in this episode! “Begin acting not like the one who needs money but the one who's offering the potential for you to win! This is the way that you have to communicate with investors.” ~ Maneesh Sethi Maneesh shares what he would tell his younger self. Get more from Maneesh: Pavlock Pro Wristband - Smart Wearable Pavlock Shock Clock Wake Up Trainer Game Programming for Teens Web Design for Teens PHP for Teens 3D Game Programming for Teens Connect with Maneesh: Facebook Twitter Instagram Pavlok P.S. Business Risks Can Be Foolish Sometimes. But NOT taking risks at all is just as short-sighted! If you want to get to the next level in your business, you’re going to have to put yourself out there. But you don’t have to bet the farm to score a win, either. Learn how to take risks in business the smart, savvy, and courageous way. Click HERE for my checklist, “The Calculated Risk Checklist: 3 Ways To Take Business Risks With CONFIDENCE.” Music produced by Deejay-O www.iamdeejayo.com
Crowdfunding Uncut | Kickstarter| Indiegogo | Where Entrepreneurs Get Funded
Meet Maneesh Sethi, founder of Pavlok, a wearable that helps you break bad habits from the threat of a mild electric stimulus. Formerly a productivity hacker, Maneesh recorded all of his experiments on HackTheSystem.com. Pavlok was originally put on the map after a successful Indiegogo campaign that raised over $250,000. We started working together while preparing for launch number two of the Shock Clock a miniversion of the Pavlok that focuses on helping you wake up earlier. We were going to do the impossible... Launch a successful campaign in two weeks. Essentially there was a very short time for a prelaunch campaign. The only way we got away with this, is Pavlok had a sizeable audience prior to the second launch. As it turned out, it was a very successful product launch, raising more than $100,000 in 8 days after the launch. Shock Clock went on to raise over $300,000, be featured in the NY Times, Spike TV’s Life or Debt, and Shark Tank. Resources mentioned: Pavlok.com 90 Days to Becoming a Berlin DJ Maneesh Sethi 4HWW Success as a Digital Nomad
Don't light a match to search for fire.Visit programaudioseries.com/19-abandonware for full transcript, credits, and list of references. Make a donation to keep the show running at programaudioseries.com/support/ or buy some merch at store.programaudioseries.comThe Program salutes Shock Clock for sponsoring this episode!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-program-audio-series/exclusive-content