My new book, “MBA Disrupted”, is launching on Amazon Kindle next week! (print & audiobooks to follow later this year)
At over 350 pages compiling my 25 years of digital experience + 16 years in running businesses, I’ll cover:
- The modern state of MBA programs
- Different funding models
- Adopting a CEO mindset + leadership skills
- Defining your market, niche, persona, and offers
- Incorporating a business (including US LLCs for everyone)
- The 12 leading digital business models – service-based, SaaS, community, publishing, ecommerce, and more
- A chapter for each!
- Hiring & processes
- Automation & tooling
- Running a sustainable business
- Exit options (or lifetime businesses)
If you want a link as soon as the book is out, hit Reply and I’ll send one over – the ebook will run at $2,99 promo price for the first few weeks!
I’ve been working on this since I released my last book in 2019 – 126 Steps to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur. The last one was structured as a Q&A form with more storytelling, and MBA Disrupted will be far more practical, listing down tools, go-to-market strategies, a breakdown of each business category, recommending modern leaders and entrepreneurs, and ending up in a digital community for years after the book purchase.
It’s as practical and lively as it gets.
As for the macro digital front, Open AI and Google have been competing hard over this week, with Open AI releasing GPT-4o and Google launching a number of AI updates with Gemini 1.5 and a heavier rollout of Search Generative Experience.
All of these rapid changes in the digital field lead to FUD – fear, uncertainty, and doubt – for existing leaders, solopreneurs, founders, managers trying to pivot and remain relevant in the future. MBA Disrupted is revealing the full spectrum of GTM motions and how to align different business models together – so it’s just as practical and timely for veteran entrepreneurs as well.
If you want an early link when we go live, I’ve been compiling a waitlist and I’ll add you in. Just hit Reply and I’ll be blasting it coming next Tuesday!
Yours,
Mario
My Take
Increasing Income-Housing Gap – The median sales price of houses in the US reached a peak of $479,500 in Q4 2022 before the economy crashed. And it’s directly related to entrepreneurship, B2B, and fuzz markets like crypto or gambling. How? Find out in this LinkedIn post!
Reddit and Google SEO – Reddit announced the first public Q1 results since they became public. 48% revenue bump!
US B2B SaaS for Europe – US B2B SaaS and productized solutions are rarely compatible with Europe – and missing on revenue opportunities. The odds are that your billing process is not EU-friendly today. Especially if you use Stripe.
The DevriX Prospect Journey – Most of our contracts signed in 2016-2017 are still with us. Our average retainer size is $10K/mo. Current contracts vary – from $3K/mo to $30K/mo depending on workload/services/needs. I’ve been reviewing fractional services, consultants, advisors, agencies and contractors multiple times – and our model falls in that strategic alignment.
Newsletter Recommendations
Stacked Marketer – One of my go-to newsletters and a business that we’ve worked with a while ago on the DevriX front. It is loved by marketers who get hands-on with campaigns, who need to stay up-to-date with frequently changing platforms., who need to get an edge, and who need to achieve outsized results with limited resources, aka performance-focused marketers.
Boldpush – А special newsletter for those interested in marketing intelligence and strategy to the most ambitious brands. Props to Julius Solaris for creating one of my top newsletter reads for GTM strategies and actionable content.
Business Strategy
ChatGPT 4o (omni) – OpenAI has launched GPT-4o, a new AI model that is more efficient and cost-effective, boosting the features of its ChatGPT chatbot. In a recent livestream, the company demonstrated this enhanced model’s real-time processing of text, audio, and images, with further advancements expected in the upcoming weeks.
Memecoin Mania – GameStop and AMC shares jumped Tuesday as a pandemic-era meme stock frenzy returned. Blackberry and Koss, so-called “meme stocks,” also popped. “Roaring Kitty,” whose legal name is Keith Gill, ignited the meme stock rally on Monday with his first online post in three years.
Squarespace goes private – Squarespace is going private in a $6.9 billion deal with private equity firm Permira. Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close by the fourth quarter, Squarespace said in a Monday (May 13) press release.
Google shopping ads get conversion annotations – Google is encouraging merchants to enable “conversion annotations” – social proof badges that highlight a product’s purchase popularity when displayed in Google Shopping ads.
Podcast Ad Revenue study – In 2023, podcast advertising saw a growth deceleration, posting a modest revenue increase of 5% to $1.9 billion. This was due, in large part, to a challenging advertising climate that particularly affected mid-tier companies, resulting in losses that tempered the sector’s overall growth trajectory.
Global News
The meme-stock trade is alive and kicking, while the rest of the market stews ahead of Wednesday’s inflation data.
- S&P 500: $5,246(+0.48%)
- GameStop: $48.75(+60.10%)
Mortgage interest rates were mostly down compared to a week ago, according to rate data compiled by Bankrate. Average rates for 30-year fixed, 15-year fixed and jumbo loans moved lower, while rates for ARM loans increased.
At the beginning of the year, many experts predicted multiple rate cuts in 2024, but that’s now changed. The movement of fixed mortgage rates parallels the 10-year Treasury yield, which moves as investor appetite fluctuates with the state of the economy, inflation and Federal Reserve decisions. At the close of the latest Fed meeting on May 1, policymakers held firm and opted not to cut rates.
- 30-year mortgage rate: 7.21%(-0.12)
- 15-year mortgage rate: 6.71%(-0.03)
Wall Street’s main indexes inched up on Tuesday as investors assessed a mixed producer prices reading and awaited crucial consumer prices data due later this week that could provide more clarity on the interest rate path in the world’s No.1 economy.
U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in April amid strong gains in the costs of services and goods, leading traders to pare back bets of a first rate cut in September.
Here are some of the most prominent headlines this week:
- President Joe Biden is set to announce increased tariffs on $18 billion of Chinese exports, including electric vehicles, batteries and more.
- Melinda French Gates announces that she is resigning from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- Switzerland’s Nemo won a chaotic and politically fraught Eurovision Song Contest, triumphing in a competition that was upstaged by Israel controversy.
Investing Updates
- Mindgram – raising €1,75M to support mental health & well-being in the workplace. Backed by Credo, Portfolion & others.
- Hunch – raising €1,25M to increase sales through automated marketing & AI. Backed by Catalyst Romania, Euroventures.
Note: Got a round going that you want to feature – your own business or a portfolio company? Get in touch.
Now let’s have a look at the latest top Flippa offers
Call Center SaaS – This SaaS business provides outsourced call center services for solar energy-based products.
- Monthly profit: $46K
- Lead close rate: 25%
- Business age: 4 years
Commercial Cleaning Marketplace – This marketplace allows businesses to hire professional cleaners to clean commercial buildings.
- Monthly profit: $3K
- Average order value: $167
- Business age: 2 years
Educational Gaming Site – This is a multi-site educational gaming platform monetized by display advertising.
- Monthly profit: $31K
- Monthly page views: 5M
- Domain authority score: 27
Need my Help?
I’m involved with a number of initiatives – here’s what I can do to help you:
Scalable and secure WordPress? DevriX provides WordPress retainers to SMEs, publishers, eCommerce, SaaS, and more. Our plans start from $1,200/mo to $40K/mo for anything from support through engineering, CRO, performance, security, to fractional CXO services and managing the data stacks of large corps.
Want to scale and optimize your business? Growth Shuttle offers personalized advisory plans starting at $600/hr. Tap into my personal pool of business know-how and my data warehouse of industry data.
Want access to my blueprints/books and a weekly Slack planning session? Join my Community and grab my Entrepreneurship book.
Looking to start a US company? Check out doola and their “Business in a Box” model. Suitable for both foreigners and US citizens and both for residents and non-residents.
Have you tried buying and selling digital property? Have a look at Flippa’s marketplace. They offer a vast variety of online businesses for any buyer’s interests. Or if you’re ready for an exit, Flippa provides you with the necessary tools to list your business and close the deal.
Looking for investment opportunities? Check out SeedBlink and use Nimity to manage it.
Eager to incorporate my recommended solutions? Track my angel investments. Sharing, applying for open roles, or writing reviews helps a ton. And anything else I try to publish on my blog and my courses here!
