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Clarity

Aaron Stein

New York City, NY

Startup advisor experienced in growing businesses and scaling teams. Ran Marketing @ DigitalOcean and HowAboutWe. Specialties: customer acquisition & retention, marketing analytics, product virality / referral programs, content marketing / SEO, digital and offline advertising, team building & leadership, B2C subscription, SaaS

$2.92/min

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Customer Acquisition Viral Marketing Marketing Strategy Content Marketing Conversion Optimization Customer Retention Online Advertising SaaS Team Building Analytics

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Test, Optimize & Scale Advertising Channels (Digital and Offline)

Want to be sure you're testing the right channels and getting the most ROI on your ad spend? I've managed and scaled ad budgets north of $1M/month, across virtually all channels: TV, Radio, SEM, Paid Social, Out Of Home, Podcasts, Direct Mail, Affiliates, Display, etc. I can help you with high level strategy (ie which sources to test), tactical channel setup (ie launching and optimizing campaigns), and anything in between!

Team Building: Hire the Right People & Keep Them Happy

How can you prospect, interview, hire, onboard, mentor, lead, give and receive feedback, all while managing your own never-ending list of tasks? It's a tall, tall order. I've built multiple teams from the ground up, made my share of mistakes, and I've gained invaluable insight from constant retrospection and self-improvement. Let's talk about challenges you face, how to develop strong relationships with direct reports, and work to zero in on a leadership style that fits you best.

Build the Foundation for Accurate Data & Streamlined Testing

As your start-up experiences exciting growth, systems get built and re-built and some things inevitably break. This is natural and necessary, and this rapid iteration typically helps strengthen your business. As long as your aren't left analyzing woefully inaccurate data. I've helped build analytics platforms in companies from early-stage to 150+ employees; the challenge is always to have accurate, easily accessible data today while improving the tooling/systems for tomorrow. I'm a firm believer that "no data is better than good data," and I'd love to help ensure you've got the latter.

Build and Scale Your Content Marketing / SEO Efforts

Looking to create a content marketing strategy for your business, backed by sound SEO? I've scaled and optimized this powerful channel across numerous businesses, from SaaS to B2C subscription to e-commerce. Whether you're looking for a strategic discussion to decide whether content marketing is right for your business, or you want to dig into the technical nitty gritty of SEO, we're sure to have a profitable conversation. And if you want SEO help longer-term, I can recommend good people.

Landing Your First Job at a Start-Up

Looking to break into the start-up scene? I dove in headfirst a while back, and have been on an amazing vertical learning curve ever since. It's daunting and hard, but 100% worth it. I'm constantly giving advice on a) whether it's the right fit, and b) how to land a job. I've interviewed countless people from different backgrounds looking to transition in, so I've seen it all. Let me help you put your best foot forward and jump-start your tech career.

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Aaron Stein answered

What would be the downside & upside to gaining initial traction for a new website in a co-founder's country of origin like Bangladesh vs the US?

The major upside is it will be easier to prove that you have product-market fit in your own backyard, for several reasons: you know your country best, no language barrier, costs will likely be much cheaper (smaller population, lower CPCs, etc.). The main downside is you won't have the same huge upside as you would if you gained traction in the US. I would highly recommend starting in your own country if you believe that will allow you to most quickly prove that people like your product / website. This is especially the case when you need momentum ASAP. Show an up-and-to-the-right growth trajectory, even if on a relatively small scale, and use the learnings and confidence to expand into new markets (and raise money if needed).

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Aaron Stein answered

I am qualified as a Chartered Accountant, but not passionate about the practice and a career for life in this field. How can I find my passion?

I think the first step is to remove yourself from your current work situation since you've identified that you're on the wrong path. Obviously this can be difficult to do (financially, emotionally, etc.), but it's clearly toxic and you sound ready to do what it takes to find a better path. Get significant distance from your usual daily life -- get out of the city and into a nature, meditate, exercise, read, relax, whatever works -- and start to reflect on what you've done in life that has really energized you.

Think about a time when you were totally immersed in something and before you knew it many hours had passed and it was late at night...what were you doing? You could have been building a model plane, talking to a friend about an exciting topic, playing a board game -- it could be anything. Don't prescribe answers based on what seems socially right (e.g. making money, helping others, etc.), and don't worry if some of your passions at first seem small or like they couldn't amount to a career. Conversely, what are some things you've done many times (and may be quite good at) that you would love to never do again in your life?

Choose to do more of the things you enjoy and less of what you don't, which will help to figure out what type of vertical you might want to be in, and simultaneously work to understand WHY you want to start a company. You'll be much happier working in something you're passionate about even if it seems un-sexy or less lucrative than the hottest new startups in Silicon Valley.

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Member since June 2014