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Wil Schroter Founder + CEO (Clarity, Startups.com)

Columbus, Ohio

Founder + CEO of Startups.com - Clarity.fm, Launchrock, Zirtual, Fundable and Zana

$1.67/min

(11)

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15

Calls

7

Reviews

Member since February 2012

Reviews 7
Answers 12

BL

Helpful with in-depth knowledge on the topic.

Source: Clarity Becky Lawlor Apr 26, 2022

MS

I used this call with Wil to compare how I was looking at doing something and adding expert-level guidance/critique on top of that. The call was a great success and would highly recommend others to come in with a plan to talk through with Wil.

Source: Clarity Mike Stewart Sep 10, 2020

Wil gave awesome advice in terms of getting my team better structured, how to track results and some additional customer acquisition channels that could be very good for us. Thanks Wil!

Source: Clarity Dave Nevogt Dec 6, 2017

Wil's advice is completely pragmatic, and a perfect insight as to the mentality you need to start a startup

Source: Clarity Kevin Futi Feb 7, 2017

Wil not only gave me great advice in regards of preselling a new idea. However, his fundamental business approach towards the idea waw highly rewarding.

Source: Clarity Peter Trydeman Jan 28, 2016

Asking the right questions is important on any call, but Wil answered most before I had even asked them. He answered my questions perfectly and was very direct. Great call.

Source: Clarity Erik Hayton Jan 20, 2016

Wil had some very actuonable advice regarding my questions on marketplaces and monetization. A true wealth of knowledge.

Source: Clarity Dan Martell Apr 17, 2013

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Clarity

Wil Schroter

Columbus, Ohio

Founder + CEO of Startups.com - Clarity.fm, Launchrock, Zirtual, Fundable and Zana

$1.67/min

15

15 Calls

7

7 Reviews

36 minutes
Avg. call

Answers 12
Reviews 7

Answers

Wil Schroter answered

What is essential for the skeleton of a business plan?

The most under-responded sections I've ever seen in a business plan are the first 3:

Problem
Solution
Market Size

I really harp on these because if you can't articulate these incredibly well, the rest of the plan falls flat.

For example, if you don't articulate the problem your'e solving really well, then the solution to that problem (or for that matter the rest of your plan) just doesn't matter to anyone.

You can download a bazillion business plan templates, but I'd highly recommend just nailing these 3 points. Also, since most business plans simply translate to a presentation/pitch deck anyway, you're going to live and die by your ability to communicate these three beautifully.

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Sales & Biz Dev

Brainstorming

Business planning

Wil Schroter answered

I would like to sell my homemade cookies for the holiday season. Will this strategy for customer acquisition be a viable option?

I like your direct approach to targeting your first customers. That said, dropping off food is dangerous if you don't have a really good relationship with the businesses already, for obvious reasons.

What would you say is particularly "special" about your cookies? I ask because maybe I can help you come up with some ways to get some more traction out of your efforts.

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Marketing Strategy

Customer Acquisition

bootstrapping

Wil Schroter answered

As a startup, is it better to find a way to pay for services (i.e. design) or trade equity for it?

I've offered deferred compensation, because often the issue isn't whether you can pay cash *ever*, it's a matter of whether you can pay cash *now*.

The way to structure that is to offer cash payments due at a time in the future (like every month, quarter) that can be converted to stock if they aren't paid out.

The reason I prefer this is because if cash is available, I prefer to pay it in any amount, even if if reduces the stock payout only a bit.

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Early-stage Startups

Start-ups

Equity Funding

Wil Schroter answered

What is better to use for baking in an incentivized viral loop into my website, having users "share" on social media or using a "referral" system?

I like the fact that you've considered the reward system for sharing, although I'm not sure why it would have to be one or the other.

There's really no downside to offering share functionality but I've seen many cases where it's just an afterthought that's there if someone wants it, but doesn't really offer any incentive to do so.

I like it when people prompt sharing with some of the work already done, such as "Tweet this: Here's 140 Characters already setup for you" (my words). It provides some context for what you'll be sharing, and if you're active on Twitter, just does a nice job of teeing up the reward (feeding your Twitter feed beast).

On the referral ID side, how about offering some sort of immediate benefit just by making their first share? Like offering $5 credits (I'm making up a number) just for sharing. Sure, you'll get some people that take advantage of the system, but you'll also get people actually helping share the word.

Happy to answer more questions around specifics.

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Social Media Marketing

Virality

Growth Strategies

Wil Schroter answered

Are people going to want to punch my nose? Is this appropriate persistence or the inability to take a hint.

There's a fine line between persistence and simply being an annoyance, however I've seen some great examples of people balancing these properly.

Usually this comes with the ability to be very human and personal. One way I've seen this done is with old school hand written letters. On a few occasions over the past few years I've had a vendor reach out to me with a hand written letter. You just don't see them anymore, so they really stand out.

Within the context of the letter I'd consider making the ask for "feedback", not for the work itself. I would explain your situation very personally around how and why you are seeking feedback, and also make it very clear that you respect their time and understand that no answer is OK too.

There isn't a 100% solution that always works. But making it short and personal could be a nice touch.

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Interviews

Start-ups

Early Stage

Wil Schroter answered

Am I bringing a knife to a gun fight? Would like to contact sellers on Etsy to to include my design in their products.

What about it isn't working right now? Are you getting a substantially bad response?

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Internet Marketing

Networking

Start-ups

Wil Schroter answered

How can I use my cohort analysis by revenue to determine if I'm spending too much or too little in advertising?

There is often the challenge of simply spending too little to get effective feedback, but at $10k that's often a number I've seen that starts to make a difference. Are you spending this all on Google Adwords?

The first number to consider is 0. No sales on $10k is highly indicative. But even a couple sales (let's say you had a $50 product) is also pretty bad from a ratio standpoint. Can you share how much revenue you've generated from $10k in spend?

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Customer Retention

Analytics

Data Analysis

Wil Schroter answered

I am Microsoft SQL Server Administrator. I want to find companies that need my services. I want to get 5 extra clients by end of Feb. How do I do it?

I spent 10 years building a digital agency so I've got some experience with client acquisition.

The short answer is - client work leads to more work. One way to start the pipeline going is to pick up small jobs from any number of project sites and to build from there. Chances are if I have a small project I'm working on, there's more work to be had. Most big engagements start with a small project.

If you give me some ideas of what you've tried in the past perhaps I can refine the approach a bit. Happy to help.

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Marketing

Marketing Strategy

Digital Marketing

Wil Schroter answered

How do I value my startup for acquisition?

As you may know, we acquired Clarity recently and have done numerous acquisitions at Startups.co so we spend a lot of time thinking about this. I've also personally been acquired a few times so I've been on both sides.

With that said I think the earlier comment about how much value you can bring to the acquirer is always a great place to start.

For example, if your company had $100k in sales per year, no reasonable multiple of that is going to get you into a meaningful acquisition price. So scratch that.

Instead - try to determine what kind of revenue the acquirer might generate in the first and second year post acquisition. That at least gives you a starting point.

What you can't do is start thinking about what Instagram sold for. None of that type of silly math matters. Those are one of conditions where a company is in such hot demand is so singular in it's value (no one else was that big at that time in that particular segment) that they play by entirely different rules.

What's nice about the 'what value can we bring' discussion is that it shows that you are thinking about what's in it for them, not just what's in it for you.

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Start-ups

Acquisitions

Business Valuation

Wil Schroter answered

How much to charge for calls on Clarity?

Try to sync your total price to about a 30 minute call. It's actually hard for calls to run too much under 30 minutes so that's really your minimum threshold for taking time to answer someone. Don't worry about the per minute price, think more about a "per engagement" price.

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Clarity

Wil Schroter answered

How do you decide on a startup's business model?

I would focus on the problem you solve more than the "business model" per se. Unless you're talking specifically about how to make money.

The problem with most startups is that they don't solve an actual specific problem. It's a mobile app for example that does something, but doesn't really address a serious need. It just does something that isn't already being done.

If you add some more color to your question I'd be happy to add some more color to the answer ;)

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Business Strategy

Business Development

Business Coaching

Reviews

Helpful with in-depth knowledge on the topic.

Becky Lawlor Source: Clarity

I used this call with Wil to compare how I was looking at doing something and adding expert-level guidance/critique on top of that. The call was a great success and would highly recommend others to come in with a plan to talk through with Wil.

Mike Stewart Source: Clarity

Wil gave awesome advice in terms of getting my team better structured, how to track results and some additional customer acquisition channels that could be very good for us. Thanks Wil!

Dave Nevogt Source: Clarity

Wil's advice is completely pragmatic, and a perfect insight as to the mentality you need to start a startup

Kevin Futi Source: Clarity

Wil not only gave me great advice in regards of preselling a new idea. However, his fundamental business approach towards the idea waw highly rewarding.

Peter Trydeman Source: Clarity

Asking the right questions is important on any call, but Wil answered most before I had even asked them. He answered my questions perfectly and was very direct. Great call.

Erik Hayton Source: Clarity

Wil had some very actuonable advice regarding my questions on marketplaces and monetization. A true wealth of knowledge.

Dan Martell Source: Clarity

Member since February 2012