Last week really flew by!
We onboarded our newest team member, Irina, with homemade cupcakes, co-hosted the 1st Sales Hacker Amsterdam of 2016 and sent out deposit invoices for 4 new projects. Lookout for more client features on our site in the coming weeks too!
With only a week left in February, I'm intent on setting company goals for 2016. The concept of building an evergreen company has been on my mind for some time now and making sure we're on the path to achieve that is very important. I'll share more about that process in upcoming newsletters. : )
As always, thanks for reading!
Cycling
The Fear of Going Clipless...
My friend Jools Walker shares more about one of her biggest mental obstacles when it came to getting into road cycling: riding clipless.
Wearing a bike helmet may make you more likely to take risks and get into accidents
New research from the UK casts a controversial new light on the matter of cycle helmet safety, because it says when you strap a helmet on, you feel more like taking risks. And taking risks on a bike could mean getting into accidents.
Gwen Jorgensen’s husband Patrick is the secret to her success
Pro cyclist Patrick Lemieux sacrificed his career so his wife, Olympian Gwen Jorgensen, could be the world's best triathlete.
Startups
Images as culture and a new language: Giphy’s Adam Leibsohn’s insights on the future of the gif
The great story of the guy behind giphy. “If there’s a visual in a story, there should be a gif there. The future is in the ways gifs haven’t been used yet: if there’s a visual there’s an opportunity.”
Off The Record
My friends Bas & Bram started Off The Record, an agency for startups, helping them build, launch and grow their product. Bram also kicked out startupwatching.com. Goede bezig!
EU-Startups has listed and researched 85 European startup accelerators so you don't have to
The average accelerator program in Europe provides roughly €30,000 in seed financing (+ access to mentors, office space and whatnot) in exchange for a 7,53% equity stake.
Sales
Twotone Amsterdam Mentioned in Forbes!
Last week Forbes published an article entitled "7 Tools To Personalize Sales And Marketing Communications At Scale" and it featured a tool we used everyday: quickmail.io. I'm honored to have have been included in the article! p.s. last week my lessons learned at RockIt Moldova were featured on 150sec.com too.
Ambiverts are the most successful personality type
"introverts already have a head start when it comes to sales. The typical buyer is more likely to be turned off by the salesperson who talks too much than by someone who listens too much." However, people that fall in the middle of the introvert-extrovert spectrum are more geared for success.
5 Sales Tips for Seed Stage Startups | David Cummings on Startups
After talking to many entrepreneurs, David found that one of the co-founders (usually the CEO) sells the product to the first 25+ customers (ideally 10 Unaffiliated Customers). Once the startup raises money, or starts generating enough revenue, the most common next step is building out a sales team in search of a repeatable customer acquisition process...
Radness
An college buddy of mine directed the new Blackalicious video
My friend James Connelly just directed the provocative new Blackalicious video. It condemns police brutality and incorporates footage from the Ferguson and Baltimore protests, along with disturbing images of police killings from around the United States. Check out the video here.