MATE 038 – My start-up failed and here’s what I learned, with Tommy McCubbin (REBROADCAST of MATE 008)

Tommy McCubbin—advertising Creative Director, dad and podcaster—joins me on MATE to discuss why he thinks advertising sucks, how to avoid the #1 start-up mistake and share his thoughts on podcasting. We jump right into his controversial opinions about the advertising industry and why traditional ads don’t work. Tommy reveals the harsh truth behind why his start-up failed and the warning signs he ignored. And we also talk about exciting new technology, trends in podcasting and how to succeed with side projects.

 

Topics:

  • Tommy’s podcast: Future Sandwich.
  • Family (not work) is the only thing that ultimately matters.
  • Writing lists to be productive
  • OmniFocus, the to-do list app mentioned in MATE episode 004, with Leigh Price.
  • Written lists reduce stress and get things out of your head
  • Why traditional ads suck (why we should be creating platforms and products instead of campaigns).
  • What does an advertising Creative Director do?
  • Why is advertising work called “the creative”?
  • Advertising teams were originally organised into departments by discipline; there’s a documentary film about it called Art & Copy.
  • The shift towards everyone in an ad agency being “creative”.
  • Happy Wife, Tommy’s gift reminder app (which has since been shuttered).
  • WhisperTip, bringing pub sports tipping to the 20th century.
  • Why you shouldn’t fall in love with your start-up idea
  • Prove your concept by trying to extract cash from people for your start-up prototype
  • Friends are the worst judges of your start-up because they’re inherently biased
  • The Future Sandwich podcast was modelled off Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
  • The trend of narrative journalism in podcasts (i.e. shows with a “story arc”).
  • Recent Future Sandwich episodes:
  • Here’s the video of PJ Vogt talking about how the best podcasters on Earth don’t even really know what they’re doing:

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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 037 – How to break bad habits, buy a private island and argue with billionaires, with Maneesh Sethi (REBROADCAST of MATE 011)

Maneesh Sethi is a serial entrepreneur and a serial troublemaker. He’s the founder of Pavlok, a habit-changing wearable wristband which gives you electric shocks. His career is pervaded with shocking (no pun intended!) stories … like the time he bought his own private island; the story of how he wrote a best-selling book at 14 years-old; or when he had a heated argument with billionaire Mark Cuban on Shark Tank. Maneesh has spent time working with some of the all-time best business thinkers, and in this episode of MATE he shares the business advice he personally received from the likes of Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin and Richard Branson.

 

Topics:

  • What is bootstrapping a company?
  • The Outsiders, by William N. Thorndike, which analyses unconventional CEOs and what made them successful.
  • Maneesh explains why Series A parties are bullshit. You’re buying drinks with borrowed money.
  • Pavlok follows the growth philosophies outlined in Scaling Up, by Verne Harnish.
  • Hear the best business advice Maneesh ever received from Seth Godin

 

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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 036 – How artificial intelligence and robots are revolutionising gardening, with Rory Aronson from FarmBot (REBROADCAST of MATE 014)

Rory Aronson revolutionised agriculture when he created the coolest invention ever—FarmBot—an AI robot which farms your veggie patch. Seriously, this autonomous robot plants seeds, waters the garden, checks the soil nutrients and kills the weeds. In this episode of MATE, Rory explains how he built this precision agriculture machine and why it’s going to transform the agriculture industry. We also discuss how he hacked the product launch video to go viral and smash the goal on their crowdfunding campaign.

 

Topics:

  • What is CNC farming and what are the benefits?
  • How FarmBot works and how to build one
  • Who FarmBot is created for
  • Why Rory decided to make FarmBot open-source
  • How FarmBot compares to traditional methods of agriculture
  • Plans to make FarmBot available for under $1,000
  • Kickstarter’s impact on launching the project
  • How to make your product launch video campaign go viral on social media
  • How Rory has dealt with the sudden media attention of becoming an instant celebrity
  • What’s exciting you right now? Burning Man.

 

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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.

MATE 035 – The challenges of designing a blockbuster iPhone game, with Ryan McLeod (REBROADCAST of MATE 006)

Ryan McLeod—designer and developer of Blackbox for iPhone—talks to me via Skype about how and why he came up with this crazy idea for an iPhone puzzle game. We talk about some of the design challenges he encountered while making Blackbox, and explore what life is like as an indie developer (when the hordes of fans come bashing on your door wanting new levels!). Ryan also discusses the principles of good design, and what it’s been like creating an interaction-heavy game without a formal design background. It’s a fascinating and hilarious chat!

 

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MATE podcast is a show about Marketing, Advertising, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Hosted by Adam Jaffrey: Digital Strategist and Entrepreneur. Made with ❤ in Melbourne, Australia.

MATE podcast is a production by branded podcast agency Wavelength Creative.