Startup Hypeman: The GOAT to Market Show

Alisha Elenz went from cashier to prep cook to Executive Chef by 23. She became a two-time James Beard nominee, won Rising Chef of the Year, and cooked her way to Top Chef Season 21. But climbing the ranks wasn’t the finish line—building her own thing was. Now she runs Whisk the Night Away, a private dining company where she’s rewriting the rules as a chefpreneur. In this week’s episode—recorded live at Startup Grind Chicago—Chef Alisha steps to the mic to share how she built her lane, what it takes to run a food business, and why entrepreneurship might be the best recipe of all.Original recording date: Jan 23, 2025.Find Chef Alisha online:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alishaelenz?igsh=ZWplY2lldWZiNWh2Website: https://www.alishaelenz.com/Chef Alisha is also hopping into our member community, GOAT to Market Club, for an Ask Me Anything this week. Got Q's you want to ask Chef Alisha personally? Join for free today!This episode is brought to you by our friends at CodeLaunch! CodeLaunch is the only equity-free AND fee-free accelerator + Venturetainment platform giving founders software development, a massive pitch stage, and an opportunity at investment all for FREE. Use our unique link to apply to CodeLaunch today and cut the line for fast-track application review! https://tinyurl.com/7k7rjt6m

You've heard of Go To Market. But have you heard of Go To CUSTOMER? GTC is going beyond getting the product in customer's hands and being intentional about the program(s) you build around the product to ensure uptake, produce successful outcomes, lower churn, and create advocates. It's the 'hidden' stuff that hedges against friction being your rate limiting factor. Sid Khaitan is an experienced product marketer (currently with BeeKeeper). He also currently serves as Content Artist at Startup Hypeman where he helps evangelize our clients' message through Brand Manifestos, and helps them evangelize their clients through unique customer story writeups. He's even a DJ. Through everything Sid has done, he's sat shoulder-to-shoulder with the end customer. He steps to the mic in this week's episode to unpack the meaning and methods of GTC.Find Sid online:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sidktan/ Email: skhaita2@gmail.comSid is also hopping into our member community, GOAT to Market Club, for an Ask Me Anything this week. Got Q's you want to ask Sid personally? Join for free today!This episode is brought to you by our friends at CodeLaunch! CodeLaunch is the only equity-free AND fee-free accelerator + Venturetainment platform giving founders software development, a massive pitch stage, and an opportunity at investment all for FREE. Use our unique link to apply to CodeLaunch today and cut the line for fast-track application review! https://tinyurl.com/7k7rjt6m

If you were a PGA golfer you'd seemingly have the perfect career, right? Get paid to play golf, while playing on the best courses possible. From 5 years old, Soo Ahn worked his whole life to make it onto the PGA Tour. His hard work paid off when he got his Tour Card. He had made it into the top 1% of his field. But once he had 'made it', playing golf didn't play out as he had dreamed. So he made a huge pivot.As entrepreneurs, sometimes we have to pivot. That pivot could mean a new audience, a new product, or it could even mean a new company altogether.Soo's pivot took him into the culinary world where he became a chef. He started over with no network and no training but rose the ranks to some of the top kitchens in Chicago and achieved a Michelin Star, becoming a top 1%-er yet again. He's currently the Executive Chef at Adalina where he's won awards for Best Dish, Best Meal, and Best New Restaurant. He was also a contestant on Top Chef Season 21, making it to the final 7 before elimination. He steps to the mic in our season premiere to share his lessons and advice pivoting from sand wedges to sandwiches, par putts to par-boils, and some of the reality behind reality TV competitions.Find Chef Soo online:Instagram: @sookyoahnEmail: sookyoahn@gmail.comwebsite: sookyoahn.comChef Soo is also hopping into our member community, GOAT to Market Club, for an Ask Me Anything this week. Got Q's you want to ask Chef Soo personally? Join for free today!This episode is brought to you by our friends at CodeLaunch! CodeLaunch is the only equity-free AND fee-free accelerator + Venturetainment platform giving founders software development, a massive pitch stage, and an opportunity at investment all for FREE. Use our unique link to apply to CodeLaunch today and cut the line for fast-track application review! https://tinyurl.com/7k7rjt6m

What's your superpower? Every Founder has one. At the same time, not every founder has the SAME one. Which means just because Sara Blakely or Bill Gates did things one way, doesn't mean you also have to do things that way. When you know your superpower you can better make strategic decisions, acknowledge what should stay on your plate versus what you should delegate, and perhaps most importantly, be aware of your blind spots. Michelle Denogean has spent decades in the "Director's chair" for several startups, working as a VP and CMO. She helped her previous company, Roadster, scale from 15 to 200 employees and exit for nearly $400M. Through all her experiences, she's worked alongside the founder and observed their traits, quirks, and shortcomings. She combined her experience with psychological research to author her book titled Grow Up! Take your startup to the next level. In the book, she explains the 4 superpowers of a successful founder and how to identify yours. She steps to the mic in our season finale for a conversation on finding your cape.Fiind Michelle online:LinkedInFind Mindtrip online:WebsiteThis episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot). Get your FREE 2-week trial here!(affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

Planning a fundraise? Then you need to know HOW to get in front of investors.Enjoy this special episode, a replay of my interview with Supply Change Capital Managing Partner Shayna Harris live from a Startup Grind Chicago event.Shayna shares what catches her eye, how funds are structured, the flow of money in a VC system, and why all that matters for founders.Original interview date: June 11, 2024.Find Shayna online:LinkedInFind Supply Change Capital online:WebsiteThis episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot). Get your FREE 2-week trial here!(affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and...venture capital? In 2023 the Chicago Cubs spun off a fund by the name of Marquee Ventures. Marquee invests at the intersection of sports, media, commerce, and their enabling infrastructure.Enjoy this special episode, a replay of my interview with Marquee's Cofounder & Managing Partner Erik Hammer live from the Startup Grind Chicago 2nd Annual Health & Sportstech Showcase in March 2024.Erik covers how Marquee assesses deals, what catches their eye, his outlook on the future of sports and media tech, and more.Original interview date: Mar 19, 2024.Find Erik online:LinkedInFind Marquee online:WebsiteThis episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot). Get your FREE 2-week trial here!(affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

One of the biggest struggles of an early stage startup is creating content. Or, really I should say creating GOOD content. It's pretty easy to publish a whitepaper that no one cares about, make Linkedin posts that don't get traction, or start a podcast but quit after 5 episodes. Creating content isn't hard, creating content that actually drives leads is hard. Erin Balsa is a content strategy expert who has written for the likes of Hubspot, Monday.com, G2, and more. At Haus of Bold, she focuses on building content strategies for early stage startups so they aren't just writing random SEO-optimized blog posts that don't generate new business. The key, she says, is having a clear point-of-view. She steps to the mic in this week's episode to share what great startups do really well in their content strategy.Find Erin online:LinkedInFind Haus of Bold online:WebsiteErin is also hopping into our member community, GOAT to Market Club, for an Ask Me Anything this week. Got Q's you want to ask Erin personally? Join for free today! This episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot). Get your FREE 2-week trial here!(affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

Have you ever worked really hard on a piece of content, only for it to get like 5 likes online? It could be a bad distribution strategy or bad timing, but more likely it's because the content doesn't resonate. What if instead of approaching your content like a tech or product company, you approached it like a media company? Tyler Lessard didn't just approach it like a media company, he in fact launched an entire media brand called Sales Feed. 150,000 followers and subscribers later, something's working right. If you've been with this show long enough, you might remember that for about 2 years I was one of SalesFeed's on-air talents, cohosting a youtube series and podcast with Tyler. We also created nearly a half-dozen parody music videos together. Our relationship runs deep, so I had to get him on this podcast. He steps to the mic this week to share how Sales Feed started, taking a different approach to content creation, how they use different channels for different purposes, and how you can think like a media company even if you don't have budget.Find Tyler online:LinkedInFind Sales Feed online:WebsiteTyler is also hopping into our member community, GOAT to Market Club, for an Ask Me Anything this week. Got Q's you want to ask Tyler personally? Join for free today! This episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot). Get your FREE 2-week trial here!(affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.

What if instead of rushing to social media, paid ads, or even a traditional outbound sales motion, you used live events as a customer acquisition strategy?You immediately provide value to your target customer, created a shared experience, and get valuable face time with them.Sales Assembly has bootstrapped to 7-figure annual revenue, growing 300% from 2020 - 2024.The secret to their success? EVENTS. Ahead of all other GTM channels, live events have been the backbone of their customer acquisition.Their CRO Matt Green steps to the mic in this week's episode to share exactly how they concept their events, curate the guest list, build intentional content, and follow up with purpose to flip an audience into a customer base.Matt also gives us the rundown on how he got into sales in the first place, plus shares the story behind his favorite tattoo.He steps to the mic in this week's episode to share how to invest wisely in your brand, position yourself for growth, and the difference between an influencer and influential strategy.Find Matt online:LinkedInFind Sales Assembly online:WebsiteMatt is also hopping into our member community, GOAT to Market Club, for an Ask Me Anything this week. Got Q's you want to ask Matt personally? Join for free today! This episode is brought to you by our friends at ActiveCampaign, the GOATs of marketing automation. EVERY kind of business needs a newsletter. After 10 years using Mailchimp, Startup Hypeman is now a proud ActiveCampaign user, and from setup to 'send', every newsletter we've published has been a 10x easier experience since switching. Tons of integrations, automations made simple, and actually supportive customer support (not an annoying chatbot). Get your FREE 2-week trial here!(affiliate link)This episode is also brought to you by our friends at AKAVA, the GOATs of software development. I've seen too many startups get screwed over by offshore or budget dev shops. Those groups are order takers and do the bare minimum, which often means software with gaping holes, or being forced to pay hidden 'release fees' to claim ownership of your code. Then there's Akava, who actually builds strategically for scale from day 1, helps you make product decisions, and gives you full ownership of your code by default. Want to become the GOAT to Market? Partner with the GOATs of software dev. Get GOATed at akava.io.