a single source, nothing corroborates it

Recruit the name that carries the market

In a commodity category the people you bring in are a point of difference: someone with standing in the community arrives with credibility and press contacts attached. A public body of writing pays off here too, letting a strong candidate judge your thinking and choose you, and taking equity beats taking fees when you are the marketing asset.

The method

1. 01

   In a commodity market, treat the people you hire as a point of differentiation, recruiting someone whose standing in the community brings credibility and press contacts with them.

2. 02

   Where a public body of writing does pay off is recruiting: it lets a strong candidate judge your thinking and decide they want to work with you specifically.

3. 03

   Take equity rather than fees when you're the marketing asset - creators who owned a stake in something thrived while those who only cashed sponsorship cheques struggled.

What it returned

• $5

  WordPress hosting already had offerings at every price from free through $5, $15, $40 and $500 a month with paid consulting on top, so Cohen went after a hire known to WordPress.com, the blogging media groups and reporters at the big tech outlets.

• A well-known WordPress core contributor and author left lucrative consulting to move to Austin and join WP Engine, and Cohen says the blog is why.

• Tony Hawk's fortune came mainly from game royalty cheques; Bob Burnquist, with no equity in his sponsors, was selling NFTs; Elissa Steamer lives off property she bought in Fort Myers. Nathan Barry's line that creators need equity.

Sources

• Pro skater Chad Muska went broke. Now he's a bootstrapper.Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · What's he doing right? · undated
• Reputation isn’t as powerful as you imagineJason Cohen · longform.asmartbear.com · Reputation isn’t as powerful as you imagine · 2010-10-25