We were six people this time one year ago. No revenue. Now we’re 300 people, profitable, and just made a $250 million acquisition.
My journey with Hopin began in December 2018. I interviewed the community builder David Markovich for an article and he insisted he introduce me to a London-based founder called Johnny Bourfarhat. He was working on an online events company — then known as “Hopiin” — with a whole new way to host online events. Over the course of 2019, we got to know each other remotely as I was across the pond in Virginia. I ran one of Hopin’s first major events through my Medium publication Entrepreneur’s Handbook.
My first event on Hopin was the easiest yet most valuable initiative…
How to create interactive online events with a stage, sessions, networking, expos, chats, expos and more, using Hopin
Hi, there —
We’re getting a lot of demand right now so I wanted to put together a quick all-in-one resource to help new users get started organizing awesome online events on Hopin. This is originally from the Hopin blog but wanted to share here on Medium as well. Cheers.
Dave
Cofounder, Hopin
Below you’ll find videos, docs, and links that will help you learn and master the Hopin platform.
If this is your first time hearing about Hopin, here’s a 90-second overview video:
Simply sharing another article or video isn’t enough anymore
If you have a brand — any kind of brand at all — you probably publish content.
If you publish content, people probably (hopefully) consume it: subscribers, followers, viewers, or readers. Ideally, they’re your customers.
This swath of people who likes your stuff, supports your brand, buys your products, hires your team, donates to your cause, and so on — this is your community.
Every brand has a community
After a marketer identifies their community, big or small, the next question is: How do we keep our community engaged?
This is where a lot of companies can get stuck.
Many believe the answer is: produce…
Here’s the best of Entrepreneur’s Handbook for you.
- If you’re working on negotiating a deal that is $10,000 — $10,000,000, make sure you have a strong Master Services Agreement (MSA) in place. This story from the experts at LegalZoom covers the critical basics of an MSA that every entrepreneur should know.
- Million-dollar ideas had to come from somewhere, right? Here’s a study of 100 multi-million dollar tech startups and how the founders came up with the initial idea for their business.
- If you’re an entrepreneur, one of the toughest choices you have to make is when to go “all-in” —…
The story of a founder and co-founder who met remotely and ended up launching a startup
Starting a business with someone is always an arduous process. There are contracts. There are differences in personal values and backgrounds. There are questions of trust, personality clashes, and sacrifices that have to be made.
But starting a business with someone you’ve never actually shaken hands with changes the game completely.
Given our virtually unlimited ability to meet people around the world in today’s global and tech-powered economy, it’s becoming less and less uncommon that two people in two different countries can come together and launch a business together.
Launching a business is different from remote hiring and contracting, which…
Hello there,
Happy Christmas Week. I hope your year is wrapping up nicely.
Here’s thanks for a great 2019 and cheers to a brilliant 2020.
May these stories enchant you as much as they did me.
All the best,
Dave Schools
Editor, Entrepreneur’s Handbook
⏱ The two-minute read
- Entrepreneurs: Stop Waiting for a Big Idea
by Ron Rule
☕️ The morning cup of coffee read
- The Four Thoughts Successful Entrepreneurs Have Every Day
by Christopher Connors
😤 The good kick in the bottom read
🤳 The work on me day read
- According to Warren Buffett, Honing This One Skill Can Improve Your Worth by 50 Percent
by Michael Thompson
♟ The MBA in an article read
Skip the stockbrokers and use the “Knowledge Advantage” principle instead.
When Mark Cuban, worth $4.1 billion today (2019), was in his early twenties, he barely made enough money to pay rent.
“I remember being 24-years-old, living in Dallas in a three-bedroom apartment with five other friends,” wrote Cuban in 2007 on his personal website.
“I didn’t have my own bedroom. I slept on the couch or floor depending on what time I got home. I had no closet. Instead I had a pile that everyone knew was mine. …
2019 year in review: Reflections on parenthood, success, goals, business, love, and turning 30 in 2020.
2019 Highlights
- We bought our first house. My wife and I officially ended our nomadic travel nursing spree. For almost two years we moved to a new city every three months — Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Salisbury, and finally Richmond, Virginia.
- We had our first baby. Our beautiful bundle of dance moves daughter Brooklyn joined us on February 11, 2019.
- I published stories in CNBC Make It, Trends, and Forge Magazineand interviewed the CEOs of Dippin’ Dots, Stone Brewery, Gumroad, Unsplash, and RealtyMogul.
- I made over $7,500 in one month from writing on Medium. …
Here’s the scoop: there might be a Dippin’ Dot or two in your Beyond Meat burger.
When the opportunity came up to interview the CEO of Dippin’ Dots, I immediately thought of the How I Built This podcast episode with Curt Jones, the pelletized ice cream’s inventor.
In the story, Curt Jones had, to put it colloquially, “bet the farm” for Dippin’ Dots and the business struggled with debt for years, eventually falling into bankruptcy.
In 2012, Oklahoman oilmen Scott Fischer and his father Mark Fischer, the chairman and CEO of the public-traded Chaparral Energy, bought Dippin’ Dots out of bankruptcy for $12.7 million.
From the tone in the podcast episode, the buyout sounded aggressive and…
When one speaker is monopolizing a discussion, use a tactic called ‘cognitive incision’
For half an hour, my friend and I sat there in the restaurant booth, waiting to talk. To be asked a question. To be acknowledged at all. But the person across from us, another buddy who we were sharing a meal with, completely monopolized the conversation, spewing his thoughts and views and stories in monologue form. We were there to take turns sharing our life stories, but when he was finally done, he abruptly stood up and walked out the door to head to work. My friend and I just looked at each other, stunned. …
Dave Schools
Mktg at Hopin. Bylines in CNBC, BI, Inc., Trends, Axios, et al. Creator of https://mediumwritingcourse.com and Party Qs app.
