In the age where traditional sales tactics seem obsolete, CEOs and founders are shifting to innovative strategies. Lloyed Lobo, co-founder of Boast, accentuates the importance of community-led growth.
His journey, from an engineer to a salesperson, and ultimately, to the co-founder of a company aiding businesses in accessing R&D funding, underlines the value of community.
Lloyed divides community-led growth into four stages: audience, community, movement, and cult. He believes that it starts with a passive audience, and, with engagement, it transforms into an active community.
When this community works collectively towards a cause, it becomes a movement, and finally, with deep-rooted beliefs, it can shape into a cult (in a good way).
By curating events, insightful blog posts, and actively engaging with his audience, Lloyed created a trusted hub for entrepreneurs.
He also emphasizes founder-led sales in a startup's initial stages, suggesting that personal touchpoints build credibility and rapport.
Furthermore, Lloyed points out that community-driven platforms don't just boost sales but propel innovation by fostering a collaborative space for knowledge sharing.
As the world progresses, businesses that prioritize and integrate community-building will emerge as leading brands.
Chapters
00:39 Introduction of special guest Lloyed Lobo, co-founder of Boast.
03:55 Boast integrates with technical and financial systems to streamline funding.
08:05 Lloyed Lobo's journey from engineering to sales to co-founding Boast.
12:10 The challenges of cold calling and finding the right audience
14:39 Framework for targeting the right audience: passion, niche, propensity to pay, ease of access
15:56 Identifying white spaces in the market: lack of support and tactical content
20:16 Hosting meetups and the importance of consistency
22:29 Understanding the ideal customer profile and their aspirations
25:46 Using events and community to engage and build loyalty
28:57 Founder-led sales and the importance of product-market fit
33:05 Hiring for trajectory and the importance of grit and determination
35:24 Founder reinventing their job and excitement of trying new things
39:18 The role of community in building enduring brands.
41:12 Lloyed Lobo's journey from humble beginnings to success.
45:18 The importance of loving your customer and adding value.
45:43 Lloyed Lobo's book "From Grassroots to Greatness".
About Guest
Lloyed Lobo, an entrepreneur, podcast host and community builder, experienced the Gulf War as a young refugee in Kuwait, witnessing the strength of community in evacuating the population to safety. As the co-founder of fintech platform Boast.Al, he leveraged the Community-Led Growth model to bootstrap the company to $10 million in annual recurring revenue while also co-founding Traction, a community empowering more than 100k innovators through connections, content, and capital.
Lloyed is also the author of ‘**From Grassroots To Greatness: 13 Rules to Build Iconic Brands with Community Led Growth’ **(foreword by Jason Lemkin), which covers tactical advice from community-led businesses both big and small, such as Apple, Harley Davidson, Nike, Crossfit, HubSpot, and many more to help readers attract passionate and devoted fans of their own. The book topped Amazon’s new release charts in various categories, including Startups and Business Technology, within mere hours of its pre-sale launch.
About Company
Boast.ai is a leading financial technology firm that simplifies the process for companies to access government incentives, including R&D tax credits and innovation grants. Leveraging a blend of expertise and automation, Boast.ai streamlines the claims process, maximizes claims amounts, and reduces the risk of audits. With their integrated platform, businesses ca