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12 Lessons Learned




Building SEOmoz
            Rand Fishkin, CEO
  Download at http://bit.ly/mozlessons2012
$450K+ in personal debt sucks… a lot.
On track for $20mm+ this year
#1: Establish Core Values




http://www.seomoz.org/blog/what-we-believe-why-seomozs-tagfee-tenets
#2: Stick to Your Values,
  (Especially When It’s Hard)
“The core values embodied in our credo might be a
competitive advantage, but that is not why we have
them. We have them because they define for us what
we stand for, and we would hold them even if they
became a competitive disadvantage.”

- Ralph S. Larsen, CEO of Johnson & Johnson

       http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/good-to-great.html
#3: Build a Team that Matches
         Your Values




   http://blog.eladgil.com/2012/04/never-ever-compromise-hiring-for.html
#4: Marketing Matters as Much
         as Product




http://www.seomoz.org/blog/i-disagree-with-fred-marketing-is-for-companies-that-have-great-products
#5: Make Customer Acquisition Cost a
       Competitive Advantage

                                 Paid Channels




                     Only 15% of Moz’s customers come via paid
                     channels; hence our cost to acquire customers
                     is ~$73 and payback period is 0.7 months! This
Inbound              meant we could grow and invest, even when
                     we couldn’t raise outside funding.
#6: Don’t Be Afraid of Letting People Go
#7: You Are Not the Customer.
#8: Don’t Let Outliers Become a
     Yardstick or a Trend




   AKA: You are not these five companies
#9: Humility is the Most Overlooked,
 Undervalued Trait in Startupland
#10: The Price of Success is Failure
    After Failure After Failure.

This is when Geraldine started her blog
#10: The Price of Success is Failure
    After Failure After Failure.




 This is where people usually give up.
#10: The Price of Success is Failure
    After Failure After Failure.

Past 3 months are averaging 3.5K visits/day
#11: Best Way to Get Startup
 Experience – Join a Startup
#12: Don’t Go It Alone
Download this deck:
http://bit.ly/mozlessons2012

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Lessons Learned Building Moz

  • 1. 12 Lessons Learned Building SEOmoz Rand Fishkin, CEO Download at http://bit.ly/mozlessons2012
  • 2. $450K+ in personal debt sucks… a lot.
  • 3. On track for $20mm+ this year
  • 4. #1: Establish Core Values http://www.seomoz.org/blog/what-we-believe-why-seomozs-tagfee-tenets
  • 5. #2: Stick to Your Values, (Especially When It’s Hard) “The core values embodied in our credo might be a competitive advantage, but that is not why we have them. We have them because they define for us what we stand for, and we would hold them even if they became a competitive disadvantage.” - Ralph S. Larsen, CEO of Johnson & Johnson http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/good-to-great.html
  • 6. #3: Build a Team that Matches Your Values http://blog.eladgil.com/2012/04/never-ever-compromise-hiring-for.html
  • 7. #4: Marketing Matters as Much as Product http://www.seomoz.org/blog/i-disagree-with-fred-marketing-is-for-companies-that-have-great-products
  • 8. #5: Make Customer Acquisition Cost a Competitive Advantage Paid Channels Only 15% of Moz’s customers come via paid channels; hence our cost to acquire customers is ~$73 and payback period is 0.7 months! This Inbound meant we could grow and invest, even when we couldn’t raise outside funding.
  • 9. #6: Don’t Be Afraid of Letting People Go
  • 10. #7: You Are Not the Customer.
  • 11. #8: Don’t Let Outliers Become a Yardstick or a Trend AKA: You are not these five companies
  • 12. #9: Humility is the Most Overlooked, Undervalued Trait in Startupland
  • 13. #10: The Price of Success is Failure After Failure After Failure. This is when Geraldine started her blog
  • 14. #10: The Price of Success is Failure After Failure After Failure. This is where people usually give up.
  • 15. #10: The Price of Success is Failure After Failure After Failure. Past 3 months are averaging 3.5K visits/day
  • 16. #11: Best Way to Get Startup Experience – Join a Startup
  • 17. #12: Don’t Go It Alone