Tactic
Land one anchor speaker by implying everyone else already said yes
Sam landed Pandora founder Tim Westergren first by claiming a roster of other big names was coming, none of whom had actually committed. Once Tim said yes, he used that as social proof to convert everyone else.
“The truth is I kind of lied about who else was coming. I said all these people were, all these other people were coming to speak. None of them had actually committed. But once Tim said yes, then I went to all those other people and I told them Tim was coming and they again said yes.”
Steal thisLand one anchor speaker, then use their commitment as social proof to convert every other name on your wishlist.
Story
Pandora's founder did fan meetups Monday-Thursday for years to grow
Sam recounts meeting Pandora founder Tim Westergren, who grew the company by emailing users that he'd be at a library or coffee shop and inviting them to come talk. The first drew 2 people; the last drew 2,000-3,000, and the relationships drove advertiser growth city by city.
“I would email people and I would say, I'm going to be at this library in New York at this time. Any Pandora users in the area come and talk to me. And he said he did that for 4 years. And he goes, here's the first one I did. And he showed me a picture of him at a coffee shop. He goes, 2 people showed up. And he goes, here's the last one I did. And he showed me a picture and it was at the library and there was 2 or 3,000 people there.”
Steal thisDo unscalable in-person fan meetups repeatedly; the relationships and feedback compound into real growth.
Prediction
Hit
Pandora founder: even 'moms in Missouri' will care about data privacy
Sam relays a prediction from Pandora founder Tim Westergren that data and privacy concern won't stay a Silicon Valley niche - average mainstream users, even moms in Missouri, will start caring, making it a big consumer category.
“And he goes, at Pandora, what we noticed— Pandora isn't like a hip company, like average people use it, not like Silicon Valley nerds. And he goes, even like moms in Missouri, where I'm from, would care about their data and privacy. And I think that's actually really going to be a big thing.”
Story
Pandora's founder deferred payroll 2 years and nearly went to jail
Sam tells how Pandora founder Tim Westergren deferred employee pay for two years during the company's dire stretch, raised $12M, paid back $5-6M of it, and faced lawsuits and hospital visits because not paying employees is actually illegal.
“And he said like $5 or $6 million of that $12 million he had to give to the employees or back pay. Well, he was at the conference I went to and I've become friends with him since he spoke at HustleCon and he tells me stories. He was like, so that's actually illegal, not paying somebody.”
Number
Pandora's founder pitched 348 times before landing a Series B
Tim Westergren pitched Pandora 348 times before finding a Series B investor in March 2004, raising a $9 million round and paying out $2 million in deferred salary that same day.
$348
Investor pitches before funding · pitches
“And eventually, after I pitched Pandora 348 times, I found a Series B investor in 2004, March of '04, raised a $9 million round, which I still don't quite know how it happened. Um, and we paid out $2 million of salary that day.”
Number
Pandora's founder pitched 348 times before landing a Series B
Tim Westergren pitched Pandora 348 times before finding a Series B investor in March 2004, raising a $9 million round and paying out $2 million in deferred salary that same day.
$348
Investor pitches before funding · pitches
“And eventually, after I pitched Pandora 348 times, I found a Series B investor in 2004, March of '04, raised a $9 million round, which I still don't quite know how it happened. Um, and we paid out $2 million of salary that day.”
Story
Westergren's unpaid-employee pitch: 'how many times can you change culture?'
Asked to re-deliver the speech that kept 50 employees working unpaid, Tim Westergren reconstructs it: we've built something unique that solves a gigantic problem, everyone loves music, and when this finds its home it will change culture — a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
“When this thing finally finds its home, it's going to change culture. And how many times in your life do you have a chance to do that?”