I’m following up on yesterday’s post (see here). A credible person I respect read that post and proposed an alternative solution to the problem I described. Instead of deciding between one 60-minute presentation (in a 2-hour meeting) or two 60-minute presentations (in a 3-hour meeting), they suggested making the presentation for urgent problems 30 minutes and the scheduled presentation 60 minutes, extending the total meeting time to 2.5 hours, which may not feel like as drastic a change. I like this and will share it with the entrepreneurs to see what they think.

The other takeaway is that as moderator, I have lots of follow-up to do and action items to take care of before the next meeting. Founders need assistance, preparation for the next meeting, etc. Meetings are held monthly, so in theory I could wait until closer to the next meeting to start working on action items. However, I find it more helpful to attack them immediately after a meeting while everyone’s memory is fresh and the momentum with the entrepreneurs is strong. For example, immediately after the meeting adjourned, I scheduled meetings with the entrepreneurs who said they wanted help, and next week I’ll help them work through roadblocks. I also immediately reflected on people’s feedback and created the agenda for the next meeting, incorporating the feedback and learnings while they were fresh in my mind. I feel better prepared for the next meeting and have a plan to keep founders engaged by helping them before the next meeting.

I’m very pleased with the first meeting, but I’m not satisfied. I want to improve it so the value founders get from participating trumps anything else they’re a part of and makes them excitedly look forward to every meeting.

As I shared last week (see here), for the past few weeks I’ve been working with Atlanta entrepreneurs to set up an accountability group. The group meets once a month for a few hours. My expectation for the group is high engagement and open sharing so they’ll learn from one another and solve their problems faster. I want them to get value similar to what entrepreneurs get from EO and YPO forums.

We had our first meeting this week, which I moderated. It was a success, but I learned several valuable lessons. Meeting length is the first. We aimed for two hours, which included one sixty-minute presentation. The presentation was selected based on which entrepreneur had the most urgent problem to solve. This worked, and the presentation was great. But the feedback from the group was that allowing only the entrepreneur with the most urgent problem to present likely isn’t sustainable. Entrepreneurs said they didn’t like the idea of having to pick from urgent house fires at every meeting. Some want to know they’ll have a guaranteed opportunity to present, even if they don’t have a burning problem. And last, some entrepreneurs want more time to think about and prepare a presentation and to know with certainty that their presentation will happen.

The challenge is that the meeting agendas are currently built around a two-hour meeting length: one hour of discussing the most important updates from each entrepreneur, with the idea of finding one worth presenting to the group, and a one-hour presentation.

To address the group’s concerns, we will likely need to add a second presentation slot. One would be the most burning problem selected on the spot from the updates. The other would be a scheduled presentation. We’ll either have to add another hour to the meeting, making it three hours long, or cut the presentation time in half. Each option has pros and cons.

I’m not sure what change, if any, we’ll make. The group will make the final decision via a democratic process. But it stood out to me that several entrepreneurs pointed out the challenges of having a single presentation slot for each meeting.

Regardless, the first meeting went well, and I’m looking forward to continually improving the meeting format to maximize the value to the entrepreneurs.

This week, I had a conversation with a good friend about the power of community. He’s an entrepreneur in a traditional industry and is looking for ways to increase awareness of his brand and the products he sells. He’s got good marketing ideas that follow what others in his industry have done successfully.

I introduced the idea of building a community around his product: First, create an audience of people who love the product for a deeply personal reason (i.e., it helps them solve a problem they care deeply about). Then, hopefully, convert some percentage of that audience into a community of people who will engage with each other (with some guidelines and light moderation).

I like this idea because it leans into a key market concept: word of mouth is the best form of marketing. People in a community love talking to one another and will invite other like-minded people into the community. They share what they’re doing in the community and how the community has helped them. This all helps knowledge of the brand and product spread via word of mouth.

I also like the idea of community because it creates a moat, or competitive advantage. When you have a community of people who’ve bought into a brand or product, they don’t want to leave the tribe they’re a part of, so it’s less likely they’ll leave or switch brands or products. Community makes customers stickier and creates a moat that’s hard for competitors to replicate.

Lastly, I really like community because it’s a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of what your target customer thinks of your existing products, learn about ideas for new products, and spot early trends you can capitalize on. It’s a great feedback mechanism and a way to stay connected to customers in an organic way, which leads to product improvements and new products that keep your customers loyal.

All in all, I’m a fan of companies leaning into creating communities, especially when they’re in slow-moving or antiquated industries.

Today I celebrated the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I had the opportunity to commemorate his legacy by attending a great event at Atlanta History Center today. I learned a lot. I’m thankful for Dr. King’s efforts as they were foundational in moving our country closer to equality for all.

Hope everyone had a great MLK Day!

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a happy holiday!

Last year, Money magazine ranked Atlanta as the best place to live in the U.S. in 2022. At the time, I shared my thoughts on Atlanta transitioning to a tier-one major metropolitan city. I believed the ranking showed that word was getting out. I wrote:

I’ve been a believer for many years that Atlanta is where the puck is headed. Most people don’t realize how great the city is. I’ve long believed that when word got out about the city’s greatness, it would go from being a metro city to what I call a tier-one major metro. That transition would put the city in a different stratosphere and able to compete as a destination with other tier-one major metros. I think of tier-one major metros as cities that are known outside the US as the undisputed capitals of their regions. Think New York City for the Northeast, Chicago for the Midwest, Los Angeles for the West. The Southeast has a few great cities, but not an undisputed capital, especially when you ask people outside the country.

Money came out with its “50 Best Places to Live in U.S. for 2023” list, and Atlanta has once again topped the list. My favorite lines from this year’s writeup:

Atlanta is big on culture, in every sense of the word. In years past, it helped catalyze the Civil Rights Movement, and was a nucleus of some of the most popular hip hop, R&B and country music we still listen to today. These days, our No. 1 place to live is nothing short of a cultural behemoth.

Atlanta is a place that people don’t want to just pass through temporarily. They want to plant roots and call it home because it offers the opportunity to pursue professional excellence, an amazing quality of life, and a diverse culture. This rare combination, along with numerous other positives, makes Atlanta unique and desirable. It also helps make a strong case for Atlanta to be the “capital” of the Southeast.

Congrats to the city for topping this list two years in a row. I’m happy others are recognizing what we’ve always known.

For Money’s full list of 2023’s best places to live, see here. For Money’s 2023 writeup on Atlanta, see here.

This week I had the opportunity to attend a holiday party. As I mingled and chatted, I noticed that no one was talking about work. I heard conversations about life, family, fun experiences, and funny stories. After the party, a group of us went to dinner, where we learned more about each other and our significant others.

The party was wildly successful. I watched people enhance existing work relationships, making them deeper and more personal. And I watched people establish new relationships with others they didn’t know they had things in common with. 

My takeaway is that I’m a fan of holiday parties. It’s a great time for people to connect outside work and build deeper relationships based on who they are, not the work they do.

I recently had a conversation with an aspiring entrepreneur. He wanted my thoughts on a company he was considering starting in a space I’m familiar with. During our chat, I learned that he’d been an early employee at a tech start-up and stayed for several years. That company recently sold for a few billion dollars. His equity as one of the first few employees gave him a financial windfall. Because he was on board so early, he worked closely with the CEO for several years, and they still talk regularly. The CEO encouraged him to start a new company and offered to back him once he settles on an idea.

I love to hear stories like this. An early employee is part of a company that turns out to be a massive win. He gets a significant financial reward. Seeing his former CEO’s journey firsthand makes him want to take the same journey. And he already has the backing of his former CEO, who knows his drive and worth ethic.

These are the kind of stories that, when repeated, lead to a city having a thriving start-up ecosystem. We need more stories like this!

Last year I shared a post about Atlanta having the highest inflation rate among U.S. cities in 2021. My post was inspired by a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article that talked about how Atlanta saw an influx of people during the pandemic, because of the city’s attractiveness, that caused Atlanta to have a higher inflation rate than other cities (mainly driven by above-average increases in housing costs).

I wanted to see where Atlanta stands today, so I did a little digging. The U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics (BLS) produces a city-specific Consumer Price Index (CPI) for various metropolitan cities, including Atlanta. The latest report, released this past week on November 14, includes Atlanta’s October CPI.

When the WSJ came out in February 2022, the 12-month Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for metro Atlanta was 10.6%; it peaked at 11.7% a few months later in August. Since August 2022, the rate has been declining, and it stood at 3.2% as of last month. For context, before the pandemic in December 2019, Atlanta's CPI-U was 3.3%.

I did a quick check against New York and Miami and found that Atlanta ranked below both cities in October. New York’s 12-month CPI-U was 3.5%, and Miami’s was 7.4%.

I’m no CPI expert, but the data appears to be showing that the rate of cost increases in Atlanta is moderating. The BLS’s next metro Atlanta CPI will be released on January 11. I’m curious to see whether this trend continues.

If you’re interested in reading the city-level October 2023 CPIs for Atlanta, Miami, and New York, they’re here, here, and here. 

The other day I came across a small clothing brand. I did some digging and learned it was Atlanta based. Since I enjoy supporting local founders, I ordered a few pieces.

A few days later I got an email saying my order had been refunded. No explanation or additional information. I wasn’t sure why I’d been given a refund and decided to email the company for more information. My hope is that I’ll understand what happened with this order so I can place another order or find some other way to support this local brand.

Having built a company that sold physical products online, I know how hard (and expensive) it is to acquire a customer. Lots of great brands are competing for customers’ wallets. If you acquire a customer, you want to think about it as an acquired relationship. Not a transaction. You want to manage the relationship as best you can to increase the probability of their ordering again (thus increasing their lifetime value) and telling others about your brand (word of mouth is the best and cheapest marketing). If you can’t deliver on the product or service the customer has paid for, an explanation goes a long way and often opens the door to the customer accepting a comparable substitute product. But this is possible only if you manage the relationship . . . not the transaction.