Shaan Puri on Curating First Impressions

4 installments into Social Proof, and we’ve landed a powerhouse interviewee. Shaan Puri is a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur, investor, and creator with platforms that attain hundreds of thousands of individuals day by day.

From his two newsletters, one private and the opposite referred to as The Milk Highway speaking about crypto, to his audience of over 300,000 people on Twitter, to his standard My First Million podcast, Shaan’s inventive output is fascinating. And his platforms are only a facet hustle – he additionally offered his startup, Bebo, to Twitch and now runs a rolling fund investing in different startups.

On this interview, uncover how Shaan has grown and leveraged his private model, in addition to an attention-grabbing train in private branding that everybody ought to attempt.

Q: Thanks for taking the time to fulfill with me for Social Proof Shaan! We’re beginning with a two-for-one query: What do you consider private branding, and would you name what you could have a private model?

The way in which I give it some thought is: I’m simply making an attempt to place myself on the market. It’s like once you’re in a automotive and have the music so loud that different folks can hear it from their automobiles. No matter I’m, I need it to be loud sufficient that if anyone hears it and so they like that music, they’re going to begin nodding alongside.

My aim is that by placing my ideas, concepts, and character on the market, I’ll appeal to like-minded individuals who take pleasure in these ideas and have comparable ones to share. It’s simply my approach of attracting like-minded folks to me.

Q: And when did you begin this strategy of attracting like-minded folks?

I began after I was first interviewing for a job. I requested myself, “what am I making an attempt to do on this interview?”

Finally, I needed to stroll in and depart an impression on whoever I used to be assembly. And that is a model, proper? That is what a model does – Nike and McDonald’s need you to know one thing about them. They need it to be memorable, and so they need it to be favorable. So I assumed that, as an alternative of making ready solutions to their questions, I ought to contemplate what I needed them to know and keep in mind about me.

I used to be interviewing with two corporations that day – Stripe and an concept lab referred to as Monkey Inferno. And I made a decision that after they mentioned me, they’d all say, “He’s actually ‘clean’, ‘clean’ and ‘clean’.” I assumed rigorously about what phrases ought to go in these blanks, which is how I labored backward from determining my model.

Q: I like that you just talked about the phrases as a result of that ties in properly to my subsequent query: what three phrases would you utilize to explain your private model?

Going again to my interview prep story, I keep in mind writing: I need them to know that I am

• Daring aka I take motion
• Enjoyable/Humorous, i.e., somebody they’d need across the workplace
• Intelligent in order that I may not be the neatest individual within the room, however I might at all times consider inventive methods to win.

Naturally, rather a lot has modified since I first did this train, and my most well-liked final phrase is: Profitable as a result of I discover that folks need to do enterprise with people who find themselves already profitable.

And I used what I name a “pillar branding train,” the place I draw out pillars – much like these on the entrance of the White Home. That is meant to assist visualize the pillars that maintain up my model. On the high of every pillar, I wrote daring, humorous, and intelligent.

Placing it into motion was a bit totally different. I couldn’t simply come out and inform [the interviewers] I am daring as a result of no one would consider that. What I wanted to do was inform them tales about issues that I’ve performed that might make them have just one conclusion about me: he’s fairly daring, or he takes motion. To facilitate that, I began pulling tales from issues I’ve performed that might help that pillar. And I’d fill [the pillar] out.

And for among the pillars, I had extra tales than others, which helped me notice that though I needed to be perceived a sure approach, I hadn’t taken sufficient motion in that route. So this train was additionally a word to attempt extra issues I needed to be a part of my model. It grew to become greater than only a branding train – extra of a roadmap for the way I needed to strategy life.

There’s additionally one final piece of the puzzle you could additionally add as a pillar which is what you aren’t. I need folks to say, “He’s not clean.” I’d say the phrases to replenish the house listed here are: pretend and robotic. I don’t need to come off as both when interacting with somebody.

Q: You do many issues – podcasts, newsletters, posting recurrently on Twitter, launching a course. Which of those has been your favourite medium of expression? Which one do you assume is the best in your model? And the way do you steadiness doing all this stuff on the identical time?

I feel all of them go collectively. You requested a query about time, and lots of stuff you talked about are what I do in my spare time – work is occupied by the 2 companies I run. This is the reason I don’t purchase the excuse of time – lots of these actions are ardour initiatives, issues I take pleasure in doing. They don’t really feel like work to me.

When it comes to worth, I feel probably the most worthwhile content material medium for me has been the podcast, however all of them go collectively. It’s like a funnel – on the high is the place folks uncover you, and that discovery tends to be via Twitter for me. I grew my Twitter within the final 12 months from possibly 20,000 followers to 300,000 followers. And I did that as a result of I needed folks to have a straightforward, light-weight touchpoint.

And there can be individuals who needed to go a bit additional down the funnel, which leads them to my publication. So past the shorter-form Twitter content material, I may be in my viewers’s inbox and share extra in-depth ideas.

Anybody that needed to go additional can then be led to the underside of the funnel via my podcast, the place you hear my voice, tone, and inflection. It’s the closest I get to my viewers and the place I can construct probably the most belief. If I’m in your ears 50 hours a 12 months, that’s greater than you discuss to most individuals. So it helps construct a really worthwhile relationship with folks.

Q: What three ways would you advocate folks attempt when determining which automobiles they’ll use to construct their manufacturers?

I’d say do not do it if you happen to’re simply making an attempt to construct a model. As a result of then you definately’ve simply created work for your self. And actually, if you are going to work that tough on it, you would possibly as nicely construct a enterprise or work at a job. The way in which I take a look at it’s I need the initiatives I do to be what I already take pleasure in.

I recommend you discover what sort of content material you prefer to create, whether or not interviewing folks or curating stuff in your feed. No matter it’s, simply do what’s enjoyable and pure for you. And the byproduct will probably be your model getting constructed. You are able to do some issues alongside the way in which to go a little bit sooner or be extra intentional about it, however the extra essential half is discovering what you take pleasure in.

And even when no model bought constructed out of it, it will nonetheless be price it. For instance, my podcast is effective as a result of it will get about 20 million downloads a 12 months. However after I began, I did not plan for folks to hear – I assumed that was not possible. I used to be extra fascinated about having interviews and conversations with attention-grabbing folks. Certain, some folks would possibly take heed to it, however that wasn’t my motive for doing it. And that is why I caught with it.

Most individuals have some exterior aim like fame or cash for beginning inventive initiatives. And after they don’t instantly see outcomes, they get discouraged and quit. The individuals who win are the individuals who do it as a result of it is enjoyable for them. The act of doing it’s the reward – they do not want the opposite stuff, and subsequently the opposite stuff comes as a result of they hold going.

And yet one more word: folks can inform if you happen to’re having enjoyable along with your content material since you’re nerding out about this matter that you just love. That can be what makes content material pop.

Q: You tweeted not too long ago that all the things you’ve performed, irrespective of how random, has labored out and contributed to your success. Which of your initiatives was the turning level for you? When did you notice, “Yeah that is working?”

I’ve a philosophy: the people who find themselves my prospects are those who love what I do. If I really like what I do, then the suitable folks will discover it as a result of it’s going to resonate with them the identical approach it is resonating with me. So the primary signal of success is simply liking your personal work. Most individuals fail at that, both as a result of they’re approach too harsh on their work, or they’re making an attempt to please different folks, and so they do not even like what they make. And that is a recipe for failure, in my view.

And second, earlier than the numbers get massive, you may begin to get emails or feedback that can hold you going. And it is wonderful. You’ll be able to have 5 feedback on a YouTube video that hold you motivated for a 12 months since you’re assured that anyone someplace actually likes this factor. I do know, I am not loopy, this factor does work.

Q: Attention-grabbing. You talked about in an interview with Sacra that you just had been capable of elevate funds from the individuals who had engaged along with your content material and constructed a relationship with you. What has been the most important reward from publishing content material for you?

Some background right here is that we’ve a rolling fund that lets different folks make investments alongside me within the startups I spend money on. I’ve community and expertise with angel investing, so different individuals who reside outdoors the US, or don’t have the community or time, can select to speculate on this rolling fund. However the creation and progress of the fund wasn’t one thing I’d have predicted entering into – it was a byproduct of doing the work.

The podcast and my Twitter account had began getting standard. Then I tweeted, “Hey, I’ll elevate a rolling fund, and I need to elevate 1,000,000 {dollars} from folks on Twitter, and I’ll take no conferences,” doing it as a problem to myself. And we hit that aim in like two days. After which it simply saved going.

Now, the fund invests between eight to 10 million a 12 months throughout the startups we work with. To at the present time, I feel I’ve taken possibly one assembly with somebody to clarify what we do – the entire thing has been pushed principally by individuals who already listened to me and trusted me.

These are usually not folks I’ve met in actual life, however they have been listening to the podcasts and following me on Twitter for some time. And so they felt sufficient conviction to have the ability to spend money on the fund.

Seeing that conviction come via, particularly as a result of folks had been giving me their cash, was the sign that constructing a private model and persistently placing out content material actually builds belief.

Q: It’s wonderful that you would get to that time with two constant content material codecs – and your years of expertise, in fact. I’ve a rooster or egg query for you. Did publicizing your initiatives result in you publishing on social media? Or did you get the concepts in your initiatives after publishing persistently on social media?

I began making content material as a result of I assumed it might be enjoyable and I’d be good at it. And I had extra time as a result of I had offered my firm – that is after I began.

Q: And which of your efforts, whether or not or not it’s the podcast or Twitter has led to the chance you contemplate probably the most worthwhile?

I wrote a thread about Clubhouse when it was actually standard. Everyone thought it was the subsequent massive factor and I type of learn a thread saying, “Hey, I do not assume so. And this is how I feel it is gonna play out.”

And it went viral – 10 million plus folks learn that thread – which led to a bunch of actually attention-grabbing folks emailing or DMing me saying, “Wow, that is nice, we love the way in which you assume, we might like to get to know you.”

The same tweet and consequence was one I did on the metaverse, primarily saying, “Individuals take into consideration the metaverse a method, this is how I give it some thought in a different way.”

That additionally reached many individuals, and Mark Zuckerberg referenced it and talked about that it influenced the way in which he thinks in regards to the metaverse.

Q: What would you inform your previous self about constructing your private model if you happen to had been ranging from scratch?

I’d say, “Hey, what you are hoping will occur will occur.”

But when I used to be going to do it in a different way, I’d simply area of interest down a little bit extra.

Presently, I am fairly broad – I’ve The Milk Highway, which talks about crypto, and I’ve Twitter, the place I speak about no matter. Then there’s my private publication, curating tweets, and the My First Million podcast, which is extra about enterprise breakdowns and concepts. So fairly unfold out.

But when I actually targeted on a type of areas, I feel I might grow to be possibly probably the most well-known individual in that department in that area of interest, however I did not do this. So I feel that might be the one enchancment that I’d recommend to myself.

Q: What are some downsides you have skilled in your journey as a creator?

To be trustworthy, not many. The content material is a little bit of a treadmill – it’s a must to hold doing it. It is not like software program the place you make it as soon as, and folks simply use it day by day. I feel that is most likely the most important draw back – you possibly can’t automate creativity. One other factor is the extra standard you get, the extra folks will say imply issues to you on-line. So you could have to have the ability to not fear about that an excessive amount of.

Takeaways

What I really like most about this interview is how actionable it’s. Shaan’s ardour for the initiatives he takes on has led him to some wonderful alternatives – listed here are among the largest takeaways from our chat:

• Take management of your narrative: With out prompting, Shaan talked about the three-word train that has grow to be commonplace in Social Proof interviews, framing it as “pillar branding.” Utilizing the pillar-branding train is a inventive solution to visualize what you need different folks to get out of their interactions along with your on-line persona. Tell us on Twitter if you happen to’d like a templatized model of the pillar branding template.
• Do issues that match up with the way you need to be perceived: When describing the pillar branding train, Shaan additionally talked about that he thought a sure approach about himself however didn’t have sufficient tales or “proof” to again that considering. This reveals that it’s very important that you just not solely take into consideration the way you need to be perceived but additionally take actions that correlate with that notion. Need to be seen as educated about social media? Experiment with totally different platforms and ways along with your accounts.
• Leverage your repute: Crafting and finally benefitting out of your on-line persona is one thing that has come up in earlier interviews, however Shaan’s use of his repute is kind of attention-grabbing. You might not be elevating hundreds of thousands of {dollars} for an funding fund, however the work you’ve put into rising your on-line presence shouldn’t be siloed. Reap the benefits of the connections you make to get the alternatives you want.
• Decide mediums and niches that you just take pleasure in: Whether or not it’s via writing or talking, Shaan has discovered his most well-liked strategies of getting his ideas on the market. You’ll be able to’t be in every single place or speak about all the things, however prioritize discovering and settling in your most well-liked private branding medium first. This may help pave the way in which so that you can uncover what you need to be recognized for (your area of interest) and give attention to creativity

💡Shaan says it greatest: you possibly can’t automate creativity. What you can automate is how you set your inventive work on the market – and that’s the place Buffer can help you. Reap the benefits of our stacked Freemium tier to construct a behavior of consistency and assist maximize your creativity.

Get began now.