Last week, I volunteered at HustleCon and this song ran through my head all day.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s move onto the good stuff – namely, how the nutrition bar company Quest got Youtube star Jenna Marbles to talk about their product, how luggage startup Away sells out every capsule collection they release and why I’m kind of sad I missed Casey Neistat’s panel.
How I heard about HustleCon
Well, like most twentysomethings, listening to the founder of a company you think is cool tell you a story while you drink beer and eat pizza sounds pretty good to me. Therefore, their monthly-ish Pizza & 40’s events was majorly appealing.
Before I knew it, I was subscribing to their daily newsletter and signing up to volunteer at HustleCon. This was HustleCon’s fourth year – it was started by Sam Parr and has been referred to as “the startup conference for non-techies.” Here’s a super insightful blog post on how he launched it. The first HustleCon had 400 attendees and 25 – this one had over 2,000 attendees and 130 attendees.
The venue and stuff
This is the second year in a row that HustleCon has been held at the Paramount Theater in Oakland, which is actually stunning. It’s a block away from the 19th Street BART station, so it’s convenient for us Bay kids. But there were actually a number of people who came from places like Oregon, Ohio and Santa Barbara to volunteer and attend.
The speeches and stuff
Jen Rubio, Away
I was pleasantly surprised at the tidbits of wisdom Jen Rubio had to offer. She’s the co-founder of luggage company Away, which caters to the wanderlusting millennial. You know, the who doesn’t want to be sitting at their desk but also constantly needs to charge their phone so they can Snapchat and keep their friends nice and jealous while they dart between beach clubs in Bali.
She’s the former head of social media at Warby Parker, so naturally, she built her business off the power of social media. Don’t underestimate it. Never underestimate it.
When Away was getting started, the team aimed to act first as a content company. They assembled gift guides and sent them out to influencers for early buzz. They’ve also done some incredibly fun collaborations, like inviting three popular Brooklyn artists to monogram Away luggage for customers.
When it came to touchstone events like SXSW and Coachella, they went the cheap but fun (and incredibly clever) route – set up a charging station. Let’s face it, we all need some extra cell juice during a bragfest like Coachella. What better than charging outlets to get people to stop by for a few minutes?
“We’ve really created this community that loves to travel. 99% of our Instagram is user generated, which breeds more content,” Jen said. “If storytelling drives you and your activations, people will write about it.”
The company’s capsule collections include collaborations with model Suki Waterhouse, a Despicable Me film sequel and charity:water.
“Don’t market, build a community,” Jen advised.
Payal Kadakia, Classpass
I’ve been using Classpass for over two years now and it really did change the way I exercised for awhile. I found myself exploring boutique studios in my area and trying out new forms of exercise. I even gave spinning another chance after detesting it at my college’s gym. This time I was a fan.
Payal took the stage to share the story about how growing up, she loved Indian dance. Like fellow speaker Kara Goldin of Hint Water, Payal started Classpass to take the frustration out of researching and booking fitness classes.
Classpass went through many revamps. The team constantly optimized based on feedback until they arrived at the product that’s out today. Ultimately, Classpass is a good example of how listening to your customers can help you turn a profit.
One of the more powerful moments of her time onstage was when she shared the mantra by which she lives her life, “On the other side of your greatest fears lives your greatest life.”
And finally…
How do you get Jenna Marbles to plug your products on her Youtube channel?
Knit her dogs sweaters. Duh. Thanks for the tip, Tom Bilyeau.
But really, it’s all about sentimentality and personal connection. The folks at Social Tools Summit mentioned it – try it, it works.
Side note: I missed Casey Neistat’s talk – he’s a Youtube star – and several attendees said it was excellent. I’ll have to wait for the Youtube videos to be uploaded.
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