44 - Why 98% Of Startups (And Marketers) Waste Their Time - Christopher Lochhead, 3X Silicon Valley CMO

When I started recording the episode with Christopher Lochhead, I immediately felt like I was in the (virtual) room with a legend.

Christopher is a retired entrepreneur and 3X Silicon Valley public company CMO. He makes content (podcasts, books, newsletters, links to all those at the end of the show notes) for entrepreneurs and marketers with a different mind. I found out about Christopher from LinkedIn, left a comment on a post, and he invited me to read the Category Pirates newsletter. This is when I began diving more deeply into category design. I'm currently reading his book Play Bigger.

Here's what we hit on:

Explain category design like you're speaking to a 7-year-old;

Most companies compete for existing demand vs. create new demand and this is a trap;

Why most marketers waste their time in their career;

Companies that are great examples of category design leaders and what are they doing right;

What makes a legendary entrepreneur? (HINT: they force choice between past vs. future);

Companies that lead with category design are valued at 5x more;

Companies that lead with category design get 76% of market share (Source: HBR);

What are the most important steps to build category design and create a legendary company;

What are some bad recommendations about category design (HINT: people don't like change);

Why you need problem/category fit vs. product/market fit;

Why this is such an amazing time to be an entrepreneur.

You can reach Christopher on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlochhead

Find out more about Category Pirates: www.categorypirates.com

Also check out these podcasts: Follow Your Different and Lochhead on Marketing

And these books: Play Bigger (on category design) and Niche Down (become legendary by being different)

For more content, subscribe to Modern Startup Marketing on Apple or Spotify (or wherever you like to listen).

You can find Anna on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/annafurmanov or visit this website: www.furmanovmarketing.com

Thanks for listening!