Sam Stern

How to get more customers now without a big budget

Growth Leader & Mentor
Lemonade, Mixpanel, DigitalOcean, 25+ Startups

Growth hacks to gain traction & improve conversion rates throughout your funnel that don't cost a thing.

Tactics you can implement today to grow your customer base

Find your target audience that converts, meet them where they are and build messaging that converts them into customers

How to find your ICP & convert them into customers

Not all channels are measured the same way. Learn how to find success indicators and allocate budget the right way.

How to choose distribution channels that yield positive ROI

Develop positioning and messaging that fuel pipeline 

CMO, Advisor, Author of Standout Startup

Allyson Letteri

CMO, GTM Advisor, and Author of Standout Startup. 

Cohort 1

Cohort 2

When your messaging resonates, your pipeline grows faster. But many startups struggle to communicate their product’s value to their ideal customers.In just 2.5 hours, you’ll fix this.You’ll capture the insights you need to sharpen your positioning, then use AI to build a high-converting messaging framework. Finally, you’ll put it into action with a homepage outline you can launch fast.You’ll learn how to: ✨ Define clear positioning that sets you apart ✨ Build messaging that actually drives pipeline ✨ Turn messaging into a homepage you can launch nowThis workshop is hands-on and fast-paced.You’ll leave with messaging you can launch right away, plus a repeatable process to refine your messaging as your market shifts.This workshop sets the foundation for every part of your GTM strategy.

Create messaging that drives pipeline. Clarify your positioning and build high-converting messaging you can launch, fast.

Define your ICP and buyer persona

Sharpen your positioning and differentiation

Build messaging that converts

Turn messaging into a homepage that sells

B2B startup leaders who need effective messaging to launch their new product or increase pipeline and sales.

Marketing managers who want to learn a smart process to create high-converting messaging that drives more leads and better launches.

PMs and engineers who need the tools to develop positioning and value propositions so that their products sell.

Learn how to become an entrepreneur by acquiring a small business & achieve financial independence.

Bought a Business. $1.3B P&L. CEO & CPO.

The Home Depot

U.S. Army

Cadence

Unilever

Stanford University

Rocky - ProductLedCEO

Acquired a 45 year old small business | Led $1.3B P&L at Home Depot | CEO & CPO

August 2026

Most employees are one reorg away from a job search. But there's another path: buying a small business that already has customers, cash flow, and proof.Rocky did exactly that — acquired a 45-year-old business with zero savings. No VC. No co-founder. No startup risk.In 4 weeks, you'll learn the exact playbook he used — from finding the right deal to running it with AI.AI isn't just changing products — it's eliminating the jobs that build them.If you're a Business or Product Manager (PM) who's watched colleagues get laid off, wondered how long your role is safe, or just realized you're building someone else's wealth — this workshop is for you.Entrepreneurship by Buyout is the path most Business Managers and Product Managers don't know exists: acquiring a small business that already has customers, revenue, and cash flow — then running it as the CEO.Rocky did it. He acquired a 45-year-old business with no personal savings, converted it into an AI-native company, and now teaches PMs how to evaluate if this path is right for them.

How I Bought a 45-Year-Old Business With No Savings — And How You Can Too

ACQUIRE: Find & close your first deal with confidence

OPTIMIZE: Cut waste & run leaner than the previous owner ever did

GROW: Add revenue without adding headcount

INNOVATE: Future-proof your business before competitors do

CAPSTONE: Leave with a real acquisition plan — not just a certificate

This course moves fast. A business background means you'll apply frameworks immediately instead of learning basic concepts from scratch.

You have 3+ years in a product, operations, sales, or finance role.

Small business ownership requires influence and accountability. If you've done this at work, you're already ahead of most first-time buyers.

You have led a team, project, or stakeholder group without direct authority.

This course is built for the AI era. Owners who adapt fast win. A low ego and curiosity for new technology will determine your success.

You are open to AI tools, new frameworks, and unlearning old habits.

<code>Ambitious Product Manager: You've mastered the PM craft. Now apply it to something you own — with real financial upside and no ceiling.</code>

Risk-Aware Product Managers: Layoffs happen to great PMs too. A cash-flowing business gives you income no hiring manager can take away.

Side-Income Product Managers: Not ready to quit yet? Learn to evaluate real deals now so you're ready when the right opportunity appears.

Bad Learning Design Is Costing You Customers — Here's the Science Behind It

Learning Scientist | L&D Strategist

Vanorsdale Learning Lab

Great Game of Business

Docebo

National Alliance on Mental Illness Florida

English Like a Native

Dr. Christie Vanorsdale, Ed.D, Ms.Ed.

Researcher. Practitioner. 15 years translating learning science into results

You've updated the onboarding. Rebuilt the knowledge base. Added walkthrough videos, help articles, live training sessions. Your customers still aren't adopting the product the way you need them to.The instinct is to fix the content. More of it. Make it Better, or Shorter. More visual. But, the problem isn't the content.It's that content was never designed to produce learning in the first place.Human beings don't retain complex knowledge because they watched a video or completed a walkthrough. Retention requires intentional sequencing, cognitive scaffolding, and an architecture that reduces friction rather than creates it. Most customer onboarding violates every one of those principles — not because the people who built it weren't smart, but because they were never taught what learning science actually says about how knowledge transfers.This workshop gives founders and leaders the diagnostic framework to identify exactly where their customer education breaks down — and the research-backed principles to fix it. You'll leave with a clear line of sight between learning architecture and the revenue outcomes you actually care about: adoption, retention, and renewal.

Learn the science behind knowledge transfer and leave with a diagnostic framework that connects learning architecture to business outcomes.

Understand why customers aren't retaining your product using learning science

Pinpoint exactly where your customer onboarding breaks down

Apply three evidence-based principles to improve product adoption

Connect learning design decisions to churn, adoption, and renewal.

The Scaling Founder Complex product. Customers churn before reaching value. Onboarding feels broken but there's no framework to diagnose why

The Customer Success Leader Owns onboarding and renewals. Content exists but adoption is flat. Needs a framework and internal buy-in.

The L&amp;D Manager Fixing customer education with no infrastructure or alignment. Knows training theory. Missing the revenue impact language

Deliver a clear, compelling pitch, without rambling, or losing the room

Former VC | Helped startups raise $50M+

SoFi

MassChallenge

University of Michigan

Techstars

Mary Lemmer

Helped startups raise $50M+ 
Former VC turned storytelling & business strategist

June Cohort

You can have a great idea, product, or strategy—and still lose the room.I’ve seen this from both sides.As a former venture capitalist, I’ve heard thousands of pitches. As an operator and advisor, I’ve helped startups raise over $50M and been part of teams that have collectively raised over $3B.The difference between a "no", a “maybe” that eventually gets you ghosted, and a “yes” is rarely the idea itself—it’s the clarity, delivery, and adaptability of the pitch.This workshop exists to close that gap.In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn practical and proven improv-inspired techniques to sharpen your message and deliver your pitch with clarity and confidence. Whether you’re pitching investors, clients, leadership, or an idea, you’ll walk away with tools you can use immediately.You’ll learn how to:<ul><li>Get to the core of your message (and cut what doesn’t matter)</li><li>Structure a pitch that’s clear, concise, and engaging</li><li>Turn nerves into energy and confidence</li></ul>This isn’t just theory—you’ll actively practice, refine your pitch, and get real-time feedback during the session.With active engagement, by the end of the session, you’ll have a better pitch and confidence walking into your next pitch.

Whether you’re pitching investors, clients, leadership, or an idea, you’ll walk away with tools you can use immediately.

Clarify and simplify your pitch

Improve how you deliver your pitch

Deliver your pitch with more confidence and adaptability

Founders actively fundraising or preparing to raise. Your product is strong, but your pitch feels too long, complex, or isn’t landing.

Sales professionals pitching products or services. You know your offering, but struggle to communicate it clearly and close the deal.

Leaders presenting ideas or asking for resources. You need buy-in, but find yourself over-explaining, rambling, or losing the room.

Agentic AI

Coding with AI

AI Workflows

Claude Code

OpenClaw

Vibe Coding

AI Evals

AI Transformation

RAG & Search

AI for PMs

AI for Engineers

AI for Designers

AI for Marketers

AI for Founders

Product Sense

Product Discovery

User Research

Prototyping

Growth

Analytics

Tech Foundations

Strategy

Influence

Leadership

Career Growth

Machine Learning

LLM Ops

Context Eng

Security

System Design

Figma

Design Systems

Visual Design

Design Strategy

Automation

Content Marketing

Demand Gen

Go-to-Market

Product Marketing

Positioning

Social Media

Brand

B2B Marketing

SEO & AEO

AI for Leaders

AI Governance

Communication

Management

People Operations

Exec Presence

Storytelling

Goal-setting

Personal Brand

Fundraising

Everyone

Operators

Data Scientists

Business Analysts

User Researchers

Customer Success

Project Managers

HR Professionals

Sales People

Lawyers

Finance

Investors

Real Estate

Educators

Creators

Marketers who drive brand awareness, customer acquisition, and growth across channels.

Startup founders building new businesses, from MVP to scale.

Planning and executing product launches, market entry strategies, and cross-functional go-to-market coordination.

Driving user acquisition, activation, retention, and monetization through product-led growth strategies.

Generating qualified pipeline through inbound and outbound programs — lead scoring, nurture campaigns, and conversion optimization.

How to get more customers now without a big budget

What you'll learn

Why this topic matters

You'll learn from

Sam Stern