Tammy Camp
500 Startups Distribution Partner & Founder of Palytte.
Discussion
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
Hi - I'm Tammy Camp, Startup Investor and Growth Marketing Partner at 500 Startups. I'm also currently building Palytte, a personalized discovery engine. I've been in startups/technology for the past 14 years and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for companies such as Walmart, Priceline, Hotwire, Lloyds TSB, Nordstrom, etc, so I've seen what works and most importantly what doesn't. I'm so stoked to be here -- ask me anything!
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Harry Stebbings
@harrystebbings · Podcast Host @ The Twenty Minute VC
@TammyCamp thanks so much for joining us today. I would love to hear how you find the combination of working in venture with 500 and working in operations, founding Palytte? Do you think you view Palytte through a different lens from your work with 500?
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
@harrystebbings
The combination between ops at 500 + working on Palytte = I have no life and work all the time. ;)
In a weird way, being busier has made me more efficient. It forces me to prioritize all parts of my life and find ways to delegate to make sure I hit deadlines. I basically use SCRUM for my entire life.
500 Startups has been such an amazing experience and I have so much support from the entire team to get shit done and work on what I’m passionate about. Honestly, I’m so lucky to be apart of such a dynamic, supportive and diverse group of people.
It’s helped tremendously with Palytte as I do have more of an idea of what venture investors are looking for while building the product. I guess that is why it hasn’t launched yet — it’s not ready for investor eyes yet. More to come very soon!
Larry
@larry_lawal
@TammyCamp What is the one highest yield growth-hack or piece of advice that you would give a pre-launch website?
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
@larry_lawal
Highest Yield Growth Hack is..... give me all your money in your bank account. HAHA. I kid, kid.
The truth is, there is no silver bullet when it comes to growth hacking. Period.
It's all about running rapid experiments and putting hard numbers behind what works and what doesn't. The faster you run experiments on your product, the faster you will find a solution that will work for your company.
I highly recommend you watch Brian Balfour’s talk -- The Scientific Method: How to Design and Track Viral Growth Experiments. You can find it on http://startupmarketing.tammycam...
Emily Hodgins
@ems_hodge · Community and Marketing, Product Hunt
What have been some of the biggest challenges you've faced founding Palytte? How have you overcome them?
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
@ems_hodge
It’s still early days, so like MOST startups at my stage the challenges are:
Finding product marketing fit
Making sure the market large enough to be attractive to investors
Building a solid team
Creating our fundraising story
Acquiring users at a lower price than the lifetime value of the users
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
How did you like the Graduate Studies Program at Singularity University? What skills/insights/experiences/tools did you pick up that help you in your work at 500 startups today?
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
@tomstocklein The Graduate Studies Program at Singularity University was definitely a game changer for me.
Before I went through the program, I was very much an incremental thinker meaning I could only think up solutions to problems that were in a 6 to 12 month period. For me, going through that program re-tooled my brain to think exponentially, which now has allowed me to view solutions in a globally scalable and long term way.
It’s highly impacted my business thinking especially for 500 Startups. When I look at startups now, viability has a new meaning that will hopefully impact the world in a much greater way.
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
Peter Thiel famously said "We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters." What are some verticals or sectors that you think more entrepreneurs should focus on?
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
@tomstocklein I wouldn’t necessary categorizes things in verticals, but would say - Work on things that solve problems and can impact lives on a global scale.
I feel that can be in almost any vertical if you have the vision to change people’s lives in a positive way.
Salman Shakeel
@sshakeel · Senior UX Developer, XE.com
Hey Tammy, I know you just said that all verticals can lead to a positive global change. I'd like to know what startup verticals interest you today as an investor. How about as a consumer?
Akshay Bharwani
@akshaybharwani · Just a Student, for now.
Which books do you recommend to entrepreneurs?
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
@akshaybharwani
Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future
Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Akshay Bharwani
@akshaybharwani · Just a Student, for now.
@tammycamp Thank you Tammy! I just picked up Zero to One. Have to try other ones too. :)
Alp Behar
@alpbehar · Co-Founder, Upicnic
You have an amazing track record of leading startups to success - what do you think is the best way to attract capital and grow when your services, while tangible (in our case, picnic experiences in the park), have a much bigger abstract and experiential component (in our case, bringing people together and creating moments of pure, easy happiness & relax)?
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
@alpbehar
Have you watched Shark Tank? Do you know of Mr. Wonderful? If not, then I highly recommend you get to know his character. Most investors are well like him.... investors who want to make a return for their investors. Muah, ha, ha.
So as a founder, I'd make sure your unit economics are attractive to them.
Porsche Tysk
@porsche_tysk
Thanks Tammy for sharing your wisdom. 1. What's your advice to startups? 2. What do startsups often neglect or miss? 3. Can I ask you for advice on a project?
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Tammy Camp
@tammycamp · 500 Startups
@porsche_tysk My advice would to be watch all these videos - http://startupmarketing.tammycam...