GE 230: How John Doherty Went from Getting Laid Off to Founding a Successful Subscription-Based Marketplace (podcast)

Hey everyone! In today’s episode, I share the mic with John Doherty, founder and CEO of Credo, a marketplace for those who need an SEO or marketing provider.

Tune in to hear John share the struggles he experienced and lessons learned when he took the big leap from the corporate world to entrepreneurship, how he went from being laid off to building a successful company, how he grew Credo to 14K monthly visitors, and the biggest mistake this naïve first-time entrepreneur made.

Download podcast transcript [PDF] here: How John Doherty Went from Getting Laid Off to Founding a Successful Subscription-Based Marketplace TRANSCRIPT

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:36 – Leave a review and rating and subscribe to the Growth Everywhere Podcast
• 01:01 – Eric welcomes John Doherty
• 01:58 – John has been in digital marketing for about 8 or 9 years
  • 02:16 – John has had his hand in everything (from tech support to helping run a publishing company) since his university days
  • 02:33 – He’s worked for some agencies as well in Philadelphia and New York; worked at Hotpads and ran growth at Trulia
  • 02:52 – John started working for himself in the last two years
• 02:59 – Credo is a subscription marketplace for those needing an SEO or marketing agency
  • 03:02 – It’s free for businesses looking to find digital marketing agencies or consulting
• 03:19 – Credo charges agencies and consultants who get their projects or potential clients from Credo
• 03:31 – Credo has been growing consistently over the last six months
• 03:50 – Credo is getting 13K-14K website visitors monthly
• 04:01 – Credo’s software-side revenue is earning $23K-$27K a month
• 04:20 – Credo now has a part-time developer, but John built the initial product himself
• 04:50 – John shares how he started again after getting laid off
• 05:48 – John has rebranded and pivoted the business model
  • 05:57 – He violated someone’s trademark and had to rebrand because of this
  • 06:17 – John has been doing many tests for his business
  • 06:30 – Chris Lema helped him with his business model because his metrics were going up, but his revenue was going down
  • 08:11 – Credo moved to a subscription model, which is a more profitable model; they pay for access and they pay according to how many contacts they want per month
• 08:55 – John shares how agency fees vary; he restricts supply on the site
• 09:55 – John doesn’t see himself running Credo in 5 years
  • 10:07 – John is recently focused on his vision and growing the business
• 11:00 – Credo’s first 100 customers came from his own network
  • 11:34 – Many of his clients would refer him to others
  • 11:45 – One of John’s friends who has an agency in Utah paid him $50 for an intro which made his friend close a deal
• 12:37 – Credo’s plans start at $100 and go up to $375; there’s a different plan for the bigger clients
• 13:31 – Credo currently has 70-75 paying customers
• 13:57 – SEO is a very competitive space
  • 14:57 – John has expanded the pool of keywords that he ranks for
• 15:31 – John is a big fan of Paul Graham’s Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule way of thinking
• 17:10 – Blocking off time in your schedule is very helpful strategy
• 17:40 – What’s one new tool that you added in the last year that added a lot of value for you? – Ahrefs and Calendly
• 18:58 – What’s one must-read book do you recommend? – The 4-Hour Workweek and The Hard Thing About Hard Things
• 19:50 – What’s one podcast that you listen to and is your go-to? Noah Kagan Presents and Creative Live
• 21:01 – The best way to find John online is on Twitter and his website
• 21:38 – Head back to Growth Everywhere for show notes and additional resources; leave a review and rating and subscribe to the podcast

3 Key Points:

1. If you don’t try, you won’t go anywhere.
2. Running a business doesn’t mean you should stay in it forever—don’t be surprised when the time comes for you to seek another challenge.
3. Take advice from your mentors—they’re mentors for a reason.

Resources From This Interview:

• Credo
• Hotpads
• Trulia
• Chris Lema
• Paul Graham’s Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule
• Ahrefs
• Calendly
• Must-read books:
  • The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rick by Tim Ferriss
  • The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
• Go-to podcasts:
  • Noah Kagan Presents
  • The Chase Jarvis LIVE Show
• John on Twitter
• John Doherty’s website

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