TIL: partnerships, opportunities & 1-1

July 22, 2024

I’ve experienced a wide variety of partnerships, each one teaching me something new about collaboration.

The bigger goals the more I needed an ally to make them feel possible.

I started my first News startup with 2 other guys,

I founded Elcune with my ex-partner in a 50-50 agreement,

I even treated some of the first people I hired as partners.

All of them helped me get further.

Some of them left scars and made me understand how hard these human relationships truly are.

Looking back, it’s clear that each year I trust fewer people. And I’m only 24. Ouf.

Here’s the thing.

When you run a membership with hundreds of members and you talk to dozens of influencers every week, you owe them to make the best decision possible. For the whole team. Not just for the short-term revenue.

As I and my team do all of the work and we don’t partner up with anyone else, I don’t just leave money on the table. 

I restrict our growth for the sake of not getting backstabbed again. 

Which is clearly not the best move on the chessboard.

Creating a partnership that keeps both parties happy over the long term is no easy job.

It is one that is highly worth it, however.

When you’re broke and you’re starting your entrepreneurial journey, all you can basically offer to a partnership is your time.

You are in charge of X, I am in charge of Y.

We split things 50-50.

Whoever gives up first is gay.

Boom.

That’s the easiest and fastest partnership agreement ever created.

When you’re running a company for half a decade, you have spent $250K in advertisement, thousands of customers and influencers that depend on you, any partnership gets a little bit more complicated.

What do you offer? What do you get?

How do we keep each party accountable?

How do things remain fair over the long term? 

Those are four questions that are hard to answer.

Things get even more complicated when you want to do business with a person you don’t actually know.

Their digital presence gives you all the green lights in the world, and you think it’s worth it to go for it.

How do you approach them?

How do you present the idea?

How do you negotiate?

How much time should you allocate?

How friendly vs professional should you be in the beginning?

What are the non-negotiables? 

I plan on starting some strategic partnerships. 

Strategic partnerships that will massively level up the Influencer Growth Program, my only concern is time. 

Two weeks ago I shared with you my calendar.

Things don’t look easy but I’ll keep you posted.

INFLUENCER GROWTH PROGRAM

Even though I haven’t started the strategic partnerships that will bring a new era to the Program, this past week was quite interesting for the new program applicants.

For the first time ever I had personalised 1-1 calls with the new influencers that applied and I got so many interesting insights.

Up until this point, people could only join the Influencer Growth Program through our website.

This week hundreds of applicants scheduled a call with us and a whole new layer of trust was built amongst the members and the company.

If you know someone who wants to become a fashion influencer, send them this link: www.Elcune.com/influencer-collaboration

If they are not a good fit, we will just send them their money back.

THINGS I’VE LEARNED

1.
Μeasure twice and cut once.

I’ve re-learned the same lessons dozens of times.

I see it in front of me every single week.

My mind is generating business ideas every day.

YouTube videos make every idea seem golden.

New opportunities find their way to my inbox.

It’s so easy to neglect the projects that you’ve started and split yourself thin to new ideas.

Dedication is scarce.

Stay focused on your vision.

2.
​Lifetime opportunities come twice a year.

Do you have a lifetime opportunity in front of you?

Time is of essence?

Good.

Here’s my personal take:

Don’t get fooled. Μeasure twice and cut once. Take calculated risks after you have envisioned every step of the process, especially for reversible decisions.​ Lifetime opportunities come twice a year.

GROW YOUR INFLUENCE

“Beach time is more beneficial than harmful for your brand.”

– Confucius 480 BCE

I’m joking. Confucius wasn’t a brand strategist.

As far as I know at least.

Life is a game of balance and these Summer days charging up your mental and emotional batteries with more time on the beach is probably the best counter-intuitive way to grow your influence and your revenue.

to your growth and influence,
>> Chris Fountoulis
Founder – Elcune.com & GrowthOfInfluence.com
chris@growthofinfluence.com

Do you know anyone who wants to work with fashion brands?
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