How to grow B2C startups fast
Before CKBK even existed as a platform, founder Matthew Cockerill faced a fundamental question: In a world drowning in free recipes online, do cookbooks still matter?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When building a subscription platform that serves both home cooks and professional chefs, the obvious move seems to be creating different pricing tiers. But CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill deliberately chose a different path.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most subscription platforms focus exclusively on consumers or business customers, but rarely both. CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill discovered that his "Spotify for cookbooks" had unexpected appeal in educational markets, leading to a thriving B2B revenue stream alongside consumer subscriptions.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most content creators struggle with digital monetization, especially in industries where traditional models have been disrupted. CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill solved this challenge by adapting Spotify's royalty pool system to cookbook publishing
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When CKBK launched, many publishers worried that digital cookbook access would cannibalize print sales. But founder Matthew Cockerill discovered the opposite: his subscription platform actually drives physical cookbook purchases while serving different user needs
Jason Louro
Getting users to download a recipe app is one challenge. Getting them to actually cook regularly is another entirely. CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill is tackling this engagement problem by building gamification features that encourage users to develop consistent cooking habits
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Running a small startup while managing relationships with publishers, smart appliance makers, culinary schools, and complementary apps sounds overwhelming. But CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill has built a thriving partnership ecosystem that drives growth across multiple channels
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
How do you build an initial user base when you have no existing community? João Neves and his team at Bloop solved this challenge by turning their fundraising process and press strategy into community building tools, creating 300 engaged beta users before they even launched.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most founders struggle with the chicken-and-egg problem: buyers won't come without good selection, but sellers won't join without existing buyers. João Neves and his team at Bloop solved this challenge by focusing on three key strategies that helped them reach nearly 100 sellers before launch.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Getting meaningful feedback from users is one of the biggest challenges facing early-stage product teams. Most startups struggle with low response rates to surveys, generic feedback that's hard to act on, or users who simply don't bother sharing their thoughts at all.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When most startups think about crowdfunding, they picture polished campaigns on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, complete with professional videos and stretch goals. João Neves, co-founder and CTO of Bloop, took a completely different approach: the power of word-of-mouth.
Jason Louro
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared how embracing their startup reality rather than hiding it transformed customer relationships and accelerated their growth trajectory.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared her methodical approach to TikTok testing that helped Sylvi discover the crucial difference between viral content and valuable content for their business.
Jason Louro
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared how one breakthrough creator collaboration transformed their growth trajectory and the systematic approach they've since developed to scale creator partnerships effectively.
Trophy Team
Sylvi AI, a language learning app that helps users practice conversations with AI pen pals, launched in April 2024 and has already reached over 1,000 paying customers. But their path to building a loyal user base started with a simple question: "How did you find us?"
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Amy Cameron, Head of Marketing at Sylvi AI, discovered a fundamentally different approach that transformed their product development process and accelerated their path to product-market fit.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most B2C startups approach creator partnerships with a simple playbook: offer affiliate commissions and hope for the best. But according to Tim Johnson, who's managed creator communities at three major consumer apps including Wattpad (acquired for $600M), this approach is fundamentally flawed.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Tim recently joined the Levels Podcast to share insights from his unique journey across multiple B2C platforms, and his perspective on creator partnerships challenges conventional wisdom.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
On the latest episode of the Levels Podcast, Tim shared his contrarian approach to B2B sales that prioritizes human connection over automation, quality over quantity, and genuine relationship building over transactional interactions.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Not every startup needs to become a unicorn to be successful. Sometimes the most valuable lesson an entrepreneur can learn is when to pivot from venture-scale ambitions to building a sustainable, profitable business.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
One of the most fundamental challenges facing B2C startups is understanding whether users are actively searching for your solution or if they need to discover it organically. This distinction shapes everything, and getting it wrong can waste months of precious runway.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
In a recent episode of the Levels Podcast, Tim shared how he generated $2 million in revenue for seed-stage Blossom, where an impressive 70% of revenue comes from brand partnerships rather than subscriptions. His methodology completely reframes how consumer apps should approach B2B sales.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Building a consumer app that users genuinely love should be the golden ticket to sustainable growth, right? Unfortunately, the reality is far more complex. Even when your product delivers real value and users actively enjoy the experience, they can still churn at alarming rates.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most consumer app founders assume subscriptions are the holy grail of monetization. After all, recurring revenue is predictable, scalable, and the foundation of many successful SaaS businesses. But what if there's a better way?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Building a creator community that actually drives growth is one of the most challenging aspects of scaling a B2C app. While most founders understand the potential power of creator partnerships, few know how to execute them effectively at scale.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most B2C app founders assume subscriptions are their golden ticket to revenue. But what if we told you that 70% of a successful social investing app's revenue comes from brand partnerships, not subscriptions?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Building a consumer app that scales isn't just about great UX or smart marketing—it's about creating network effects that make your product more valuable as more people use it. But how do you actually design and execute a network effects strategy that works?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When you’re building a B2C startup, the hardest problems aren’t always product, pricing, or even growth. Sometimes, the biggest threat is… the weather. Read how one founder used gift cards to solve this problem.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
If you're building a B2C startup and thinking, “Maybe I’ll just run some Google Ads to get early traction” — read this first.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
If you’re launching a B2C startup, there’s a moment that lives in your head before it ever happens: the first real customer. In your imagination, it's a perfect stranger. Someone discovering your product, loving it and pulling out their credit card In reality? It might just be your brother…
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe