Breakfast with the Experts
DISRUPTIVE BUSINESS MODELS
& GROWTH HACKING@RICCentre
#GYBDisruptive2015
June 4, 2015
RIC Centre is a member of
Growing Your Business: Disruptive Business Models and Growth Hacking
RIC Centre
By: Jordan Whelan, Grey Smoke Media
Agenda
• My Background
• Grey Smoke Media
• Our Paper Life
• Framestr
• Lessons in Disruption
My Background
• Radio: Newstalk 1010 , Virgin Radio, Sirius XM
• Newspaper: Huffington Post, Toronto Sun & Syndicated
• TV: FOX Networks
• Founder: Grey Smoke Media- Diamond and Diamond, John Tory for Mayor
• Founder: Our Paper Life – Cardboard Design Firm
• Founder: Framestr.com – E-commerce reimagined
Current Sad Media State – Birth of Grey Smoke
• Overworked, Underpaid media employees, Mass layoffs
• Decreased Revenue
• Click Bait, Regurgitation of Content
• Paid Promotion/Sponsored Content
• Heavy influence of PR firms/Corporate $
• Newspapers with a business model on a house of cards
• Saturation of the Internet – Junk/Spun Content
Grey Smoke Media
• Team of Ex-Media Reporters, Journalists an Editors
• “How the Sausage is Made”• Reverse Engineering the Process of Media • All-encompassing
Step 1 Paid
Step 2 Earned
Step 3 Digital
Lost ROI through Single Agency Firms
Black Magic in Media
The Ultimate Media Marketing
Ashley Madison
The Bad
The Digital Age
• SEO (Backlinks, Guest Posting, Social Media Activity, On-site activity)
• Contextual Links in bought media
• Requesting links from earned media
• Page 11 to Page 1 in 5 Weeks (Search Boost)
Cardboard Furniture?
Slow Start… & B2B Shift
• High Shipping Costs
• High Acquisition Costs
• Awareness Problem
Room in a Box
• Market Research• SEO Benefits
Building a
Store
Lack of
Interest from
Bloggers
Limited Traffic
and Promotion
Seller, Listing
and Member
Fees
Case study: Our Paper Life does not have the resources or digital
acumen to compete with well established players. How do they
grow?
The Perils of launching an online business
Problem
Limited traffic from bloggers, promotion and digital acumen
Bloggers and users can act as powerful influencers for a
businesses’ products. How do you reach out to them?
Current Shopping
Platforms
Solution
A simplified, end-to-end, digital marketing vehicle for independent
sellers looking to grow their presence online
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The New Display Network
1) Tell us about your
site
2) Target products to
your audience
• Provides a snapshot
of the site and
metrics
• Helps us determine
overall site quality
• Choose targeted
products for your
users
• Select different ad
sizes
www.louistwelve.com
Know Your User
Choose unique
products made
around the globe to
your audience.
Seamless Integration
In only a few clicks start
offering products from the
Framestr marketplace.
Mobile Optimized
Works on any device.
Mobile is the future of
commerce.
Keep Users Engaged
Users can check-out
directly on-site. No
redirecting traffic.
Increase Revenues
Earn commissions for
each sale generated.
Keep 100% of affiliate
revenues.
Fully Interactive
Users can see
multiple products,
pictures, information
and check-out on
site.
In Action
Lessons in Disruption• Don’t try to reinvent the wheel
• Digital, Digital, Digital
• What business are you in?