Carol Malakasis

Market Pull Group

"Startups strive for market pull. We help you find it" 

Hi there! At Market Pull, we help early stage founders and sales teams (Seed - A) predictably scale to their first $1M in ARR and beyond. 

But let's take a step back. You already know that 90% of early startups fail. 

And you probably know that's due to lack of product market fit (not enough traction), poor or no sales execution (no playbook), bad founding hires (wrong candidate / wrong stage), burning through your runway (is the business even viable?)

But...is it you? Do you lack sales ability / hate selling OR is it time for a product pivot?

You're losing sleep over: 

🔵 Selling to the right ICP

🔵 Transitioning from inbound to outbound sales

🔵 Successfully qualifying and closing deals

🔵 Finding the right pricing model

🔵 Selling without being 'salesy'

🔵 When to hire and train a sales team

🔵 Executing a repeatable sales motion. 

That's where we come in. 

We audit your processes, custom build your GTM strategy, teach you how to sell (founder-led selling), and help you hire, onboard, and train your first sales team. 

Our clients are able to get to their first $1M ARR and beyond, in a predictable, scalable way, and use the processes we build together for the lifecycle of their business. 

When you hire me, I am a part of your team. I am known for my directness, dedication, and aversion to BS.

If you'd like to work with me, DM me. I look forward to meeting you!

CEO & founder

SOSA

Startup Mentor

Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator

Starta VC

Sales mentor for the Spring & Fall 2023 Cohorts

Techstars

Rampd

WHO GETS RESULTS WORKING WITH RAMPD:

Founders of early stage startups at the Seed to Series A stage, who want a predictable sales system to grow their revenue operations consistently as they scale their organization.

WHAT WE DO:

There are 5 chapters to an inside sales playbook — Building, Hiring, Training, Managing and Measuring. I walk you through a systematized process on how to execute each step flawlessly over the course of an accelerator program. With me you get a Trainer, Consultant, Coach and Mentor all in one.

Managing Partner | Head of Training 

WeWork

Seated

Senior Key Accounts Partner (Series B)

- Promoted in this position to handle our top tier, key accounts.
- Consistently closed over 100% to goal
- Launched Boston, Atlanta, and Chicago market

Senior Key Accounts Associate

- Second salesperson to be hired in the team (Seed stage)
- Helped built initial script and outreach materials
- Consistently closed over 100% to goal

Senior Account Executive 

Trendy Pal

Trendy Pal is a two-way app connecting local retail shops with influencers, in order to acquire new clients and promote retention via built-in loyalty program.

- Built GTM strategy
- Trained sales team
- Recruited VP of Sales

Sales Consultant

Munch Ado

All-in-one digital solution for restaurants providing social media and e-commerce design and management, driving growth and revenue online.

Director of Account Management

When I got hired at my first sales role, selling goat cheese door to door, I did not know what “revenue” meant. Fast forward 15 years later, I am an expert at scaling revenue for Seed - Series A startups. 

I am a NY sales vet who spent the last 15 years in startup sales. 

After my brief stint selling cheese, I co-founded a CPG brand (acquired) selling handmade Horchata to local markets and Wholefoods. 

I pivoted in tech in 2012 and found my passion in building SMB startups. I’ve been part of the founding GTM team in three high growth startups (2 exits). 

I’ve made over half a million cold calls, trained sales teams, hired and onboarded hundreds of reps, and sold over $2M in revenue. 

Since 2020, I am a GTM consultant, trainer, and coach for B2B SaaS companies. I’ve helped over 100 YC companies get to their first $1M in revenue and beyond. 

.........................................................................................

The first five years of a startup's life are the most crucial. 

During this time 90% of startups fail. 

Top reasons include lack of product market fit, poor or no sales execution, bad founding hires, burning through your runway. 

I de-risk all of the above and provide you with the tools and systems to predictably scale to Series A and beyond. 

When traction isn’t there, is it really your product or…is it you? Do you struggle with selling, lack a repeatable sales process, or need a product pivot? 

You're losing sleep over: 

🔵 Selling to the right ICP

🔵 Transitioning from inbound to outbound sales

🔵 Successfully qualifying and closing deals

🔵 Finding the right pricing model

🔵 Selling without being 'salesy'

🔵 When to hire and train a sales team

🔵 Executing a repeatable sales motion. 

That's where I come in. I audit your processes, custom build your GTM strategy, teach you how to sell (founder-led selling), and help you hire, onboard, and train your first sales team. 

My clients are able to get to their first $1M ARR and beyond, in a predictable, scalable way, and use the processes we build together for the lifecycle of their business. 

When you hire me, I am a part of your team. I am known for my directness, dedication, and aversion to BS. 


If you want to work with me, DM me. You can also book a call at https://calendly.com/malakasis ☎️

Envoy

Pavilion is powered by an international community of revenue leaders from the world’s fastest growing companies. Together, we teach new skills, forge meaningful connections, and help our companies grow. 

As an Event Host, I host Executive Salon Dinners for Pavilion and drive insightful, confidential dialogues on trending topics, growth opportunities, and strategies for overcoming challenges. 

Unlock your professional potential and level up with community-powered learning for CEOs, GTM leaders, and teams. Join today at joinpavilion.com/apply-now.

Astra Motion

Founder & CEO

Servier

Freelance Motion Designer

My name is Hlib and we make fcking awesome SaaS product videos.
Formerly a competing powerlifter (RAW, sq 282.5kg, b 180 kg, dl 300 kg, bw @-90).
I lead the team of 12 talented Ukrainians (scriptwriters, designers, animators, sound producers, etc).

Hlib Trazanov

One of our best videos!!
Made for ZoomInfo.
I'm proud of the result (spoiler: it's not the end!)

________
Video type: product launch promo/demo
Length: 65 seconds
Turnaround time: 3 weeks
________

Over the last 3 weeks we've been working days and nights (including weekends) to complete it before the launch date. 

There were some major pivots on every stage:
- 3 versions of the script
- 2 versions of the storyboard
- changing the video structure when the animation was already complete, 2 days before the publishing date

But I look at it as an OPPORTUNITY. 

A great chance to show what we're made of. 

To show that our clients can rely on us, even in the moments of turbulence and the most tightest deadlines.

This version of the video was enough for the launch date, but we're still gonna work on it and polish until its perfect (messaging-, animation smoothness-, structure-wise).

So, stay tuned for an upgrade!! 

P.S. special thanks to Amir Cohn, Ryan Sweeney and the rest of the ZoomInfo's video team!

Founder @ Astra Motion | Video Marketing for SaaS/AI

One trick
to make your product videos
look premium.

Quick tip: add a light outline (a thin white border) around your main elements. 
It will make an already good design - feel premium. 

And don't keep it static. Animate it too! Let it imitate the 3D light effect :)

It looks sick!

I've prepared a folder with video examples where we used this specific trick.

Who wants it?

The ONLY type of ads Stripe is using now.
9:16 vertical, 10-20 sec clips.
Let's break down their ads style.

What caught my interest:

While everyone else tries to be loud in their ads...
- Be BOLD, punchy, dynamic, blah blah.

Stripe chose calm, relaxed vibes.

"We don't need to hurry. We're confident and relaxed. Just like you'll be if you use us."

And it's not the first time I'm seeing how well the "serenity" vibes videos break through the noise today. 

(do you remember the Base 44 video? - link here: https://lnkd.in/dfFCQ5Py)  

People just want a quiet moment.

As to the format, there's not much to say here:
- 10-20 sec length
- Mostly 9:16 vertical (or sometimes 4:3)
- Formula: [Dream outcome] -> [Features] -> [CTA]
- Running 40-50 videos with different use cases and [dream outcomes]
- changing the background color, to make it feel like you haven't seen it yet

Do you like their ads style/vibes?

And would it stop you from scrolling?

__________________________
p.s. DM me if you want similar ads for your product

We've tested 30+ types of hooks.
In product videos.
Here are top 10 that performed.

I made a carousel below with each hook formula, example, and my thoughts on each. 

If you want me to share real video examples for each of the listed hooks, comment below!

Top 10 hooks for product videos

Happy to share the NEW video
we made for Captioneer!
(run by Nic Dean)

We made:
- Main 1:15 min video (link here https://lnkd.in/d9GZceKE)
- 35 sec cutdown with a hook #2
- 30 sec cutdown with a hook #3
- working on resizes 1:1 and 9:16.

Today I decided to post the cutdown with the hook #3 as I personally like it the most :) 

Interesting story:

About a month ago Nic and I both agreed to make the production process of this video public (available to anyone):
- the hook options
- color style choice
- animation options, etc. 

If you missed it, you can find it all on Nic Dean's LinkedIn page!

And I know there's a LOT of motion designers and video editors in my audience. So I'm taking this moment to say: GO TRY THIS CAPTIONS PLUGIN!!! 

(p.s. and if you want a longer trial, tag Nic Dean in my comments below)

Before I hired a scriptwriter, I used to write all our video scripts myself (65%+ engagement).
Here’s my special method. I call it "blocking".

For example:

Let's say we have a typical product video formula:
[Hook] -> [Solution] -> [Quick demo] -> [Features] -> [Social proof] -> [CTA]

Then what I did is I listed out every potential option for each “block” (problems, features, social proof points, etc).

Can be 5 problems, 4 social proof points, 10+ features, for example. 

Then I “assemble” the most RELEVANT ones into a final script. 
(because you only have 45 seconds in a video)

It’s also called “modular scripting”. 
But I like “blocks” more :) 

It’s especially useful in direct response creatives or ads, where we need to test many different messaging angles (and need variability).

And also it helps you focus only on important stuff.
-> the video is shorter, more to the point, with a smaller production budget 

Now you know my secret formula. 

Use it wisely :)

Hlib 1.0 died.
Hlib 2.0 is born. 

I love the Alex Hormozi saying:

“The work works on you more than you work on it”. 

Hlib 1.0 was playing league of legends, scrolling reels, didn’t have enough physical activity, and worked without discipline on the “fun stuff”. 

Hlib 2.0 is now doing Thai boxing, deleted YouTube and Instagram from the phone, and is working on the business like never before. 

And this notebook, a gift from my wife, is the best reminder. 

P.S. it took me 1 whole year to finish my previous notebook. And if anyone asks “what did you do last year” - I’ll show them this.

No alternative text description for this image

APPS IN CHATGPT??!
This video got 600k views in 6 days.
Let's break it down.

Do not try copying their video style/structure if your product isn't on ChatGPT level of awareness.

Here's why:

1. Context.

OpenAI already assumes that most people know what ChatGPT is. So they didn't provide ANY context about what ChatGPT is and what it does in the first place (which you SHOULD do every time, if you're still small). 

The only context they had is the name of the video on their YouTube: "Apps in ChatGPT". That's enough in their case. But probably not in yours :)
_______________

Now, the good stuff!!

2. Teaser part. 

A very good move: they decided to show the end result very early in the video. So you basically don't even need to watch the whole video, you get it in  <10sec.

3. Sound design.

This sounds AMAZING. Since the visuals are very simple, they had to compensate with the sound design. IMO, it added some "texture" to the video. I enjoy it so much :)

TAKEAWAY:

1) Provide some context first.
2) Show value early (the meat part/end result). 
3) If you can't impress with visuals, use sound.

P.S. +point to the demo videos type. Another living proof that this type dominates in product marketing today.

________________________
DM me if you want a similar product demo video

Joe asked me:
How AI will change my video agency 
... in 1-2 years.

(for context: we do software product videos)

So far AI affected us only positively.

a) It still can not do UI animations! (especially micro ones)
b) It helps speed up the scripting and the voice-over stages.

So I think not much will change in our workflow for at least 1 more year.

But here's how I think we should transition to still be alive in 2-3 years from now. 

(watch below)

What are YOUR opinions on the AI?

taplio

The Battle

Carol Malakasis

Hlib Trazanov

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreHlib Trazanov's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Carol Malakasis

Hlib Trazanov

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Hlib Trazanov's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreHlib Trazanov's LinkedIn Performance