Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mark Herschberg, Founder of Cognosco Media, LLC, located in New York, NY, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Conosco Media, LLC is at the forefront of new types of media and content tools. Our patent pending flagship product, Brain Bump (https://brainbumpapp.com), lets people better retain content from books, blogs, podcasts, talks, and classes. We serve two communities. In addition to the app users who can better retain and access what they read and hear, we also support content creators who need to find value in having their content on the app.
Tell us about yourself
We've put out prior content like business books. One challenge we saw was that people often read a business or self-help book but then quickly forget what they read. My own background crosses media, technology, and education. Putting together my experiences in those fields led to the creation of Brain Bump.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Marketing an app isn't easy. Likes books, podcasts, and websites, there are millions of them, and you need to work hard to stand out. Gaining traction for the app has been tough but rewarding.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
People issues are always the hardest. We're relatively small, so the issues are minimal, but in every business I've run, people issues, from office politics to personal issues of employees, have mostly been a tax on our time and productivity.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
First, make sure you have a clear value proposition. I see lots of products that aren't solving a well-defined problem with a clearly identifying set of customers who need that problem solved. Second, make sure you've thought through your go-to-market strategy. Lots of businesses work at scale, but think about how to begin and get those early customers. Third, leverage contractors for as much as possible so you can focus on your core operations and can have them efficiently get the secondary work done.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.cognoscomedia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cognoscomedia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CognoscoMedia/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cognoscomedia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hershey/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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