From Medium Writer to Entrepreneurship Handbook Founder

Starting a business or a startup can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it does come with its fair share of challenges. One of the biggest hurdles is deciding which direction to take. 

With so much online information, knowing where to begin can be difficult.

It's essential to do your research and have a solid plan in place before diving in. 

1. Start by identifying your niche and target audience. 

2. Determine what sets your business apart and what value you can offer. 

3. Conduct market research to understand your competition and identify any gaps in the market that you can fill.

4. Develop a business plan once you understand your business idea and target market.

Many entrepreneurs need help figuring out the next steps even after having a solid business plan.

This is where Entrepreneurship Handbook comes in handy by providing valuable insights and guidance to help navigate the business landscape. 

Dave Schools, the creative mind behind the Entrepreneurship Handbook (EH), wanted to create a community that showcases cool startups, entrepreneurship processes, tech innovations, and design theory. 

Entrepreneurship Handbook comes packed with practical advice from experts and novices alike. But remember, starting a business or a startup is a journey, and having a business plan and a support system is crucial. 

So, don't hesitate to reach out and ask for help. You never know who might be willing to lend a hand.

The Genesis of Entrepreneurship Handbook

Who is Dave Schools? What is the Entrepreneurship Handbook (EH)? And how can it help entrepreneurs in their journey to success? 

Let us venture to the beginning.

Dave Schools serves as the VP of Multiproduct Growth at Hopin. He is also a published author and a startup marketing leader who has founded an app named Party Qs. With a strong record of entrepreneurial successes, we spoke with Dave about his marketing and growth background and the EH newsletter.

“Growth is very fun,” said Dave during the interview. “I started in Marketing. Our Marketing Team [Hopin] scaled from 45 folks, and it all disappeared. After the pandemic, we calmed down. We were over 1,000 individuals at one point and went down to 300. We had five business units needing support: Hopin Events (our original), StreamYard, Streamable, Topi, and Jamm.”

In August, Hopin sold the events platform to RingCentral. Hopin achieved unicorn status during the COVID-19 pandemic and raised more than $1 billion in funding. At Hopin, Dave oversees growth strategies of multiple products, public relations, and corporate brand management. 

Outside of his full-time work at Hopin, Dave is also the co-founder and CEO of Party Qs, a fast-growing icebreaker questions mobile app (number 1 on Google Search) with over 2,000 hand-curated conversation starter questions for any social setting.

Dave's extensive knowledge and passion for startups and marketing made him realize the need for a community to support others in the same process. In 2015, he started writing stories about unique startups, entrepreneurship, tech innovations, and design theory. 

“So, the Entrepreneurship Handbook has always been where I record my journey and personal learnings. Everything I encountered through running my own LLC, S Corp, App Company, and now being part of Hopin, a venture-backed hypergrowth startup.”

A Medium of Inspiration

The Entrepreneurship Handbook is not just a guide; it's a top Medium publication dedicated to helping readers succeed in entrepreneurship.

“I was watching Ev Williams, one of the co-founders of Twitter, with what his next project was going to be. And it was the platform Medium. I was early and waiting for Medium to open its doors. I created a publication—a repository for all my writing and learning about starting a business and launching a startup. Since I was early, and because I protected the quality of the editorial direction of the publication, it attracted writers, and I had some viral stories go off.”

What is Medium?

Medium is a popular online publishing platform that allows writers and publishers to share their content with a large audience. It was founded in 2012 by Evan Williams, one of the co-founders of Twitter. 

The platform has gained immense popularity over the years thanks to its unique approach to content creation and sharing. 

With its user-friendly interface and powerful publishing tools, Medium has become the go-to platform for writers, bloggers, and publishers who want to share their ideas and stories with a broader audience. 

It's not just a platform for self-promotion or advertising but a community of readers and writers who value thoughtful, well-written articles and engaging stories. 

The editorial team curates and highlights the best content to millions of readers, making it an ideal place to showcase one's writing skills and gain exposure.

Medium has become a platform that offers a vast readership and provides writers and publishers with the necessary tools to create high-quality and engaging content, a community that values their work, and a chance to get noticed by a broader audience.

Medium x Entrepreneurship Handbook

Entrepreneurship Handbook is a Medium publication that aims to assist readers in succeeding in entrepreneurship. The publication has earned a large following due to its high-quality content, which includes practical advice, inspirational stories, and expert insights on startups.  

EH has become a top-tier Medium publication, prioritizing valuable content for its readers. The publication strongly emphasizes quality over quantity, and its editors strive to ensure that every article published on the platform is well-researched, informative, and captivating.

Entrepreneurship Handbook doesn't shy away from the gritty realities of startup life. 

It tackles the dark side of the hustle - the crushing failures, self-doubt, and mental health challenges - without sugar coating or turning a blind eye. This honesty offers invaluable guidance for entrepreneurs navigating the emotional rollercoaster of building a business.  

The publication explores new content creation and monetization strategies to attract even more readers. The large following of the publication has created an avenue of partnership with Medium.

“We have a contract with Medium directly. We get paid to publish. There are many great writers on Medium. We scout and hunt for top voices in the startup and entrepreneurship space.”

Entrepreneurship Handbook Buzzes to beehiiv

If you want to write and publish your work, Medium is a great platform to get started. By sharing your articles on Medium, you can reach a wider audience and get discovered by well-known outlets. 

Many past articles from Entrepreneurship Handbook on Medium have been republished by popular media outlets, which helped Dave gain more exposure and established him as an authority in entrepreneurship. 

“We have 230,000 followers and publish hundreds of fantastic writers on the platform. Medium is a wonderful community of readers and writers.”

We asked Dave, with a robust history on Medium, why he would gravitate towards beehiiv…