From Zero to $1 Million — and Taking Readers Along for the Ride

Marcin Pogroszewski is a man with big dreams and a clear vision of his life’s purpose — but he’s already proven himself capable of making big things happen.

When he was in his 20s, some friends nudged him to start a company, and it changed his life. After a successful exit, he says, "I became obsessed with entrepreneurship. And after a decade of building, investing, and supporting startups, I began to ask myself, 'What's my purpose in life?"

It’s an age-old existential question–one few people know how to answer. Pogroszewski suggested a starting point and shared his own answer. "I think a good question to ask yourself is, what would you do even if you weren't paid [to do it]? And I realized that I’m already doing it: helping my family and friends with launching their own business. I enjoy watching people transform into entrepreneurs."

Pogroszewski's newsletter, The Gentle Nudge, is the tool he's using to fulfill that mission. "I want to build the number one newsletter for first-time entrepreneurs."

Like many newsletter publishers, Pogroszewski started out writing on social media and only used his newsletter to share a weekly summary of his LinkedIn content. But after a few months, he decided to shift gears.

"[Social media] is very soul-sucking, and spending my days trying to get more shares and likes and hack the LinkedIn algorithm is not my cup of tea. So I realized it would be much better and more enjoyable for me if I focused my energy on writing more sophisticated, longer content in the newsletter. Around November or December (2022), I switched over from MailerLite to beehiiv, and then I started intentionally writing what I think is a very good newsletter.

The move from MailerLite to beehiiv felt very natural to Pogroszewski. "I went with MailerLite originally because I have this rule that if I don't have a good reason [to pay for an app], I default to free. And MailerLite was free at my level. But when I was ready to commit to this product, beehiiv felt like a glove. I use every feature [on the dashboard], so it feels like the whole product is for me.”

An Entrepreneurial Journey in Real Time

Pogroszewski brings a unique twist to writing about entrepreneurship — one that gives his newsletter an intimacy and immediacy that's often lacking in business writing.

"At the beginning of the year, I decided that the best way to teach entrepreneurship is to show and don't tell. So I challenged myself to take a company from an idea — from zero — and grow it to $1 million in revenue by the end of the year."

The business he's decided to build is called Treat. It's a subscription box with sweet treats, like gourmet chocolates, that are divided into reasonable portions of around 200 calories and labeled with the days of the week. It helps people learn to manage their relationship with sweets by having "a healthy amount of unhealthy stuff" each day.

The business grew from Pogroszewski's own unhealthy relationship with snacking. "I'm solving my own problem here, and that's what I told my audience. A good way to start a new business is to solve your own problem."

His audience is following this journey in real-time. "The weekly newsletter is basically me narrating and sharing the journey very transparently, with all the ups and downs, financial and marketing decisions, and all the mood swings you can expect from an entrepreneurial journey."

His goal is "to show people that it's not black magic. I believe that anyone can become an entrepreneur. It's a mindset and skillset that anyone can master. That belief is at the core of the newsletter."

A Tactical List

In addition to his real-time entrepreneurial journey, Pogroszewski wrote a list of core ideas to guide his content strategy. He keeps the list nearby when he works on each issue.

Good Vibes Only

"Sometimes my energy is low. Sometimes, on an entrepreneurial journey, I may feel a little scared or a little bit ambiguous about what to do. But I want to share it in a positive way and bring the good energy, because it'll help me, and then it'll ultimately help other entrepreneurs on their journey, too."

Control for Word Count

"I think people are tired. Even if you have amazing content, if it's [too] long, you will lose your readers. We're all busy, so I make it a target for myself to keep it short. Right now, I'm targeting 1200 words in a newsletter. I still think I should go a little shorter. I'm still playing with it."

'You' Language Instead of 'I' Language

"Instead of talking about me and myself, [I focus on] talking about the readers and what is valuable to them."

Always Add Value

"For example, numbers and math always add value. Links and tools — these are things people can take and run with. Not theory and big words."

Hook in the Subject Line

"I made a note to myself to remember [to put] a hook in the subject line to keep people engaged and keep the open rates high. Right now, I'm around 70%. I believe that's a pretty good number.”

What are some more strategies that Marcin follows?