36. How to get users on your app from day one | Michelle Kennedy

Nearly 10,000 apps are uploaded to the app store every week, and most of them are ignored. So how do you launch one that becomes a movement? In this episode of All About Business , we’re joined by Michelle Kennedy, founder and CEO of Peanut; the social networking app that has transformed how women connect and help each other through every stage of motherhood. What does it take to walk away from a top executive role and start from scratch? From pitching with nothing but a deck, to raising over $23 million, to building one of the most trusted platforms for women online, listen to Michelle's story and find out. We dive into her strategy for building a matchmaking app that attracts millions of users, how to validate your idea before you build it, and the biggest lessons she’s learned as a female founder. Michelle also opens up about the hardest parts of fundraising, how she built traction without a product, and why not every business should take venture capital. 01:42 Introduction - Michelle Kennedy 01:54 Peanut - Social Media App 09:09 Raising Money 11:34 Advice on Deck, Pitch, Value Proposition 15:56 Not Every Business Needs the Venture Capital Path 20:04 I Wouldn't Have Done It If I Knew ... 24:25 Achieving Critical Mass - The Network Effect 27:40 Start Without Building The App 33:34 Peanut Start Her Fund for Women 36:48 Advice to Family Women on Starting a Business 46:59 Curiosity Spawns New Ideas 50:10 Why A Book In The Digital Age? 54:57 Reed Interview Round - What Gets You Up Monday Morning? 56:39 Where Michelle Sees Herself in Five Years Links Check out Peanuts’s website: Follow Peanut on LinkedIn: Download Peanut app from Google Play: Follow James Reed on LinkedIn All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk