Democratize Is New Disrupt
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Shaan Puri and Sam Parr discuss how the term "democratize" has become an insincere marketing buzzword, often used to mask profit-driven motives behind a facade of accessibility and social good.
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The term "democratize" has become the new "disrupt" in marketing speak
- Used to make something sound noble when it's primarily profit-driven
- Often misleading about true intentions
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Common misuse examples:
- "Democratizing financial knowledge" when really seeking Twitter followers
- "Democratizing knowledge" while charging $5,000 for courses
- "Democratizing" luxury items while still charging $50,000
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Reality behind "democratization" claims:
- Companies use it to make their offering sound more altruistic
- It's typically a marketing strategy to make something expensive sound accessible
- Often masks true business motivations
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Personal admission from Shaan about similar practices:
- Created "All Access Fund" suggesting democratized access to deals
- Real motivation was to write bigger checks into more companies
- Admits the marketing angle wasn't the true driver of the business
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The speakers' perspective:
- Find the term frustrating and disingenuous
- See it as a way to fool customers
- Believe it's better to be honest about business motivations than hide behind noble-sounding missions
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.