Inside 14.ai this week: power outages, compounding, and wondering where your USPS package really is 📦
From sushi in hotel lobbies to free solo customer service.
The math behind “Just Show Up”
James Clear made this famous: 1% better every day for a year = 37x better.
The inverse, 1% worse = nearly zero.
The European in me used to think: don’t put it out until it’s perfect. But waiting for perfect is how nothing ever ships.
Adding one vegetable a day beats the cleanse you’ll quit Thursday
Same bedtime every night beats “catching up” on the weekend
3 outreach emails a day beats the 50-email blast you do once a month when you’re feeling motivated
If you’re waiting for the right moment to start, that moment was yesterday. Start messy. Keep going!
The power outage work trial
It’s hard to judge someone’s character in a vacuum. Much easier when you’re put in tough or unique situations.
Joshua showed up for his work trial at 7pm.
Also at 7pm: the great SF power outage. Remember?
No wifi. No work. Okay, dinner? Every restaurant was closed.
We wandered neighborhoods until we found wifi just to call an Uber.
Took it downtown to a hotel that actually had electricity. (Shoutout CitizenM.)
Ate sushi. Worked in the lobby until 10pm. Power came back. Went home.
Worked more. And Josh rolled with every curveball, no complaints.
Joshua started last week and has been killing it. LETS GO!
Did your chatbot climb a tower in Taipei?
We’ll pay it more than Netflix: https://calendly.com/14ai/15minchat
Lessons from growth marketing with Morry Mitrani
Let’s keep this short and sweet:
TikTok is the one platform where you don’t need a big audience to get reach.
Work with creators who aren’t the Kim Kardashians of the world. Find people who make good content fast, and give them a loose brief (never a full script), and tell them: “Act like you’re FaceTiming a friend.”
Then cut that video into a bunch of different segments. “Creator engine” - a handful of trusted creators churning out content weekly.
On AI-generated ads: not ready yet. The tools exist, but they don’t feel human. People can tell.
At his last company (BPN): in-person activations worked very well. They showed up at marathons (Austin, Pittsburgh) and physically engaged with people who’d been using the product for months during training.
In a world that feels increasingly digital and AI-generated, real human presence hits different.
Facebook groups. Events. Marathons. The point is finding where your people naturally gather and showing up there
Thanks Morry! Peep the full episode.
Your order
We answer thousands of “where is my order” support tickets with USPS.
Here’s your order:
We’re writing a TikTok Shop book (and we need your war stories)
We’re putting together a book that exposes the playbook and pitfalls of TikTok Shop for brands.
We need insight from people who actually do it. If you sell on live, or consult brands who do, we want to chat.
Tell us your story async or jump on a 15-min call: email marie@14.ai or tap the link.
We’ll buy you a coffee. Or therapy. Whichever you need more.
It’ll be fun, we promise.
Until next time! Don’t let support tickets or the TikTok algorithm kill you. Life is good.