Two superpowers you can have as an entrepreneur:
- Asking
- Persistence
It was November 2023. One month away from Underdog Founders' Con. We needed another speaker.
Probably because I printed some T-shirts before, I stumbled upon Saltycustoms. Saltycustoms is a brand I've known for over 10 years. But I've never connected with anyone from Saltycustoms before.
Then I thought, hey – maybe I'd invite the founder, King Quah of Saltycustoms to speak.
First, I went on LinkedIn.
Crickets...
Then I went to their website, and dropped an email.
Crickets... dang.
I Googled again, and found King's personal site! Dropped him an email through his contact form.
Well, what do you know? Crickets!
A few days later, I decided to hit his contact form again.
Then, 6 days before the conference he finally replied.
Noticed how he brushed off the request since the event was just 6 days away.
Now, the old Reuben would stop there and say, well OK! Next time then!
But what I did, was to ask again – and convince him that I could still put him up as a panelist. He said OK.
The story doesn't end there.
When I ran the next Underdog Con in March 2024, I reached out to King again, this time – asking for a sponsorship.
Here's my email:
After a few follow-ups, asks, and negotiating – King ended up sponsoring Underdog E-Commerce Con in March. I went on stage to introduce Saltycustoms to the crowd.
Then we did an interview with King. Today, we're working on a few projects together.
Funny where asking and having a bit of persistence can take you.
All of us can learn to ask more. Asking is a learnable skill. I share some of these tips in speeches during Underdog Con. Get access to the recordings from the conference here.
