1% Startup Marketing Challenge

Week 3

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Hey folks! 👋

We're back with another week of the Startup Marketing Challenge.

If you take part this week, feel free to tag us (Gemma Clancy & Bridget Cull) in the post itself or in the comments and we'll jump in there and say hello (and help the algorithm 😉)!

Challenge #3: Post something personal (without overthinking it)

It’s usually easier to talk about your product than it is to talk about yourself.
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Metrics, updates, announcements… they feel safe. Professional.
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But personal content is often what cuts through, it’s people connecting with people, not just businesses.
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Especially for early-stage founders, when you are the brand. And showing up as a real human can make all the difference in how people remember you, trust you, and choose to work with you.
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​This week’s 1% task:​
Write one personal (LinkedIn) post. Just one.
It doesn’t need to be polished or profound. It just needs to be you.
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Some prompts to get you started:
✨ What’s a big lesson you’ve learned lately?
✨ What’s something you’re genuinely proud of from the past few months?
✨ What’s currently taking up most of your focus or energy?
✨ What surprised you this week (in work or life)?
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Keep it short. Keep it honest. Don’t worry about likes or perfect phrasing.
Because when you show up as yourself, consistently and without the pressure to perform, it creates space for real connection. And that’s what builds trust, and eventually, community.

Need some inspo? 💡

We've collated a handful of good examples from our peers in the Aussie & Kiwi startup ecosystem:

• Laura Nicol, Chief of Staff to Maxine Minter & Host of the Calling Operator podcast, shared a post about her experience with burn out. While deeply personal and authentic, it also aligns nicely to her work with CoLabs - a platform that connects business leaders with coaches.
• Sean Grealy, Co-founder at Sell Anything, recently reflected on the important lesson of "closing loops" with people.​
• Tai Lennon, Managing Director at Climate Zero, shared an all-too-relatable post about the school holiday WFH juggle.​
• Paloma Newton, Co-founder & CEO of Elita, made this post about taking a moment to step back and realise how far you've come, and how amazing so many of her fellow Aussie founders are.

🔥 Hot tip: What you'll notice about most of these is that they have a personal, "behind-the-scenes-feeling" image to accompany them. It doesn't have to be perfectly posed or curated, but if you can include an image with your post, we'd highly encourage it!

Any feedback? 💌

We'd love to hear it. Did you try this challenge? How did it go? Hit reply on this email to let us know.

This newsletter is from the team at Stella Startups 👋

ICYMI, we’re Stella Startups – a marketing partner for AU and NZ startups from early stage to scale up.

We bring you marketing strategy, brand expertise and hands-on execution, all with a commitment to innovation so you can make an impact bigger than your budget. Head to our website to find out more and if you’d like help, book some time to chat (we don’t bite).

See you next time,
Gemma & Bridget