Summary
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Victoria Dickerson are joined by Anthony Constantino, co-founder and CEO of Sticker Mule, the largest e-commerce website for custom stickers. Anthony is also the founder of Stimulus, a new social media platform intentionally designed to make people happy. Throughout the episode, Anthony shares about building Sticker Mule from the ground up, starting a new social media platform that doesn’t incentivize negativity, and becoming a professional boxer at forty years old.
Show Notes
(0:36) Introducing Anthony and Sticker Mule
(4:40) Stimulus, a Different Type of Social Network
(10:22) Creating Businesses to Solve Problems
(12:03) Content Moderation
(15:07) Anthony’s Background
(17:49) How Stimulus Gathers Feedback
(20:36) How to Get Verified on Stimulus
(21:52) Stimulus’s Ideal User
(23:53) A Simple Formula to Succeed
(31:24) Stimulus’s Giveaway Program
(32:33) Mule Sauce
(34:16) Anthony’s Boxing Journey
(39:34) Advice to the Younger Self
(41:10) Closing Thoughts
Links
Quotes
“Stimulus removes a lot of the negative design decisions that were embedded in Twitter and replaces them with more positive ones. We have a number of innovations that are unique to us, the biggest one being [that] we replace ads with integrated giveaways. So if you want attention, [the] number one tool to get attention on Stimulus is [to] run a giveaway. Everyone wants attention. That’s a positive tool to get attention, and it’s an easy tool to get attention.” – Anthony Constantino, (8:09)
“I suspected that if people operated [on Stimulus] using their own identity, that would naturally push people in a more positive direction, and you wouldn’t have the negativity. I suspected a few things: If you remove the incentives to be nasty and introduce incentives to be more pleasant, you would naturally have a better community.” – Anthony Constantino, (12:34)
“[We have] a simple formula that we use to succeed [that’s] basically: Make the experience incredibly good so that people that encounter us are highly likely to buy. So, you know, as an experience gets better, your ability to convert customers goes up. As your ability to convert customers increases, you can justify a large ad budget.” – Anthony Constantino, (26:11)
Kick Ass Conversation with Sticker King Anthony Constantino
On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Victoria Dickerson are joined by Anthony Constantino, co-founder and CEO of Sticker Mule, the largest e-commerce website for custom stickers. Anthony is also the founder of Stimulus, a new social media platform intentionally designed to make people happy. Throughout the episode, Anthony shares about building Sticker Mule from the ground up, starting a new social media platform that doesn’t incentivize negativity, and becoming a professional boxer at forty years old.
Sticker Mule, the Internet’s Best Printing Company
When Anthony co-founded Sticker Mule, he had no idea it would become the internet’s best printing company—he was simply trying to solve a problem. At the time, you had very few options if you were looking online for custom stickers and printing, and Anthony wanted to provide a solution.
The initial launch was a success, and the company never looked back. Anthony credits much of the success to following a formula. If you can make the purchasing and ordering process incredible, you’re more likely to create repeat customers. His focus on user experience paid off, and Sticker Mule now has the ability to throw significantly more money at advertising than its competitors can, all because the sales funnel is remarkably effective.
“[We have] a simple formula that we use to succeed [that’s] basically: Make the experience incredibly good so that people that encounter us are highly likely to buy. So, you know, as an experience gets better, your ability to convert customers goes up. As your ability to convert customers increases, you can justify a large ad budget.” – Anthony Constantino, (26:11)
Stimulus, a Different Type of Social Network
Anthony’s focus on solving problems didn’t stop with Sticker Mule. Instead, it led him to create a positive alternative to negativity-driven platforms such as Twitter. He created Stimulus with the idea that incentivizing positive interactions would create a social media platform that actually makes people happy. By replacing paid advertisements with giveaways, Stimulus incentivizes users to run giveaways to get attention.
“Stimulus removes a lot of the negative design decisions that were embedded in Twitter and replaces them with more positive ones. We have a number of innovations that are unique to us, the biggest one being [that] we replace ads with integrated giveaways. So if you want attention, [the] number one tool to get attention on Stimulus is [to] run a giveaway. Everyone wants attention. That’s a positive tool to get attention, and it’s an easy tool to get attention.” – Anthony Constantino, (8:09)
Stimulus also utilizes ID verification to keep the atmosphere positive. While anyone can view content on Stimulus, only verified users can interact with others and enter giveaways. These verification requirements have done much to de-incentivize negativity, as users are far less likely to abuse a platform when their real names are attached to it.
“I suspected that if people operated [on Stimulus] using their own identity, that would naturally push people in a more positive direction, and you wouldn’t have the negativity. I suspected a few things: If you remove the incentives to be nasty and introduce incentives to be more pleasant, you would naturally have a better community.” – Anthony Constantino, (12:34)
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