Levels Podcast - presented by Trophy
Before CKBK even existed as a platform, founder Matthew Cockerill faced a fundamental question: In a world drowning in free recipes online, do cookbooks still matter?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Building a content platform is one thing. Building one that can handle Victorian-era cookbooks is an entirely different technical challenge. Matthew Cockerill, founder of CKBK, learned this firsthand when he set out to digitize the world's best cookbooks into a unified, searchable database.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When building a subscription platform that serves both home cooks and professional chefs, the obvious move seems to be creating different pricing tiers. But CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill deliberately chose a different path.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most food platforms focus on helping users find what they're already looking for. But CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill is building something more ambitious: a system that helps users discover what they should cook next, even when they don't know what that is.
Jason Louro
Most subscription platforms treat content creators as distant figures whose work gets consumed but who remain largely inaccessible to users. CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill took a radically different approach: he made cookbook authors directly accessible to users through the platform itself.
Jason Louro
On The Levels Podcast, Matthew shared how his 2018 Kickstarter campaign doubled its funding target and provided the validation needed to build what's now a thriving subscription platform with over 20,000 users.
Jason Louro
Most recipe apps stop at displaying instructions on a screen. But CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill saw an opportunity to extend the platform's value directly into users' kitchens through smart appliance integration.
Jason Louro
Most subscription platforms focus exclusively on consumers or business customers, but rarely both. CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill discovered that his "Spotify for cookbooks" had unexpected appeal in educational markets, leading to a thriving B2B revenue stream alongside consumer subscriptions.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most content creators struggle with digital monetization, especially in industries where traditional models have been disrupted. CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill solved this challenge by adapting Spotify's royalty pool system to cookbook publishing
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When CKBK launched, many publishers worried that digital cookbook access would cannibalize print sales. But founder Matthew Cockerill discovered the opposite: his subscription platform actually drives physical cookbook purchases while serving different user needs
Jason Louro
Getting users to download a recipe app is one challenge. Getting them to actually cook regularly is another entirely. CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill is tackling this engagement problem by building gamification features that encourage users to develop consistent cooking habits
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Running a small startup while managing relationships with publishers, smart appliance makers, culinary schools, and complementary apps sounds overwhelming. But CKBK founder Matthew Cockerill has built a thriving partnership ecosystem that drives growth across multiple channels
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When Matthew Cockerill left the world of science publishing, he brought with him a crucial insight: traditional industries often miss the transformative potential of the internet. His latest venture, CKBK, proves this by applying the subscription model that to an industry dominated by print books.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
How do you build an initial user base when you have no existing community? João Neves and his team at Bloop solved this challenge by turning their fundraising process and press strategy into community building tools, creating 300 engaged beta users before they even launched.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
In a recent conversation on the Levels Podcast, João explained how Bloop's "for everyone" philosophy challenges traditional influencer marketing assumptions and creates a more authentic, accessible system for earning through recommendations.
Jason Louro
Most founders struggle with the chicken-and-egg problem: buyers won't come without good selection, but sellers won't join without existing buyers. João Neves and his team at Bloop solved this challenge by focusing on three key strategies that helped them reach nearly 100 sellers before launch.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most career advice tells ambitious professionals to always move forward and up. João Neves, co-founder and CTO of Bloop, took a radically different approach that challenges conventional wisdom about career progression.
Jason Louro
Getting meaningful feedback from users is one of the biggest challenges facing early-stage product teams. Most startups struggle with low response rates to surveys, generic feedback that's hard to act on, or users who simply don't bother sharing their thoughts at all.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Building a social network is hard. Building an e-commerce marketplace is hard. Combining both into a single platform? Even harder. That's what João Neves and his team at Bloop discovered as they set out to create the world's first social shopping platform that rewards users for their influence.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When most startups think about crowdfunding, they picture polished campaigns on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, complete with professional videos and stretch goals. João Neves, co-founder and CTO of Bloop, took a completely different approach: the power of word-of-mouth.
Jason Louro
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy revealed specific strategies for paywall testing that helped Sylvi achieve strong conversion rates from their freemium model to an $80 annual subscription.
Jason Louro
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared specific examples of how viral moments failed to drive app installs while unexpected content generated their highest conversion days—offering crucial insights for startups chasing the wrong metrics.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared how embracing their startup reality rather than hiding it transformed customer relationships and accelerated their growth trajectory.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared practical approaches to attribution that any startup can implement, even without sophisticated tracking infrastructure.
Jason Louro
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared how understanding streak psychology helped Sylvi capitalize on market disruption and create a retention system that actually serves user goals rather than just app engagement.
Jason Louro
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared her methodical approach to TikTok testing that helped Sylvi discover the crucial difference between viral content and valuable content for their business.
Jason Louro
Speaking on the Levels Podcast, Amy shared how one breakthrough creator collaboration transformed their growth trajectory and the systematic approach they've since developed to scale creator partnerships effectively.
Trophy Team
Sylvi AI, a language learning app that helps users practice conversations with AI pen pals, launched in April 2024 and has already reached over 1,000 paying customers. But their path to building a loyal user base started with a simple question: "How did you find us?"
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Amy Cameron, Head of Marketing at Sylvi AI, discovered a fundamentally different approach that transformed their product development process and accelerated their path to product-market fit.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Sylvi AI's approach offers valuable lessons for any B2C startup looking to implement gamification that enhances rather than detracts from their core value proposition.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Amy Cameron, Head of Marketing at Sylvi AI, discovered a surprisingly powerful retention strategy that any B2C app can implement immediately: adding new users to a WhatsApp group during onboarding.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most B2C startups approach creator partnerships with a simple playbook: offer affiliate commissions and hope for the best. But according to Tim Johnson, who's managed creator communities at three major consumer apps including Wattpad (acquired for $600M), this approach is fundamentally flawed.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Tim recently joined the Levels Podcast to share insights from his unique journey across multiple B2C platforms, and his perspective on creator partnerships challenges conventional wisdom.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
On the latest episode of the Levels Podcast, Tim shared his contrarian approach to B2B sales that prioritizes human connection over automation, quality over quantity, and genuine relationship building over transactional interactions.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
In the world of B2C startups, data is often viewed through the lens of user engagement, retention metrics, and conversion rates. But what if your app's data could predict the next cultural phenomenon before it breaks into the mainstream?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Not every startup needs to become a unicorn to be successful. Sometimes the most valuable lesson an entrepreneur can learn is when to pivot from venture-scale ambitions to building a sustainable, profitable business.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
One of the most fundamental challenges facing B2C startups is understanding whether users are actively searching for your solution or if they need to discover it organically. This distinction shapes everything, and getting it wrong can waste months of precious runway.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
In a recent episode of the Levels Podcast, Tim shared insights from his unique journey across three very different B2C platforms: Wattpad, Couply, and Blossom. His perspective on app culture offers a compelling framework for founders looking to build sticky, memorable products.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
In a recent episode of the Levels Podcast, Tim shared how he generated $2 million in revenue for seed-stage Blossom, where an impressive 70% of revenue comes from brand partnerships rather than subscriptions. His methodology completely reframes how consumer apps should approach B2B sales.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When Wattpad was acquired by Naver for $600 million, Tim Johnson faced a crossroads that many startup veterans know all too well. Stay with the acquired company and transition into a larger organization, or venture back into the chaotic world of early-stage startups?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Building a consumer app that users genuinely love should be the golden ticket to sustainable growth, right? Unfortunately, the reality is far more complex. Even when your product delivers real value and users actively enjoy the experience, they can still churn at alarming rates.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most consumer app founders assume subscriptions are the holy grail of monetization. After all, recurring revenue is predictable, scalable, and the foundation of many successful SaaS businesses. But what if there's a better way?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Building a creator community that actually drives growth is one of the most challenging aspects of scaling a B2C app. While most founders understand the potential power of creator partnerships, few know how to execute them effectively at scale.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most B2C app founders assume subscriptions are their golden ticket to revenue. But what if we told you that 70% of a successful social investing app's revenue comes from brand partnerships, not subscriptions?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Building a consumer app that scales isn't just about great UX or smart marketing—it's about creating network effects that make your product more valuable as more people use it. But how do you actually design and execute a network effects strategy that works?
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When you’re building a two-sided marketplace, you face a chicken-and-egg problem: you need supply to get demand, but you need demand to convince supply to join. Read how one founder solved this problem with a lot of cold outreach and lowballing commissions.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
Most B2C startups think of themselves as platforms, marketplaces, or products. But the best ones evolve into something much deeper: a community.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
In the B2C startup world, there’s still a lingering myth: if you’re not technical, you can’t build a tech company. Max, the founder of Adventuro, didn’t buy that. Learn how Max built his startup in 11 weeks and landed his first 50 customers a couple of months later.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
When you’re building a B2C startup, the hardest problems aren’t always product, pricing, or even growth. Sometimes, the biggest threat is… the weather. Read how one founder used gift cards to solve this problem.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
If you're building a B2C startup and thinking, “Maybe I’ll just run some Google Ads to get early traction” — read this first.
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe
If you’re launching a B2C startup, there’s a moment that lives in your head before it ever happens: the first real customer. In your imagination, it's a perfect stranger. Someone discovering your product, loving it and pulling out their credit card In reality? It might just be your brother…
Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe