Dominik Meyer: “every effort you make in the “digital world” impacts your brand!”

Tehnopol’s Startup Academy has successfully selected 20 startups to the programme. Solving a variety of problems in the modern society, the selected startups present a good cross-section of Estonia’s future unicorns.

One thing sure, they are now one step closer in achieving the future. Next to that, we at Tehnopol have a gut feeling that tomorrow’s magical creatures will have a name that starts either with a “H” or “S”. However, before that they have a long way to go and first step towards success is to attend the new development programme called Startup Academy.

The first course at the Academy focused on growth hacking. We sat down with the pirate-sensei Dominik Meyer from Hackabu and noted down some of the essentials of defining digital strategy.

Triin Ilves: How to go beyond vanity metrics and monitor the important data?

Dominik Meyer: Ask yourself “Does this metric indicate growth for my business model?” Check the KPIs of other successful startups and companies and take your time! Nobody defines meaningful KPIs in just a few minutes.

I recommend the book “Lean Analytics” by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz. Reading it will make you a master of data!

TI: How to ensure that your digital strategy is aligned with your brand strategy?

DM: I think that the brand strategy should always be kept in mind while creating, working, and executing the digital strategy. Because every effort you make in the “digital world” impacts your brand and how people perceive it. So if you are advertising on any social media, blogging, etc., keep your brand strategy in mind.

TI: Where (on the internet) should an early-phase startup look for advice, tips, and tools?

DM: There are tons of websites that can help you. I think that there are great advisors and blogs for every niche – you just have to find them by using Google correctly. In general, my advice is to read books, listen to podcasts, and subscribe to the top newsletters in your niche.

As far as tools are concerned, I recommend ProductHunt – there you’ll find almost 90% of the tools you need. To achieve 100%, ask in your network for a helping hand – chances are that someone has solved a similar issue.