Hey {{first_name}} ! Let’s get into it. Skip around if you need to:
TLDR 💡;
On A Personal Note (I don’t want to read this today, take me to LaRussell)
It Takes A Lot of Effort To Give A Little Effort.
I meet with a lot of founders - some pre-product market fit, some who've hit a wall after a big growth spurt. Last week, it was a founder running an upscale member club.
As she was talking, I noticed something I notice with a lot of founders: they're trying to figure out the business while simultaneously looking for ways to coast.
Not because of laziness. More like, "Surely, it can’t still be this much work."
And it is.
Getting to a business that works is work. The systems, the trust, the depth with your customers - that comes from the unsexy work upfront. There's no shortcut to the shortcut.
But the work stacks. Keep going.
Reach Is Losing Game
I recently finished In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters & Robert Waterman. Written in 1982, it studied what made the best-run companies work.
One of eight principles: “Close to the customer.”
Not close to the algorithm. Not close to the trend. Close to the customer.
The book argued that most companies ignore this fundamental, failing to understand what their customers need and truly want.
While the best-run companies are very close to the customer.
That was 1982. It’s worse now.
People see 5,000 pieces of content per day. And according to SAP research, attention spans are around 8 seconds, and brand loyalty fell to 29% in 2025 - that’s a 5% drop from 2024.
Most are focused on reach - how can I get new eyeballs and acquire new customers? Almost no one is optimizing for closeness - how do I get to know and build a connection with those who are already paying attention to me?
Enter LaRussell.
Meet LaRussell: 2,600 fans. $57k in 24 hours.
If you don’t know LaRussell: independent rapper, 40+ albums, nearly 2 million Instagram followers, ~475,000 monthly listeners, and 2,600 incredibly loyal fans.
In 2021, he turned down a national tour to build The Pergola - a performance space in his parents’ backyard. Self-funded with help from friends & family.
And what I like about The Pergola is:
It’s not overly polished - it feels in process.
His mom is there. His dad is cooking. You’re with him, not watching him. Everyone’s on the same level.
He built with what he had instead of waiting for a bigger, more polished stage.
He’s used “offer-based pricing” where fans can decide what value his art has to them. It’s a way of letting people self-select their commitment level.
Those who can’t pay much still get access (building loyalty). Those who can pay more, will. The average ends up being higher than you’d set on a fixed price.
And, here are the numbers to back it up: (Billboard)
$11,001 - Kyrie Irving’s album purchase (world record)
$57,000 - First 24 hours of sales from 2,600 fans
$250,000+ - His $1,000 birthday show (first time he set a price - sold out instantly)
And it’s not just music. He’s built an ecosystem on top of that trust.
They subscribe. They pay for features. They buy royalty shares. One attendee became VP of Marketing for the Giants and hired him to write their anthem.
It’s reported by NBC that he now makes will over 7-figures through is Good Compenny company.
Key takeway: A small audience with deep trust will outspend and outlast a large one without it.
Brand Audience vs. Community
Audiences watch. Communities participate.
An audience consumes your content, maybe buys your thing, and moves on.
A community feels like they have a stake in the outcome - they’re rooting for something they feel like they helped build.
Kyrie didn’t just buy the album from the rafters. He called into LaRussell’s live stream to say “I’ve been watching you and you earned it.” He wasn’t a customer. He was claiming ownership of his discovery.
This week, LaRussell announced he's giving the entire $11,001 back - to help his community pay rent, utilities, and bills.Berkley Patch
LaRussell’s Pergola shows have a roundtable at the end where fans take the microphone and share what the experience meant to them. (Steal this)
Food, bounce houses, hugs in line, and personal calls. He's not running a concert. He's running a family reunion where he happens to perform.
One woman, 45, said, “It’s like church for her.”
That’s community. Shared meaning.
Assess Where You Are
Before you copy the tactics, figure out where you actually stand.
Are you focused on reach or depth? Reach refers to the number of people who see you. Depth is how much they care. LaRussell picks up the phone and calls attendees to thank them for coming, he gives back to the community, where are you using hospitality to build connection?
Do your customers feel like customers or co-authors of the brand’s success? Where are you letting your audience hold the mic?
What’s your version of the backyard? The Pergola works because it’s raw and unpolished. His dad’s cooking. His mom’s there. They’re interfacing on the same level. It’s not a performance - it’s proximity. Where could you create that kind of closeness?
The Strategic Playbook: 3 Moves To Steal
3 tactics and ideas to use on Monday morning.
Step 1: Let Them Into Your Space
The move: LaRussell turned his parents' backyard into a venue - dad cooking, mom greeting fans, bouncy castle for kids. A place to intimately interface with his fanbase.
Your version:
Host customer dinners at your office or restaurant that matches your brand feel, not a hotel ballroom
Livestream from where you actually work
Run office hours from your home studio
Do pop-ups in your hometown or tier 3 cities, not just major markets
Let them see the mess, not just the polish
Talk about it with your team or ask yourself:
Where are we creating unnecessary distance from our customers?
What would it look like to invite 10 customers into our actual space?
What are we polishing that would feel more authentic raw?
Where can you create proximity instead of distance?
Step 2: Let Them Into Your Space
The move: Every Pergola show ends with a roundtable - fans take the microphone and share what the experience meant to them. They're not just spectators. They're participants with a voice
Your version:
End events with open conversation - let your customers ask real questions, and express their real feedback
Feature customer stories in your content, unscripted
Let your audience vote on what you build next - then share the results and actually build it
Create a space where they can talk to each other, not just to you
Publish their wins, not just your own
Talk about it with your team or ask yourself:
Where are we talking at customers instead of with them?
What decisions could we let them weigh in on?
How do we make them feel like co-authors, not just buyers?
Where are you letting your customers hold the mic?
Step 3: Let Them Into Your Space
The move: LaRussell calls ticket buyers to thank them. Before his $1,000 show, he came outside and hugged every person in line. It shows true customer appreciation. Hospitality and warmth as a loyalty builder.
Your version:
Send a personal voice note to new customers
Call your top 10 customers once a quarter
Handwrite thank-you notes for first purchases
Reply to comments yourself, not through a team
Remember details and follow up on them
Talk about it with your team or ask yourself:
What's one thing we could do for 100 customers that we couldn't do for 10,000?
Where have we automated something that should stay personal?
What would it cost us to be unreasonably generous with our time for the next 90 days?
Your move this week: Pick one. Just one. The space, the mic, or the unscalable thing.
Do it before next Friday. See what happens.
Strategically yours,
Amanda