Question 1

What are the key takeaways from Lulu Cheng Meservey's episode on Lenny's Podcast?

Accepted Answer

1. Your startup's enemy is the status quo - taking no risks means letting your greatest competitor win by default. Make mistakes of commission rather than omission because at least you can observe, learn, and adapt. 2. Find your audience's cultural erogenous zones - it's much easier to shape your message to fit what people already care about than to change their worldview. Build the bridge from what they value to what you offer. 3. Spread your message in concentric circles starting from your own desk - employees, co-founders, power users, then outward. You can't skip circles because inner circles give credibility to outer ones. 4. Apply pressure by decreasing surface area - instead of spending a million dollars to reach a million people, spend $100 to reach the hundred most important people who will become evangelists. 5. Speak as a person, not a corporation - people trust and connect with humans, not faceless institutions. The founder must be the authentic voice and build their own direct channel to the audience.

Question 2

What does Lulu Cheng Meservey say about communications and pr-strategy?

Accepted Answer

"I think if you're a startup your enemy is the status quo. And when you don't take risks, when you minimize risk by doing nothing, the best way to minimize risk is to do nothing. You're letting the status quo win. You're letting your greatest enemy and rival and threat to your business win by default, because you're not even going to try to compete." - Lulu Cheng Meservey "I always encourage people to try to make mistakes of commission rather than omission. Because if you make a mistake of commission you can observe it, you can learn from it. You know right away that it's happened. You can move really quickly and adapt and become better. Whereas if you make mistakes of omission you're letting status quo win, you're not observing, you're not learning." - Lulu Cheng Meservey "You want to make it something that a second-grader could understand. You want to minimize the cognitive burden on the recipient. So it should be something where they're not having to expend any extra energy understanding the thing, where it immediately paints a picture." - Lulu Cheng Meservey

Question 3

What are Lulu Cheng Meservey's views on communications, pr-strategy, risk-taking?

Accepted Answer

Lulu Cheng Meservey: "I think if you're a startup your enemy is the status quo. And when you don't take risks, when you minimize risk by doing nothing, the best way to minimize risk is to do nothing. You're letting the status quo win. You're letting your greatest enemy and rival and threat to your business win by default, because you're not even going to try to compete." Lulu Cheng Meservey: "I always encourage people to try to make mistakes of commission rather than omission. Because if you make a mistake of commission you can observe it, you can learn from it. You know right away that it's happened. You can move really quickly and adapt and become better. Whereas if you make mistakes of omission you're letting status quo win, you're not observing, you're not learning."

Lulu Cheng Meservey

Navigating comms and PR | Lulu Cheng Meservey (Substack, Activision Blizzard)

TRANSCRIPT

Lulu Cheng Meservey

Navigating comms and PR | Lulu Cheng Meservey (Substack, Activision Blizzard)

Lulu Cheng Meservey

Navigating comms and PR | Lulu Cheng Meservey (Substack, Activision Blizzard)

TRANSCRIPT

Lulu Cheng Meservey

Navigating comms and PR | Lulu Cheng Meservey (Substack, Activision Blizzard)