Yo, I'm Corey.

You could describe me as a marketer, entrepreneur, podcaster, or investor. It's my mission to help people with exceptional products, services, and content get the attention they deserve. I’m stair-stepping my way to entrepreneurship, building a portfolio of small bets to optimize for autonomy, mastery, and purpose. On a journey to "default alive" with Swipe Files. Previously Head of Growth at Baremetrics and first marketing hire at Cordial. I've consulted with dozens of startups on marketing and growth including SavvyCal, Evercast, Riverside.fm, Holloway, Beamer, and Timetastic.

What I'm Working On

→ Swipe Files
Community, courses, and content to master marketing. It's a resource to help you get out of your echo chamber, connect with like-minded people growing their businesses, and do honest marketing.

→ Swipe Files Job Board (prev. Hey Marketers)
After a conversation with a SaaS founder, I decided the world needed a job board just for marketers. Read about how I built it using no-code tools in only three weeks. I then sold it, and then reacquired it a year later!

→ Default Alive
A weekly podcast with myself and my co-host Chris Spagnuolo on bootstrapping our startups from default dead to default alive.
‍
→ SwipeWell
Build a swipe file you'll actually use with a dedicated Chrome extension.

→ Founding Marketing
A practical book for founders and first marketing hires on how to grow a SaaS startup with limited time, budget, and resources.

→ Buying Micro SaaS Businesses
Looking for a new home for your micro SaaS? We're buying.

→ PartnerSpace
Manage all your partnerships and integrations under one roof.

→ Everything Is Marketing
A podcast that explores marketing in all its facets and dimensions through conversations with honest marketers, entrepreneurs, and even people who don't consider themselves marketers at all.

→ Mental Models For Marketing
A course on frameworks and psychology of marketing, now a part of Swipe Files.

→ Refactoring Growth
A course on B2B SaaS growth, now a part of Swipe Files.
‍
→ Consulting
I do some light consulting to keep afloat while I bootstrap my businesses, though I'm currently at full capacity and not taking on any new clients.

→ Cultivate & Keep
My good friend and I talk about what it means to be a man as a Christian, give life updates, and interview outstanding Christians.
‍
+ more (unveiling publicly soon)

Want To Collaborate?

I’d love to work together to speak at your event, host a webinar, be a guest on your podcast, contribute to your blog, or collaborate in another meaningful way.

Here are 10 topics I could go on for days about:

  • The five factors of growth for profitable SaaS businesses
  • Why customer research is the cornerstone of all marketing and how to do it
  • Why positioning is the forgotten piece of marketing strategy and how to do it
  • How to build a swipe file and why it's the key to unlocking your creative potential and doing outstanding marketing
  • What makes great copywriting and how to do it even if you’re not a copywriter
  • Why SaaS companies should aim to do marketing like a media company
  • How marketers can use mental models to be more strategic and do their best work
  • How I'm stair-stepping my way as an entrepreneur through multiple projects and businesses
  • Why SaaS metrics lie to you (spoiler: signup growth, LTV, churn are not what you think they are)
  • The playbook to get #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt

Send me a DM on Twitter or email me at haines.corey[@]gmail.com

Favorite Tools & services

Business

Personal

Angel Investing & Equity crowdfunding

What I invest in

If you're an early-stage SaaS company raising an angel round or equity crowdfunding campaign, I'd love to consider investing. SaaS is my bread and butter, especially if you're serving categories like marketing, no-code, creator economy, remote work, crypto, or finance.

I also invest in funding entities that distribute Crowd IPAs and Class CF Units, e.g. Calm Fund and Backstage Capital.

How I can help you

One of my "superpowers" is the ability to be hyper-objective in critical thinking and problem-solving while also being kind and gentle with communication. I consider myself to be a friendly investor in the sense that I'm a friend first, investor second.

A distinct way I can directly add value to you is with anything related to marketing, launching, go-to-market, pricing, and revenue growth. This is where I nerd out and can work with you hand-in-hand.

I also love connecting people: potential partners, employees, industry experts, or other investors. I'm especially well-connected in the world of B2B SaaS.

I can also leverage my audience on Twitter (10k+), newsletters (6k+), podcasts (defaultalive.fm and everythingismarketing.fm), and speaking opportunities across conferences, podcasts, and workshops.

Here are more of my thoughts on startup funding for SaaS.

Other funding options I recommend
Calm Company Fund
TinySeed
High Alpha Studio
Collab Capital
WeFunder
Republic
Zell Capital
Pipe

More about me

I was born and raised in San Diego, California, I have a black pug named Remy, and my wife and I have been married since 2018. I've fed Rhinos, hiked a volcano, and met Casey Neistat.

Motivation

I like the framework that Daniel Pink's book Drive introduces, which focuses on intrinsic motivation rather than extrinsic motivation:
1. Autonomy — ownership, freedom, flexibility
2. Mastery — learning, building, skill improvement, focus
3. Purpose — live out your values, give back, inspire, encourage

Goals

Instead of legacy or luxury, I try to pursue maximizing relationships, experiences, and impact. Time is the scarcest resource, and it's best spent with family and friends. I try to remember optimize for experiences rather than things, because memories are more valuable than possessions. And life is boring when you're selfish. Having a positive impact on anyone and everyone around you is ultimately what matters most.

Fun

In my spare time, I love to play basketball, volleyball, pickleball, and spikeball. I'll take any chance I can to snowboard. I'll play any board games, role playing games, or card games... especially poker. I love animals, going to the zoo, and getting out into nature. And speaking of experiences, nothing can beat traveling and exploring new cities, food, and culture.

Learning

Every now and again I'll take baby steps to learning painting, cooking, programming, and MMA. I'm also fascinated by real estate investing, DeFi, alternative education, and sustainable giving.

coreyhaines.eth