IN THIS WEEK’S NEWSLETTER:

• 🚀 7 Ways to Get Better and More Reviews…

• 💰 The $40M Exit That "One More Year" Cut in Half…

• 📈 Why Scaling Requires a Different Kind of Founder

• 📕 StartUp Club’s Best Books for Entrepreneurs!

• 💰 Time to Sell Index

Watch Today’s Clubhouse!

🎙️Using AI to Market, Scale & Sell in Business - Today at 2pm ET on Clubhouse

Discover how entrepreneurs are using AI to market smarter, scale faster, and create more value in their businesses with guest speaker George Dubec. This practical session explores real-world strategies, tools, and opportunities to help founders stay ahead in an AI-driven economy.

Listen to this newsletter👇

🚀 7 Ways to Get Better and More Reviews…

Reviews matter more than most business owners want to admit.

They matter for podcasts. They matter for books. They matter for restaurants. They matter for Airbnbs. They matter for schools, software companies, service businesses, e-commerce brands, and pretty much any business out there.

A great review can build trust before you ever meet the customer. A bad review can stop a sale before you even knew the customer existed.

I learned this firsthand through my wife’s school.

Her school was already doing excellent work. In fact, she had earned the highest score on GreatSchools.org, but there was one problem: the school simply did not have enough reviews. Parents loved the school. They talked about it privately. They referred friends. They appreciated the teachers, the environment, and the impact on their children.

But they were not writing reviews.

So we drafted one simple email to the parents. The message was direct, personal, and honest. We told them that reviews help other families discover the school, and we asked them to take a few minutes to share their experience.

That one email increased the number of reviews by more than 25 percent. It also helped boost her Google rating, and today her school remains one of the top-rated schools in Fort Lauderdale.

One email. One ask. Big impact.

That is the power of reviews.

In Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat., I talk about the movie industry as a great example of this. Waterworld was promoted heavily, but the product disappointed. Hugo was a great product, but it was marketed to the wrong audience. Top Gun: Maverick nailed both: great product, great promotion, and powerful word of mouth.

The lesson applies to almost every business: build something great, then make sure the right people know about it.

Here are seven ways to get more—and better—reviews.

1. Make the product or service great first.

This sounds obvious, but too many companies try to “review hack” their way around a mediocre product.

It does not work.

Reviews are a mirror. They reflect the customer experience. You can ask, automate, remind, and follow up, but if the product is poor, the reviews will eventually expose it.

Before asking for more reviews, ask a harder question: “Are we truly delivering something worth talking about?”

At our Airbnbs, we have had thousands of reviews and maintain an average rating around 4.8 to 4.9 out of 5 stars. That does not happen by accident. It comes from focusing on the details: the beds, the cleanliness, the cookware, the check-in process, the communication, and the feeling guests have when they walk through the door.

A great review starts long before the review request. It starts with the experience.

2. Promote your product to the right people.

Not everyone is your customer.

If you sell ice cream cones in Alaska in the middle of winter, you might not get great reviews—not because your ice cream is bad, but because the audience and timing are wrong.

Great reviews come from the right fit.

This is where many businesses make a mistake. They want everyone to buy from them, so they market to everyone. But when the wrong customers buy, they are more likely to be disappointed. They expected one thing and got another. That mismatch can turn into a bad review.

Be clear about who your product is for. Be equally clear about who it is not for.

The right customer is more likely to understand your value, appreciate your strengths, forgive small mistakes, and leave a review that attracts more people like them.

3. Ask for the review—and time your ask.

Most happy customers will not leave a review unless you ask.

They are busy. They mean to do it. They forget. Then life moves on.

My wife’s school is a perfect example. The parents were happy, but they needed a prompt. We timed the email for the day after the school’s annual parent meetup and learning day, when parents were feeling connected, engaged, and reminded of the school’s value.

Timing matters.

Ask when the customer has just experienced the win. For a restaurant, that might be after a great meal. For an Airbnb, it might be after checkout. For a school, it might be after a meaningful event. For a book, it might be right after someone finishes reading it. For a podcast, it might be after a particularly valuable episode.

Do not ask randomly. Ask when gratitude is highest.

4. Make it easy.

People are willing to help, but they are not willing to work hard to help.

Do not say, “Please leave us a review sometime.” Give them the direct link. Tell them where to click. Explain that it takes two minutes.

Better yet, give them a few prompts:

What did you enjoy most?

What problem did we help solve?

What would you tell someone considering us?

In the book, I talk about one of our core tactics: “Make It Easy” and “Market Easy.” Companies that make the customer’s next step simple, obvious, and fast often win—even when they have fewer bells and whistles.

That applies perfectly to reviews.

The easier you make it, the more reviews you will get.

5. Answer every review—even the bad ones.

A review is not just a message to you. It is a public conversation with every future customer.

When someone leaves a good review, thank them. Be specific. Show appreciation.

When someone leaves a bad review, answer with grace. Do not get defensive. Do not argue. Do not attack. Future customers are watching how you respond.

A bad review handled well can actually build trust. It shows that you care, that you listen, and that you are human.

Sometimes the reviewer is wrong. Sometimes the review is unfair. We once had to restart an Airbnb listing because of one bad review that we believed was written to get a free stay. It was frustrating, expensive, and unfair.

But it also reinforced the lesson: reviews matter.

You may not control every review, but you do control your response.

6. Address concerns before they become reviews.

Most people do not leave bad reviews because something went wrong. They leave bad reviews because they felt ignored after something went wrong.

There is a big difference.

A delayed check-in, a cold meal, a confusing invoice, a missed expectation—these things can often be fixed. What turns them into a one-star review is silence.

Listen early. Ask questions. Check in. Give customers a way to raise concerns privately before they go public.

At our Airbnbs, we try to address issues before checkout. If a guest is unhappy, we want to know while they are still there, not after the review is posted. Most people are reasonable when they feel heard.

A fast response can turn a frustrated customer into a loyal one.

7. Personalize the experience with UMODs.

People do not want to hurt people they like.

That is why personalization matters. A generic automated review request is easy to ignore. A personal note from a founder, teacher, host, author, or team member feels different.

But personalization should not start with the review request. It should start with the customer experience itself.

In Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat., I talk about UMODs—unexpected moments of delight. These are small, memorable touches that surprise the customer in a positive way. Chewy did this beautifully after my thirteen-and-a-half-year-old King Charles spaniel died. A few days later, flowers and a note showed up at the door. Later, they even sent a picture of him. It was not required. It was not expected. That is what made it powerful.

The Magic Castle Hotel in Los Angeles does something similar with its famous Popsicle Hotline. Guests pick up a red phone by the pool, order a Popsicle, and a staff member delivers it on a silver platter wearing white gloves. The Popsicle is not the main point. The memory is the main point.

These little moments create stories. Stories create word of mouth. Word of mouth creates reviews.

For a school, a UMOD might be a handwritten note from a teacher.

For an Airbnb, it might be a welcome basket or a message remembering why the guest is visiting.

For a restaurant, it might be a complimentary dessert for an anniversary.

For a book, it might be a personal thank-you note to early readers.

For a podcast, it might be recognizing a listener by name.

The key word in UMOD is “unexpected.” A chocolate on the pillow used to be delightful. Today, most people barely notice it. Your UMOD has to feel personal, thoughtful, and just a little surprising.

Then, once you find a UMOD that works, systemize it. Document it. Train your team to do it. Make it repeatable without making it feel robotic. UMODs may look spontaneous to the customer, but the best ones are often part of a deliberate growth strategy.

Then, when you ask for the review, it does not feel like a cold request. It feels like a natural extension of a relationship you have already built.

That is when people are most likely to say yes.

The ask matters.

The best businesses are not always the highest rated. Sometimes they are simply the ones that remembered to ask.

So ask.

Ask your customers. Ask your listeners. Ask your guests. Ask your readers. Ask your parents. Ask the people who already love what you do to help others discover it.

And while we are on the subject, please review my book, Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat. Reviews help other entrepreneurs find it, trust it, and hopefully use it to build something great.

Because reviews are not just stars on a screen.

They are proof. They are trust. They are word of mouth made visible.

— Colin C. Campbell

Disclaimer: Startup Club and its AI resources are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer for legal matters.

📅 This Month’s Clubhouse Schedule!

🎙️ Build & Aquire - Software Deals Unlocked with David Awad - Friday, June 12th at 2pm ET

Join entrepreneur David Awad for a deep dive into buying, building, and growing software businesses. Learn how successful acquisitions happen, what makes a software company valuable, and how founders can unlock new opportunities through strategic deals. 

Join Startup Club at the Global Business EXPO - Tuesday, June 9th at 2pm ET

Tuesday, June 9th, entrepreneurs, founders, and business leaders from around the world will gather for the Global Business EXPO, a full day of networking, keynote presentations, expert panels, and business showcases. Be sure to stop by the Startup Club booth and connect with our global founder community.

Plus, join Colin C. Campbell at 6:30 PM ET for his keynote presentation, "Catching the Next Tech Wave," where he'll share insights on emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, and identifying the opportunities shaping the future of business.

💰 The $40M Exit That "One More Year" Cut in Half…

Most founders believe value builds in a straight line. You grow revenue, scale operations, and eventually sell at the top. It sounds rational and it's exactly the belief that causes entrepreneurs to hold on too long.

The truth is that timing drives a huge portion of enterprise value, and timing is shaped just as much by market conditions as by execution. The biggest misconception founders have is tying valuation directly to revenue. The assumption is simple: bigger business, bigger exit. But in reality, buyers aren't paying for what exists today, they're paying for what they believe comes next.

That's why peak valuation tends to show up earlier than founders expect. It happens while growth is still accelerating and the story around the company is still wide open. At that stage, buyers feel urgency, because multiple future outcomes still seem possible and they want exposure to that upside. The story feels open-ended, and that openness creates competition.

As soon as growth begins to level off, even slightly, something changes. The business may keep improving operationally, but the narrative tightens. Buyers start to understand the company's shape more clearly, and with that clarity comes more conservative pricing. The multiple compresses even while revenue keeps rising. That disconnect is subtle, and it's where a lot of founders get trapped.

I've experienced both sides of this. I've exited at the right time, and I've held a business longer than I should have because I was convinced there was more upside ahead. That second one stays with you because nothing breaks in an obvious way. The business keeps growing. The value just quietly starts to compress.

A few years ago, a company I'd invested in was booming. Healthy growth, strong trajectory, a valuation that was extraordinary for e-commerce, nearly 1x revenue, even after crossing $40 million. Everyone believed next year would be better. So we kept going.

What happened next is the part most founders underestimate. Internally, the story still felt intact. Externally, the ground had already started shifting…

👉 Read on Entrepreneur

💡 AI Tip of the Month

Most people use ChatGPT to ask questions. The bigger unlock is having it actually do the work.

Here's a KPI dashboard ChatGPT built for Paw.com using Agent Mode, the feature where it navigates sites, pulls data, edits spreadsheets, and hands you a finished file instead of instructions.

The trick is treating it like a project manager would. Instead of feeding it one task at a time, give it the whole job in a single prompt: the metrics you want, the source, and the format. It works through the steps on its own, usually in five to thirty minutes, and you get a real deliverable at the end.

One catch worth flagging: Agent Mode lives behind a paid plan.

You'll need ChatGPT Plus ($20/month) at minimum.

📚 Best Books for Entrepreneurs: 14 Founder-Recommended Reads

When Colin C. Campbell asked his LinkedIn network to share the most impactful books in their entrepreneurial journeys, the responses revealed something deeper than just a reading list. They uncovered the principles, mindsets, and hard-earned lessons that shape how founders build, scale, and lead.

Here's a taste of what stood out.

Crossing the Chasm — Geoffrey Moore A guide to navigating the critical gap between early adopters and mainstream customers in tech markets. The lesson: survival through the early adoption phase is critical — and it's more relevant than ever in an AI world. (Recommended by Colin C. Campbell)

The Goal — Eliyahu Goldratt A business novel about finding and fixing bottlenecks. The lesson: every business has one key constraint, and growth comes from fixing that — not optimizing everything else. (Recommended by Haider Malik)

The Power Law — Sebastian Mallaby A look at how venture capital shapes the startup ecosystem. The lesson: VC dynamics shape outcomes as much as the founders themselves. (Recommended by Michael Gilmour)

Man's Search for Meaning — Viktor Frankl A profound exploration of purpose, resilience, and the human response to adversity. The lesson: you cannot control everything, but you can control how you respond. (Recommended by Dana Vanhoy)

Quit — Annie Duke A challenge to the idea that persistence is always the answer. The lesson: success isn't just about grit. Knowing when to walk away is just as powerful. (Recommended by Jonathan Jordan)

That's 5 of the 14 and the rest get into leadership tested under pressure, the scaling patterns behind disruptive companies, global talent, and the kind of obsession that turns ambition into results…

👉 To find all the links and the full list, check it out here!

📈 Why Scaling Requires a Different Kind of Founder

Starting a company and scaling a company are not the same job.

That was the central message on our recent episode, where Colin C. Campbell spoke with longtime scaling coach Matt Kuttler about what it really takes to move beyond startup mode.

Kuttler has spent more than a decade coaching companies through growth, first encountering the Scaling Up framework through Verne Harnish back in 2000. At the time he was an entrepreneur himself, later building Restockit.com, an e-commerce company selling restaurant, janitorial, and office supplies, before selling it in 2012. For Kuttler, the scaling tools were never theory. They became operating systems for real companies.

The trouble is that the skills that build a company aren't the same ones that grow it. Startup mode rewards instinct, speed, and control. Scale mode demands delegation, structure, and repeatable systems. And that's exactly where most founders get stuck.

Kuttler agreed that founders often become the bottleneck. The ones who succeed tend to be learners, they read, seek coaching, join peer groups, and stay open to the uncomfortable truth that what got them here won't get them there.

That mindset shift shows up most clearly in hiring. Kuttler shared how Restockit slammed into a growth ceiling around $10–12 million in revenue. The company knew marketing was the key to the next stage but the first two hires failed. What they did next is what separated the companies that scale from the ones that stall…

🔥 Read the full article on Startup Club

🚀 Time to Sell Index (TTSI) Increases Slightly to 26.8. 

The Time to Sell Index (TTSI) climbed to 26.8 in 2026 as public listings rebounded to 347, representing a 54% increase over 2024 and a 125% increase from the lows of 2022.

While we remain in a buyer's market, the recovery in public market liquidity suggests exit conditions are improving. Higher interest rates and global uncertainty continue to weigh on the market, but the trend is moving in the right direction.

🔥 Check Me Out on TikTok!

@startupclubhq

Scaling isn’t luck — it’s momentum, and nobody knows that better than Joe Foster, founder of Reebok. Some entrepreneurs dream of one cozy ... See more

🚀 How to Support Startup Club

You can further support StartUp.Club by:

1. Sharing it with a friend or fellow entrepreneur! We’ve got a great referral program!

2. Responding to this email and letting me know what you think.

3. Picking up your copy of Start. Scale. Exit. Repeat.

And if you made it this far, thank you for reading.

— Colin C. Campbell

Entrepreneur Fact of the Month: Experience compounds. Serial entrepreneurs who previously succeeded have a 30% success rate, compared to 18% for first-time founders. Past wins make the next one far more likely.

Source: Revenue Memo