Cameron Maxwell x The Future of Fandom

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“The challenge is the competition. When it’s easier for anyone to start a business, then it’s much easier to have a whole lot of competitors and I’ll use music again as an example. It’s fairly simple to open garage bands now and anybody can put together some sound loops and record their voice over it and make a song. But what that means is it becomes a fairly crowded space. There’s a whole lot of content being produced. And because of it, the way that content is consumed has really changed over time. You have a lot less big music stars as an example, and you see a lot of playlists and on Spotify or Apple Music, et cetera, and songs don’t necessarily have the shelf life that they used to.”

— Cameron Maxwell (05:35)

Cameron Maxwell (06:29):

You don’t see hit songs sticking around necessarily unless you’re Adele or something, for a year, right. A lot of songs might blow up for a couple weeks and that’s it. And then it’s on to the next. So just to draw the parallel with business, a lot of businesses starting in similar spaces, in similar categories, I think from a brand perspective, differentiation is extremely important and is going to be part of the challenge and part of what separates the winners and those who forge ahead. But in general, I think having access to the tools to be able to start these businesses is great. The sustaining part is, I think the big factors are differentiation, increased competition and operational and execution excellence is of course important for the success of any business.

Adam Conner (07:25):

Totally.

Cameron Maxwell (07:25):

But those key factors.

Adam Conner (07:28):

Now let me get to another part of this whole thing, of course, because given this newest, strongest wave of entrepreneurship, just as you have the movements out there that say buy local, shop with small business, you have on the other side of that, of course, these small businesses, tons of them who are all going after the same overall dream, growing, surviving in some ways. In terms of the ways that you bring those people together, and I say people because a lot of times these small businesses are just single entities. In that way is building a community of small businesses that much different from building a community of just people, individuals like you might with a consumer audience?

Adam Conner (09:36):

Yeah. And I’ll get to that growing angle in just a second, but it’s good to have your perspective on this. Listeners, just as background, Cameron has done this both in B2B and B2C for many years from the content point of view. And this is in some ways, if you are a small side, small business owner, sometimes you feel like, well, there’s not a whole lot of support around you. I feel like it could just be you trying to make it. And so bringing together people via content related experience can be incredibly powerful. I’m curious and I might as well just dive into this just a little bit deeper. Cameron, what are some of the ways that you do this today at Fundbox?

Cameron Maxwell (10:15):

There’s a couple of ways we do it. I think having a robust life cycle marketing program is vital. Additionally we have our Resource Center on the website, which is blogs and eBooks and guides, and we publish content on a weekly basis on the blog, if not more often than that. And I think part of it for Fundbox it’s being a trusted resource. And again, truly adding value to our small business customers. It’s about offering actionable insights. So from a tactical standpoint, we’re giving businesses tools and learnings that they can leverage in their everyday lives. But there’s also a storytelling theme as well, like what we’re doing with podcasts. Some things that we’re developing with video where it’s not just a list with maybe best practices on marketing or sales or ops topics. It’s told through the stories of individuals in a way that is I think more relatable, and small businesses in general, there’s no one size fits all. They all have different experiences. And learning through the stories of others is a really powerful way, I think, to still deliver interesting content from an entertainment and enjoying the consumption perspective, but also layer in really actionable insights and takeaways that other folks can relate to and apply to their daily lives.

Adam Conner (11:56):

Agreed. And hey, good nod to the podcast world. Obviously much appreciated on this side of the mic. So let me ask you about that growing angle that I mentioned just a moment ago. This is mostly today an offering that as we described up top is mostly taken up by the smaller side of small businesses. Employees could be up up to 50 in an organization taking advantage of Fundbox. I’m curious now how you keep folks engaged with the offering during their growth, but once they have grown beyond that typical threshold that you serve. Obviously you and any brand wants to grow with their customer. And so I’m curious, have you thought about this? Once a small business gets out of the small side or stops being a small business altogether, how do you stay with them?

Cameron Maxwell (12:49):

Yeah, it’s a great question.

“I think in general, our product roadmap is certainly taking this consideration, certainly reflects our thinking around this. And it’s a good point particularly for a lender, for instance, which we do provide working capital, but we also offer spend management solutions as well. So I think it’s really looking at, for us, the product roadmap and making sure that the products and services we offer address the needs of our target audiences. Additionally, knowing your target audience is really important for a small business of a certain size. There’s certain things that really a bank has the type of infrastructure that’s needed, right? You have an individual banker and there’s treasury services, et cetera. So there does become a time when a business might become so successful or grow in a way where they outgrow the product. And obviously we want the success of our customers, so that’s okay. But I think the thing about Fundbox is we recognize that there’s a whole segment of the small business economy that’s really underserved. The big companies have access to working capital. They have access to the tools that they need to run their business. And that’s not necessarily the case for businesses on the smaller side.”

 — Cameron Maxwell (12:50)

Adam Conner (14:16):

So with this in mind, talked a little bit about the fandom, how to build content and service around small businesses who sometimes feel like they could build on a very small island in a very large ocean, how you’re bringing together archipelagoes as small businesses let’s say. I want to get to the other F word that we focus here on the show, which is future. I’m curious, given the fact that you’ve been able to see firsthand the ways in which consumers starting small businesses and small businesses themselves have engaged with services like Fundbox and other adjacent services, which you’re no doubt aware of, what do you think will be certain elements of the future of how those types of services will attract and retain communities of small businesses for themselves? Essentially I’m asking, what do you perceive to be the future of behavior in these small businesses that you’ve just started to see the beginnings of now?

Cameron Maxwell (16:42):

And I think there’s some really cool tools out there that will, and you’re already kind of seeing it with Canva, for instance. Just make it a lot easier for these small businesses to create content that addresses their target audiences in a way that’s more impactful and it’s just easier for them to create than it has been historically.

Adam Conner (17:04):

Making that process easier lightens a lot of loads. And especially if it can be value creative to a provider or even a small business, all the better. I appreciate getting your thoughts on that and for speculating on this a little bit with me. I have one more question, which is the inverse of the one I just asked, but one I’ve asked a little bit recently and well, I enjoy listening to the guests give the answer. So I’m going to give you a blank. I want you to fill in the blank for me, if you could, as we round out today. Gone are the days of blank when it comes to getting in touch with, attracting, and retaining communities of small business as a service provider.

“I’m thinking about this in the context of, again, this might seem selfish, through the lens of content and I keep bringing it up. But I think that there’s really a requirement from a content perspective to have a strategy, to make it a robust strategy, and I guess gone are the days of being able to be successful without creating and being intentional about creating communities. And again, I think I mentioned earlier, I think one of the primary ways that’s done today is through content. So I would say gone are the days of low level of effort, creating a successful long term relationships with your customers and growing your business.”

— Cameron Maxwell (17:47)

Adam Conner (18:36):

Just as it’s become easier to start a business than ever, so too has the baseline of required effort to grow it and sustain it risen, and so too has that barrier risen for providers like Fundbox. I’m glad that you’re at the helm there when it comes to branding content. And again, thanks for exploring the future there with me. Look forward to seeing how else small businesses will be supported going forward. For giving me a look at the now and a glimpse at the what may be, Cameron, thanks so much for joining me.

Cameron Maxwell (19:07):

Thanks Adam. Thanks for having me.

Adam Conner (19:12):

Thanks again to Cameron Maxwell from Fundbox for joining us. Hopefully you got your mind racing about your passion project and how much easier it may be to start than you thought. And thanks to you, of course, the listener for exploring the Future of Fandom with us. I’d encourage you to stay connected. So here’s what you do. You go to livelike.com/podcast. Of course, listen to all our episodes there and you can subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Finally, across socials, LinkedIn at LiveLike and Twitter at LiveLike, Inc. I look forward to predicting the future again with you real soon, and until then I’m Adam Conner saying so long and thanks for being a fan.