Small Efforts - with Sean Sun and Andrew Askins

(0:25) The difference between Andrew and Sean is that Sean is extra delusional  (6:27) Sales feels like throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks  (17:23) Either the channels depend on the day, or different channels work during different times (24:32) Giving constraints encourages creativity, not stifles it (34:21) Andrew and Sean are both traveling and bad at bowling   Thanks for listening...

(0:22) Getting experience is all about putting in the reps (9:09) It’s easy judging a designer by their portfolio. A PM by their resume? Not so much. (18:58) It’s mad hard building a leadership team (27:12) Commission vs. Salary: We’re undecided on which one’s better (37:03) If Krit didn’t exist, Andrew would definitely have an SEO marketing agency   Thanks for listening to Small Efforts, a podcas...

(0:22) Sean was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and that’s OK (5:58) I’m not undisciplined, mom —I’m just wired differently  (10:16) Wages as a CEO: How much should you compensate yourself? (20:21) Stocks are steady, but business is more rewarding (26:53) Sometimes, it’s the stupid risks that pay off (so go sponsor that esports team) (30:36) Personal note: Rest in peace, Mike Murray   Thanks for lis...

(0:27) It’s good to have a playbook in case you get hit by a bus tomorrow (6:19) You can’t have a great process if you don’t iterate or communicate (11:31) The more granular you get, the more you get bogged down by the rules (18:14) Awesome employees + no rules = chaos (23:17) The client does have the final decision, but it’s sad if you just act like a waiter (33:24) Miscreants don’t sponsor loser...

(0:27) The Tale of Two Founders: the Technical One and the Sales and Marketing One (6:58) Sean is Andrew’s new therapist (13:39) Letting go of your Legos is harder than it looks (17:48) Hot Take: Social media memers don’t make for good marketing directors (23:32) Sean is like a laptop with too many Chrome tabs open: constantly getting drained (29:56) Relinquishing Perfectionism: It’s not that thei...

(0:27) Andrew got roped into volunteering with a local high school robotics team (4:12) It’s mad hard to hire a product designer (10:59) One does not simply get hired because one uses hamburger menus (20:22) There’s always a weird rift between international and domestic employees (28:38) How do you keep your employees happy when you can’t give them a ping pong table? (31:38) You can’t pay someone...

(0:27) Andrew got his first snow boots ever, and Sean is terrified of surfboarding (4:36) Sean wishes he had an office-office, and Andrew's looking to hire a product designer (10:14) Andrew’s new pitch: a low-cost, automated recruiting service with a flat fee (19:58) There are many great online job boards out there, but Ziprecruiter is not one of them (25:34) Coinbase's Super Bowl ad was a super c...

(0:27) Andrew’s never been to Disney World, and Sean’s surrounded by cat owners (5:18) Domain names are like gym memberships: you should take them seriously (10:38) People are scrambling to figure out how to close that lead gap, and that’s fair (15:40) A less boring alternative to white papers: interactive microsites (19:48) No time for microsites? Start a movement with other companies (24:33) Wha...

(0:25) Andrew and Sean are going to play a game (2:57) Microcopy: the little bits of texts that can make a huge splash (7:48) Accessibility: it’s just good design (10:18) Andrew wants tooltip walk-throughs to burn in Hell (14:05) Not all product analytics is created equally (20:03) Why do people have a customer support robot when it takes hours to get a response? (23:19) Documentation is more scal...

(0:27) Andrew hopes he's resilient to SAD because he has plenty of other mental anguish (3:29) Culture and Business: Only having awesome culture doesn't put food on the table (15:58) Miscreants just launched three freaking projects back to back (19:09) Appealing to Emotions 101: Emphasize with pain (21:33) If you think figuring out your niche is hard, try finding someone else's (29:15) Standing ou...

(0:27) Running an agency is like leading geese while not knowing where you're going (5:45) Holidays While Remote: Having fun traditional office stuff is hard (9:11) Miscreants’ Black Friday merch sales were so high that Sean became a folding master (11:56) The hardest part of having a newsletter is making it (15:05) Krit learned some interesting things from testing their design audit process (19:3...

(0:27) Krit (sort of) got hacked  (7:21) One does not simply tell employees and clients that one got hacked (13:23) Two Types of Recruiters: Those who “spam the shit out of everybody,” and those who build relationships (18:31) “Holidays are tough” (23:47) It’s hard juggling days off while pushing against stagnation (26:54) Selling butts in a seat is easier when you have a smaller team (30:27) Maki...

(0:27) Andrew, Sean, and another Andrew (7:24) Getting ahold of the people you want and don't want to get to (11:30) Crossing the chasm: Getting rid of collection bias and positioning yourself better (16:15) Leading people who work for the people who work for you  (20:15) The Difference Between Therapists and Executive Coaches: One tells you to shut up and suck it up (23:09) Values vs principles (...

(0:27) Andrew has a cat named Stevie Nicks, and Sean’s cold and stressed in LA (3:17) Krit has officially launched one of its non-security clients (5:47) Sean’s New Pitch: Soundtracks based on interviews (8:27) Remixing and Repurposing Old Content: Why build from scratch when you have a foundation? (11:22) Running Remotely: How do you make your company more transparent internally? (16:50) Sean mig...

(0:21) The Yin and Yang of Running an Agency: How much can you control? (7:42) LinkedIn Marketing is free game (11:21) Onboarding Plans: Unexpectedly hard to develop (18:01) Andrew and Sean have a graveyard for domain names of projects they’ve abandoned (25:30) Some projects are very, very dead (30:57) And some were shot dead before they took off (35:04) You can’t expect prototype speed past the p...

(0:29) Andrew’s cat, Po’ Boy’s, new friend: a cat named Danger (work-in-title) (2:49) ​​Security Companies: Why so many ‘S’ names? (8:12) Hiring Notice: Sean’s still looking for a Project Manager (10:56) Hiring Notice: So, Sean’s really looking for a Producer/Project Manager (14:36) Getting referrals for Design People from Tech People isn’t the greatest (17:05) Andrew and Sean really appreciate Mi...

(0:27) Irvine's sunsets are crazy and Detroit's EDM scene is wild (4:50) ​​Andrew's kicking off his interview series Product People (7:41) Sean is a fanboy of Return on Security (10:20) It's not all about the VC outreach (12:19) Product Management is such a weird industry (19:50) There aren't many good online security communities for intermediates (23:47) There's a difference between having a fan...

(0:27) Laptops and remote work go hand in hand (3:27) But Sean and Andrew are not about that digital nomad life (6:10) Setting the right goals is a constant struggle (8:24) Andrew's therapist is a surprisingly awesome business coach (11:35) Time Measurement: Think about your to-dos, but don't go super, super in detail (14:03) Andrew shares some of his goals (19:24) Life with a Co-Founder: No share...

(0:27) Sean doesn't know how to pronounce "Michelob" (1:12) Andrew and Sean’s Relationship: It’s been a long two years, man (4:37) Andrew and Sean are pretty much risking their lives to be at DEF CON (14:30) It can be mad hard to sell B2B tech products (17:57) Connections in Security: It can help with even the most unrelated things (20:43) Choosing Your Company’s Differentiator: Better data and be...

(0:25) Getting out of a Funk: It's hard to stop feeling scattered (8:17) Zoom fatigue is real (9:22) Andrew's gotten really into rock climbing recently (13:12) Sean tries to pitch liquid chalk (16:28) Tensions Within Security Twitter: We need to express more empathy (20:15) The beverage and security industries are kinda related (23:34) Andrew pitches DART (working title) (30:02) There's surprising...

In episode 2, we talk about the new MITRE D3FEND framework and an internal project at Krit to answer the question, "What defines good design in InfoSec?" We also touch on marketing strategy, learning not to overcommit, expanding your team, camping, and exit plans. (0:21) Andrew is giving Sean major FOMO. (3:04) An empty office: You don’t know what you’re missing until it’s gone. (4:20) Only a part...

(0:22) Case Studies: Timing Case Studies can be mad hard. (1:57) What Andrew is doing for lead gen.  (2:57) Hiring Notice: Andrew's looking to hire some accountability to keep his writing on track.  (5:23) Connecting with people in security should be organic. (8:59) Someone owes me a Chick-Fil-A: Motivating your co-host by bribing them with Chick-Fil-A. (9:46) Misophonia and why Sean can’t listen...

Small Efforts is a podcast about cybersecurity, design, and the continuous small efforts it takes to build a business. Join hosts Sean Sun (founder of Miscreants ) and Andrew Askins (founder of Krit ) as they share the ups and downs of growing design agencies in the cybersecurity industry.  Sean knows a lot about cybersecurity, Andrew knows a lot about running an agency. But they both have a lot t...