1 year. 2 failed category attempts. Today, I finally collected my Strategy Therapy Graduate badge from the Category Design Academy.
You see⌠this is more than just a badge.
Itâs proof of a journey that almost didnât happen.
When I first got into the program on scholarship last year, I was over the moon.
Finally, my chance to make a dent in the category design space.
I had been helping two founders build a category in menâs grooming.
But when they pulled out, I suddenly had nothing to stand on.
Just like that, I was stranded in a course on Category Design⌠with no category to design.
In a scramble to find footing, I thought maybe I could lean into my copywriting and ghostwriting strengths.
So I tried to build a category around Educational Email Courses for category designersâ
helping them engage their superconsumers to fuel growth and dominance.
I mean, I had been a passionate student of category design for over a year before the scholarship.
I knew the frameworks. I spoke the language. I understood the levers to pull for radical differentiation.
But if Iâm honest? That was me performing.
I didnât want to let my benefactors down.
I needed to prove I had earned the scholarship.
Yet⌠my heart wasnât in it.
I wasnât feeling ghostwriting EECs. I wasnât in the headspace to work with âclients.â
So I stopped. I stepped away. For months.
Whenever I thought about my scholarship back then, I felt like a tumbleweedârolling, blown by the breeze.
But hereâs the thing about the Category Design Academy: itâs not just frameworks.
Itâs the people. The Category Pirates.
Their radical kindness and generosity moved me.
They held space for me when I had nothing to show.
They didnât rush me. They let me be.
And in that space, something shifted.
I realized Strategy Therapy was part of my own becoming.
Because truthfully, I wasnât just stuck in category design.
I was stuck in life.
Couldnât move forward. Couldnât go back.
The only way out was a return to selfâbecause all the answers I was searching for were already within.
And thatâs what gave birth to The Becoming Experience.
Itâs built on a simple insight: the strategy for finding clarity when you feel stuck is ARTSâA Return To Self.
And the way you return is by writing guided letters to your future selfâ
the version of you who has already made it through.
He has the insights.
He is inside you.
You just have to reach out.
Because designing a category isnât so different from becoming yourself.
In fact, designing your own category is a becoming experience.
Youâre stuck in the present.
What pulls you through is the vision of a compelling future.
So if youâre a business leader stuck fighting for market share... the Category Design Academy is for you.
And if youâve ever felt caught in-between⌠if youâve ever needed clarity when the old map no longer worksâŚ
The Becoming Experience is for you (link in comments)
Hereâs to becoming.
Hereâs to new categories.
Ian Belloso
It's amazing, original, useful, and worth it.
Jake Harris
I am using Eddie Bot to help write my category manifesto.
I found the conversation much more on-point than typical AI and can point to sources and themes from the books - because I've read them all multiple times.
I believe Eddie Bot can provide key answers AI cannot because of the heavy focus on category creation. Honestly, it's the main reason I upgraded to Founder.
David Whipple
youâre literally the category blueprint
it's like you invented marketing and iâm just living in your world
Adam Frankl
I'm a Superconsumer of online courses, but the Category Design Academy is different. What I love about the Academy is that we have a diverse set of people with a common problem that we all want to help each other solve.
"IRON" Mike Steadman
I finished all the Strategy Therapy content over the weekendâabsolutely world-class. The Category Pirates App is like a mobile MBA in my pocket at all times.
Nick Bennett
The source of volume analysis hit me in the face like a sack of bricks. I didn't think I had very much data to support my whole program. And I realized I have a ton of data about people when they enter the category, when they start making money, how they start making money. I have a lot of stuff, and it didn't really click for me until I did the Strategy Therapy course.
Lisa Kostova
Most of my clients are genuinely smart. But they have been conditioned by our educational system to be straight A students. So they're really good at getting a handful of instructions and saying, "This is my roadmap. I can execute on this roadmap." Now, I can give them a strategy roadmap as to how to start thinking differently.
Danny Bauer
Learning category design is one of the best investments Iâve made in myself. Iâm seeing a different response in the marketplace and feel so good sharing my POV.
Pablo Gonzalez
Iâve known committing to my business was the right decisionâIâve just been terrified to do it. I went for for it and now make the most money of my life.
Danny Bauer
The course taught me what I thought I was doing for the last 9 years was in fact, now the real value I offered. It was a seismic event in my business. It helped me identify what my customers truly valued so I can double and triple down on that.
Dr. Mary Callan
After reading "Play Bigger," I was champing at the bit to go through Strategy Therapy! It exceeded my expectations. The coursework and live guidance helped me define the problem we're solving, and thus our category, more clearly. It's a lovely thing to know (not just dream) that your company can create a new category. Strategy Therapy is whacking the path through the jungle to get there!
Emile Coumans
It helps us get the right focus and strategy within the rollercoaster ride we are currently in.
Alfred
I heard Chris speaking on Lenny's Podcast and fell in love with his teachings and insights. The framework for category design that you guys have developed makes a lot of sense. As a problem and customer-obsessed entrepreneur that spends every waking hour obsessing about building a better future, your insights help me organize and better execute on the millions of variables zapping around my brain.
Afi
I love you guys! I have nothing else to say. I'm just learning a lot from you people! You guys are awesome teachers!
Anna
I've read your book and I fully agree with what you say. I think that we all need to care about our customers and create something of true value. Not just copy others mindlessly. Hope I can learn from you and create something great myself
Jill Consor Beck
Lenny has plenty of informative guests, but your talk really resonated w/me as I'm trying to reframe something that has sucked for so long into something completely different - basically wellness after 40 doesn't need to be dysfunctional. We're all sold so much shit (BTW, loved your liberal swearing on the pod) that won't truly help us that influencers say we need. Look forward to learning more.
Cathryn
Youâve got the gems that Iâm searching for.
Jason C. Sayen
I was already a huge fan of the authors but this book really opened my eyes around the possibilities of writing. I produce weekly content on LinkedIn and this book gave me a lot of insights on how I can improve my POV. I never thought about writing a book but now Iâm considering it after reading Snow Leopard.
Aisling D.
To stand out in a sea of competition, and realize the importance of originality in a swamp of AI generated ideas and media, read this book. I recommend the printed edition, so you can flag and highlight it. Lots of gems to inspire you!
Brian J Sheehan
A valuable set of keys unlocking a different mindset for writing. Expansive, pertinent, action-provoking guidance for writers. Category Pirates have set themselves apart once again. My mindset is treading the territory of the Snow Leopard, and the kindling here has ignited a turf-fire deep within me that will burn methodically for quite some time. This book was just what I needed to provide focus for my work on writing and ultimately, publishing. Snow Leopard has fast become a go-to reference and it feels like following a path with ample signs of success. Thank you Category Pirates Christopher, Cole, and Eddieâyour wisdom shines brightly and your collaborative efforts are second to none.
Shoefly
Thereâs a lot of strong content and advice in this book. The idea of market differentiation is not new, and the breakthrough case examples are interesting, but not unlike breakthrough examples one could pull from decades past. Its helpful theme is that differentiation is a good strategy for gaining market share. But what makes this book great, in my view, is the way it speaks to solopreneur work, digital native realities, and the idea of âbeing differentâ vs âbeing betterâ as the best strategy for growth. I will go through this book a second time - and possibly a third - to put in practice its many wonderful ideas.
Owen S
The internet is busier than ever.
For good and bad.
It is good in the sense that we all have the ability to publish real-time work and get real-time feedback on it all.
It is bad because you need to be very mindful about your craft and how to grab the attention of others who have a million and one things to do in a given day.
My best advice is to learn from those who have proven strategies, especially those who are not following the masses but instead carving a Category Of One.
The fellas at Category Pirates call this a Snow Leopard.
If you have any interest in writing, you should grab this book simply because dang, look at the cover!
Just the cover ropes me in and makes me want to be this so-called, âSnow Leopard.â
However, beyond that, this book will show you how to internalize a completely new way of framing your ideas, stories, and insights to reach and resonate with the most people possible.
This book covers so many epic topics!
If you are a writer, creator, entrepreneur, executive, public speaker, investor, or industry thought leader, then this MUST be your next read.
You are learning from those who have DONE the work, not just TALKED about the work.
This book will set you free and let your ideas and thoughts blast through the internet and beyond to impact others positively.
Trevor Davis
This is one of the best books to read on business, marketing and sales!
"IRON" Mike Steadman
I was on team struggle bus when I entered the Academy. I had clients that were rolling off. I had a big gap in terms of signing new clients too. And I had an empty pipeline. But what I discovered is that all my clients are actually launching brands. So they're going from zero to 100, and they wanna do it with someone that they trust. I got a new swagger now because I just feel so comfortable and competent launching these new brands. Because I know as much as it's a brand play, it's also very much a category play. I was calling Christopher all week, 'cause I kept closing clients.
