TownSquare Chess

Super excited to have closed our $3M pre-seed round! Looking forward to the journey ahead🚀

TownSquare Chess will be dropping some chess ads on this LinkedIn wasteland. But we're looking for some 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 as we go... • What are the most important 𝗱𝗼𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁𝘀 for running ads on the LinkedIn platform? 🧭 • Are there any 𝗴𝗼-𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 you know for making the most of LinkedIn as a channel? We're looking for a co-pilot. 💡 • We 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 want to spam people. What are the most palatable ways to advertise here? 👇 • If you know 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗱-𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝘂𝗿𝘂 (preferably someone who can generate memes and/or loves chess), tag them below. We're open to contract-based hiring, with the possibility of longer-term involvement. 🎯 If you read this post and you're a generic advertiser or advertising firm, 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁. We'll just report and block you. 👋 If you're someone who's interested in 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀, we'd love to hear from you. ♟️💜 Any questions I 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 be asking, but didn't? 👇

Nothing better than seeing our TownSquare Chess students grow. Getting messages like this makes coaching worth it: 1. 𝗜𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 both online and over the board 2. 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 at every level and rating range 3. 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 while making continued progress Win-win-win. Reach out if you're looking to: 1. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 and get paired up with one or more of our coaches 2. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 and build out a range of offerings, from virtual lessons to digital content 3. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗦𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗲 to raise awareness for chess coaching and let us know how we can return the favor We've just onboarded several more coaches who've provided meaningful feedback, so our platform is improving every week. Look forward to making more posts like this as our students continue writing their own success stories with the help of our top-flight coaching team. --- 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲: we've gotten inbound from a number of coaches, but our team believes you need at least a 2000 online rating on one major chess platform to teach beginners effectively enough to generate the kind of progress seen here.

These past 12 months, I've operated in a way many post-MBAs would scoff at. Last summer, I launched a chess startup alongside a part-time coaching business. Time to put the side hustle to the side. Coaching is cute and all, but now it's time to do the "real thing". Short-term cash make way for a VC infusion, podcasts, conferences... ...except for the part where I did the exact opposite. I leaned into Leland and built a fully-fledged coaching practice with their help. I don't operate with a safety net; I can't raise a "family and friends round" at the drop of a hat. Not to mention, I think my own parents would be harder investors to convince than most VCs who see stamps like Stanford University Graduate School of Business and McKinsey & Company and think they mean something when it comes to starting a business. (NB: It's 2-0 VCs on the 'term sheets received' scorecard. Turns out mom needs to see more MoM before any allowance comes through) But even if I accept that I've missed out on growth these past few months at TownSquare Chess by leaning into my coaching practice, here's what I've learned: 1. As someone who built their own freelance practice before, 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: every time you coach someone, be great. You can't be perfect, but go above and beyond.     2. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂: know that you represent an organization, even if you're not an FTE: if I come up short, 𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁. Care about that, and it will come back around.  3. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆: you need to really like doing it. Don't manufacture meaning just to fool yourself. Only coach on things you (a) are skilled in helping, and (b) where you feel super-invested in the outcomes of everyone you're helping. I do free events all the time and come away with more energy than I started with. 4. 𝗚𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝗲: define a niche, dig in, and build a layered offering with multiple options. Accumulate testimonials and your practice will grow itself. 5. 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆: I've learned how to better build my own marketplace, what great customer focus looks like, and how to differentiate a product in my time with Leland. What more could you want from a "side hustle"? I'm not about the thing that people say to do. I'm about the thing I learn the most from and the stuff I'm excited to get up in the morning to do. In a world where everyone has GenerativeAI at their fingertips, I decided to start my coaching work at Leland around 𝗪𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚. Turns out it's a more valuable skill than ever. Oh and one more thing. This "side hustle", this "coaching thing", is now what's allowing me to scale TownSquare Chess in 2024. One marketplace fuels another — financially and intellectually. Just do your thing.

This is why we do what we do. One of our newest TownSquare students has gone up >100 rating points on chess.com and just secured his first Classical OTB win in only 8 weeks working with our team. Drop us a line to get started on your road up.

📢 TownSquare meets Reddit, Inc.! If you have just 10 seconds, drop us a quick Upvote to showcase the community and help broaden our reach! If you're looking for chess coaching yourself, drop me a DM or reach out through the TownSquare site! https://lnkd.in/e6ASnXYA To our 1500+ subscribers, thank you as always for the consistent support. #chess #coaching #chesscoaching #learning

𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞-𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤: writing chess notation. Here's a simple framework for how chess can help you build an entirely new vocabulary: 1. 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: When you're not actually speaking French or Spanish in real life, how can you truly see if you're improving? You have to speak to know. 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬: If you can't see the board and translate that into proper notation, how can you go back and review your game at a later date? Notation is your guide. 2. 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: If you're not swimming in a culture you hope to understand and growing accustomed to the nuances of local dialects, are you really learning the language, or just an academic deriviative of it? 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬: If you're not actively playing and notating in real-time, is your translation ability truly going to grow? Get over the board and write. Meet other players, learn shorthand and additional tips to annotating quickly and accurately. 𝟑. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: Pick up some accessible best-sellers. Find books of multiple reading levels. Build multiple contexts and associations. Compare them with books in your native language to ensure you're grasping deeper meaning. 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬: There are countless chess books, but getting accustomed to transmuting written chess moves into visualized combinations is a powerful way to expand your mind and internalize the game. Don't expect immediate results, and enjoy the process. It takes time, but the payoff is immense. What are two things you've combined to learn something new? --- ♻️ Repost if you thought this was cool.

Play on chess.com to stay an amateur. Analyze with a coach to improve.

𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 as VC rebounds with wild valuations in a 2024 bull market. But you might want to consider a 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 to your time... Having spent time as chief of staff to leadership at startups from seed to Series C -- and from talking to dozens of friends from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School-- an alarmingly high fraction of pressure-cooker fundraising "work" entails: • 10-20 hours / week reaching out to, meeting, and interfacing with VCs. • 20 hours / week prepping for updates and board decks when you actually get that money you wanted to badly. • Orienting your product, marketing strategy and business model towards a billions-or-bust outcome matrix. But for the vast majority of founders (you know, those 99% that fail in the venture model), it's time that could be better spent actually creating something. Especially if you're a solo founder or still testing your idea, you should really consider 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 "𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞" 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐞. Instead of burning countless hours on something that either (a) might not pan out, or (b) pan out in a way that doesn't really do anything for your business, you'll get this instead: 1. A steady, non-dilutive source of cash you can use or reinvest 2. Continued practice with design, marketing, sales, even product development in many cases. 3. Knowledge and connections in new fields where you're building expertise In my case, this approach has taken the form of a fully-fledged contracting business I started at GSB, a mini-startup advisory practice I've continued to build out, and more recent avenues like coaching, 1:1 work and expert advisory. It didn't start out glamorously. It actually seemed kind of dumb. The first thing I did was help people edit resumes for ~$100 a pop. But I kept investing. Over time, I could command more and referrals started flowing in for more interesting, more lucrative work. Instead of spending decades fundraising or desperately clamoring for a TechCrunch article, I'm now able to self-fund while building TownSquare Chess and live a good life in the process. I've always worked hard, but the commercial parameters around me now allow me to work smart -- and in a way that just feels good. The freedom to do 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 you want 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 you want is something you can't replace mentally. Coupling that with clarity behind how to build something sustainable and methodically grow it over time has proven infinitely more valuable than prepping for investors who see only fractions and dollar signs. So it might be worth pausing before you set out on a particular path, and actually look at all the options available to you. If you play your cards right, you might end up with a business that's even better than the one you're fundraising for. #entrepreneurship #startups #venturecapital #sidehustle

🔔 5 new coaches and 5 new students in the past 12 hours. That's what we like to see. Join the TownSquare chess platform to get matched up with top-flight coaching, and grow your game. ♻ Repost to challenge your fellow chess players. ⬇ Tag someone who could really use some coaching. —————————————————— #chess #learning #growth #startups #entrepreneurship