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Cult Status: How to Build a Business People Adore
Consumers are changing, and the businesses that form around them are principled, purposeful and creative. The next generation of entrepreneurs think differently, and Cult Status will show you how you can too.
Enough has been written about huge cult brands founded last century – Nike, Apple, Red Bull. What will the cult companies of tomorrow look like? Who is amassing the kind of passionate community that gives them the best chance of getting through difficult times to build a long-term, sustainable success?
Tim Duggan, co-founder of one of Australia’s most innovative and awarded new media companies, has studied hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and change makers over the last decade to uncover what they all have in common. Learn from the founders of modern brands like Blake Mycoskie (TOMS), Zoe Foster Blake (Go-To), Tim Brown (Allbirds), Daniel Flynn (Thankyou), Lucy Moss (SIX), Oscar McMahon (Young Henrys) and more.
In this book you’ll discover:
The 7 Steps to building a business with cult status
The one thing you should do before starting something new
Why every business of the future needs to balance profit and purpose together
How to have just as much impact working inside a company as you can from outside
The leadership trait every new leader needs
How to create a passionate community that will rally around you in tough times
14 practical exercises you can do today to set up for success tomorrow
Armed with this book, anyone from anywhere can help create the next business with serious cult status.
Enough has been written about huge cult brands founded last century – Nike, Apple, Red Bull. What will the cult companies of tomorrow look like? Who is amassing the kind of passionate community that gives them the best chance of getting through difficult times to build a long-term, sustainable success?
Tim Duggan, co-founder of one of Australia’s most innovative and awarded new media companies, has studied hundreds of successful entrepreneurs and change makers over the last decade to uncover what they all have in common. Learn from the founders of modern brands like Blake Mycoskie (TOMS), Zoe Foster Blake (Go-To), Tim Brown (Allbirds), Daniel Flynn (Thankyou), Lucy Moss (SIX), Oscar McMahon (Young Henrys) and more.
In this book you’ll discover:
The 7 Steps to building a business with cult status
The one thing you should do before starting something new
Why every business of the future needs to balance profit and purpose together
How to have just as much impact working inside a company as you can from outside
The leadership trait every new leader needs
How to create a passionate community that will rally around you in tough times
14 practical exercises you can do today to set up for success tomorrow
Armed with this book, anyone from anywhere can help create the next business with serious cult status.
272 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2022
42 people are currently reading
453 people want to read
About the author
Tim Duggan
5 books13 followersTim Duggan is an optimist who loves thinking about big ideas. He has co-founded several digital media ventures, most notably Junkee Media, one of the leading publishers for Australians.
His first book, Cult Status: How To Build A Business People Adore, was awarded the Best
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Book at the 2021 Australian Business Book Awards, and his second book on creativity, ‘Killer Thinking: How To Turn Good Ideas Into Brilliant Ones’, was named one of the Best Books of 2022 by Apple Books.
Tim is the Chair of the Digital Publishers Alliance, an industry body that represents over one hundred and fifty titles from leading independent digital publishers. He began his career as a music journalist for Rolling Stone, and lives with his husband in Mallorca.
His first book, Cult Status: How To Build A Business People Adore, was awarded the Best
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Book at the 2021 Australian Business Book Awards, and his second book on creativity, ‘Killer Thinking: How To Turn Good Ideas Into Brilliant Ones’, was named one of the Best Books of 2022 by Apple Books.
Tim is the Chair of the Digital Publishers Alliance, an industry body that represents over one hundred and fifty titles from leading independent digital publishers. He began his career as a music journalist for Rolling Stone, and lives with his husband in Mallorca.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 15, 2023
At first I was getting frustrated with this book because it felt overly slanted towards product companies and mainly eco-focused ones at that. Running a services based business, I was hoping for more insight which would be applicable to this area. Regardless, the high focus on Aussie companies was nice and relatable and it was fascinating to hear about some of their back stories.
Despite the rocky start, as the book progressed a lot of the concepts did become cross-applicable and really got me thinking. I found myself leaving notes in the margins with ideas on how I could apply some of the suggestions to my business. Taking the frameworks and translating them to what might work for us. I think when a book gets you thinking for yourself, it's a good book.
I'm looking forward to trying all the exercises listed.
Despite the rocky start, as the book progressed a lot of the concepts did become cross-applicable and really got me thinking. I found myself leaving notes in the margins with ideas on how I could apply some of the suggestions to my business. Taking the frameworks and translating them to what might work for us. I think when a book gets you thinking for yourself, it's a good book.
I'm looking forward to trying all the exercises listed.
June 16, 2021
Sharp, relatable, and incredibly foresighted - I could not put this book down! Packed with anecdotes, case studies and thought-provoking exercises, this practical guide to building a purposeful business with a truly passionate community (aka ‘cult status’) changed the way I think about entrepreneurship. Top notch.
December 18, 2020
Read this to build a great brand
I enjoyed reading how to build a business full of purpose and community. Beyond profits and customers, this book tells how to make a meaningful business with invested fans. Highly recommended.
I enjoyed reading how to build a business full of purpose and community. Beyond profits and customers, this book tells how to make a meaningful business with invested fans. Highly recommended.
August 3, 2020
An excellent and inspiring read, full of real examples and advice from entrepreneurs. Relatable, enjoyable and wise.
January 24, 2022
Do I own a business? Nope.
Do I plan on starting a business in the foreseeable future? Nope.
Was this book useful to me? Not exactly, seeing as I am without a business.
Did I enjoy it anyway and read it super quick? Yep, that one is correct. Strange and maybe unexplainable.
This is a readable, handy kind of guide for people looking to increase the impact of their existing business or to create a business that's about more than just profit. Tim Duggan looks into how businesses with 'cult status' are different to the corporate capitalist machine and how they are doing better from the outset. The author uses interviews, studies and his own life experience to explore what elevates a business to cult status. I found the whole thing really fascinating and also sensible, even if I have no business plans myself - you never know!
Do I plan on starting a business in the foreseeable future? Nope.
Was this book useful to me? Not exactly, seeing as I am without a business.
Did I enjoy it anyway and read it super quick? Yep, that one is correct. Strange and maybe unexplainable.
This is a readable, handy kind of guide for people looking to increase the impact of their existing business or to create a business that's about more than just profit. Tim Duggan looks into how businesses with 'cult status' are different to the corporate capitalist machine and how they are doing better from the outset. The author uses interviews, studies and his own life experience to explore what elevates a business to cult status. I found the whole thing really fascinating and also sensible, even if I have no business plans myself - you never know!
January 20, 2024
Wow a business book that actually considers that you’re a human being and not a robot! It also considers the impact businesses have on the planet and marginalized communities! And your mental health and wellness!
It was nice to hear business advice from an Australian perspective for once too. You get a lot of greats business examples (including failures and why they failed). Each step has an exercise in the end, so it’s good to put some of the advice into practice as you’re reading it. (Not that I did it. I don’t even know why I read this considering I’m chronically ill/disabled and can’t work lol)
It was nice to hear business advice from an Australian perspective for once too. You get a lot of greats business examples (including failures and why they failed). Each step has an exercise in the end, so it’s good to put some of the advice into practice as you’re reading it. (Not that I did it. I don’t even know why I read this considering I’m chronically ill/disabled and can’t work lol)
January 13, 2024
Readable, Relatable, Reproducible Recipe for Success
Tim Duggan’s tightly written battle plan for success is immensely readable, includes highly relatable case studies, and (most importantly) provides a reproducible no-nonsense template for success. An absolute must read for anyone who is searching for the keys to building a business people will adore!
Tim Duggan’s tightly written battle plan for success is immensely readable, includes highly relatable case studies, and (most importantly) provides a reproducible no-nonsense template for success. An absolute must read for anyone who is searching for the keys to building a business people will adore!
November 4, 2020
An interesting book full of anecdotes and excellent tips on building a business in this day and age. Helps with organisation and motivation for people looking to start, rebuild or create a cult status for their business.
Worth the read if you are the target audience.
Worth the read if you are the target audience.
November 20, 2021
clever, honest, useful
August 4, 2022
Brilliantly written & researched. Tim’s writing style is so easy to read & I learned a tonne!
July 10, 2023
Straight forward with a lot of different real world examples. I enjoyed this and it left me feeling inspired.
February 26, 2024
It was good but it wasn't amazing.
February 16, 2021
I liked this book, the examples were entertaining and I enjoyed its practicality.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews