Welcome to Built Different - Your Guide to Fearless Growth

At Fearless Foundry, we reject business as usual.? That's why Built Different isn't just another marketing newsletter. It's a call to ambitious brands ready to tear down old models and create something new.? ?

In the spirit of creating something new, we're changing up the newsletters we send you. Three times a month, we share honest insights about building a different kind of business. Everything from marketing to operations, delivered in clear language with real examples. These are the strategies we use every day to help businesses grow their own way. ?

If you’re ready to think differently, build fearlessly, and create something that lasts, you’re in the right place. ?

Let’s get to work.

A personal note from Jamie: why we’re leaving Meta and not looking back. ?

While many of us elder-millennials have held tight fists around our Instagram and Facebook profiles (I mean, I still use my university email address as the login!), we’re recognizing the need to put our values ahead of nostalgia.? We’ve watched Meta double down on censoring and shadowbanning content related to the entrepreneurs and founders we care about, and pouring money into an administration we abhor. For this reason, the Fearless team have decided to leave Meta’s platforms.? We're inviting our community to rethink their social media presence alongside us.

?So what does this mean for your business? Remember when TikTok went down for 12 hours? While brief, it perfectly illustrates why we've always encouraged diversifying your marketing. These platforms can disappear at any moment.?

Remember: You don’t own your social media platforms. They are businesses just like yours.

?The platforms allow you to use their business to promote your own brand, and at any moment, that can be taken away.? We don’t recommend abandoning social media altogether - there are real, valuable connections happening there. Instead, start strengthening your independent platforms: your website, email list, and community. These are the digital assets you actually own and control, where you can build relationships free from platform suppression and sudden changes.? ?

Here are a few practical tips to get started.

1) Start with a strong email list: Do you have an email list you are regularly nurturing your clients and prospects with? If not, it’s time to start one. We recommend using a platform like Flodesk. It’s user friendly and has everything you need to create beautifully designed emails for your audience.?

2) Create exclusivity: If you want to build your email list, consider creating some exclusivity around signing up. If you’re thinking of starting a newsletter, let people know what they miss out on by not being on the list- make them want to be there.?

3) Build a website that connects: Your website needs to reflect your brand accurately. When people show up on your digital doorstep, they want to know two things: how you solve their problems and whether the humans in your business are their kind of people. Make both unmistakable. (Need help with this? Reach out to us. It’s what we’re here for.)?

4) Root yourself in community: Take stock of where you’re already connected. What spaces are you showing up in, virtually or in person, to network and cultivate relationships? Root yourself there. Start conversations, make connections. Looking for new communities?

• Check out Famm Connect by heyfamm (free queer networking app)
• Join our quarterly Uplift event (next one: February 12 at 10am PST).

Ask the guy pushing the boulder up the hill. Nothing is easy about starting over. Nothing at all.?

The last 5 years of business have taught us that a pivot is always coming.

It's why we love working with people like you: grounded and agile, humble yet uninterested in being average. It’s time to start over again, my friends.?

But this time, you don’t need to worry. We’re here for you. We’ve got you. And we aren’t going anywhere.?

-Jamie and the Fearless Collective ?

At Fearless Foundry, we believe in building businesses—and wardrobes—that are made to last. That’s why we’re excited to share one of our favorite Built Different brands with you: Dovetail Workwear. They design durable, high-performance gear for women who get sh*t done. Whether you're in the workshop, on the job site, or carving your own path, their workwear is built to move with you, not against you.

Just like the fearless founders we support, Dovetail is redefining the standard, proving that function and fashion can go hand in hand. Their commitment to quality, inclusivity, and empowering women in every industry is what makes them truly Built Different.