Sep 17, 2016 · 20m · top-founders
EP 420: $70k 2015, $100k 2016 Infoproduct for Writers with Jordan Hayles
gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of The Top, host Nathan Latka interviews comedic writer Jordan Hale about launching the 14-Day Writing Challenge, uncovering her early-stage revenues, cold audience acquisition strategies, and transition from consulting to infoproducts.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 57.2% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Jordan directly confronts Nathan by stating she dislikes that he has not partnered with her company yet, cleverly hijacking his challenge to name something she hates.
Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 6:54 Host calling out lack of customer count dataNathan bluntly interrupts Jordan's vagueness about sales numbers, stating that not knowing exact metrics is his number one pet peeve.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 12:40 Demanding clients stand in their truthJordan demonstrates how she actively manages clients by recounting how she forced an author to publicly highlight bulk order revenue rather than hiding success.
Nathan holds their own ▶ 12:05 Exposing the guest's conflict-aversion strategyNathan immediately dissects Jordan's response as a calculated backhanded compliment and explains why he insists on pushing past pleasantries to test honesty.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Nathan as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Nathan pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly Cash Giveaway Announcement and Contest Details | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | Nathan introduces the guest and inquires about her business concept. Jordan explains her product tiers and defines the difference between a writer and an author. | |
| Early-Stage Financials and the Value of Startup Transparency | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | Jordan hesitantly reveals early revenue numbers, and Nathan steps in to reframe early-stage vulnerability as an asset that makes for actionable startup advice. | |
| Customer Conversion and Building an Engaged Cold Audience | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7 | Nathan aggressively calls Jordan out when she cannot immediately recall her customer breakdown across price points. Jordan pushes back on his assumption about email list building. | |
| Founder Purpose, Mindset, and Maintaining Balance | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Nathan challenges fuzzy motivational phrases and presses Jordan to show a confrontational side. Jordan deflects his prompts playfully and turns the exchange into a pitch for partnership. | |
| Connecting Online and Exclusive Listener Offer | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Jordan shares her contact info and a custom URL offer for listeners before Nathan concludes the main interview portion. |