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Why I was terrible at marketing

Why I was terrible at marketing

October 30, 2025

When I joined Run The Day, I didn’t understand marketing. It turns out, I was also really bad at it.

Recently, I realized the 2 main reasons why:

I’m an introvert. If you ask my friends, they’d tell you I don’t say much. My personality is the opposite of a master promoter or social media influencer who thrives on attention.
I began my career in an industry that did NO marketing. I started my career in finance — first in investment banking then in private equity — where marketing practically did not exist. Relationships drove everything and when millions of dollars move in a deal, attention comes naturally. Not only that, the industry’s marketing playbook was written by banks (like the Rothschilds in 19th Century) that would finance both sides of wars. In other words, the finance world was built to avoid attention — not attract it.

The good news: because I was bad at marketing, I had no choice but to build something useful. So I rolled up my sleeves and focused on substance — improving our technology, streamlining our timing operations and strengthening our customer support.

Oh yes, I’ve gotten a bit better at promotion — although it’s still mostly our customers who do the talking for us. Being an introvert is just who I am.

— Ian