This is my application for Associate Dean. I built it instead of writing a cover letter.
Associate Dean Candidate · Alpha Schools
Alpha needs 25 families to say yes before a campus opens. That's not an admissions problem. That's a conversion problem. I've spent 12 years getting people to say yes — and I know why they don't.
The Proof
Everyone else missed it. A systemic gap hiding $320MM in plain sight — across two products, two orgs, one company. I found it.
Intuit / MailchimpThe highest-value customers were churning. I built Mailchimp's first white-glove onboarding — the kind where someone actually picks up the phone and walks you through it.
Mailchimp HVCStarted with zero. No budget, no connections, no playbook. Just three guys from Ohio who figured out what makes people show up — and come back.
Bucket List Boys CreativeWhat broken onboarding feels like
When the experience breaks, people don't complain.
They just leave.
That's what a broken enrollment flow feels like. Except parents don't wait for the fix.
The Method
At Seamless, I converted free users into paying customers through PLG — no sales team. The fix was never more information. It was removing friction at the exact moment of decision.
Seamless · PLG GrowthI launched Mailchimp's first white-glove onboarding for their highest-value customers — the hardest to convince, the most expensive to lose. Lead with the outcome. Shrink the risk. Let the experience sell itself.
Mailchimp · HVC OnboardingI grew an audience from 0 to 100MM views by engineering shareability into every touchpoint. Referral isn't a loyalty problem. It's a timing problem.
Bucket List Boys CreativeDifferent industry. Same problem. Every time.
The Person
I don't just build funnels. I build relationships. Here's what that looks like when you have nothing but an idea and the nerve to send one email.
November 2016. Zero connections. A brand new YouTube channel. One email.
Hey Logan,
My name is Elisha Shannon and I have a new YouTube Channel called "Bucket List Boys." Your channel was one of the main things that helped us decide to create ours.
Our channel is all about us (3 broke guys from Ohio) completing our bucket list items and helping others do the same. We're releasing a new project of us helping well known YouTubers complete things on their list.
You let us know a few things on your bucket list and we take care of making it happen.
We would love the opportunity to work with one of our biggest inspirations — but regardless keep making great content.
Elisha Shannon
Co-Creator, Bucket List Boys
Yo wuddup G!
Thanks for reaching out my man. I watched all the videos from the links you sent and I gotta say I definitely enjoyed watching your stuff man. Pretty entertaining! NEEDS MORE MOTHAFUCKIN VIEWS!!! Maybe that's where I come in?
So I could definitely see a collab going down in one of my Vlogs...
A couple of questions:
1.) Where are y'all based?
2.) How do you fund your content?
3.) How big can we go?
Let me know G. Look forwarding to chatting.
Logs
Three broke guys from Ohio. One cold email. Everything that came after.
Every year, thousands of families start researching schools. They visit websites. They book tours. They fill out inquiry forms. They imagine a better future for their kid. And then — somewhere between interest and commitment — they disappear. Quietly. Without telling you why.
That's drop-off. I find where it happens and I fix it.
Move your cursor over the text.