The Product Was Right. The Launch Email Went Nowhere.
Consume Media built a platform that turns a $6,000 to $7,000 video into roughly a $1,500 one, delivered in under 2 weeks instead of 5 or 6. Leo Falkenstein sent it to the clients he knew should want it. The response was nothing like he expected.
September 24, 2026
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1 min read
Consume Media is a video marketing agency for technology companies. The platform started when Leo's business partner stopped paying attention in a leadership meeting and started coding.
Now clients pick from their own brand-approved assets and script a short video themselves. The Consume team still does the animation, the voiceover and the finish. The upfront work is what brings the price and the timeline down.
His read: an email is an email, however good the product. So he's taking clients to lunch or coffee one at a time, getting them to describe the problem in their own words, then showing the product live. That's where the yeses are coming from.
Why it matters to you.
Most founders would have done what Leo did. You build something your clients need, you're proud of it, and you tell everyone at once. It feels efficient. To the client, it's one more pitch in a full inbox. They like you. They still have no reason to stop. Building new things got cheaper. Getting a client to change how they buy costs what it always did: your time, in person. If you're about to launch into your own client base, put the lunches on the calendar before the email goes out. This applies to clients who already know you. Selling to strangers is a different problem.
“Product market fit does not make sales easy. When I launched this, I sent a blast to a bunch of folks, and I was expecting smiles, high fives, this is awesome, I can't wait to get into this. It was nothing like that. - Leo Falkenstein, co-founder and executive producer, Consume Media”
Your one thing.
Pick the thing you launched this year that didn't land. Count how many clients heard about it by email and how many heard about it from you, face to face. If the email number is bigger, stop sending. Book 5 lunches this month and show it live.
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