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💡 New Q&A: How Milly Tamati Built a 6-Figure Business From a Tiny Scottish Island
If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s still possible to build something big without going mega viral, raising funding, or moving to a major city — this story is proof.
This week I got to speak Milly Tamati, the founder of Generalist World, a global community and learning platform for people with nontraditional, squiggly careers. (If it feels like deja vu, she also was recently featured in Creator Spotlight!)
She built her entire business from a remote island in Scotland (population: 191) with an intentional approach to building community and a mission to build the new workforce of generalists.
Here’s what we covered:
The post that started it all
Milly’s first-ever LinkedIn post—“I’m a generalist, is anyone else like me?”—sparked what became Generalist World. She shares how she turned that into a full-time business, why DMs were more valuable than followers early on, and how she validated the idea before even knowing what it would become.
How she uses LinkedIn as a growth engine
She didn’t have a big audience when she started, but she showed up daily, built in public, and earned deep buy-in from early members.
Milly explains the difference between performative posting and true engagement — and how LinkedIn became her most important distribution channel. (She now has more than 20K followers, btw.)
The quiz funnel that added 22,000+ subscribers
You’ve probably seen it by now: What kind of generalist archetype are you? Her quiz is a top-of-funnel magnet that keeps working while she’s offline. She breaks down how it was built, how she promotes it on TikTok, and how the results help people position themselves (some even use it in job interviews).
Her Beehiiv-powered content + survey system
Milly’s entire backend runs on tools like Beehiiv, ScoreApp, and Zapier. She shares how she uses Beehiiv’s native survey feature to collect voice-of-customer insights at scale —and how those answers fuel everything from sponsorship pitches to new product ideas.
[P.S. I’m also writing a full deep dive on this for beehiiv. Lmk if you want to read it and I’ll send you a link once it’s up!]
Why she’s building a calm community, on purpose
Most online spaces focus on growth at all costs. Milly takes a different approach. She limits new cohorts, prioritizes depth over speed, and designed Generalist World to feel like “a group of friends who show up for each other.”
This interview is full of gold for anyone building a newsletter, growing a community, or navigating a nontraditional career path.
Milly’s clarity, honesty, and systems-thinking are a masterclass in building something people actually want to be part of.
→ Read the full Q&A here: https://creatordiaries.beehiiv.com/p/milly-tamati-generalist-world
[P.S. I also broke down Milly’s quiz strategy below for paid subscribers. Join here if you want to have a peek!]
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Try This: Use a Quiz as a Top-of-Funnel Growth Engine
Inspired by how Milly added 22,000+ subscribers from a simple quiz, here’s how you can test a similar system—without needing a big audience or paid ads.
Why it works: A well-made quiz offers instant value. It helps your audience learn something about themselves, gives them language for how they think or work, and gives you an easy, evergreen way to segment and grow your list.
Milly’s quiz—What kind of generalist archetype are you?—is fun, fast, and wildly shareable. And because it connects directly to her newsletter and community, it turns casual curiosity into lasting connection.
How to build your own:
1. Choose a clear hook.
Start with a simple, self-discovery-style question that resonates with your audience. Think:
→ What type of [X] are you?
→ What’s your creative superpower?
→ Where are you in your [career/journey/process] right now?
Make sure it ties back to what you help people with and gives them a reason to want the result.
2. Use ScoreApp to build the quiz
Milly used ScoreApp because it makes it easy to create logic-based quizzes with personalized results pages. Bonus: you can add custom growth roadmaps or recommendations at the end.
You can DIY it or hire someone (like Milly did) to help with the quiz logic. Either way: keep it short, clear, and high quality. A low-effort quiz is a waste of everyone’s time.
I learned through the quiz that I was an innovator (although on second thought makes since given that I love to start new things).
3. Automate the backend
Use Zapier to connect ScoreApp to Beehiiv (or whatever email platform you use). When someone completes the quiz, Zapier can automatically:
✅ Add them to your list
✅ Tag or segment based on their result
✅ Send a follow-up sequence with personalized content
After completing the survey, I was added to the onboarding sequence for GW. I love that it started with a personal touch from Milly and made me want to keep learning more.
4. Promote it with short-form content
Milly’s quiz took off because she paired it with TikToks that directly pointed people to the quiz. The videos weren’t overly produced—they just teased the outcome and explained the value.
Don’t overthink this:
→ Talk about why you made the quiz
→ Show people what the results look like
→ Repost the best answers you get
This part is especially fascinating to me as someone who really appreciates short-form video but doesn't really know how to apply it in my own business. I just love how simple Millie's approach was to walk people through the quiz and just show you how powerful a viral video can be.
I recently tested this approach with a new client. After testing it for a few weeks I’ll report back some more lessons & learnings!
🎧 What I’m Listening To: Codie Sanchez on Building Leverage Online
If you’ve ever wondered how to turn your content into real opportunities, this episode nails it.
Codie breaks down what makes content work (and why most of it doesn’t), how to turn a real problem into a product, and the role of attention in building leverage:
“40 cents of every dollar VCs give to startups goes to distribution.
Distribution is just a fancy word for attention… And that's why creators are blowing up everywhere, because they realize that attention is actually the real currency.
It’s not just for creators. It’s for anyone trying to build a business or brand from scratch. She talks through:
The “Where’s Waldo” strategy (go so specific you’re instantly recognizable)
The “Problem-to-Product” loop
The mindset shift that turns documenting into capital
This gave me a ton of clarity on my own content systems — and reminded me why I believe audience-building is foundational for modern entrepreneurship.
My Tech Stack (+ Some Exclusive Discounts!)
I regularly share what tools I'm using, loving, and what's really making a difference in my business. I recently did a big cull of subscriptions and narrowed down the key tools that I am relying on most.
I realize that the key software that I'm using (and running a six-figure freelance business) costs me around $150/month. Not too shabby!
Here are some discounts for you to try:
beehiiv – My go-to newsletter platform. Start free, get 20% off for 3 months.
Sunsama – The daily planning tool that keeps me focused. Get 1 month free.
Found – Business banking built for solopreneurs. Get started for free.
Wispr – The AI voice assistant I’m testing. Try it here.
Matter – My favorite read-it-later app for saving longform gems. Explore Matter.
Cal.com – The best scheduling tool I’ve found. 20% off your first year.
Gamma – Turn notes and outlines into beautiful decks/graphics. (Even built my interim portfolio site here!) Try Gamma.
That’s all for this week!
Next week’s deep dive: I’ve spent 20+ hours unpacking Daniel Priestley’s books, frameworks, and interviews — and I can’t wait to share what I’ve learned. From his 7-11-4 rule to the way he’s packaged decades of IP into a business empire, this is a masterclass in building influence.