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You can email me at words [at] megamaker.co
Hi, I’m Justin Jackson.
I co-founded Transistor.fm (podcast hosting and analytics). I write about SaaS marketing, the reality of bootstrapping startups, pursuing a good life, building calm companies, business ethics, and creating a better society.
In 2024, the main theme of my writing will be marketing and growth tips for SaaS founders. I'll share the real-world results from experiments at my company (Transistor).
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Popular posts
Calm Company – Calm companies are profitable, value freedom, have a purpose, and improve the team's lives. Frenzied companies are crisis-driven.
How to build something people want – a practical framework for determining what products and services people want.
Good businesses have margin – Look for business models with good margins with minimal complexity. Choose work that gives you breathing room.
The prosumer market is underrated – The normal advice for people building SaaS companies is "Don't build software for consumers (B2C); build it for businesses (B2B)." But, there's a third category that doesn't get very much attention: prosumers.
How I would build a new startup if I had to do it all over again
Business is surfing – Just like in surfing, the founder paddles out, assesses potential opportunities (waves) based on customer demand, and works hard to catch a promising one. Once on the wave, the market's momentum carries them forward, requiring skillful navigation to maximize the opportunity's potential while being mindful of competitors and external factors.
Selling stuff on a busy beach – It's unlikely you'll convince someone to buy something where there wasn't already existing demand.
Can you bootstrap a startup on the side? – I wrote this when Transistor was new and not making much revenue.
Let's talk about your startup costs – a topic that is under-examined in the business community.
When should you move on? – How do you decide when it's time to quit a project?
This is a webpage – by far the most popular thing I’ve written; it’s been translated into 16 different languages and was featured by Net Magazine, Smashing Magazine, A List Apart, The UX Podcast, Rands, and T3N Magazine.
Focus on your own shit – an older piece I originally wrote for Medium.
Things I’ve quit doing at my desk – this post was later published on Lifehacker and in the Hacker Monthly magazine.
I’m a f*cking webmaster – a nostalgic piece about the early internet. Featured on CBC Radio’s Spark.
