Tweets

@noahwbragg @mattwensing @arvidkahl @AndyGCook @mubashariqbal @iOvrThoughtThis @louisnicholls_ Lol.

There needs to be an automated trigger on Twitter that detects a debate thread and automatically schedules a podcast chat. 😜

A concerning societal contrast:

- 70% of households earning $100,000+ we’re able to telecommute
- But in households with annual incomes under $75,000 only 27% were able to telecommute.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-10/americans-stayed-inside-even-as-cities-and-states-reopened

🎯 https://twitter.com/dvassallo/status/1272644281509900288

@Swizec 🙌

❌ "This kind of app is easy to build."
❌ "This is what I think people might like."
❌ "This is what people told me they might like."

Look for evidence of folks

✅ spending money, time, or effort to solve the problem.
✅ who have an economic incentive to seek out a solution.

Nice case study here:

https://twitter.com/polevaultweb/status/1304053877436801026

Every twitter debate. 😅 https://twitter.com/RyanHoliday/status/1304094963706331137

@_rchase_ Onboarding is something I need to improve on Transistor. Lots of opportunities to make it better and reduce our support load.

“Category creation is much harder and costlier than it seems.

The hard part is moving the market — the buyers and their purchasing behavior — with you to the new category. Until then, you’re not a king; you’re just the mayor of a one-person town.”

– @grigoriy_kogan

@Josh412 @johnnytong @tylertringas 👍

@julian_rubisch Read @grigoriy_kogan’s article:

https://www.gkogan.co/blog/category-creation/

I wonder what % of SMB software spending is on SaaS? 🤔 https://twitter.com/ZacharyDeWitt/status/1303760141951541248

@ZacharyDeWitt @_chrismarin I wonder what % of SMB software spending is on SaaS? 🤔

RT @joshorton: I’ll never forget how @BernieSanders answered when people said the Green New Deal was too expensive.

“Expensive as opposed…

A good deep-dive for all this is @grigoriy_kogan’s excellent piece:

https://www.gkogan.co/blog/category-creation/

@johnnytong @tylertringas My magnum opus on this is http://justinjackson.ca/surfing.

What’s missing from that piece?

If you show up at the basketball court, and LeBron is standing there, that’s probably not a good matchup.

But, if you show up at the court and there are no competitors... you can’t play.

You’re looking for:

a) the chance to play the game
b) a matchup where you can compete

It’s not enough to choose just *any* category indiscriminately.

You want to choose a category:

a) that shows potential (growing market)
b) where you’ve identified gaps/opportunities.
c) where YOU (as a founder) have some strengths/advantages.

@shavin47 @usefathom @Geocodio @tailwindcss @ConvertKit @laravelphp @tuple I like @grigoriy_kogan’s examples here:
https://www.gkogan.co/blog/category-creation/

@tylertringas Show me a place where I said “literally just build a copycat.” 😜

(Otherwise, you’re projecting)

Many successful bootstrapped startups saw the gaps in existing categories and made something better:

- @usefathom (Google Analytics)
- @Geocodio (Google Maps)
- @tailwindcss (Bootstrap)
- @convertkit (MailChimp)
- @laravelphp (CakePHP)
- Basecamp (MS Project)
- @tuple (Slack)

@tylertringas I’ve never said that. Where did I say that?

@tylertringas In her examples, “CRM” is a category.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1276676603410436097?s=20

@tylertringas I never said “literally just be a copycat.”

If Basecamp just copied Microsoft Project, they wouldn’t have succeeded.

Their advantage is they could come behind Microsoft and say: “you should switch from Project to us because of X, Y, Z.”

@tylertringas https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1303883852545323008?s=20

“Most successful companies are not category creators.” - @aprildunford

A lot of bootstrappers are trying to avoid fitting into an existing category (because they don't want to be compared to competitors).

That's actually what you want: a slow-moving incumbent, who's already cleared the trail for you.

@ericnormand It's our inability to correctly define *who this is for.*

To me, the fact that economic activity is happening is most important.

A market is the sum of demand in a product category:

1) Number of potential customers
2) How much they spend
3) The frequency at which they buy

@KarenUnland @thekylemarshall Did not realize you lived in Spruce Grove for awhile!

@NathanClark_ https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1303829314899640320

What kills startups?

You run out of margin: financially, emotionally, or with your time.

(You become broke or broken)

Folks who start the journey with more margin (financial, time, emotional) have a greater chance of going the distance.

One of the hardest stages in life is the "almost, but not yet."

You can see your goal, off on the horizon, but you know that it's still miles away.

You're tired, stretched thin, and starting to feel desperate.

What helps?

Almost always: "having more margin before you start."

@rodreegez Nice! 🙌

@goodguyayy Sometimes, there are opportunities when there's a bunch of low-cost players (BlueHost, HostGator) but there's market demand for high-tier service (this is what WPengine did).

RT @mijustin: The biggest problem I see from SaaS who target SMBs is they’re not getting enough trials.

(You'll need more than you think).

@beingbrad 🙋‍♂️

@michiels I’m not saying that an audience isn’t helpful for marketing (it is).

Me marketing Transistor is a big part of our strategy.

I’m just saying that it won’t carry you alone: there needs to be momentum in the market.

“A market” is the sum of demand in a product category:

1) Number of potential customers
2) How much they spend
3) The frequency at which they buy

https://justinjackson.ca/build

@AWaselnuk A market is the sum of demand in a product category:

1) Number of potential customers
2) How much they spend
3) The frequency at which they buy

https://justinjackson.ca/build

@pgpreston @nathanbarry @techzing Nope. That’s the one part of Nathan’s essay I have a quibble with (the last section).

Audience is a tool, it’s not the main driver of a business.

The #1 skill for entrepreneurs is learning to recognize good markets.

@mkhundmiri Totally agree with that.

@mkhundmiri Too many counter examples for that to be the *main* thing that made their companies successful.

It’s the market! The market determines your trajectory.

There’s so much good stuff in @nathanbarry’s new post that it’s hard to pick just one thing to share.

https://nathanbarry.com/billion/

It’s revealing in a way that founder posts rarely are.

@SloanCam @harriskenny Yup. It’s very likely… 😁

@dohertyjf I’ve recently been accused of teaching “way past 0-1” 😉.

https://twitter.com/justinvincent/status/1303451296238718976?s=20

@grantbaldwin 💯 Yes!

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1168618809126555648

@law4 YESSSS

@darianrosebrook 💯

Our positioning should reflect:

- the job that's being done
- a recognizable product category

(Instead of guessing which groups/personas we think our app might be for)

RT @KateBour: @mijustin @TransistorFM I like it. @ashmaurya said is an old blog post that it’s less about asking “who?” and more about aski…

Nailed it. https://twitter.com/brittlestar/status/1303433211582844930

@ericnormand https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1303428967584600064

@TylerMKing 💯

One problem with "first, find a group of people" is that it forces you to draw boundaries *that might not matter.*

Initially, @TransistorFM was "podcast hosting for brands." But (it turns out) 90% of our customers don't identify that way. They simply want "podcast hosting."

@pekpongpaet That's not what I'm talking about.

This is about looking for evidence that money is being spent in a category, or other evidence of demand.

@G_Langenderfer @levelsio It's one strategy that can work.

But there are lots of counter-examples from folks who had no audience (especially in SaaS).

@MalcolmXon I think it's more of a "nice to have" (or a "strength") than a necessity.

@tyler_lindley https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1303420939594391552

@VitalyPushkar 🙌

Increasingly, I think the *who* is less important than the *what*.

✅ "What are people spending money on right now? What problems are they actively trying to solve?"

❌ "Who has money to spend and what might they need?"

"Build an audience first" isn't necessarily a bad idea. In fact, it works great for selling online courses, books, etc.

But for SaaS, having an audience isn't enough.

An audience is helpful but isn't a replacement for overall customer demand in a category.

The contemporary idea in online business is that you need to build an audience, get to know their needs, and then build something they want.

It's focused a lot on *who* you serve. (Who are these people? Do they have money? Where do they hang out?)

But is this the best way? 👉

@Kev_Conti Thanks! 🥰

The market is the wave.

All waves have different shapes, sizes, and timing.

Competition is the number of surfers gunning for the same wave.

Your ability to get to a wave and ride it better than your competitors depends on your speed, skill, experience, privilege, and timing. https://twitter.com/mattwensing/status/1303329642871488518

@gilesvangruisen @mattwensing @fulligin @IndieHackers The market is the wave. All waves have different shapes, sizes, and timing. Competition is the number of surfers gunning for the same wave.

Your ability to get to the wave and ride it better than your competitors depends on a lot of factors (your speed, your skill, experience)

@StephenWilson Yikes. Climate change is in full effect.

I found this podcast with @ezraklein gave me hope:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/how-to-solve-climate-change-and-make-life-more-awesome/id1081584611?i=1000459731910

@ianlandsman Link?

Great interview with @aaronwhoughton on @zenfounder’s podcast.

Interesting how he tracked things and figured out what consistently made him happy.

https://overcast.fm/+ELlT54wos/22:24

@sergiopoludeli @fulligin @IndieHackers Descript: https://app.descript.com/r/HkLbabKnG

@GamacP @TransistorFM Thanks Phil!

Let me know if I can help get you started. I've written a guide here:

https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=justin

This @fulligin quote on @IndieHackers is everything:

"People don't get it: IT'S THE MARKET. A good market will excuse poor ideas, poor execution. In a good market, you can flail wildly and still get there."

@korda @TransistorFM Yes, we have. 😄

@zuzana_kunckova @abigailotwell @dsheetz @JacobBennett @TightenCo @stauffermatt Hacky sack!

The ripple effects of this massive work-from-home trend are pretty mind boggling.

https://marker.medium.com/remote-work-is-killing-the-hidden-trillion-dollar-office-economy-5800af06b007

RT @cabel: So, @JuliaMinamata is making an amazing EGA graphic adventure, drawing each pixel by hand.

But, one Photoshop setting — underst…

@hnshah Well you’re in luck: @sivers gives them away for FREE. 😍

https://sive.rs/book

@farez @justinvincent Nice. I’ll check that out.

👍 https://twitter.com/farez/status/1302330690529193984

@farez @justinvincent Nice! Have your read the post yet?

http://justinjackson.ca/surfing

@lorindaapps 💯

Also, a cautionary tale:

Often, the companies who “break trail” (create a new category) don’t survive.

They just end up paving the way for other companies who come later.

You don’t always want to be first.

@arturoriosme Yes, I think asking follow-up questions once the primary action (a purchase / cancellation) has been taken can be helpful.

“What brought you here today?”
“Why did you switch?”

@daverodenbaugh @ianlandsman @robwalling @patio11 I’d like some Landscoin please.

@KateBour @jamesclift Exactly. It’s most likely a myth (and it’s not super helpful quote).

@GeoffTRoberts Often, companies who “break trail” don’t survive (and only end up paving the way for other companies who come later).

I think entrepreneurship is already hard; I’d rather not make it harder. 😉

@ianlandsman online poker platform

@arturoriosme Observe, and take notes on, what customers do.

What shortcuts do they take?
What purchases do they make?
Where do they consistently get stuck?

(this might get me in trouble)

I think this is why some designers have a hard time in business.

Designers have good taste. They often *know* what's better.

But... what that the client *wants* is to use Comic Sans on their menus.

It's hard to swim upstream.

@thatbberg I'm with you that movements of people can gradually transform the culture.

But, it's too risky to take the entire onus of that on as a single business.

ie. Ben & Jerry's can (and should!) contribute to the social discourse, but they're just one nudge, in a series of nudges.

@michiels Yup. I was super into JTBD for a while, but that community has so much drama and has splintered into so many factions I just can't follow it anymore.

@jamesclift Yup. A lot of the problem is the founder hubris that we instinctively know what people want.

We might not even need customer interviews/surveys:

The actions that people take (ie. how they spend their money) show us their revealed preference. 😉

It's what they *do* that matters (not what they say).

@jamesclift And… the ever popular:

“If I’d asked the customer what they wanted, they would have told me a faster horse.”

🙄

@PMJtweets For me, it's not even asking the question at all.

The way they spend their money, and the action that they take, reveals their revealed preference. 😉

@jamesclift You should see the replies I get. 😉

This is a common narrative with VC-backed startups: "Let's change the world! Let's make a dent in the universe! Let's innovate!"

https://justinjackson.ca/need-want

What people say they want (and what they actually do) are profoundly different.

https://twitter.com/PMJtweets/status/1302020472750714885

@JamesAddison If it's not driven by customer demand, it's going to be incredibly difficult.

"Swimming with the current" is about responding to the way people actually *do* things; not:

- the way they say they'd like to do things,
- or, the way we wish they would do things.

@TheEricAnderson @dohertyjf Yes, AND... what people say they want (and what they actually do) are often profoundly different.

"Swimming with the current" is about observing (and responding) the way people actually *do* things, not the way they say they'd like to (or the way we wish they would).

It's incredibly difficult to change existing customer behavior.

Example: you might wish that more people would "shop local," but if folks don't mind driving 45 minutes to the mall, it's unlikely your individual efforts will make a difference.

https://justinjackson.ca/customer-behavior