Tweets

@LandonB32 @louisnicholls_ @mubashariqbal @tylertringas Again, just reiterating my original points:

- Generally, the "total market" you target needs to be pretty big. Example: @Userfeedio targets Intercom users (100,000 monthly active users and 30,000 paying customers).
- In SaaS, having < 100 customers is usually riskier than 500+.

@songadaymann @marcoarment @caseyliss @siracusa @austinnotduncan @film_girl @WIRED @veitchtweets @dajager @Stammy @lexysavvides Love it! 🙌

@jasondoesstuff ❤️

👋 Hypercard kid here too. https://twitter.com/davemorin/status/1135625601211981824

Omg. Automatic podcast transcription and search?

Yes! @ApplePodcasts are front and center! 🙌

@theleviallen @CalebWojcik will you get one?

Three most import slides.

Starting price: $5999
Monitor: $4999
Available in: Fall

@tiffanyarment @marcoarment It comes with optional WHEELS!

Omg.

CHEESE GRATER!

@MoreWillie That Depeche Mode tune tho

@nbashaw Sounds like a great blog post intro Nathan! 😉

@louisnicholls_ @mubashariqbal @tylertringas Certainly, founders can do whatever they'd like. 😉

But:

"Bootstrapping is already hard, don't make it harder!" – Jason Cohen

5 customers is inherently more risky (and generally not a good fit for bootstrappers).

A company with 5 customers is probably an enterprise play.

@tylertringas @Shpigford @mubashariqbal Judging from my inbox, DMs, and replies, most folks are taking it the way @ryanthejenks is describing.

(Especially those that have read the full-length blog posts)

@RyanTheJenks @tylertringas @Shpigford @mubashariqbal 🎯

@lynnetye @deadcoder0904 @CADbloke Yup. Exactly! 🙌

@mubashariqbal @tylertringas Like I said:

For bootstrappers, you need to target a market that’s total size is in the millions, or, is worth 10s of millions.

Zen Planner targets the fitness training market: 60,704 businesses, worth $10 billion.

WPengine targets WordPress sites: 37,500,000 potential sites.

@tylertringas @mubashariqbal Guess we disagree!

All the successful companies I’ve seen have targeted large niches (millions of potential customers, or 100s of millions potential revenue).

The reason: even a great company will only be able to capture a fraction of their niche.

@mubashariqbal @tylertringas “# of customers” x “avg yearly spend” is your SAM:

10 x $1,000 = too low
1000 x $10 = too low

It’s not unti a bootstrapper gets into this range that it becomes baseline worthwhile:

1000 x $100
100 x $1000

“Size of niche” and “$ they spend” are both important variables.

If you want to level up your SQL, this course looks good. 👌 https://t.co/OapuZyo3Z1

@neilwithdata Nice! 🙌

@danielpearson @KidPickSell

RT @smithtimmytim: I believe:

1. Your data shouldn’t be mined to sell you targeted ads.

2. Your timeline should be chronological, not alg…

@spencerfry http://justinjackson.ca/wait

@tranhelen 👍

@jayclouse 😩

@tylertringas @mubashariqbal The message is pretty simple:

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1134881883169337344?s=21

Definitely other factors as well, but I’m passionate about this one.

Especially as I’ve seen how it’s affected some of my friends who have started local businesses (retail, coffee, restaurants).

The market matters a lot!

RT @WiseArts: LOVE this fishing analogy for when a business is lacking momentum! https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1134880264792883200

You can build an incredible product for a bad market (small, no money, not motivated) and you’re guaranteed to fail.

But in a large market that’s hungry for solutions (and has money to spend), even mediocre products win.

@tylertringas @mubashariqbal True.

I’m trying to say: “The market you choose to target is important.”

You can build an incredible product for a bad market (small, no money, not motivated) and you’re guaranteed to fail.

But in a large market that’s hungry for solutions, even mediocre products win.

@mubashariqbal Also: thousands of other video rental places *did* compete with Blockbuster and did well.

In 2002, Blockbuster had 8,000 stores, Hollywood Video has 1,800 stores, Movie Gallery had 1,400 stores. (Plus, there were 1000s of indie stores that did well during the rental heyday)

@mubashariqbal Can you tell me more about what you mean by “building a path to growth?”

What does that look like?

How is it a better approach than what I’m advocating?

@mnlfrgr Clearly, a market can’t be oversaturated with competition, and still make reasonable profits.

But if you’re in a tiny niche with no competition that’s a bad sign.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1134972349059543040

Surprised by how much money VCs make. 😵

https://medium.com/s/story/how-venture-capitalists-make-money-9af5cc3ff2ef

@louisnicholls_ (That’s from this article: https://www.thebusinessplanshop.com/blog/en/entry/tam_sam_som)

@mubashariqbal Far more likely to go into a market with no competition and discover there is actually no demand (and then fail).

You’re almost always going up an incumbent.

Sometimes the competitor is adjacent (Blockbuster / Netflix) and sometimes it’s direct (MailChimp / ConvertKit)

@louisnicholls_ Total Available Market if fairly well defined: “the total market demand for a product or service.”

Are you talking about the Serviceable Obtainable Market? That’s the portion of the available market that you can (realistically) capture.

Another analogy: ☀️🍦

"The idea of a small niche (without competition) is appealing. But conversely, it's sure easy to sell ice cream at a crowded beach; even when you’re next to another ice cream stand." – @asmartbear (paraphrased)

@louisnicholls_ When you started.

@louisnicholls_ How big do you think the total addressable market is for Gymhopper and Postperk?

@louisnicholls_ In that post (http://justinjackson.ca/niche), I highlight one of those niche companies: Moraware.

They're awesome! They've built an incredible company.

But they admit that it was probably harder (and took longer) than it should have.

@louisnicholls_ Are we talking about "small markets" or "smaller niches within larger markets?"

I'm not opposed to targeting a small niche initially within a larger market.

My point is that if your total addressable market is only 10,000 worldwide, that's going to be difficult to bootstrap in.

@louisnicholls_ Can you give me some examples? Happy to be proven wrong.

I have a bunch of examples here:
https://justinjackson.ca/niche

@louisnicholls_ And also here: https://justinjackson.ca/build

@louisnicholls_ Nope! That’s not what i’m saying at all!

I’m recommending finding a good market first!

I’ve been writing about this forever: https://justinjackson.ca/niche

@louisnicholls_ @mubashariqbal There are many.

One, that @asmartbear has mentioned in the past is that small bootstrapped startups tend to give better customer support than big enterprise companies.

@CADbloke You can definitely do that! But it’s riskier, and not really a good fit for bootstrapping.

@mubashariqbal @tylertringas Hyperbole aside, if we believe their version of history, their initial target market was definitely “people who would normally book hotel rooms.”

@mubashariqbal @tylertringas I believe this actually happened in San Francisco. (the founders are from NYC?)

@mubashariqbal In a way, but small “bootstrapped” fishers have a big advantage over large commercial fishing vessels.

Ruben is taking on DocuSign, and getting good traction (despite the fact that he’s tiny compared to them!)

RT @isterin: @mijustin In other words, there are no new struggles. People either struggle with something or they don't. You're just there…

@isterin Yes! 🙌

@tylertringas @mubashariqbal I think you’re misunderstanding my point. 😉

The opportunity existed because all the hotel rooms were booked up.

Their history, from the beginning, is about being in the same market as hotels.

@derrickreimer Using @statamic for http://justinjackson.ca, and moving @TransistorFM to there soon too!

@FraserDeans thanks! 🙌

I wrote about it yesterday here but I think I need to update it with these thoughts.

http://justinjackson.ca/jump

@mubashariqbal Yes, in a way the fishing metaphor works here as well!

It’s one thing or the other: there’s either enough people in motion, or there’s not.

You don’t have enough time, money, and energy to change people’s minds.

They’re either motivated to find a solution, or they’re not.

I think this is the fundamental misunderstanding about startups: you’re not “creating” a market.

The market is already there. (Or, there is no market).

Our job as product people is to serve that market better than they’re being served right now.

There are examples of anglers who set out to catch Blue Marlin (a rare fish found in tropical waters).

They grind and grind and grind. A few lucky ones will hook one.

It’s the same with businesses. If you choose a small, difficult target market, your chances of success go down

@mubashariqbal Couch surfers, people who beg their friends to let them stay on their couch, etc... are all a part of the total addressable market.

The fact that there was a name for the phenomenon (“couch surfing”) shows there was momentum in that market. It’s not something Airbnb invented.

@mubashariqbal The market is the same though (“travelers who want accommodation”).

Airbnb didn’t invent the market, they just changed the way the job was done.

I didn’t start traveling because of Airbnb, I just changed where I stay.

When Airbnb showed up, hotels, hostels, and B&Bs were already fishing in those waters; they could see there was plenty of fish! 🐠

By the time ConvertKit showed up, MailChimp had already caught millions of fish. But that just meant it was a good fishing spot.

It’s a good sign if you’re at a fishing spot, and you see good anglers pulling out fish. 🎣

That means with the right bait and the right skill, you can catch fish too.

How do you know when you should pack it up and go find another fishing spot?

@derrickreimer has a good post on that here:
https://www.derrickreimer.com/essays/2019/05/17/im-walking-away-from-the-product-i-spent-a-year-building.html

One reason I like this GIF is it's a good depiction of what traction feels like.

The fish are so excited, they're literally jumping in your boat before you've even taken out your fishing rod.

It's easier to find a pool of hungry fish, and then give them the bait they want.

Likewise, if you find a pool of customers who are hungry for a solution, it's easier to build a product that they'll want.

Sometimes, you start with bait and a rod and you'll ask:

"What fish can I catch with these?"

The business equivalent is starting with a product idea, and asking:

"What kind of customers can I attract to this?"

It's definitely harder to do it this way.

Don't target customers that are rare, hard to find, hard to reach, hard to convince, or don't have sufficient numbers to build a business on!

If you can't find fish (or customers) it's because:

1. The fish you want are exceedingly rare
2. The fish you want are hard to catch
3. The fish you want are inaccessible (hard to reach)
4. The fish you want don't congregate in groups where you'll have a chance to catch them.

I know it's cliche, but the only way to get the fish you want to catch is to find out which waters they're congregating in.

(This also applies to business)

For business (and fishing) the problem is almost always related to one or more of these things:

1. Wrong market (targeting the wrong fish)
2. Wrong spot (you're not where the fish are hanging)
3. Wrong bait (you're not offering them something they want)

If you've ever tried fishing, and you've been in the same spot all day, and have only had a few nibbles... that feeling is very similar to what it feels like when your business doesn't have momentum.

RT @geoff_baskwill: Short thought-provoking essay on product-market fit by ⁦@mijustin⁩. A worthwhile read. https://justinjackson.ca/jump

RT @cheriehu42: podcast spam is real: on @Spotify’s music podcasts page, there’s a podcast called Cardi B, each episode of which is just...…

Just published a new post:

“Many of the problems entrepreneurs face are related to targeting a niche where there aren't a lot of fish, or the fish aren't biting.”

http://justinjackson.ca/jump

<MARQUEE><STRONG>WHAT!?! When did we stop doing this?</STRONG></MARQUEE> https://twitter.com/ramsey/status/1134676302575939589

@JoeHughesDev Yes! @glenmccallumcan's been blogging about this a lot lately:

https://glenmccallum.com/2019/05/14/senior-developers-rejected-jobs/

@IsItUpOrDown @waxpancake 👋 vic-20 kid here

RT @mijustin: Love this line from @asmartbear's latest essay:

"The 'long tail' can sound appealing, but it sure is easy to sell vanilla ic…

@smithtimmytim NICE!!!

@5harath I send it mine out every Saturday morning.

People like the reliable frequency, and also the habit forming stuff:

"Read it while you drink your morning coffee."

@sethdrebitko I'm using Digital Ocean + @laravelforge 👍

Teaser for tomorrow's newsletter.

http://justinjackson.ca/newsletter

@rezzz @wesbos When is Wes going to offer tattoos?

RT @dominicstpierre: I'm trying to fund the creation of two video courses (Elm & Go), thought I could request some help, any retweet apprec…

@vernbot @ManonLepage2 This can’t be real!

(but i’m gonna try it anyway 😉)

@sammyschuckert @buildyoursaas @jonbuda 🤜🤛

yes!

RT @LaComtesseJamie: Donald Glover’s career reads like a hyper 10 y/o who found a genie.

Donald: I wanna be a famous actor & comedian...
G…

@stevenbward There's a lot of nuance to the "when should you quit" question. 😉

It's more accurate to say:

"Some founders are successful because they didn't quit."

and

"Some founders are successful because they quit and moved to a different idea."

After hearing the interview, I went online and bought @robfitz's book ("The Mom Test") on his website: http://momtestbook.com/

Another testament to the power of podcasting. 😁

I remember hearing Ben and Derrick talk about the book and being wary, but hearing Rob convinced me.

Really enjoyed the conversation @r00k & @derrickreimer had with @robfitz about why it's not enough to "just interview customers."

I've been advocating a similar solution, but Rob articulates it better.

Highly recommended: https://overcast.fm/+MRpeVhytI

RT @glenmccallumcan: ⚡️⚡️⚡️If your hiring process is filled with coding tests, technical interviews, take home assignments, etc ...

I have…

@gpickin lol. it’s like this:

@gpickin sorry, what? haha. don’t know what you’re talking about.

RT @mariepoulin: Finally wrote my follow up post after the discussion this generated: https://weareokidoki.com/blog/but-that-doesnt-scale/ hat tip to @pjrvs, @mijustin,…

@jmacias I manually transcribed it and uploaded the captions to https://video.twitter.com 👌

@jmacias Have you read “Anything you want?” by @sivers ? really good on audio

@iChris Initially Twitter, and then Twitch.

Looking for a way to share photos with family and close friends that feels like Instagram, but respects your privacy?

My friend @smithtimmytim is SO CLOSE to funding his dream for building a private Instagram alternative:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/timothybsmith/bokeh-private-independent-and-user-funded-photo-sh