Tweets

Late last night @kylefox gave me a demo of his new product, @getrewardful.

It's affiliate software for Stripe, and it's everything I've ever wanted:
- simple setup
- deep integration with Stripe
- well-designed

If your SaaS uses Stripe, get on his list: https://www.getrewardful.com/?via=justin

Everyone wants to build something that customers want, but very few are willing to observe (and listen to) folks to see what they want. 😄

Let's do a Show & Tell day! 🎉

Reply, and show me something you've made lately.

(It could be a screenshot, an app, a video, a photo, some art, writing, a drink...)

Not having to worry about health insurance is a huge relief for entrepreneurs in 🇨🇦.

https://twitter.com/destroytoday/status/969068026145452032

In most cases, your best customer is going to be an employee who has the company credit card, and doesn't need to get approval.

(It's easy to spend someone else's money)

This is why *solopreneurs* don't always make good customers. They're spending *their* money!

How to build a profitable business in 5 years 👈

https://megamaker.co/profit/brennan-dunn/
 
(according to @brennandunn)

Love @jlinowski's idea here:

"Here's the DIY price. Or... we could do it for you." 💯👍

Often we want to get "more done, in less time."

Lately I've been thinking about getting "only the important things done, in less time."

Some people disagree with me, but...

I think finding your ideal customer is your #1 priority.

(Even before you think of a product idea)

Driving home from the office?

Listen to @adamwathan deconstruct his $100k product launch. ⚡️ https://overcast.fm/+Gy_O02fJQ

I’m a f*cking webmaster https://justinjackson.ca/im-a-fcking-webmaster/

This year at #microconf @shpigford and I will be leading a session on entrepreneurial grooming.

LESS OF THIS:
Whining.
Stressing.
Complaining.
Procrastinating.
Comparing.
Wishing.
Lazing.

MORE OF THIS:
Creating.

I just updated my list of "Podcasts for bootstrappers and indie hackers:"

https://transistor.fm/podcasts-for-bootstrappers/

Did I miss any that you love?

@FounderQuest
@MostlyTechPod
Above Board (@usefathom)
The Bootstrapped Founder (@arvidkahl)
@MTIncome (@1kevgriff)
@indiebitespod
Startup to…

This about the time of night where I can’t wait to have a coffee tomorrow morning.

Super excited for the reboot of the @LaravelPodcast with @stauffermatt and @taylorotwell. 🙌

And... super excited to have them on @TransistorFM! 🎉 https://twitter.com/taylorotwell/status/1706744080858845493

Here is my definition of product-market fit:

"Identifying a good market (category, audience, niche) and then creating a product that the market wants to buy, at a cost that generates good margins, and at a frequency that produces scale."

If I was in charge of PR for Rails/Laravel, I'd focus on getting more young people to learn these frameworks.

- Make it easier to get started
- Make it more fun (sample projects)
- Get it into more bootcamps

@taylorotwell and I chatted about this here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQnpcnVefEw

@fadyben @thejustinwelsh Thanks! 🙏

(@jackmcdade did the design + build!)

I'd like to see more tech people take an "ethics first approach" to new ideas/tech.

I propose doing an "ethical S.W.O.T. analysis" in the earliest stages of an idea.

People keep asking web3 folks this question.

I still haven’t seen a reasonable answer. https://twitter.com/mlevchin/status/1566297444505202688

One thing we haven’t been able to decentralize is distribution.

Indies who create newsletters, podcasts, blogs, music, art on decentralized protocols (RSS, email) are still getting all their traffic from Google, Twitter, FB, Spotify, Apple, etc.

We’re not truly free (yet).

What kills startups?

It's not "bad" marketing
It's not "bad" product
It's not "bad" team

(Although those are all crucial ingredients)

What kills startups is LACK OF DEMAND.

Customer demand is your business' oxygen. Without it, all the other parts are useless.

This is what Putin’s “liberation” of Ukraine looks like.

This is the town of Borodyanka, just northwest of Kyiv.

Originally liberated in 1943 after Nazi occupation. Now, reduced to rubble by Putin’s army.

Absolutely horrifying.

🇺🇦❤️

I was able to take a few days off, drive out to Revelstoke, and to go snowboarding with my brother and his friend.

Really nice to spend time with him. 👍

For me, this is the ultimate setup:

🔥 Remote work, but at a coworking office

Since 2012, I’ve shared an office close to my house, and walk there every day.

✅ No car commute
✅ Daily exercise
✅ Work with friends
✅ No ppl looking over my shoulder
✅ No office politics

“I don’t invent anything, I start where the others came from.” – Lamborghini

@APompliano This is a ridiculous take.

The *verified* Litecoin account tweeted an official press release stating something as fact. Of course, that will get spread.

Since finding the truth, all major outlets quickly published an update.

This is not a time to knock the news media.

Just invested in @Shpigford's new thing (@MaybeFinance) on Republic!

https://republic.co/maybefinance/i/8pog1a?utm_campaign=referral_token_share-maybefinance-social&utm_content=06-09-2021-21-08-57&utm_medium=direct&utm_source=republic.co

50% of this conversation is Zuck and Ek complaining about Apple.

Apple's not perfect, but hearing Zuck and Ek talk about a "level playing field" is absolutely laughable.

Both Facebook and Spotify play the same games: monopolistic control wherever they can get it.

This is leadership:

"I know that the forces that divide us are deep and real. History, faith, and reason show the way of unity. We can see each other, not as adversaries, but as neighbors. We need to stop the shouting and lower the temperature. Unity is the path forward."

Became a paying subscriber to @NathanTankus' newsletter, and wow is it good.

I'm still too dumb to understand most of what he talks about, but his explanation of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) is already 🤯 my mind.

https://nathantankus.substack.com/p/i-gave-a-talk-to-a-federal-credit

Congrats to @digitaltrouble for launching https://playgroup.community/! 🎉

We just moved @megamaker over to it today (from Discourse) and members are really happy with it. 👍

Seinfeld gives the best interviews.

What's the best way to prepare for an economic downturn?

(Both personally and in your business)

Really impactful interview with @shl by @VelocityWong.

“I don’t want to live a life, and then live another life after I’m done building my company.”

https://rework.fm/the-road-out-of-startupland/

😩 Hunting for a new business idea is incredible difficult.

In the last episode of @pjourneypod, Noah talks about how frustrating that process can be.

(I agree! I've been there)

I recorded a response here:

Hyped.

This podcast series by @taylorotwell is really good. 👍

“How do you build an audience?”

https://overcast.fm/+QKRH6u2UU

At @TransistorFM, our values are more aligned with what @csallen describes here:

https://twitter.com/csallen/status/1118952086127902723?s=21

If you don't read twitter all day, but then read it at 7pm, the algorithmic timeline is really good. All you see are the top tweets that you missed. 👍

I was reminded of this concept again this morning while reading @pjrvs' book (Company of One):

"Sales increase when you honestly evaluate what someone needs and then teach them the value of what you're selling."

The more I think about it, the more insane this Spotify news is:

- Acquired Gimlet for $230M
- Acquired Anchor for $?
- Going to spend up to $500M on acquisitions this year

First, Gimlet was valued at $70M before this deal. Spotify paid $160M more than that.

Second...

☝️ Once you've answered those questions, ask yourself:

1. Do you like the intended audience? Do you have a built-in advantage there? Do you know how to reach them? Do they pay for things?
2. Does your tool give them so much value that they'll use it and pay for it?

🙌 HECK YES.

This is such a helpful metaphor for describing problem-solving!!!

You can't always just jump into "doing things."

It's the first stage, "figuring things out," that takes your mental energy (and time!)

Thanks @basecamp. This looks awesome.

https://m.signalvnoise.com/new-in-basecamp-see-where-projects-really-stand-with-the-hill-chart-ca5a6c47e987

Why is follow-up important?

When you follow up you get the "real truth" about your idea.

"That sounds cool" will either turn into:

"Sorry, I'm not really interested."

or

"Yes! I'm signing up right now."

Working on a new @megamaker idea (maybe I’ll launch it next week?)

Most of us aren't going to be superstars at ONE BIG THING.

Instead, combine together your:
- strengths ("extreme focus")
- weaknesses ("anxiety")
- skills ("public speaking")
- occupation ("programmer")

and create a persona that's unique to you.

Oooh.

Facebook Messenger is coming out with an embeddable chat plugin (like Intercom, Olark, Drift):

https://messenger.fb.com/blog/2-2-release/

Weight Watchers doesn't sell diets; they sell weight loss.

Don't sell features; sell results!

Most web apps don't realize how often their users are manually copying & pasting data from their app to Excel to get the reports they need.

@taylorotwell This summer, a recent CompSci grad approached me looking for work.

I decided to give him a summer job. He'd mostly used React.

The goal was to see if he could build a full SaaS using @laravelphp, @LaravelLivewire, @tailwindcss for the first time.

He did it in 6 weeks. 🤯

More remote workers should start “community offices” in their neighborhoods.

I’ve done it for the last 10 years, and it’s the best way to do remote work.

https://justinjackson.ca/wfh

I was wondering if these two were going to team up and start something!

Love to see it.

If your company wants to reach devs using YouTube, hire them! https://twitter.com/aarondfrancis/status/1771216993837826173

Got my ticket for @LaraconUS! 🎉

Can't wait to see all my @laravelphp friends this summer in Texas. ❤️

Advertisers aren’t going to like links being stripped of their titles on X either.

This ad has a hyperlink that’s completely hidden from the user.

3. Find a good market with good fundamentals.

Look at the sum of demand for the category you're considering:

Number of potential customers
How much they spend
The frequency at which they buy
Their willingness to pay

Then, observe if there's a strong desire for something new.

Parenting small kids requires an enormous amount of energy.

If you're trying to do that *and* work a full-time job *and* bootstrap something on the side... that's just a lot.

If I had to do it again, I would:

a) just wait to bootstrap
or
b) raise funding so I could quit my job

"Open standards (like RSS, email, the web) are ultimately better for creators and podcasters than centralized platforms."

In this episode, @arvidkahl and I got fired up about how decentralized protocols benefit indie founders/makers. 🔥

Reality is more nuanced.

People are underpaid for all sorts of reasons.
(Many folks are also overpaid for their skill level! 😜)

Knowledge workers often increase their pay level simply by switching jobs (without improving their skill level). https://twitter.com/danmartell/status/1634918743188082688

🤦‍♂️

Yup. Often the "peak happiness is $75k/year" trope is used as a cudgel by people with more wealth who've never had to worry about paying their bills:

https://twitter.com/taxigy/status/1560726272891830277

A good reminder from @sherrywalling. https://twitter.com/sherrywalling/status/1198792132191870976

Lol. Talk about a direct sales pitch. 😜

“Instead of asking ‘who is my customer?’ I tend to think about ‘what are they trying to do?’”
– @mjwhansen

💯 this.

Often, the characteristics of a customer don’t matter.

What matters is “what are a bunch of people searching for?”

@JackEllis At @TransistorFM we send audio invoices via RSS, which I personally read out.

I own a Tesla and $TSLA stock.

But Elon’s behavior and rhetoric have pushed me away.

I can’t recommend Tesla anymore, and won’t be buying any more of their vehicles unless Elon is replaced as CEO.

In terms of UX, I think founders and customers want the same thing:

“A product so good, people tell their friends about it."

Chased the sun today at Silverstar.

This is me.

Playing with a husky puppy.

In northern Alberta, Canada.

In the early 1980s.

I know y'all are going to make fun of me for this but...

How are front-end devs editing HTML tables in a text editor?!? 🤯

Back in the 90s, we edited tables visually; feels way easier to me.

Am I missing a workflow/way of thinking about this?

(Or am I just 👴)

Key insight from @DavidEpstein’s book Range.

We've seen this happen in multiple categories now.

As @HCWeiss articulated so well back in 2017:

When everyone puts their marketing on steroids, it burns out the customer. 🔥😫

You can't inundate people with funnels (and invade their privacy) forever:

https://startupsventurecapital.com/8-observations-from-a-crumbling-niche-and-how-to-avoid-getting-crushed-6a7e6b2512e5

How's everybody doing today?

@adamwathan yes

Backside of the mountain. #vernonbc

This is a dumbass take, Naval.

1. Twitter has plenty of competitors with more reach.

2. Trump has plenty of other channels (um, national tv address? News conferences on demand?)

3. Trump is still President, Biden’s the next President, and Jack is neither of those things. https://twitter.com/naval/status/1347695996055142403

🤫 don’t tell my boss.

💸 @mariepoulin and I are brainstorming a podcast for indie:
- creatives
- makers
- freelancers
- bootstrappers

...on the topic of “personal finance."

As a maker, what personal finance questions / struggles do you have? https://twitter.com/mariepoulin/status/1329874430529392640

One danger with “hustling your way to success” is that it can work... for a short time.

But eventually, the underlying fundamentals take over.

Low margins lead to burnout.

You can paddle for awhile, but what you really need is wind in your sails.

⛵️

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."

What does demand look like, practically?

It’s people *already in motion.*

They’re already searching.
They’re already thinking about it.
They’re already trying to solve the problem.

A series of bad ideas can lead to a good idea.

But it's unlikely that focusing on a mediocre idea will transform it into something great.

Also, in terms of *young talent*, it feels like I know way more up-and-coming @laravelphp developers than Rails devs.

Many of them are high school students who have already released their own, well-designed SaaS apps. 🤯

Curious: who's moving (or has moved) because of COVID?

🏙️ ➡️ 🏠

Uh oh.

“Only one measure has been effective against coronavirus: extreme social distancing.”

Employees should be working from home.

Schools, especially, should be closed.

Conferences should be postponed.

https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/607675/

I love @noplanstomerge.

It’s a comedy podcast pretending to be a programming podcast but it’s secretly a philosophy podcast.

Wow @TransistorFM customer support gets quiet during 🇺🇸 Thanksgiving.

Hardly any new tickets today!

Currently, neither of us are earning an equivalent salary to what we left behind, but the company is making enough to pay our personal bills. 👍

This principle holds true for most software products as well.

Technical complexity does not intrinsically make a product more marketable or profitable (even though it might cost more to produce).

Last night, I dreamt that @derrickreimer bought a yacht and a bunch of us went for a cruise.

It was fun, until a guy put his hand in my glass of water.

We were about to fight, but Derrick burst into the room and yelled: “Who wants Twizzlers?” and totally diffused the situation.

What's an example of a good niche?

Shopify stores.

There are over 500,000 active stores running on Shopify. These are businesses, with revenue.

They will gladly pay you $ if you help them earn $$$ more from their store.

(my friend @JordanGal, at @CartHookis banking on it!)

My friend @derrickreimer just published an in-depth retrospective on why he decided to walk away from a product he'd been working on for a year.

Recommended for anyone trying to bootstrap something new:
https://www.derrickreimer.com/essays/2019/05/17/im-walking-away-from-the-product-i-spent-a-year-building.html

"Instead of rushing around aimlessly, wait quietly for the right moment." – @timoreilly

If you're thinking about 2019, here's a good starting list:

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1037611977877516288

Just updated an old post about some wisdom that my friend @hnshah gave me (that's still relevant!)

https://justinjackson.ca/help-the-crowd/

My favorite feature of my new website:

Every page looks great printed out and stapled to a telephone pole.

https://twitter.com/jackmcdade/status/1055509813927514112

Still true 👉

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/435523777905324032

🤔 In most vocations, the retired veterans can teach you a lot.

👷‍♂️ Construction workers: "Move into a desk job before your body gives out."
👩‍🏫 Teachers: "You can't depend completely on your pension when you retire."

The thing is, we don't really have this in Web 2.0.