Tweets

Fellow founders:

What are you doing for sales tax registration, calculation, collection, and remittance globally?

(No pitches please, I just want to hear from other SaaS founders)

Somehow I just recorded an entire @TransistorFM product update video in a chipmunk voice. 😩

There's a huge opportunity for "interior designers who build awesome workstations."

Desk, lighting, video, accessories. 🖥️🪑🛋📷🪴

"Help me make my desk look amazing so that I can feel good about my workstation, post photos of it online, and look good on video." https://twitter.com/r00k/status/1507063568155488261

I took @sherrywalling’s advice for entrepreneurs and got far away from my computer today. 🤩

Evening drive to the beach #vernonbc

Okanagan Lake at dusk

Or, what you see as "cynicism" could just be some well-founded concerns that need to be addressed. https://twitter.com/cdixon/status/1461212481020301315

SEO folks: any idea how/why some brands are being featured in these sections?

I thought our decentralized crypto future was supposed to be devoid of corrupt elites taking advantage of the average user?

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/09/a-very-very-crypto-insider-trading-scandal.html

“Don’t trust outsiders”, “don’t listen to scientists”, and “don’t trust other institutions” is the same rhetoric that cult leaders use.

If the vision of crypto is as compelling as you say, let’s see some legitimate references/sources/research that backs that up.

Hotel waterslides are the Wild West of waterslides.

Adding $50 billion to a billionaire's net worth = tired

Seeing 500,000 indies earn $100k = wired

https://twitter.com/DanielZarick/status/1425838010973626372

Billionaires

Inspiring to see how quickly @joshuaanderton can ship features for @meepsapp. 💪

The TALL stack makes development FAST. 🏎💨
- @tailwindcss
- @Alpine_JS
- @laravelphp
- @LaravelLivewire

@dvassallo When a main tenet of your business philosophy is to “hire slowly and stay small,” you’re relying on a small group of talented people to do the work of a much larger team.

They lost ~20 linchpins today; people it took them decades to find, whom they hired carefully.

It's wild to think how millions of events have all culminated in this exact moment.

Discoverability is already working: slow & steady, more and more people are discovering podcasts.

The VCs who want to “fix discoverability” in podcasting don’t give a shit about more people discovering *your* show.

They want to juice the numbers so they get their 100x returns.

First time I've seen @TwitterSpaces!

👋 @leahculver

SEO friends: what happened to @TransistorFM's impressions and clicks Dec 1st? 😱

The best way to have more time is to leave more space on your calendar.

I just YOLO'd and merged this PR for upgrading @TransistorFM's marketing site to @tailwindcss V2.

Can anyone out there check http://transistor.fm and make sure I didn't break everything? 😅

A vote for Trump is a vote for authoritarianism. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1324353932022480896

Hell yeah @CorbettBarr.

There’s definitely something about this that’s pulling me too...

Just the idea of starting over. Deleting all the old stuff. Coming in fresh. Clean slate.

Sounds amazing.

https://corbettbarr.com/starting-over

Seeds almost always sprout where you've been preparing the soil. 🌱

Likewise, good ideas almost always reveal themselves in places where you've put in the groundwork.

First, find fertile ground: industries, sectors, technologies, groups, trends that are showing potential.

Today I voted for @KeliWestgate and the @BCGreens in #vernonbc.

They’ve presented the most compelling vision for the future of BC.

Also: it’s clear (by their actions) that they’re willing to put in the work to achieve that vision.

"Software is all about volume." – @ianlandsman

☝️ this is everything.

In software, it can't take too much time, money, or energy to acquire, onboard, or maintain customers.

Even indie software companies need hundreds of people signing up every month (to stay ahead of churn).

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

My kids convinced me to play Monopoly.

Pray for me.

Stealing this:

1. Podcasting is built on an open web platform: RSS.
2. The platform is better open (than closed).
2. No one company should have an oversized influence over its future.
4. It's better for podcasting if we improve the existing RSS spec.

https://twitter.com/dylanatsmith/status/1233404153923280899

Thank god AOL wasn’t able to “lock down” the web, back when they controlled the primary portal.

I’m sure they (and their shareholders) would have moved it though!

Some things shouldn’t be owned or controlled by a single party.

@taylorotwell WHERE IS THE SOCK SECTION 🧦

Remember when we all used to hang out?

If I'm going to keep doing these, I'm going to need to start doing cocaine.

(Is that a business expense?)

(BTW - here's the post that incited the "stay in your lane" email I received today)

https://justinjackson.ca/cure

"When the dust settles, we need to stop tilting the playing field against local businesses and start tearing down the barriers between them and success." – @StrongTowns

🎯

Every kid who grew up in the 80s had an uncle that looked like the guy on the left.

Great reason to start a podcast, blog, newsletter in 2020: https://twitter.com/r00k/status/1212476631673122819

Three factors to consider:

1. Current market value =
number of potential customers
x
how much they spend
x
the frequency at which they buy

2. Growth rate =
current market value
x
growth rate (increase in # of customers, spending, frequency)

3. What % of market can you reach?

Caught some good snow waves today.👌

What’s the best way to cultivate these types of attitudes in our kids? https://twitter.com/JamesClear/status/1198868132225376256

@aprildunford articulated this perfectly on @rezzz's podcast recently: https://share.transistor.fm/s/283d9c4f

"The customer tries to figure out what box to put you in; what frame of reference to put you in. And if you don't give them a box they have to make one up."

Omg. Automatic podcast transcription and search?

@shl Cement is pretty important

Getting DMs from folks curious about @Clubhouse (the tool Jon and I use to manage http://Transistor.fm development).

Here's what our Kanban board looks like. 👌

If you want to try it, they gave me this link that will get you 2 months free:
http://r.clbh.se/mvePEzz

Currently, we're using the Trix editor for Transistor.

But, we might switch it up.

I've used Redactor in the past.

What's your current fave WYSIWYG editor?

Interesting POV in @pjrvs' Company of One book:

"According to @carter_phipps, generalists will continue to thrive in business as it becomes increasingly valuable to know "a little bit about a lot.'"

"@mansharamani said that acknowledging specific expertise is overvalued."

I just wrote down my 2019 podcasting predictions.

What'd I miss?

https://transistor.fm/2019-podcast-predictions/

SaaS: "It takes time."

https://twitter.com/davidcummings/status/1022950737503035397?s=21

I could easily do a 10 episode podcast series on the movie Hackers.

🎙️ Want to get into podcasting?

I just did a big update on my beginner's guide here:
https://justinjackson.ca/submit-podcast-itunes

This.

Using Laravel Valet (by @taylorotwell & @adamwathan) I was able to get my local dev environment set up faster than anything else I've ever tried.

It just works.

https://twitter.com/builtbylarry/status/1050430013407932416

Just published a podcasting guide on Quora.

(If it's helpful for you, please upvote it!)

https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-best-practices-for-starting-a-podcast/answer/Justin-Jackson-1

Having a defined place to do your work is invaluable.

I used to go to coffee shops, or the library, to work on my side-projects.

Contextual zones are helpful mindhacks:

Library = get shit done.

Prediction: transaction email providers' revenue soars as EVERY SERVICE ON THE WEB sends out GDPR privacy updates.

One way to test your motivation:

“Would I be doing this if there wasn’t $$ involved?”

- “Would I be excited about Bitcoin if it had no value?”
- “Would I ❤️ building this funnel if I wasn’t getting paid?”
- “Would I build this app if there wasn’t a chance it’d make me rich?”

“What app makes you look better than you really are?”

☝️ this what we mean when we say your product should give users superpowers.

https://www.reddit.com/r/marketing/comments/7ccuyh/what_tool_do_you_use_that_makes_you_look_better/

Business owners: when is the last time you spent over $1,000?

What was the product / service you purchased?

People say @producthunt doesn't drive sales, but I'm still get 2-3 sales a day from being featured! 😻

https://www.producthunt.com/posts/marketing-for-developers-2-0

To get landing page traffic, you’ll need these 3 ingredients:

1. An audience worth pursuing
2. Something they want
3. Channels that work

Case studies are the best way to sell anything. Ingredients:

- a client's story
- how you helped them overcome their obstacle
- the results

How do you describe your product's value?

Prescriptive:
"Use my app; it's better."

Descriptive:
"My app makes users more awesome at X."

Have a question about marketing apps and SaaS?

I'm doing an AMA on @IndieHackers!

https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/post/-KtI0jjb9CKewGBNOp5e

"If your product is remarkable, getting noticed is a lot easier." – @peldi

(still the best marketing advice ever)

90% of the time you should be sending emails that make the *recipient* more awesome.

(Not asking for favors)

Observation: YouTube has dramatically reduced the number of times my family calls a plumber.

"Here's why marketing matters: how many times has someone had the better product and lost? It's happened a million times!" – @garyvee

The most important question your website needs to answer:

"How will my life be better if I use your product?"

Just announced my new project for 2017!

"Build your marketing machine step by step, every week."

https://cards.twitter.com/cards/pt2jpq/2vv8b

Success doesn't come from "doing good work."

Your (good) work is nothing without an audience.

Success comes from amplifying good work.

The key to attracting new customers is to paint a picture of how the user's life will be better with your product. 🎨

No. No. No.

Please don't do this.

My 6-year-old just wrote his first headline.

The best recommendations will always come from friends.

Yes, there's a place for review sites, bots, etc...

But word of mouth always wins.

Apps send bad, generic emails. I want:

Stripe: "Did you know your best customer is_?"
Twitter: "Your follower account increases when you.."

What do we mean when we say a product has to provide "value?"

It needs to:

- take away a LOT of pain

or

- provide a LOT of enjoyment

Or put another way:

While there’s lots of innovation in technology, there’s not much innovation in business models.

Silicon Valley has thousands of new ideas every year.

But there's only 2 ways to earn $$$:

1. Charge users directly
2. Charge advertisters

The real lesson here is that *everyone* is on top of their SMS ;)

https://twitter.com/ryanlawler/status/705895139495968770/photo/1

You can't procrastinate your way to success.

For people who don’t like the word “monetize:”

Incometize
Revenueitize
Make-it-rainatize

You’re welcome.

It’s better to start now, and start small, than not start at all.

The key to success is to focus on the needs of others.

"Superhuman mode" is seductive for entrepreneurs.

The idea you can "will" anything into existence through sheer effort is intoxicating.

It's crucial at the start, but unsustainable long-term.

Today is @joshuaanderton's ONE-YEAR work anniversary at @TransistorFM! 🎉

Happy one-year, Josh! It's been so fun to work alongside you and get all this amazing stuff shipped on the marketing site. 🥳

This is why I'm skeptical about the "pay-once, self-hosted" sales model for indie hackers.

It doesn't matter how many sales you made last month; this month, you're starting at zero and have to find a whole new set of customers.

Amazing chat with @djrosent about how he and @gilbert started the @AcquiredFM podcast.

Key takeaway: "Our goal wasn't to get sponsors, make money, or get to a certain number of downloads. Our #1 goal was to learn."

Full story will be published soon on the @transistorfm feed.

Ran into a couple of fanboys after my talk today at @FullStackEU #fseu23

Walking home from the office.

I got to go this magical backyard concert last night. Love the feel of summer. 🌄

@waitbutwhy Please do a printed version of the book!

I’d like to send it to family and friends (some of whom only read physical books)

This is the best time to listen to @leenyburger and @aarondfrancis’ podcast: they’re right at the most compelling part of their bootstrapped journey.

(And they have a great interpersonal dynamic)

You’ll get tons of energy just listening to this episode:

https://overcast.fm/+pTBwPpXjs

More often than not, when you see someone succeeding with a "big bet," it's because they've laid a strong foundation with hundreds of smaller bets.

The big success is a culmination of everything they've tried before.

What's a decently priced, high-quality external monitor for a Macbook these days? 💻🖥️

Yup. https://twitter.com/cabel/status/1644766618260758528

🎯

“The problem is that new generative AI is being introduced into a society that is ill-equipped to handle it.”

“We’re introducing a technology that can utterly wreck people’s livelihoods.”

https://jacobin.com/2023/03/ai-artificial-intelligence-art-chatgpt-jobs-capitalism/

Launching a new side-project soon, and I love how @usefathom automatically detected the site as soon as I embedded their script.

Felt like magic!

@taylorotwell Don’t you mean: “Laravel X”? 😄

As podcasters, we need to remember:

Just because we put in the work to plan, record, edit, and publish an episode doesn't mean we're "owed" listeners & downloads.

Your podcast has to be compelling enough that people listen, like it, and recommend it to others.

Most purchases start with a search:

"gift ideas for my wife"
"best podcast hosting"
"top indie games for teens"

So the key is to build products that people are already searching for.

Nothing beats the peace and quiet of surfing in the mountains