Tweets

I think a lot of product people interpret “build something people want” as “build something people might like.”

Don’t guess! Look for existing demand.

Build something in a category that people want; and make it better than the existing options.

Inspiring to see @ajlkn’s journey.

2016: $0 MRR
2017: $1.6k MRR
2018: $8.1k MRR
2019: $23.8k MRR

SaaS growth really is “gradual, and then sudden.” https://twitter.com/ajlkn/status/1093619911711227905

Reunited at last!

After 2.5 years, @jonbuda and I are finally having our @TransistorFM founders’ retreat.

Doing some planning for 2022, but also lots of snowboarding and eating out. 😄

Shout out to all the 22 year olds with newborns and no money. I’ve been there! 😅

Business success is a function of:

📈 how much demand there is for what you’re selling

👍 how much of that demand you can capture and satisfy

💸 how much it costs you to capture that demand and create customer satisfaction

🔁 how repeatable the whole process is

A potential user who is overly difficult in the signup phase usually ends up being *incredibly* difficult once they become a customer.

It almost always leads to regret.

Difficult people don't stop being difficult once they sign up!

nothing is more undignified than a 41 year old man taking selfies for youtube thumbnails

Just deleted 25-30 old WordPress sites from an old Mediatemple account I've had since 2009.

Tons of old business ideas, client sites, side-projects.

So cathartic.

What's the best place to live in the world if you have kids?

🌍👨‍👩‍👧‍👦🏡

Thanks to everyone who’s ever recommended @TransistorFM to a friend, co-worker, client. ❤️

We constantly have folks sign up and say “My friend recommended you!” 🙌

We’re a small company, and your referrals mean a lot to us. 🥰

People underestimate the volume of sales you need for a software business to work.

You need a constant stream of customers who find your product and pay for it (and finding new customers is hard)!

One reason the SaaS model works is that you're not starting at 0 every month.

In my 20s-30s all my followers were my age, but now I’m 40 and most of y’all are still 20-30s?

We’ve mythologized self-funded companies.
Many of us are trying to follow in their footsteps.
But along the way, we’ve created some false beliefs:

"The hidden cost of bootstrapping."

https://justinjackson.ca/cost/

Apparently, it's my 4-year anniversary of working on @TransistorFM! 😮

Unbelievably grateful for this company, our customers, and my partnership with @jonbuda.

It's been seriously life-changing for both of us. 💯

Sure, what people say about your product (or company) publicly on Twitter matters.

But what REALLY matters is what folks are saying in private Slack groups, DMs, and in-person.

Communication is going private again.

What you see publicly is only the tip of the iceberg.

The @transistorfm team and I just launched something new: @PodcastSites. 🎉

If you can, please give us some ❤️ on @producthunt:

https://www.producthunt.com/posts/free-podcast-website-builder

Thanks! 👍

"Should we always charge more?" Exploring how we price software. 🌶️

(Lots of folks seem to like this one)

https://justinjackson.ca/charge-more

Watching “Lost in Space” (on Netflix) with my boys (8 and 10).

Perfect family television.

For me, the ultimate work arrangement is:

100% remote while working at an amazing coworking office.

I get all the freedom of remote work, plus all of the social benefits of being in an office. 👍

I don't know how full-time salespeople do it.

At @TransistorFM today, I had three back-to-back Zoom calls and now I need to go nap for a week.

Hey, I'm curious:

If your team *isn't* doing the traditional in-person daily standup meeting... what are you doing instead?

Truthfully, starting a bootstrapped company in 🇨🇦 has huge advantages (when compared to other countries):

- Public healthcare
- Free-trade agreements with 🇺🇸
- None of the red tape and bureaucracy of the 🇪🇺
- Federal small business tax rate is 9%
- Banks offer USD accounts https://twitter.com/SloanCam/status/1319341446596595716

Thanks, @dhh!

Your support of our little indie company means a lot to @jonbuda and me. 🤗

https://twitter.com/dhh/status/1217143549298262016

The @terminaldotshop vs @laravelphp basketball game was hands down one of the funnest things I’ve done at a conference.

Hats off to @iamdavidhill, @thdxr, @adamdotdev, @getsentry and whoever else organized!

Incredible ❤️

Unpopular opinion: people in the tech industry fly too much.

You can't "create" a need.

You can only respond to a need that's already present in the market.

The products we create are a response to current demand.

Forget motorcycle gangs; join my rocket pack crew.

1/ Here's a story about:

- How the @laravelphp / @Rails communities can fix the "pipeline problem"
- How we can help junior devs get their first gig
- A secret summer project (and a new SaaS)

Being known as the person who helps others is one of the best ways to build a reputation.

Small acts of kindness add up over time. People will notice.

"Even if you're aren't famous, you can still build trust by helping individuals one at a time." – @studiofellow

I'm going to try to make 100 things this year. Want to join me?

https://cards.twitter.com/cards/pt2jpq/1a6s7

🤔 If tech bro founders are really “not doing it for the money” how come none of them want to pay more taxes?

Working from home: I AM EATING SO MANY SNACKS.

There are two things that will kill a bootstrapped company:

1. Working on the wrong idea and burning out.

2. Burning out while working on the right idea.

The trick, of course, is to know which camp you're in! 😅

I’ve had a stressful week.

Needed to bring my son up to @SilverStarMR mountain this morning.

Decided to do a few runs.

Got rewarded with this 😍.

Instant zen.

The biggest marketing mistake you can make happens *before* you've built the product:

🙅‍♂️ Choosing a category/problem where there isn't existing demand.

The market you choose, and the product you build, determines most of your trajectory for marketing and sales.

If you were building a new web app/SaaS in 2023, what would your tech stack be?

(Rails, @laravelphp? Fancy new JS framework? What database setup would you use? Where would you host it?)

Early in my career, I applied for a job that paid $60k.

During the interview, they asked me about my long-term goals.

With 4 kids to feed, I said “I’d like to earn $100k.” The owner (a multimillionaire) scoffed: "That won't improve your happiness."

<Narrator: Actually, it did>

⚡ In software, it's not enough to just "get the sale."

Your goal is utilization. You want people to USE your software and get a benefit from it.

Positive outcomes for your users leads to:
- word of mouth, reviews, case studies
- repeat customers, upgrades, expansion revenue

Folks who have substantially improved the quality of your sleep: what worked?

Found this in my drawer.

“Doing things that don’t scale” is one of the reasons @ProductHunt became the success it is today. 🙌

Full stack web devs:

Have you built something cool?
I want to see it.
Reply here.

Wasn’t going to go up this morning.

(Really glad I did)

A startup's success hinges on three things:

- your ability to identify a good market
- your ability to create something they'll pay for
- your ability to attract those customers consistently

So excited about this 👉

Today we shipped a brand new version of @TransistorFM's UI, rebuilt using @tailwindcss and @Alpine_JS! 🥳

https://transistor.fm/changelog/new-user-interface-for-podcasters

Many of the successful founders you see didn’t win because of their brilliant idea or perfect execution.

More likely: they found (or stumbled into) a market with untapped (or growing) demand.

It all starts with the market!

For a project to succeed you’ve got to be really clear about:

- who it’s for
- what it’s for

And work backwards from there.

Don’t jump on a concept too early! Find the form that best fits the function.

Social interaction and work friendships seems to be the #1 thing people miss. https://twitter.com/evanplace/status/1800544238721261779

After debating on Twitter a bit, @jasonfried and I did a Skype call and talked about market demand and margins for bootstrappers.

Lots of good back and forth. 😉

I'll publish the whole interview on @buildyoursaas next week:

https://saas.transistor.fm/subscribe

According to the New York Times, "84 percent of all stocks owned by Americans belong to the wealthiest 10 percent of households."

The way to get richer in America is to be rich enough to have the time, money, and personal margin to invest in stocks. https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1255954613762691077

This is fascinating: @dhh and @photomatt were having a debate on Twitter, but decided to take it to the @reworkpodcast instead.

Two people, who clearly respect each other, asking each other hard questions is exactly the kind of discourse I want to hear!

https://overcast.fm/+JptjxvI5k

A startup's MRR, headcount, press, funding, and growth rate can look impressive from the outside. But the most important metric is something you can't easily see:

Quality of life for the founder(s) and team.

The same pattern keeps emerging in every success story I see:

It's meeting the right PEOPLE face-to-face that results in the biggest insights, gains, and opportunities.

You can't do it all from behind a computer screen. You need to meet folks IRL.

“A dissatisfied customer does not complain: they just switch.”
— W. Edwards Deming

Building a new product can feel like running a marathon, but starting an hour after everyone else.

At the beginning, reaching “minimum viable feature parity” might feel impossible. (Especially as a small startup).

Here’s a few things we did that helped 👉

On Sep 12, 2012, @kylefox sent me a DM that changed my life forever.

It resulted in me changing my career, earning more money, meeting most of my current friends, growing an audience online, and (ultimately) building @TransistorFM.

Kyle asked if I wanted to start a podcast.

Three years ago today, I was coming out of the worst depression/burnout of my life.

Just as I was seeing some rays of sunlight, I wrote this.

"Sometimes, after drifting for a long time, you wake up. You realize you're off course. If that's you, it's not too late." ❤️

Hotmail and AOL email addresses = strong predictor of churn.

Don’t build features for people who aren’t paying you!

More often than naught, you'll build the feature and they *still* won't sign up. 😅

There's no sense in trying to please folks who aren't users yet.

Today, I'm pondering this 2010 quote by @jasonfried:

"People want the basics done well."

Today’s t-shirt brought to you by the FREE AND OPEN INTERNET.

In 2018, mindful products are going to win.

Products that:
- let you rest
- aren't addictive
- decrease anxiety
- don't disturb the peace
- allow you to be present
- improve human relationships
- improve mental & physical health
- turn off when you've had too much

I spoke with someone who received a surprise $15,000 bonus. He used it to pay off his student loans. All of his stress and anxiety instantly melted away.

Now, instead of spending his energy worrying, he can dedicate his time to enjoying life.

Back in 2001, Bob and Jane each picked a stock and invested $1,000.

Bob picked IBM.
Jane picked Apple.

Bob's $1,000 investment turned into $2,643
Jane's $1,000 investment turned into $903,471

This is the "effort/reward conundrum:" some actions produce wildly better results.

I’m just here trying to find myself.

People seem to be misunderstanding me when I say:

"Go after a market with strong demand."

I'm NOT saying:

🙅‍♂️ "Build a product in a popular market."
🙅‍♂️ "Build a product in a market with lots of competitors."
🙅‍♂️ "Build a copycat when you notice a product doing well."

“How do I find customers for my product?”

vs

“Who’s already searching for a product like mine?”

If everything used “value based pricing” a bottle of water would be $100.

The only way to learn business is to DO business.

Finally able to share this news:

This year, I'm building a podcasting startup with @jonbuda called @TransistorFM! 🎧

Read more here: https://justinjackson.ca/new-saas/

A reminder for people who make stuff:

Passive observers are picky about stupid shit.

Listen to people who buy, use, or appreciate your art

This past summer, I wanted to work on projects with my three teenage sons.

One idea we had was to build a simple game reminiscent of the old Flash-based games we used to play.

My oldest son programmed it, and my second youngest created this amazing trailer.

The old rule for bootstrapping was “just do B2B, never do B2C,” but now we have multiple examples successful indie businesses serving hobbyists, prosumers, creatives, and individual consumers.

In 2022, don’t limit yourself! There are good opportunities outside of B2B.

Tired of these tired takes that say “inevitably, open standards like podcasting must one day be consolidated into a single platform controlled by a megacorp.”

Fuck that!

Millions of people read sites based on RSS every day. No one controls the CMS, monetization, or client.

Bootstrapping's not for everyone, but the pressure that comes from venture capitalists is definitely not for me. https://twitter.com/garrytan/status/1118619707999805440

Just finished an interview with @taylorotwell for Tuesday's episode.

I already knew a bunch of the Laravel story, but hearing about it all in one go (in-depth) really blew my mind. 🤯

Subscribe here to get it on Tuesday: http://saas.transistor.fm/subscribe

For me, entrepreneurship isn't the end goal.

Ultimately, it's "designing a good life."

Introducing iPhone INXS #AppleEvent

Remember:

Product is marketing.
Onboarding is marketing.
Customer support is marketing.
Anyplace you can stand out is marketing.

This is the real curse of entrepreneurship. 😩

(I wish I had a button that could turn my brain off)

Sure, Taylor Swift tickets are expensive, but just think about how much a nice JPEG would cost you this time last year.

I'm in my 40s now. Here's some advice for folks in their 20s:

1. Optimize for learning & exploration
2. Question the beliefs you grew up with
3. Get out of your hometown! (Move to a big city if you can)
4. Meet interesting people in their 30s-70s and ask them how they got there

Newsletters, blogs, podcasts:

the classic internet is back in style.

A mindful, slow pace. Less frenzy.

Feels good.

Had a terrible sleep last night because I watched Interstellar for the first time with my family and it blew my mind and I woke up at 2am and just cycled through all the crazy events in the movie over and over again in an existential panic.

Anyways, how's your Monday going? 😜

Common advice:

“Just put in the reps.”
“Just show up every day.”

In practice, “put in the reps” won’t work if:

- your fundamentals are bad
- your desired outcome is unrealistic

Doing more of “what’s not working” is not a good strategy.

I'm about to launch a campaign to get 25 other companies to join @stripe Climate and give 1% of their revenue (or more!) to carbon removal.

Two people have already committed to join:
Francois, @like2have
@danhulton, @nodewood

Anyone else want to be a part of the announcement?

There are so many productivity gurus, tips, hacks; lots of advice on how to "get more done in less time."

Am I weird in that I have no desire to "get more done"? 😅

I'm fine with getting a few things done every day (I don't feel the desire to cram more in).

Three maxims for thriving products, according to @bjfogg:

"Help people do what they already want to do."

"Help people feel successful (especially on their first use)."

"Simplicity changes behavior."

We gravitate towards what we focus on.

My friend took me mountain biking. He said:

“Don't stare at the rocks you want to avoid. If you stare at a rock, you’ll inevitably run into it. But if you look ahead, in the direction you want to go, your bike will follow your eyes.”

Here are 5 methods for finding new SaaS ideas:

🧵

The worst products require MORE marketing; more convincing, more funnels, more drip campaigns, more manipulation.

For indie entrepreneurs, the best products are the products people already want to buy. It shouldn't take a bunch of effort to convince them. ✌️

A good list of podcasts by bootstrappers here:

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

(I personally listen to all these shows!)

How many of you have seen Kindergarten Cop?

Success is…

1,000 tweaks & pivots
1,000 small experiments
1,000 small wins along the way
1,000s of hours practicing your craft

I’m not convinced that we need more AI-driven recommendation engines in our lives.

When I use apps like TikTok, it sucks me in and “entertain” me for hours. But I wouldn’t describe that experience as healthy.

If anything, we need less media delivered by algorithm; we need calm.

I think we need to stop trying to find customers for our products and start building solutions our customers were already looking for. ☕

https://justinjackson.ca/find

I've been rethinking this idea of "build an audience before you build a product."

There *are* benefits.

But there are also some major downsides.

How should a person deal with criticism?

"Just as they handle compliments: it's good information, but it's not the whole story." – @WilliamHMacy

The speaker lineup for #microconf Starter is seriously 🔥.

💻 @csallen
🐉 @patio11
📈 @AlliBlum
🌶 @mojcamars
🌱 @mariepoulin
🏂 @garrettdimon
🏋 @adamwathan
🐶 @singlefounder

👉 http://microconf.com/starter

What is your SaaS using as a CMS for your marketing site?

When’s the last time you were on Clubhouse?