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Here's the full thing...

https://justinjackson.ca/rockstar/

I started my blog in 2008.
I started a podcast in 2012.
I published my first book in 2013.

It took me 3,030 days to get where I am now.

One thing that doesn't get talked about enough is that some target markets are better than others.

Whoa. I've never seen MailChimp divulge revenue numbers before.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/technology/mailchimp-and-the-un-silicon-valley-way-to-make-it-as-a-start-up.html?_r=0

New workflow hack I'm liking:

- Don't open Slack on desktop
- Use mobile to look at Slack notifications (only when I'm ready)

Try it! 🙌

“When we give and teach, we build up fan bases that become more likely to support us.”
— @sivers

A startup's success is based on:

- building something people want + will pay for
- being able to profitably acquire those customers ^

After months of asking people to follow me on Snapchat: 88 views. 👻

One day of trying Instagram Stories: 169 views. ⚡️

“The new Instagram / Medium / Uber logo sucks”

In other news:

“Instagram, Medium, and Uber are all still doing *really* well."

Wrote this on a plane weeks ago.

Might as well publish it 😆

#10uncoolthings

I just became founding member #23 for @pjrvs & @iwearyourshirt's new project: https://ofcoursebooks.com/

♥ the design!

Business is like Frogger:

1. The path to success is always changing
2. No one can tell you the exact steps
3. There’s always a bit of luck

Currently working on: The Maker Manifesto.

Want to help me edit it?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19wtfxGYzBTPbbN7LgzOcDTCb-zOHM6pRjbWSpF89088/edit?usp=sharing

#megamaker

Prognosticating is the enemy of progress.

Build a small initial version.

Show it to people.

Iterate.

Just visited @jlinowski's http://goodui.org/ site again. So many good ideas for A/B tests!

I seriously have the best fans.

“Build something small, and sell it for $1.” My new post on Medium: #000f--share-0-42" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://medium.com/product-people/start-small-62d611ea2f8b?source=tw-a02dd1574d08-1435126378971#000f--share-0-42

How many of you have a folder like this in Dropbox?

#modernbookshelf

People first. That's the hard part isn't it? It's not "code first" or "specs first"; it's about listening to people's problems and caring.

Trying to build a product without an audience is like hosting a dinner party when you haven't invited any guests.

Wow!! The @AcquiredFM podcast featured on the homepage of the New York Times.

Congrats on amazing evening @gilbert and @djrosent! 👏👏👏

We’re getting going!

@aarondfrancis on stage at @LaraconUS.

#laracon

Had a really wonderful time in Chicago hanging out with @jonbuda, @jsonperl, and other friends!

I just got notified that my blog post was posted on Hacker News.

I wish I'd noticed sooner!

A lot of people don't know this about me, but in the early 2000s, I owned a snowboard shop in Alberta called the Real Deal.

It almost bankrupted me.

Here's the story of how I got from there to here 👉

Curious: was anyone out there planning on signing up for @TransistorFM (or migrating a podcast over?).

I'm looking for someone to record their screen and narrate their "first-run" experience.

If that's you, get in touch!

(I'll give 6 months free in exchange for your trouble!)

Decided to release this interview between @stauffermatt and me early.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyn2AoL5_9M

I gave him ideas for increasing listeners for the @LaravelPodcast (which he cohosts with @taylorotwell).

You can watch it now with me (I'll stick around and answer questions in the…

Made it to Antwerp for @FullStackEU #fseu23! 🙌

Excited to see everyone soon.

👋 @freekmurze @driesvints @AnnekeSchoonjns

The early 2000s was a hard time to graduate. The dot-com bubble had just burst, baby boomers were staying in high-paying jobs, and it was hard for a new grad to make a living.

I made around $36,000 in my first year after graduating.

That might have been doable if I was a normal…

Today I built a really simple "podcast name generator."

It still needs tons of refinement, but you can try it here:
#podcast-name-generator" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://transistor.fm/podcast-name-ideas/#podcast-name-generator

Just had a great call with @TimLeland. 🙌

Tim is a longtime listener of @buildyoursaas.

He reached out after the @aarondfrancis episode and wanted to share his experience of building projects on the side for 10 years before finally going full-time with http://T.LY

This article by @asmartbear is really excellent for anyone evaluating a new startup idea (or a fairly new business already in motion):

https://longform.asmartbear.com/problem/

“a16z led the charge on the "lol valuations don't matter" approach that defined 2019-2022 venture capital with deals like the one valuing Clubhouse at $4B or Hopin at $6B.”

Wild to look at those valuations now in 2023. 🤯

Interesting thread by Tyler. 👍 https://twitter.com/tylertringas/status/1627449217294958592

"What would you use to build a new web app in 2023?"

@nextjs: 15
@laravelphp: 15
@rails: 14
@djangoproject: 4
@elixirlang: 3

Next.JS, Laravel, and Rails each constitute about 25% of responses to this thread.

#webdev

Interesting results in this @Reuters study on news publishers:

"Publishers say they will be put more resources into podcasts (72%) as well as email newsletters (69%), two channels that have proved effective in increasing loyalty to news brands."

☝️ open web standards FTW

Spotted this comment on a Reddit thread discussing the news that Netflix CEOs will be paid $35M - $40M next year.

https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/ztun6j/netflix_says_coceos_reed_hastings_and_ted/j1fh1kb/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3

@levelsio @elonmusk I’m guessing if you’re building rockets and designing self-driving cars “picking the most simple solution for every problem” isn’t a great strategy.

(Also, let’s check back and see how this worked out for Elon’s Twitter in a year)

How many software developers do you think there are in the world?

Free idea for governments:

Instead of putting the burden of sales tax registration, calculation, collection, and remittance on small biz get VISA, MasterCard, and AMEX to do it!!

Take the burden off small businesses, and just go after the big credit card companies.

Vieux-Montréal!

The idea for @tailwindcss came to @adamwathan while he was working on other SaaS ideas:

Digest - "Delicious for teams"
Kitetail - competitor to gumroad for selling digital products

He was building in public, and people kept asking him about his CSS.

https://adamwathan.me/tailwindcss-from-side-project-byproduct-to-multi-mullion-dollar-business/

@levelsio Why, in your mind, would “admiration for Elon Musk” = appreciation for entrepreneurship?

I’m confused why we would choose him as our universal muse for "entrepreneur."

Seems odd to make "admiration for Elon" our entrepreneurial litmus test.

I’m trying to get handle on what sales taxes a US-based SaaS needs to collect.

We’ve enabled Stripe tax, and see all the regions where we’re supposed to remit.

But when I look at my own bills (I live in 🇨🇦), it looks like many companies aren’t collecting and remitting GST/PST?

[ chef’s kiss ] https://twitter.com/jomakaze/status/1512446577796915202

@andrewculver You're number 1 for "rails saas" on Google. 👏

Opportunity: you should be number 1 for "rails saas" in video search results.

There an element of this that is true, but it’s also important to remember that “followers do not automatically translate into paying customers.”

Elon has 57M followers, but Tesla has only sold about 2M vehicles.

(And many of those customers don’t follow Elon on Twitter). https://twitter.com/heyblake/status/1404824521002000385

One of the worst traps in life is “doing more things” so that you can get ahead (more hours, more tasks, more projects).

Being a college students basically gives you the right to ask anybody (leaders, heroes) for advice:

“Hi, I’m a student at [university], and I’m looking to break into [topic]. Can I ask you a few questions about your work? I’m curious about..”

Folks ❤️ giving advice to students.

When you go to YouTube and search for "how to do X," what causes you to click on a specific video?

This course by @tylertringas ("How to start your own venture investment fund") is really good.

Best part: I think he's already convinced me that I don't want to start my own fund. 🤣

https://tylertringas.podia.com/view/courses/launching-calm-fund

If you started a company to build a better life for yourself, be honest about:

- which biz stuff pulls me away from my family & personal life?
- what consistently causes me stress?
- which tasks drain me?
- does this biz have enough traction to give me the $ and margin I desire?

Still a good list of ideas to pursue in 2022. https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1037611977877516288

I recorded a podcast episode with my college-aged daughter.

She had lots of thoughts on:

- women in podcasting
- how podcast advertisers can connect with female listeners
- how @ApplePodcasts, @spotifypodcasts, etc, can attract Gen Z listeners

https://share.transistor.fm/s/e8114be1

Curious: what kind of code is powering all these auto-generative NFT art projects?

(Randomly applying different layers + colors to create unique cartoon characters)

Is it open-source?

If customers really want something, they'll go to great lengths to get it.

Yes, you have to build a solid product. (This is where execution really matters)

But executing on product is fruitless if there aren't motivated consumers already looking for it.

Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are all down.

This can't truly be the reason? https://twitter.com/chadloder/status/1445072650720591875

Congrats to @AliAbdaal on hitting @ApplePodcasts' top charts with his new podcast Deep Dive!! 🎉

(Hosted on @TransistorFM 🥰)

Listen/subscribe here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-dive-with-ali-abdaal/id1587142091

Eye-opening to go through these old milestones on @IndieHackers.

This one from 2019: "A year ago, I was super stressed about money. @transistorfm was under $1k in MRR and I was wondering: 'How long can we hold on?' By July 2019 we crossed $20k in MRR."

https://www.indiehackers.com/product/transistor/we-crossed-20k-in-mrr--LjRpzk6eMF0ad1u38rc

Getting quite a few DMs from SaaS founders who are saying that growth really slowed in July (and August is looking worse).

One theory:

The "COVID bump" 📈 in revenue we got in 2020 was due to the shutdown... and the lull 📉 we're experiencing now is due to everything opening up https://twitter.com/earthlingworks/status/1414712219015684102

Put another way:

“It can take a decade (and multiple attempts) for an entrepreneur to finally build a successful business, but it shouldn’t take longer than 2-3 years to see if a bootstrapped business is a success.”

Agree or disagree?

I think if we could see how people interpret and apply the advice we give on social media… we would probably give less advice. 😅

“Empathy is when you try to understand the other person’s context, without judgment.”

Great conversation between @mjwhansen and @leenyburger.

https://overcast.fm/+gJ-VucElo

Trying out @TwitterBlue!

👀

Copying and pasting from Word/Google Docs into another WYSIWYG editor is still a nightmare! 🙈

@gabesumner wrote this 10(!) years ago:
@gabesumner/copy-from-ms-word-paste-into-a-rich-text-wysiwyg-editor-53907c24cee5" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://medium.com/@gabesumner/copy-from-ms-word-paste-into-a-rich-text-wysiwyg-editor-53907c24cee5

("we can send rockets to mars, but don't expect to copy & paste formatted text successfully")

For those of us who share our thoughts/opinions with the world, this is a sobering reminder:

"Act like a scientist, not like a preacher.” (@AdamMGrant)

The problem with preaching strong beliefs is that it closes you off. You're not open to correction. You become entrenched.

One year after our launch, @csallen captured what that moment meant for me:

Courtland: "You look relaxed. In the past, you were full of energy but I could tell you were under pressure. Right now you are as relaxed as I've ever seen you."

https://share.transistor.fm/s/7e7020f7

First, I love Gail Goodman's talk. If you haven't seen it, check it out: https://businessofsoftware.org/talk/how-to-negotiate-the-long-slow-saas-ramp-of-death/

It's the story of growing a public company when SaaS was still nascent.

Gail's team had to build awareness for SaaS and email marketing at a grassroots level (radio, etc).

Enjoyed slowing down today.

Took my youngest skiing in the morning.

(Then had a therapy apmt booked in the afternoon).

Felt good.

OMG. I just tried applying for insurance at a different place that brands itself as "Insurance for startups."

Looked promising.

I went through the application and then got this message:

"We only provide insurance to startups who have raised at least $150,000 in VC." 🤦‍♂️

Got transferred to an agent who handles Cyber Liability.

"What kind of software dev do you do?" We're SaaS. We're like Gmail or Squarespace.

"Oh. We don't have an appetite for that." Um.. what?

"We cover contractors building software, but not companies who offer software."🤦‍♂️

Clubhouse (the social audio app) has potential, but it also has multiple challenges.

It looks like Jon came out of a restaurant and agreed to take a photo with a down-on-his-luck busker.

A question I'm exploring on the @buildyoursaas podcast:

Lots of SaaS companies are going after makers. (Gumroad, Podia, Substack, ConvertKit, Circle, Playgroup).

How fragile is this prosumer market?

https://overcast.fm/+MBmW9I1BA

If a democratic country is having an election, and then the leader of that country goes on TV and says “the election is rigged” (but has no proof) that’s a big problem.

Y’all see that, right?

Everyone with a business in North American should be concerned about this.

Trump is incompetent.

His incompetence has lead to the worst possible situation going into the winter.

The USA set a record on Friday (98,000 new infections).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fauci-covid-winter-forecast/2020/10/31/e3970eb0-1b8b-11eb-bb35-2dcfdab0a345_story.html

Ideas for good opportunities be in 2021?

1. Tools that enable individual creators to publish and monetize their work. (memberships, community)

2. SaaS that has gone "upmarket" (to enterprise) and left SMBs behind.

3. Tools/teaching that help devs do their work better/easier.

@TransistorFM One podcast that’s been amazing lately is @noahkagan’s.

He’s really opened up the last few months, and has brought on some great guests.

Loved his chat with @LoriGottlieb1:

https://overcast.fm/+O4jhYW6uM

Just imagine a small Jeff Bezos, flying around your house.

Prediction: soon hipsters will be buying boxed software and cd-roms

(saas is for gen x)

"What would Steve Jobs do?"
"How did Convertkit kickstart their growth?"
"Why was Basecamp so successful in the early years?

None of that matters as much as you think it does.

Oddly, I see salespeople trying to sell me on benefits when I’m in the midst of purchasing.

Car dealership: “You’re going to love this car, it’s electric which means you’ll never need an oil change.”

If I’ve made it this far, I’ve already convinced myself of the benefits. 😜

Whoa! Just saw this now.

Super excited about what @derrickreimer is doing with @mightycal_ (a new calendar scheduling app).

I dig his online demo: https://mightycal.com/?ref=tweet

This video by @RachRodgersEsq really woke me up. She showed me how my "safe silence" was harmful.

"Being an ally means getting uncomfortable. It means risking your status and your reputation."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1Ez5qHL6o/

Interesting example of “spotting a good wave because you’re already paddling your board in the water:”

This guy used to work in a real estate brokerage, so he observed an opportunity first-hand.

https://www.reddit.com/r/EntrepreneurRideAlong/comments/gr09ww/from_0_to_32301043_in_14_months_with_a_simple/

All the credit on this one goes to @jonbuda. 🙌

He's been working on this redesign for months and did an incredible job. 💯

(I'm just the jackass who gets to talk about it)

Now that we have this foundation, we're going to build so much cool stuff for @TransistorFM. 🚀

Even better, this book helped me understand my son better. I started seeing the world through his eyes, and how difficult it must be for him to go to school every day.

It gave me hope that we can help him. ❤️

Thank you @LynMullalyHunt, for writing such a powerful story.

@CatchKristen Jon and I have been remote on @TransistorFM since the beginning. We also have a remote support person and editor.

It’s worked great for us. Especially helpful for focusing on one thing at a time, and paying attention to customer behavior.

@patio11 Transistor provides private podcasting as a feature.

I can’t name names, but I can tell you we have Fortune 50 and 500 companies using it.

Relief from present-day scarcity gives you the space to have future-based dreams.

I’m lucky: one of the big reasons I survived my depression was my access to public health care.

Early on, I went and saw my family doctor and she helped me work out a plan for getting better.

(I also paid for a therapist, which was massively helpful).

Platforms that enable creators also seem to be doing well:

- Email newsletters: @ConvertKit, Substack, @sendfox
- Podcasting: @TransistorFM, Acast
- UI kits: Tailwind UI by @adamwathan & @steveschoger
- Frameworks: @laravelphp

When there’s sufficient demand for a product you can feel it.

It feels like the market is pulling you (as opposed to you trying to pull the market over to your product).

Good thoughts from @nickd this morning.

"There's a difference between observing customers and listening to them."

@mrichman @dvassallo Yup. @marketingdevs if you’re interested. 👍

Update: I bought them all.

This is cool: https://peoplefirstjobs.com/

🙌 @Wildbit

Like a surfer, you look for rising tides. 🏄‍♀️

For example: the breakfast cereal market will reach $40 billion in 2023.

“But the cereal market is too entrenched!”

What if we combine it with all the demand for gluten-free foods?

My guess? GF cereal is 📈

https://twitter.com/nickbona/status/1206805164012851200

Don’t focus on finding a niche containing a certain number of people.

What matters more is “there’s this many people spending X on Y.”

Look for product categories with demonstrated demand, not crowds of people that might want something you have for sale.

I like the way @corey_gwin describes this:

“Look for demonstrated demand.”

We often use data to make decisions, but we don't often examine the underlying data we're using to make decisions.