Tweets

This is what I mean when I say "momentum matters."

You have to start small, and build gradually from there. 👍

https://twitter.com/cliffordoravec/status/858496325645684736

"Dad, I've got a new philosophy for life: clean undies every day."
– my 7 year-old

My old tweets are way better than my new tweets.

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/447186415374585856

"iPhone combines three products..."

No mention of "camera" in initial launch, which (arguably) became one of the most important features.

"Steve Jobs made things we didn't know we wanted."

That's not exactly true.

People wanted to listen to MP3s on the go before the iPod.

Don't you hate it when you drink your coffee and then your coffee cup's empty?

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”
— Albert in Einstein

The problem is...

Nobody knows you exist.

Here's a startup marketing checklist:

http://buff.ly/2d28dBi

"Build your reputation organically by building awesome things over time.” – @Patio11

Biggest lesson I've learned. 👌 https://twitter.com/cnagele/status/771165969716617216

Today I learned I can fit a bottle of wine in my bike's water bottle holder 😅 🍷 🚴

One of the hardest things to do well is to consider someone else's perspective. To really imagine how they think and feel.

Was awesome to be on @robwalling & @SingleFounder's podcast: Startups For the Rest of Us

"Launching 100 Projects" https://overcast.fm/+JkqRIo_I

Looks like @garyvee being bullish on Snapchat paid off: @VaynerMedia gets exclusive ad deal. http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/snapchat-launches-colossal-expansion-its-advertising-ushering-new-era-app-171924

👀 who's up right now?

A good reminder for any maker:

"Focus on your own shit"

http://buff.ly/1XEreL3

Before they succeeded, successful people didn't know they were in the right place at the right time.

Love @cjlew23's approach to selling software (at #microconf):

"Optimize for trust, not efficiency."

New feature idea for Instagram, Snapchat, Vine: make it easy for people to guest post on your account (also known as "taking over the feed")

There are many factors that go into any success.

Yes, some tactics and advice can help.

But luck, context and privilege play a BIG role.

.@rrhoover I was born for this.

Maybe all "business advice" posts should have an accountability report at the bottom.

(Similar to coupon sites) 😉

Every night (before I go to sleep)

and every morning (when I wake up)

I have the same thought:

“I can’t wait for my next cup of coffee.”

Most folks don't realize that 90% of marketing is answering the question:

"What do people REALLY want?"

Two things you should leave out of every important decision:

1. Ego
2. Pride

About 99% of our problems with software is that the people who CREATED the software have different paradigms than the people USING it.

"Dad when you're old and dead, I want your toothbrush."

- my 5 year old

Good morning from #microconf!

"Remember that people are a hundred times more interested in themselves and their problems than they are in you & your problems." - Carnegie

"The more stuff you make, the more good stuff you'll make." - @songadayman at #xoxofest

Oh man, I wish I'd written this.

@sachagreif's brilliant piece on the pricing potential for different product types http://buff.ly/1qj0kKi

The worst thing in our education system isn't that a kid "won't pass."

No, the biggest risk is having a kid that no longer enjoys learning.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many:
meetings you had.
emails you sent.
good ideas you dreamt.

What did you actually CREATE?

"Through your actions, you have embarrassed us in the eyes of our children, humiliated us on the world stage and, worst of all, divided us as a nation."

– four-star admiral William McRaven (Commander of United States Special Operations)

A poignant anecdote from @itsurboyevan's newsletter:

"A few years ago, I was at a dinner with the head of one of the largest private equity funds in the U.S. This guy had made it. His suits were crisp and Italian. His car was so fast it left feelings of poverty in its wake. His…

🎯 Also true in business.

“There is no formula for success—you just begin and then you continue. I’m often asked how to have a career in stand-up and the answer is confoundingly simple: Do the work. Over and over again, just do the work. After you build the courage to get…

100% this. Applies to almost every email.

“The simple email with less stuff got 13% more opens, a bunch of replies vs zero replies, and the same clickthrough rate (% of openers who clicked a link). It also took 30-50% less time to prepare, and is a lot easier to replicate.” -…

By the time you turn 50, what’s your ideal $ for:

- annual income
- cash saved/invested

On the most recent episode of the @tuple podcast:

The most interesting part for me was @adamwathan and @r00k discussing the merits (and drawbacks) of having a simple personal website — just an index.html file you edit.

User research hack:

I'm using @casjam's @Clarityflow to get new customers to record themselves as they sign up for @TransistorFM.

I've already had 7 people record their onboarding experience.

Seeing all the tech layoffs visualized like this is sobering.

"The tech industry has seen more than 240,000 jobs lost in 2023, a total that’s already 50% higher than last year and growing." – @TechCrunch

It's still wild to me that ChatGPT can do this.

Having an amazing time with the fam up at @SilverStarMR.

#vernonbc

This has got to be the worst sales pitch ever made:

"Hello, we're reaching out because you have a podcast. We have clients that want to be on podcasts; most of these are generic interviews(?!?!). Please send us your podcast stats (?!?) and we'll start working with you."

WTF

It's wild to compare the spending of the UK, Canada, and Australia (relatively small populations), to population behemoths like the USA and EU.

Population:
🇺🇸 332 million
🇬🇧 67 million
🇪🇺 448 million
🇨🇦 38 million
🇦🇺 26 million

(this is @stripe's BF dashboard)

On a recent episode of @hackersincpod, @aarondfrancis asked @r00k & @adamwathan, "When was your biggest change in net happiness while running your businesses?"

My answer is quite different from theirs.

Because it was so difficult trying to make ends meet for my family in my…

As a startup founder, there are a ton of variables you can't control. Here's what you can control:

1. The product category you choose (⚠️ important)
2. How you differentiate your product competitively
3. Your skills, network, resources, experiences
4. Efficiency + effectiveness…

Congrats on the new album @mikeherreraTD and @mxpx!

Loving it.

Watching these videos of people escaping these fires in BC is devastating. https://twitter.com/51phyllis/status/1692692343315632638

When is it a good time for a parent of young kids to think about bootstrapping a business?

Let's make a list 👉

What's your personal software stack for home/family stuff?

Here's mine:

- Online file storage: @Dropbox
- Spreadsheets: @googlesheets
- Photo storage: @googlephotos
- Calendar: @googlecalendar
- Home security: @WyzeCam
- Notes: @apple Notes

@ylecun What percentage of qualified experts “who do research on AI” have concerns about AI?

According to Google Trends, @nextjs is picking up steam, but @laravelphp is the king.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F0505cl,%2Fm%2F0jwy148,%2Fg%2F11h4q9rcf3,%2Fm%2F012l1vxv

Podcasts still work this way. ❤️

It’s one of the few mediums that stuck with RSS.

Podcast apps still work the same way your favorite RSS reader did. 👍 https://twitter.com/mitchellh/status/1592642975703912448

A very "tailwindy" landing page for @jack's new alternative to existing social networks.

https://bsky.app/

👀 @tailwindcss

People keep saying Figma “crushed” Sketch.

But Sketch is still an amazing business with millions of customers!

My guess is they’re in the top 1%-5% of SaaS companies (in terms of revenue).

To me, that looks like winning.

https://www.sketch.com/blog/2020/10/22/from-one-to-one-million/

@adamd Whoa! Haha, love seeing this.

Are you a developer?
Need payment processing?
Get in touch.

And *where* you build that audience matters.

It's ok for people to discover you on YouTube, Instagram, FB, TikTok, wherever.

But ultimately you want your audience to be somewhere where you're in charge (email, podcast RSS, blog, etc...) https://twitter.com/nathanbarry/status/1565041678037450753

For me, letting go of my obsession with "not wasting money" has helped me to be more generous.

I don't hold on to it so tightly; I'm more willing to let it go and do the good it needs to do in the world.

Nice to finally meet @jayclouse in person!

Jay has awesome podcast for creators that you should check out:

https://www.creativeelements.fm/

#pm22 #PodcastMovement

You shouldn’t pursue money at the expense of everything else, but you should still pursue it!

Similar to other types of health (emotional, physical, social) if you ignore your financial health it will suffer.

Jon and I recorded two "tell all" @buildyoursaas episodes for @TransistorFM's 4th anniversary.

Here's part 1, where we answer a bunch of questions:

https://saas.transistor.fm/episodes/jon-justin-reveal-everything-part-1

Around this time, 4 years ago, Jon and I were in his apartment in Chicago, getting ready to launch a new podcast hosting company!

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1023056086260232192

This is the feature I'm most excited about from #WWDC22: using your iPhone as a webcam.

I have lots of questions though!
- what resolutions are supported? (4K?)
- does it only work when mounted to my computer or can I have it on a tripod?
- any latency?

https://twitter.com/i/status/1533880388988424192

Entrepreneurship is an incredibly competitive pursuit where anyone (regardless of ability) can participate.

Some new founders have what it takes to grind, learn, gain skills, and develop into competitors.

But the vast majority of people who try don’t have what it takes.

We could still use your support on Product Hunt today!

(Thanks to everyone who's upvoted, commented, and shared) https://twitter.com/ProductHunt/status/1529815620057190400

The goal for new founders:

Consistent, growing, recurring revenue that reaches your minimum benchmark (and hopefully, exceeds it!).

For Jon and I, it was hitting $30k MRR that really changed our lives.

https://justinjackson.ca/30k

To understand Elon's desire to buy Twitter, you need to understand his primary motivation: unlocking more free speech on the platform.

If Elon Musk bought Twitter, would it be a better place for free speech?

I did a deep dive here:
https://justinjackson.ca/elon-musk-and-free-speech

@tdinh_me @blackmagic_so This is what our first two years of MRR growth looked like at @TransistorFM.

Historically, I’ve been chronically bad at anticipating and preparing for weekends, holidays, and special events.

I’ve started filling this out every afternoon (in Apple Notes) and it’s helped a lot. 📝👍

Most startups can use this same technique for promoting their product.

Often, you’ll end up ranking on YouTube and Google for those search terms. https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1509548692184842244

@raae Show screenshots of the product + people using the product.

Folks need to envision how the product will fit into their lives (plus: folks often want to know what the UI looks like!)

To generate images use:
https://smartmockups.com/
https://mockup.photos/

Good customer support can fill in feature gaps

Don’t have that export feature yet? Do it manually for your users.

Don’t have onboarding features built? Reach out proactively and walk customers through the product personally.

Being responsive adds a ton of value for early users

The problem with “work smarter” is people often equate that to “less effort.”

Instead, I’m saying: you still need to apply some grunt work, but that grunt work needs to be in service of high leverage activities, on a path that leads in a direction you want to go. https://twitter.com/StevenDSanders/status/1479914575109795850

Success in business is more about doing the right things consistently than just "brute force hard work."

“There’s a false dichotomy between imitation and innovation. They’re part of the same process of discovery. Some of history’s most creative geniuses started off by simply imitating the right model.”

– @lukeburgis, Wanting

Pretty icy, but beautiful! #vernonbc

Researchers at @McKinsey found that "speeding up isn’t the answer. In fact, we find that if top teams slow down, they eventually achieve their objectives more quickly."

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/slowing-down-to-speed-up

The problem is we often attach ourselves to the vehicle (“my business”) and forget about where we’re headed (“a better life for me and my family”).

If a job can get you to your destination with less stress and more certainty, you should take it!

The benefits of taking a good remote job:

You don’t have to worry about cash flow, corporate taxes, payroll, health insurance, and other admin tasks.

Less anxiety, better sleep.

@PierreDeWulf In 🇨🇦 a small-business corp (less than $500k in income) pays 9%.

Personal tax rates vary.

If you paid yourself $100k in dividends, you’d pay about 15.47% in tax.

If you paid yourself a $100k salary, you’d pay about 25.36% in tax.

Michael Bay macbook ad

A lot of folks have been asking this question since reading my post;

“Why not use Google UTM tags for tracking campaigns instead of @getRewardful?”

https://justinjackson.ca/marketing-steroids

@MelArnoldMP We’re in the midst of a climate crisis, with wildfires suffocating the sky, and leaving a charred landscape around #vernonbc.

Mel, your party has refused to acknowledge the climate crisis, or commit to real action.

I will not be voting for you.

This is what North America looks like with all the fires and smoke.

We can't allow this to continue.

We can't just watch the world burn every summer.

We need climate action now.

https://firesmoke.ca/forecasts/current/

💯 @sethbannon:

“It’s super frustrating to see people that control hundreds of millions of dollars tweeting about the next e-gaming unicorn that they’re chasing, when you have millions of people who are being forced to migrate all because of a crisis that technology can solve."

How do you spot opportunities for new products and features?

@alanklement recommends looking for these magic words:

- give me
- help me
- free me
- make the
- take away
- equip me

"Can somebody *make the* hiring process easier?"

"Can somebody *free me* from these tax forms?"

✨ Fantasy Entrepreneurship League ✨

What would a profitable, bootstrapped competitor to Goodreads look like?

What would the business model be?

How would you compete?

BTW, @savvycal_ is awesome. The UX is so much better than Calendly.

You should switch:
https://savvycal.com/?r=justinj

@podse_io Totally. I’ve been there! https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1399062939890438144

“Justin Jackson if you’re listening...”

I’m listening!

@benediktdeicke’s landlord listening to his podcast (@SlowSteadyPod) to see if he’s a trustworthy renter is my new favorite podcasting case study. 🤣

https://overcast.fm/+TYgReTJmk

@adamwathan Makers > Haters

Bear on the bay

The “software developer” market has other advantages:

1. Many efficient, low-cost distribution channels.

2. Lots of existing networks (Twitter) and communities (HN, http://Dev.to, Reddit).

3. High salaries create knock-on effects that effect pricing + demand.

Looks like Basecamp/@heyhey have a Substack competitor on their hands:

https://world.hey.com/dhh

@enunomaduro I wrote a list here. 👍

https://transistor.fm/dev-podcasts/

Folks also love to talk about “democratizing media.”

While it’s true that these platforms give folks the opportunity to break out, and be discovered...

It’s generally the same type of people who attract an audience (regardless of the platform).

I can’t speak for all Canadian tech entrepreneurs (@wesbos, @adamwathan, @steveschoger, @pjrvs, @JackEllis, @mariepoulin, @danmartell, @tobi, @jevon, @MikeMcDerment, @sol_orwell) but it sure is easier to start a company when you don’t have to worry about healthcare.

After the vaccine, people will be hungry to party, have adventures, see friends and family, and enjoy the bigger houses and recreational properties they bought during the pandemic.

They’ll also want to keep working remotely and travel less for business.