Tweets

"People don't know they need this, but I'm going to convince them." <--- bad way to start a business.

The 2013 revenue stats I didn’t want to share http://buff.ly/1a2hRg1

I've learned so much from @Amyhoy. This post encapsulates some of her best advice: "Build a product people want" http://buff.ly/KlrEDQ

The 2013 revenue stats I didn't want to share http://wp.me/p1366z-eS

Kickstarting your blog by @adii http://buff.ly/1fOWJdz

Succeed with your own product in 2014 http://wp.me/p1366z-eN

I was initially skeptical, but this talk by @donaldmiller is one of the best I've seen. It moved me. http://buff.ly/18JtZRW cc @chase_reeves

Had a creative thought.

Looked at my email.

Lost my creative thought.

Parody of This is a Web Page? Hilarious!

Motherfucking Website by @thebarrytone http://buff.ly/1eidwF9

My original: http://buff.ly/18i7Hcl

"Ask someone to pay and there are only two possible outcomes" http://zite.to/1fajNpR

If you're looking to start a freelance business, @BrentGalloway's book looks like a good place to start: http://buff.ly/HnQLnK

It's really hard to build your thing if you're always focused on what other people are building.

There's a difference between "well-written" and "interesting".

It surprises a lot of writers to know that #2 is more important than #1.

Be a drunk writer. Get a sober editor.

(my take on Hemingway)

Every good product, website, campaign, or piece of writing should start with people in mind.

Wow. @nathanbarry's fascinating tale of trying to build a SaaS business in 6 months (and the importance of TDD) http://buff.ly/1cJBuqi

Perfect illustration: the only replies to this post on X are crypto scams/bots.

But over on bluey there are 10 replies, and tons of folks sharing cool stuff.

It's just better over there!

What's a quote you've saved (in your notes app or elsewhere) because it was meaningful to you?

Walking home for lunch and ran into this guy.

@garrytan Check out what @JordanGal and his team are building at https://heyrosie.com/

Heartbreaking 💔 https://twitter.com/accuweather/status/1840785006421254431

6/ We've been using ​@printful to create merch and handle shipping and fulfillment.

I wanted an app where I could send people a link, let them choose their swag, select their size, enter their shipping details, and have Printful handle the rest.

@JohnONolan @hackersincpod @adamwathan From the outside, you two have built high-growth businesses with strong annual revenues.

When it comes to managing highly visible open-source projects as the foundation of your businesses, what are the downsides most people don't see?

@JohnONolan @levelsio Good timing for him to release this! Lots of folks thinking/curious about servers right now.

This is a key.

Early on, @taylorotwell benefited from a transport company in Little Rock taking on juniors and later from @ianlandsman hiring him at Helpspot.

@stauffermatt and @TightenCo have done a good job here, too.

How can we encourage this?

https://x.com/chrisjbridges/status/1831029815895539949

@tobias_petry @laravelphp My hunch is that there's actually a lot of "latent demand" for PHP jobs that people don't see.

Millions of businesses depend on PHP; many actively use (or want to switch to) Laravel.

I wonder if this is more of an issue of brand awareness. (React gets more PR than Laravel)

@neuranne 👏👏👏

Here’s some video of the action:

I remember this. https://twitter.com/benrbn/status/1826306161240400311

If you want one of @TransistorFM’s famous “skull & headphones” shirts, find me at @PodcastMovement!

#pm24 #podcastmovement https://twitter.com/stephenrobles/status/1699474856251625667

Who here is using @Printful to give away free swag to fans, influencers, and customers?

(Reply or DM me!)

"B2Many" upends the old, binary B2C/B2B convention and acknowledges that a single product can serve multiple customer types: consumers, prosumers, businesses, enterprises, governments, and non-profits.

And companies like @canva, @ChatGPTapp, @Mailchimp, @carrd, @TransistorFM, @usefathom, @tailwindui, and @notionhq have built successful SaaS businesses by serving multiple customer types with a single, versatile product.

I call this approach "B2M" or "B2Many."

I've been waiting for Patrick to start another podcast!!!

I'm listening to episode 1 (on @pocketcasts) right now. https://twitter.com/patio11/status/1811451471634006071

"Software ate the world," and now "AI is eating the world," but I'm not convinced it's going to bring about revolution (utopian or dystopian) because connecting all this stuff is still a Very Hard Problem™

Wow.

Fu’s Repair Shop in #yeg is incredible.

Since 2018, I've run a SaaS that targets consumers, and we have:

- low churn (1.9% last month)
- 0.02% Stripe disputes
- strong LTV

Plus:

- we enjoy giving customer support to our customers (live chat)
- we have a calm business, where team members enjoy their job

🎯

“I’ve been in markets that are growing 20% year over year.

And those shrinking 10% annually.

The latter are so brutal as you are cutting your way to success or finding it nearly impossible to grow, I’m at a point where I actively avoid them.” https://twitter.com/girdley/status/1794380908197302482

Good marketing harnesses existing customer momentum and directs that energy toward your product.

They're already in motion, hurtling down the river.

Your marketing should convince them to go right instead of left.

So happy for @gilbert and @djrosent: they deserve all the accolades! https://twitter.com/TransistorFM/status/1789020661177811245

@robwalling Many successful bootstrapped SaaS serve customers that look more like B2C than B2B: hobbyists, prosumers, non-profits, enthusiasts, creators, solopreneurs, etc.

ConvertKit, MailChimp, Mealime, Fathom, Transistor, Carrd, AudioPen, TypingMind, NomadList, Slopes, etc all fit this…

MailChimp built the world’s most valuable bootstrapped SaaS by serving a mix of SMBs, hobbyists, nonprofits, creators, and prosumers.

How is the B2B vs B2C distinction helpful or important in their case?

They serve a spectrum of customers who want email newsletters.

I really appreciated Thomas' thoughtful response to my tweet.

"You win by posting interesting content as often as possible."

I recommend reading the whole thing! 👉 https://twitter.com/TomFrankly/status/1782854712208798058

@TomFrankly I appreciate the nuance you've shared here! Publishing frequency hinges on several factors:

- if you're new (get those reps in!)
- if your topic suits frequent updates.
- 'You win by posting interesting content as often as possible.'

Thanks for the thoughtful response!

Small businesses create employment, drive innovation, and provide tax income, all things governments want. We're doing a lot for the economy!

But too often, governments make it harder to run a business. They impose rules, bureaucracy, and expectations that overburden SMBs.

💯 https://twitter.com/mjwhansen/status/1774885783914098694

@r00k Wonderful product design.

It’s like having to go to the console to check if I have email replies:

mutt -f "imaps://USER:PASS@imap.gmail.com/INBOX"

What I really want is a double feature:

@aarondfrancis & @ianlandsman release their episode.

AND THEN

@calebporzio & @DCoulbourne do an episode of @noplanstomerge with their take 🌶️

@arvidkahl For simple blogs, I’ve been using @valsopi’s @blogstatic.

I just set up a new one last week!

I don’t think I’ve ever gone up to the mountains and regretted it.

I've always preferred the term Xennial for people like me (1977-1983).

We really were the crossover generation between Gen X and Millenials (and have unique attributes compared to both groups).

We had an "analog childhood and a digital young adulthood."

Our marketing site has some pages that generate enormous amounts of traffic, but don’t lead to customer signups.

Other pages get far less traffic, but consistently lead to sales.

The goal is to get more of the latter!

I know it's Superbowl Sunday, but I'm curious:

If you got my Saturday newsletter, could you hit reply with a few of your thoughts?

I've already got a bunch of replies, and I'd like to collect as many as I can for a follow-up next week. 👍

Best Apple Vision review so far. https://twitter.com/Letterman/status/1755386860241564154

@levelsio There's a crazy clip of a skier just riding the backcountry...

He's zipping along and has a little wipeout, and just happens to look up the hill and see a snowboarder upside down in a tree well!

He gets up there and rescues the guy... but if he hadn't wiped out he wouldn't have…

Love this: @kamxlal (from http://notetracks.com) implemented my tip from today's newsletter, and is already getting responses.

For this week's "SaaS Marketing Experiments" newsletter, I have a simple tip everyone can implement (but few do) that's driven a ton of marketing intel for Transistor.

(I'll send it Saturday morning - link in bio)

Need accounting software for my Canadian corp.

It needs to support multiple currencies and be nice to use.

Which is better?

- Sage Accounting
- XERO

Really excited to publish this video!

Tons of lessons for founders, startups, and podcasters.

Watch it live on YouTube in 13 minutes:
https://youtu.be/3FHeCQK64J4 https://twitter.com/TransistorFM/status/1750245810334536088

@jhooks Macromedia Fireworks

@adamwathan @37signals @jasonfried I really enjoyed this one.

Key insight was that new product development gets a totally different approach than traditional Shape Up. “Start expansive”

“Shape Up is best for existing products, where you know that you can (say) build a new feature in 6 weeks.”

Alright, worked through some more iterations with @aarondfrancis and @fideloper and we landed on this version of the thumbnail.

Thanks, everyone! 🙌

@aarondfrancis @PlanetScale NIIIIIICE. Love this – creative solution! Can't wait to see you build this out!

Also, I can't wait to see all the KITCHEN content you're going to be creating.

"Flavors with Francis: Aaron's Cooking Show"

That’s not to say there’s no sacrifice in entrepreneurship!

In the early days, there’s lot of sacrifice, hard work, and grind.

But eventually (2-3 years if you’re bootstrapping), you should be able to say: “this venture has made my life better.”

We’ve built this into our company values. When we make decisions, we ask: “will this decision make our lives better?”

What’s the point of starting a company if it makes your life worse?

Another big highlight from 2023 was the Youtube / podcast studio my wife built for me (with help from @theKevinShen).

She bought all the lights, the camera, and the lenses and sourced dozens of retro radios (tube and transistor!) for the backdrop.

Love how it turned out!

There is a Milli Vanilli documentary!!

I’m going to watch it now.

Lots of folks were excited about my Family Business™ experiment.

I have my own corporation.

This past summer we hired our 4 kids (aged 14-21).

They do:

- Creative work for me: video editing, animation, copyediting.
- Their own creative projects.
- Admin: bookkeeping,…

@TransistorFM I also attended @PodcastMovement this year (Josh and Jon came too!)

It was awesome to interact with @TransistorFM customers, partners, and other podcasting friends.

Every year I meet a bunch of cool people.

cc @IronMaiden @Metallica @Pantera @Megadeth @slipknot @ExodusAttack

@Shpigford Visual Studio Code?

GitHub?

What's the going rate for video editors these days?

Particularly interested in brands/influencers/SMBs who have hired a video editor to help them edit:

- video podcasts
- Youtube videos
- promo videos
- screencasts
- clips to share on Reels, Shorts, TikTok

Yes, and also:

The right kind of iterations, moving in the right sort of direction. https://twitter.com/jasonleowsg/status/1717167881178497066

Agreed. @FullStackEU was special.

I’d definitely like to come back! https://twitter.com/ruslansteiger/status/1715682008074977743

First up is @bramus talking about animating between states with the View Transition API.

@Shpigford Zoho

I just found the original landing page for @marketingdevs, one of the first paid products I started working on back in 2013.

https://justinjackson.ca/marketingfordevelopers/archive/

@Davidjpark96 It really depends!

A self-funded business, with strong revenue and good margins can pay the founders more.

Some founders choose to reinvest profits into the business (at least for a time).

Generally, the advantage of bootstrapping is that (once you have a certain scale) you…

I just passed Banff.

I just backed @danprovost and @tomgerhardt’s new @studioneat Kickstarter.

I’ve been needing a better utility blade, and nobody makes better objects than Tom and Dan. 👍

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danprovost/keen-a-compact-durable-and-retractable-utility-knife?ref=thanks-copy

Just got off a call with @iamjeremyenns; we were chatting about the upcoming @PodcastMovement in Denver.

This year, from @TransistorFM, @jonbuda, and @joshuaanderton are also coming! 🙌

Who else is coming?

Nice breakdown of animated GIF alternatives (with pros and cons to each) by @tylersticka:

https://cloudfour.com/thinks/animated-gif-alternative/

In terms of actionable SEO, @KaneJamison consistently gives good advice.

If you're an SEO or content marketer, definitely check out his company: @contentharmony.

"All of our competitors have this feature! If we don't add it, we'll fall behind!"

<Everyone rushes to build the feature, but it adds significant maintenance and customer support costs to the business. Soon, the team is miserable supporting the new feature.>

@awilkinson I don't feel this way with @TransistorFM at all.

Feels calm, not super stressful, and doubtful that we'll go out of business at any moment.

I definitely wouldn't describe it as a dumpster fire! Feels like the best job I've ever had.

@yongfook 😂

If you’re in #vernonbc, I’m putting on one more of these this Friday.

Fantastic discussion on @buildyoursaas for founders and team members. We covered:

- How to navigate founder stress
- The particular kinds of stress that founders face
- How to navigate team dynamics, and help individuals do their best work
- “Work self” vs “home self” https://twitter.com/marcelladotco/status/1666503131834793987

Last night

@jasonlbeggs @aarondfrancis @leenyburger @statamic Honestly, @statamic is the best customizable CMS option right now. 👍

@aarondfrancis I need to send you one of these “I ❤️ PHP” shirts I had made. 😄

@csallen @IndieHackers "Link to @TransistorFM podcast" 😏

For some reason, @Patreon is removing their Goals feature.

(ie. ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬜⬜ 80% towards our Goal of $500 per month)

Lots of podcasters use this!

Do I know anyone at Patreon who could explain this change to me?

(To me, it makes no sense) https://twitter.com/cameronjonesweb/status/1655971303596216321

I think about this a lot: we should evaluate why we wanted to start a business in the first place.

Often it’s: “so I can spend more time with my family” but when you’re building a business, it often takes your attention away from the family. https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1464768410898743298

To be clear, I tried other partnerships before that didn't work out (for various reasons).

And... one thing that's helped with Transistor is it gave us the resources to have margin in our lives (and to share that margin with our team).

The "engine" of the company has to work.

@theKevinShen To anyone thinking about signing up: we've been going through the process of rebuilding our studio with Kevin and his team and they've been awesome!

For more on “the age in your head,” read @JenSeniorNY’s piece here:

https://apple.news/AJzm5lVffSXC-tRrlq46BTg

The decentralized web:

“You really cannot overstate how old an idea all this is.”

https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/20/23689570/activitypub-protocol-standard-social-network

@r00k We got a nice dark-mode/light-mode contrast going here. 😄

When the Transistor team assembles...