Tweets

These days, we genuflect to the platforms.

We optimize our content for them, praying that the algorithm gods will reward us.

But we shouldn’t forget that it was our links, our sitemaps, our writing, our video, our open source code, and our data that built these platforms.

@DavidDarnes @ow @rafahari @warpling @TransistorFM Yup! We've made all that pretty seamless.

We have special onboarding for listeners, where they can add the private podcast to their player with 1 click. 👍

(No copying and pasting required)

So far people love it! @__tosh you should join us.

@derrickreimer @r00k @joinClubhouse There was a bootleg recording done. I’ll see if can get you a copy. 😉

“When we let the business embody us, we must have numbers that vouch for us, numbers that tell us (and others) that we are, indeed, a bonafide entrepreneur and, therefore, worthy.”

– @adii, Life Profitability

@TwitterSpaces Wow! Already 450+ people here! 🙌

💯

We see this in podcasting as well.

You’re not just competing with other podcasts, or even other audio apps.

Your competition is whatever else is competing for a listener’s time and attention.

This means that “driving/walking in silence” is a competitor! 😮 https://twitter.com/stephsmithio/status/1362183263347859458

What opportunities do you see for people who want to build a new SaaS in 2021?

It will be interesting to see how this distribution of returns compares to new bootstrap-friendly funds like Earnest, TinySeed, and Indie:

https://www.sethlevine.com/archives/2014/08/venture-outcomes-are-even-more-skewed-than-you-think.html

Yes! 🎯

You definitely want to charge enough to:

- do the basics well
- have sufficient margins

The nice thing is: being small helps improve your margins. You don’t need $100 million in revenue to have an incredible life. https://t.co/fZYtJTBtme

@Patticus @hnshah really enjoyed this! Glad you two are back on the mics. 👍

https://overcast.fm/+TeLuN3F48

@McCroden @jayacunzo I really like how @nbashaw and @danshipper do theirs: they go live on Clubhouse and record their podcast at the same time. Then they do a live q&a on Clubhouse.

I haven’t been able to catch them live yet, but I *do* listen to the podcast version. 👍

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/talk-therapy/id1517270662

This conversation has "pivoted" into a way better topic:

- founder mental health
- having margin
- the tension between financial freedom & inner piece

(prompted by @adii).

“[The problem with social media companies] is that their business model depends on engagement and attention. If that’s their incentive structure, it’s going to go wrong.”

– @zeynep (on @SamHarrisOrg’s podcast)

@robwalling @michaelkoper @Shpigford I’m a happy customer! https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1168618809126555648

I'm still not entirely sure what crowd equity investors "get" for their investment. 🤔

Do they get shares?
How do they get a liquidity event?

@michaeldyrynda congrats on the new job! 🙌

https://overcast.fm/+GwHUXbzcw

@CasJam @JordanGal @r00k @ianlandsman How much do we have to pay to get early access to that episode?

💰 🎧

"What marketing channels are working for SaaS?"

The first answer, as a base, should be SEO!

Nothing beats "intent-based searches" for acquiring new customers.

For tools, I use @ahrefs and @nickswan's excellent SEO Testing tool:

https://seotesting.com/

🎙️ Podcast listing review #1:

Here are suggestions for "Commonwealth Cast" by @ninjaparade & @dannydjones:

Ok. Let’s see if Clubhouse can redeem itself.

Doing a SaaS chat now. Join us!

Just wrote this up for my upcoming Saturday newsletter.

Anyone here want to give me some feedback? (Ways to improve, make it better/more clear)

https://justinjackson.ca/units

@chasewreeves Bad take Chase.

It’s odd that we were just talking about Trump banning TikTok, but now everyone’s freaking out because he got kicked off a social media site.

The government still has way more power than any tech company.

@BarrettABrooks When I first started reading blogs, following folks on Twitter, and listening to podcasts I was a big fan of a handful of people...

Later, I had some of these same folks treat me like garbage on Twitter.

Ever since then, I’ve been careful about who i idolize.

5. Clubhouse is fun when it's the "cool, underground club" that only a few people know about.

But, the experience will likely get worse as more people join: more noise, less signal.

3. Audio quality. Because folks are mostly using earbuds the audio on Clubhouse is not great.

It also frequently cuts out as people go on elevators, drive into a zone with no service, or lose their wifi connection.

@elamin88 Unbelievable responses to that.

All doctors should be openly advocating that folks drink less.

@jdnoc Well done!

Really impressed with the business you’ve built. 👍

(I didn’t even know what SaaS was until I was 28. 😂)

Also, that MRR number!!! 📈😍

@jasonfried @ich_bin_abe @tylertringas If I’d never left Stony Plain (a tiny farm town in Alberta) and met new people + got exposed to new ideas, I definitely wouldn’t have achieved what I have today.

We’re all in bubbles. But sometimes you gotta leave the bubble you’re in.

@jasonfried @tylertringas Lol. Listen, let’s all just admit:

Podcast chats > Twitter debates

What many makers really want in a podcast is that sudden, cathartic, realization:

“Holy shit. Somebody else feels the same way I do. I’m not alone in this.”

h/t @jessedriftwood1 @theleviallen

@JamesTimmins Yes!

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

If you’re too satisfied with the journey, you could find yourself on a journey with no end.

College is great, but do you want to be in college for the rest of your life?

Dating a bunch of people is fine, but you might enjoy settling down with one person.

Too often, we take “customers showing up” for granted.

“You build a thing; customers show up.”

But it really is miraculous when it happens (and keeps happening).

The bandwagon effect also has an element of FOMO:

The more people you see buying new M1 Macs, the more you want one.

When you see more folks using Figma, you’ll increasingly want to switch (even if you’re happy with Sketch).

@Deepuasok In my experience, people who don't want to make an effort aren't worth chasing.

You want self-motivated customers: folks who are already searching for a solution.

Removing friction is helpful for folks already committed to putting in the effort though. 👍

@DCoulbourne man, setting up a linux machine is a lot harder than it used to be.

@spencerfry @r00k @Baremetrics @stripe @ProfitWell I just always believe whichever chart says MRR is higher. 😜

@anildash cc @BreneBrown

@joelgascoigne @buffer 👉 @hamstu fan club reporting in. 🎉

@mojcamars YES. MY PEOPLE.

(Who are all these folks saying 5am?!?! 😱)

@MichaelBerhane_ @deldelp really enjoyed hearing your stories on the @reworkpodcast.

(Thanks for doing these interviews @VelocityWong!)

https://overcast.fm/+JptjXYnk0

@kaelyndG @SloanCam just listened to ep32. Really enjoyed it!

What’s your ideal Monday look like?

@taimurabdaal Lol. Love the accent!

What is the optimal team size? (for you)

3. Attracts customers consistently

The market should move towards your product naturally. It shouldn't take too much pulling from you.

(If anything, you're just gently nudging folks toward your product)

@Shpigford @Baremetrics Congrats! Thanks for sharing this. Luv u. ❤️

@cforsythdev I’m talking about judging a leader by the content of his character: what he repeatedly says and does.

If we can’t agree that someone this bad is “bad,” than there’s no hope.

👀

"We hear from multiple sources that Megaphone appears to be looking for a buyer." (@Podnews)

Alright, kicking off this SEO experiment with an update to this post: https://transistor.fm/upload-podcast-itunes-apple/

(This is based on @dvassallo twitter reply)

It's not a super high-traffic term, but we might be able to move up a few positions?

@tailwindcss @statamic Statamic (marketing site)

Our Rails app.

@adamwathan 1. Marketer first
2. Dev second

💯 Let me eat tacos in public without being recognized.

https://twitter.com/GoldsteinMatt_/status/1308993830134460417?s=20

This line:

“The biggest priority during the pandemic has been getting readers the books they want. And what many of them want are books that other people already bought.”

This summarizes most market theory:

“Most people want to buy what other people have already bought.”

(Also, just realized this thing is free? 🤯)

@pjrvs “Regardless of whatever you choose, have a blessed day.” 😬

Nice to see @robwalling chiming in on this topic as well:

https://twitter.com/robwalling/status/1306591312498405376

There's a huge misunderstanding here.

When surfers spot an oncoming wave, their ability to ride it depends on how good they are, their position in the water, etc.

The skills, network, timing, and execution of the founding team *do* matter. (But without a wave, they're useless)

Anyways, @seanwes is brilliant at video.

I think he's almost completely booked right now, but if you can grab a spot on his http://DailyContentMachine.co you should. 👍

Nice case study here:

https://twitter.com/polevaultweb/status/1304053877436801026

Every twitter debate. 😅 https://twitter.com/RyanHoliday/status/1304094963706331137

@ZacharyDeWitt @_chrismarin I wonder what % of SMB software spending is on SaaS? 🤔

“A market” is the sum of demand in a product category:

1) Number of potential customers
2) How much they spend
3) The frequency at which they buy

https://justinjackson.ca/build

@arvidkahl You get it. 🎯

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1298340074375929859

The danger is in sticking with bad ideas for too long.

Bad ideas are only helpful in that they lead you to something else.

At the very beginning, it's hard to tell if your idea is good or not.

But you should feel the momentum increasing; like a river that starts slow and then gets faster.

@calebporzio @DCoulbourne post-modern web hahahahaha

is this a bad idea

@driesvints @stauffermatt “http://Tallstack.dev acquired for $1 billion”

@yongfook @sinequanonh ✨ creating magical connections between Twitter followers in this Twitter thread ✨

😉

To me, it feels like we’re duplicating effort where we don’t have to.

It doesn’t make sense to have millions of businesses collecting, remitting, and doing the paperwork, when the EU could deal with a small group of entities (Stripe, Paddle, Gumroad).

@johnkoetsier @TransistorFM 👋 Hi John, I'm one of the co-founders (and I'm here in BC as well!). I made a quick video for you:

https://youtu.be/Rzow-UazzNA

Podcast launch & promotion checklist https://www.pscp.tv/w/ceYsCjM4NTU1MXwxbXJHbUVsZ1l5Tkd5UAPIOoE4OJ-Vr3V4fxxeiKYDypORJh0FgclcSwu6zhY=

“Globally the wealthiest 10% are responsible for half of all emissions, the wealthiest 20% for 70% of emissions.“ https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/26/leading-scientist-criticises-uk-over-its-climate-record

@Shpigford Mailbrew? @mailbrew

@vitabenes I’ve always bootstrapped, where answering a proven market demand is key.

@jspector Interesting! What’s the source for this?

@adamwathan @JacobBennett @taylorotwell @RicFlairNatrBoy Omg. “Lar-A-vel is the greatest... PHP FRAMEWORK OF ALL TIME.”

@CasJam @robwalling 💯

Thank god Hotmail wasn’t able to “lock down” email and force everyone to send and receive msgs through their platform.

But, I’m sure MSFT would have loved it!

(Can you imagine how profitable you’d be if you could control all electronic messaging?)

Some things shouldn’t owned.

@IndieHackers Podcast hosting and analytics

https://Transistor.fm

And privilege plays a big role here (again, it seems most of luck is where, when, and to whom you were born).

When folks go to Harvard, they get to meet some of the most connected people in the world. They’re privy to opportunities most folks will never even hear about.

@nickswan Business ideas are observations (“people have this problem they’ll pay to solve”) paired with hunches (“I could solve it this way”).

The idea encompasses the opportunity you see + your take on how to solve it.

I'll be chatting with @robwalling on the @MicroConf YouTube channel, in about 35 minutes.

Come hang out and say hi! 👋

https://youtu.be/0w09SUQwR-c

🎯 https://twitter.com/ianlandsman/status/1256310872483323904

@randfish It’s honestly heartbreaking.

Especially for all the Main Street businesses that haven’t (and won’t) receive anything.

If you decide to sign up for Transferwise, use my referral code and you'll get free transfers (up to $800):

https://transferwise.com/invite/u/justinj248

Getting close!

@emd @JackEllis @adamwathan The trampoline is the best backyard investment we ever made. 👍

And a big thank you to @sciencevs and @SamHarrisOrg for providing a steady stream of fact-based #covid19 episodes.

What kinds of businesses are doing well right now? (trends and predictions) https://www.pscp.tv/w/cUuW2zM4NTU1MXwxbW54ZVFXWnJ6UnhYDxtmwII4YJpaEMIFj3Maz8oL-JKEuibOxPaNC1o9Vvk=

Lots of retailers (who use @square) are trying to set up online stores right now.

To connect a custom domain costs a minimum of $84 / year or $11 / month.

They say they'll refund "March payments," but why not just make this free?

Retailers are already facing a steep curve.

“I keep thinking of a line from this harrowing piece from an Italian in the Boston Globe.” – @annehelen

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/13/opinion/coronavirus-cautionary-tale-italy-dont-do-what-we-did/

NICE! 😍 Looks good. https://twitter.com/linuz90/status/1238418375610699776

Not a good look @Disney.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/12/21176494/disney-parks-world-land-coronavirus-covid19-closure-california-florida-paris

Related question: what makes a business "recession-proof?"

In your mind, am I older than you, the same age as you, or younger than you?

If you’re a Laravel dev who’s curious about serverless, @JackEllis’ course is the one to get:

https://serverlesslaravelcourse.com/

@songadaymann Question (as a Canadian looking): why isn’t Warren polling higher?

As an outsider, it feels like her message, debate performance, etc. are really resonating.