I'm somewhere between Survival and Stability stage. I should (and do) focus on building a business around the product. Pumping out features alone will not make T1 sustainable. There is much more around it and I feel the pain of not focusing on it earlier.
I just finished Zero to Sold by @arvidkahl - here's what I got out of it for me personally, to apply on my efforts to build https://t.co/wRlOaEKfD2 👇
I'm somewhere between Survival and Stability stage. I should (and do) focus on building a business around the product. Pumping out features alone will not make T1 sustainable. There is much more around it and I feel the pain of not focusing on it earlier.
I think I did an OK job last year to build, validate and grow the project. It was validated when the first customer entered their credit card details, and it continued from there.
From 42€ payout, to >8000€ in 9 months.
Documenting Standard Operating Procedures so my current and future team and helpers can onboard quickly and support me. It uncovers automation possibilities and it clears up my head by not having all of this manual stuff in there.
Getting on this soon 💪
I have to do a better job of defining and communicating it. It's hard though. >10k users are on T1 and I'm still struggling with clearly defining why... which makes me feel really stupid.
I thought I'm already quite good on this one but especially on SaaS accounts I still use my personal github login a lot. Will separate to a service-account soon so I can share it with a team, etc. It makes onboarding much easier.
I have to take a close look at retention vs acquisition. Both numbers aren't great on T1 but it's more important to reduce churn (=> increase retention) than acquire more users. We will start to reach out to churned customers soon to learn more.
Not for outsiders, but for me. I had something similar but I have not followed standard practices - which I do now.
Will update my P&L statements once a month get a quick and true overview of the financials of the business.
I don't want to sell T1. Nonetheless, building a business as if you would want to sell will make it so much more maintainable.
It's like building a codebase as if you want to open source it. The docs, processes & tests will be better and automated, I promise you.
While I have rejected all outside investment-opportunities, it's still valuable to talk. Especially since there are many nice alternatives to classic VCs now, like @earnestcapital or @tinyseedfund. I've closed my eyes too much in 2020.
That's the dream.
Thanks @arvidkahl 💞
More from Culture
I woke up this morning to hundreds of notifications from this tweet, which is literally just a quote from a book I am giving away tonight.
The level of vitriol in the replies is a new experience for me on here. I love Twitter, but this is the dark side of it.
Thread...
First, this quote is from a book which examines castes and slavery throughout history. Obviously Wilkerson isn’t claiming slavery was invented by America.
She says, “Slavery IN THIS LAND...” wasn’t happenstance. American chattel slavery was purposefully crafted and carried out.
That’s not a “hot take” or a fringe opinion. It’s a fact with which any reputable historian or scholar agrees.
Second, this is a perfect example of how nefarious folks operate here on Twitter...
J*mes Linds*y, P*ter Bogh*ssian and others like them purposefully misrepresent something (or just outright ignore what it actually says as they do in this case) and then feed it to their large, angry following so they will attack.
The attacks are rarely about ideas or beliefs, because purposefully misrepresenting someone’s argument prevents that from happening. Instead, the attacks are directed at the person.
The level of vitriol in the replies is a new experience for me on here. I love Twitter, but this is the dark side of it.
Thread...
\u201cSlavery in this land was not merely an unfortunate thing that happened to black people. It was an American innovation, and American institution, created by and for the benefit of the elites of the dominant caste.\u201d @Isabelwilkerson
— Zach W. Lambert (@ZachWLambert) February 11, 2021
First, this quote is from a book which examines castes and slavery throughout history. Obviously Wilkerson isn’t claiming slavery was invented by America.
She says, “Slavery IN THIS LAND...” wasn’t happenstance. American chattel slavery was purposefully crafted and carried out.
That’s not a “hot take” or a fringe opinion. It’s a fact with which any reputable historian or scholar agrees.
Second, this is a perfect example of how nefarious folks operate here on Twitter...
J*mes Linds*y, P*ter Bogh*ssian and others like them purposefully misrepresent something (or just outright ignore what it actually says as they do in this case) and then feed it to their large, angry following so they will attack.
The attacks are rarely about ideas or beliefs, because purposefully misrepresenting someone’s argument prevents that from happening. Instead, the attacks are directed at the person.
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I think a plausible explanation is that whatever Corbyn says or does, his critics will denounce - no matter how much hypocrisy it necessitates.
Corbyn opposes the exploitation of foreign sweatshop-workers - Labour MPs complain he's like Nigel
He speaks up in defence of migrants - Labour MPs whinge that he's not listening to the public's very real concerns about immigration:
He's wrong to prioritise Labour Party members over the public:
He's wrong to prioritise the public over Labour Party
One of the oddest features of the Labour tax row is how raising allowances, which the media allowed the LDs to describe as progressive (in spite of evidence to contrary) through the coalition years, is now seen by everyone as very right wing
— Tom Clark (@prospect_clark) November 2, 2018
Corbyn opposes the exploitation of foreign sweatshop-workers - Labour MPs complain he's like Nigel
He speaks up in defence of migrants - Labour MPs whinge that he's not listening to the public's very real concerns about immigration:
He's wrong to prioritise Labour Party members over the public:
He's wrong to prioritise the public over Labour Party
"I really want to break into Product Management"
make products.
"If only someone would tell me how I can get a startup to notice me."
Make Products.
"I guess it's impossible and I'll never break into the industry."
MAKE PRODUCTS.
Courtesy of @edbrisson's wonderful thread on breaking into comics – https://t.co/TgNblNSCBj – here is why the same applies to Product Management, too.
There is no better way of learning the craft of product, or proving your potential to employers, than just doing it.
You do not need anybody's permission. We don't have diplomas, nor doctorates. We can barely agree on a single standard of what a Product Manager is supposed to do.
But – there is at least one blindingly obvious industry consensus – a Product Manager makes Products.
And they don't need to be kept at the exact right temperature, given endless resource, or carefully protected in order to do this.
They find their own way.
make products.
"If only someone would tell me how I can get a startup to notice me."
Make Products.
"I guess it's impossible and I'll never break into the industry."
MAKE PRODUCTS.
Courtesy of @edbrisson's wonderful thread on breaking into comics – https://t.co/TgNblNSCBj – here is why the same applies to Product Management, too.
"I really want to break into comics"
— Ed Brisson (@edbrisson) December 4, 2018
make comics.
"If only someone would tell me how I can get an editor to notice me."
Make Comics.
"I guess it's impossible and I'll never break into the industry."
MAKE COMICS.
There is no better way of learning the craft of product, or proving your potential to employers, than just doing it.
You do not need anybody's permission. We don't have diplomas, nor doctorates. We can barely agree on a single standard of what a Product Manager is supposed to do.
But – there is at least one blindingly obvious industry consensus – a Product Manager makes Products.
And they don't need to be kept at the exact right temperature, given endless resource, or carefully protected in order to do this.
They find their own way.
