a day in the life of a tech founder

Summary

The video script details a day in the life of a team at 123 Buckingham Palace Road, focusing on the future of their subscription platform. They discuss the launch of new features, onboarding new members, and transitioning from a tools platform to a discovery platform for communities. The team also plans to prioritize customer-focused features, improve creator relationships, and explore a new payout structure for creators, aiming to disrupt the paid community space with competitive pricing and reduced friction.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The company has recently launched a new product and is experiencing a rapid onboarding of new people, indicating growth and expansion.
• 📍 The focus for the day is on the bigger picture of the company's future direction and how to dominate the market with a new approach to platform integrations and discovery work.
• 🕒 The speaker has a meeting to discuss the potential use of their platform for a community of 250 WhatsApp members, highlighting the platform's community-oriented approach.
• 🔧 A new engineer is joining the team in 30 days, and preparations are being made regarding contracts, equity, and visa issues.
• 🛠️ The company is in the process of planning and prioritizing features to ensure they align with customer needs and contribute to the company's advancement.
• 🔄 There is a shift from being a tools platform to becoming a discovery platform, aiming to become a destination for consumers to find communities and their people.
• 🤝 The company is currently working closely with creators to improve the product, emphasizing the importance of creator relationships and continuous product enhancement.
• 📈 A new pricing structure is being developed that allows creators to have a better experience with minimal costs until they reach a substantial community size.
• 🛑 The company is working on a new internal dashboard for creators to manage their subscriptions and pricing, with a significant change to the payout structure coming soon.
• 🔑 Integrations with various platforms such as Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, and Telegram are part of the company's strategy to service existing users better.
• 🎯 The company aims to disrupt the paid community space by addressing pricing, reducing friction for entry into the platform, and providing clear reasons for users to join.

Q & A

What is the location the team is heading to for work?

The team is heading to 123 Buckingham Palace Road in Victoria.

What significant event happened last week according to the script?

The significant event that happened last week was the launch of 'whats out'.

What is the focus of the day as described in the script?

The focus of the day is on the bigger picture of where the company is heading with 'sub' in the future and how they plan to dominate the market.

What does the speaker refer to when they mention 'Discovery work'?

The 'Discovery work' refers to the process of finding new ways to improve the platform and make it more discoverable for users.

What is the purpose of the 1:30 meeting mentioned in the script?

The purpose of the 1:30 meeting is to explore how 'sub' could potentially work for a community of 250 WhatsApp members.

How far out is the new engineer expected to join the team?

The new engineer is expected to join the team in about 30 days.

What is the speaker's strategy for prioritizing features to build for 'sub'?

The strategy is to be hyper-focused on building features that customers actually want and that will move the needle for 'sub'.

What is the current status of 'sub's platform in terms of integrations?

Sub's platform currently has integrations with Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, and is expecting to integrate with Telegram and Facebook groups.

What is the speaker's vision for 'sub' in terms of its evolution from a tools platform?

The vision is to move from a tools platform to a Discovery platform where users can find communities and connect with like-minded people.

What is the speaker's plan for the upcoming phase of 'sub's development?

The plan is to focus on Discovery, improving the platform for existing community creators, and implementing new features that will attract more users.

What is the speaker's strategy for making 'sub' more attractive to creators?

The strategy includes offering a creator-friendly experience where they pay almost nothing until they reach a decent-sized community.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Business Expansion and Future Strategy

The speaker discusses the company's recent developments, including a successful product launch and ongoing onboarding of new team members. The focus shifts towards the broader vision for the company, emphasizing the transition from a tools platform to a discovery platform aimed at consumers. The speaker outlines the importance of prioritizing features that customers truly desire to drive the company forward. Additionally, there's mention of a potential partnership with a WhatsApp community and the upcoming arrival of a new engineer, highlighting the company's growth and the need for strategic planning.

05:02

🛠️ Platform Enhancements and Creator Experience

The narrative continues with a detailed discussion on platform enhancements and the strategy to improve the creator experience. The speaker reveals a new approach that significantly reduces barriers to entry for creators, potentially allowing them to join the platform with minimal costs until they reach a substantial community size. The session also covers the completion of phase one of platform development, which includes integrations and tools to support existing community creators, and the anticipation of phase two focusing on discovery features. The speaker expresses excitement about the upcoming changes and the platform's potential to disrupt the market.

10:02

💼 Strategic Planning and New Dashboard Development

In the final paragraph, the speaker outlines the strategic planning for the platform, focusing on three key areas: pricing, reducing friction for new users, and creating compelling reasons for users to join. The speaker identifies a unique advantage that the platform has and plans to capitalize on it to disrupt the community space. The development of a new V2 internal dashboard for creators is highlighted, which will allow them to manage subscriptions and pricing more effectively. The speaker also mentions an upcoming change to the payout structure for creators and the importance of implementing these changes promptly.

Keywords

💡Buckingham Palace Road

Buckingham Palace Road is mentioned as the location where the team will be working for the day. It is a significant address in London, known for its proximity to the famous Buckingham Palace. In the context of the video, it signifies the new working environment for the team and symbolizes a central hub for their operations.

💡Onboarding

Onboarding refers to the process of integrating new people into an organization. In the script, it is mentioned that new people are joining the team every day, which indicates the company's growth and the need to assimilate these new members into their workflow and culture.

💡Platform Integrations

Platform Integrations are the mechanisms that allow different software platforms to work together. The video discusses the importance of integrating tools like Discord, WhatsApp, and Slack, which shows the company's focus on creating a seamless user experience by connecting various communication channels.

💡Discovery Work

Discovery work involves exploring and identifying new opportunities or features for a product. The script mentions moving beyond platform integrations to focus on discovery work, which implies that the company is looking to innovate and find new ways to enhance their service offerings.

💡Community

In the context of the video, a community refers to a group of users or creators that interact within a specific platform. The company aims to create a destination for consumers and a place to find one's people, indicating their intention to build a strong user base and foster engagement.

💡Creators

Creators are individuals who produce content for various platforms. The script emphasizes the importance of building relationships with creators to improve the product, showing that the company values the input and needs of those who will be using their platform to generate content.

💡Subscription Revenue

Subscription revenue is the income generated from users paying a recurring fee to access a service or product. The script discusses the goal of increasing the number of people earning on the platform, which directly impacts subscription revenue, highlighting the business model's reliance on user engagement and satisfaction.

💡Phase One and Phase Two

These terms refer to different stages of development or planning within the company. Phase One involves integrating platform tools and enhancing the experience for existing community creators, while Phase Two is focused on discovery and finding communities on the platform, indicating a strategic approach to growth and development.

💡Dashboard

A dashboard is a user interface that provides an overview of information, often used for monitoring and managing various aspects of a system. The script mentions a new V2 internal dashboard for creators, which will allow them to manage subscriptions and pricing, showing the company's commitment to providing tools for efficient management.

💡Payout

Payout refers to the process of paying money to someone, often in the context of earnings or commissions. The video script hints at a significant change to the payout structure on the platform, which is crucial for creators as it affects their earnings and the platform's attractiveness.

💡Competitors

Competitors are other businesses or products in the same market. The script discusses positioning the platform against other competitors, focusing on pricing, ease of use, and unique value propositions to stand out in the market, which is essential for gaining a competitive edge.

Highlights

The company has moved to a new location at 123 Buckingham Palace Road for the day.

Launch of a new product last week and continuous onboarding of new people.

Focus on the bigger picture of the company's future and platform integrations.

Emphasis on Discovery work for the platform's future rather than just tools.

A meeting scheduled to explore how the platform could work for a WhatsApp community.

Upcoming addition of a new engineer to the team in about 30 days.

Discussion on prioritizing features to build based on customer needs.

Transition from a tools platform to a Discovery platform for community finding.

Integration with multiple platforms including Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, and Telegram.

The importance of building relationships with creators to improve the product.

Plans for a zepia integration, telegram integration, and marketplace design and build.

Introduction of a new pricing model that benefits creators until they reach a certain community size.

A productive session resulting in a new way for the platform to earn revenue while enhancing the creator experience.

Phase one completion involving integrations, platform tools, and bonus tools for existing community creators.

Upcoming phase two focusing on Discovery and finding communities on the platform.

Excitement about the platform setup and perks for creators to be implemented in the next month.

Realization of a significant advantage for Subs in the next few months in the platform and community space.

Introduction of a new V2 internal dashboard for creators to manage subscriptions and pricing.

A change to the payout structure for creators on the platform is coming soon.

Transcripts

[Music]

turns

[Music]

out all right we're back we're on our

way to 123 Buckingham Palace road which

is a special we work this way up in

Victoria so we're going to work out of

there for the day few big things have

happened we launched whats out last week

got new people on boarding every single

day which is super super cool but today

the focus is going to be on bigger

picture where we're actually heading

with sub in the future and how we're

just going to dominate now this is not

just platform Integrations cuz tools are

cool but now we're getting on to more

Discovery work it's going to get cool

all right let's get to it

[Music]

[Music]

that easy

[Music]

all right well it's 5: to 9 my next

meeting is only at 1:30 which is super

sick and that is for someone to see how

sub could work potentially for a

community of 250 WhatsApp members which

is super sick so if we can give them

like an amazing experience that's going

to be super awesome in other news as

well we have our new engineer coming on

board in about 30 days we're just

sorting out contract stuff Equity stuff

like just making sure everything's fine

for them Visa stuff as well but yeah

we're looking good otherwise we're going

to do a bit of planning this morning

just kind of like where we're heading

next with sub obviously there's a

million features we could build but what

do we prioritize and we've just got to

make sure we're just like hyper focused

on doing everything that customers

actually want and it's actually going to

move the needle for sub making us go

forward anyway more on that soon let's

go get some

[Music]

coffee I think one of the key things

that we need to start thinking about now

which is going to like change the way

that sub operates is moving from a tools

platform to an actual Discovery platform

like somewhere where you can actually

find Community find your people actually

like it's a destination for consumers

rather than the creators at first but we

have to start at creators otherwise how

do you get in the Supply

right

like uh did we get two flat work pleas

[Music]

waiting for a meeting room to come live

I remember in New York you could just

walk in it was 5 minutes early sweet but

here no it's like a scan deal so you got

to actually wait for your booking anyway

I've used my first two credits to book

the sickest Room with a View with a

whiteboard hell yeah 5 minutes ago

anyway what we're doing I'm planning the

agenda for this meeting because

essentially in short we have a ton of

stuff that we can work on right now it's

just knowing what is going to be the

best thing to work on that gets us

closer and closer to this kind of like

core goal of more people in the platform

more people earning which means more

subscription Revenue but also finding

communities as well so yes a lot of

things to

consider oh yeah welcome to the new sub

office the official 30 minutes of time

we have this week in this room but we

have a whiteboard which is great here's

a reality we currently have Integrations

and tools which are really cool we have

a couple of platforms integrated we've

got Discord WhatsApp slack we've got

telegram to come we've got Facebook

groups to come all sorts of different

tools now that's really cool how do we

service these people who currently exist

better right now this stage here is like

the whole thing is working with creators

to improve the product so it's like

create a relationship between us and

them and figuring out what they like and

don't like and just continually

improving improving improving until

we're really confident with all of the

flows all of the sign up yeah what we

can do right now is which is what I've

got right here we've got the zepia

integration the telegram integration and

then finally you have the marketplace

design and build so this is five third

most important yep I would say that

could come okay cuz they're already on

and they're making money yeah yeah and

that would potentially so you have to

have a c yeah and if you're like hosting

and this is but this is really easy

though this is so not even what we were

going to be talking about but this

possibly breaks down a barrier to entry

now STP fees don't matter anymore but

that's really cool this is very Creator

friendly okay that was wild we've just

done some maths and we figured out a way

for the platform sub to earn as much as

it was always going to earn with you

know 250 500 creators earning 1,000

bucks a month but we figured out a way

that the creators can have a way better

experience actually coming on board to

the platform where they pay almost

nothing essentially like full Creator

focused until they're actually at like a

decent sized community so yeah that was

a very productive session feeling very

good about it and now we're moving on to

finishing up the phase one of all the

work which is essentially everything

from Integrations platform tools like

bonus tools that are going to help

existing Community creators on the

platform and then we're finally going to

move on to phase two which is everything

from Discovery to actually like finding

your people on the platform so yeah

super

exciting change it up summary it's

literally my dream platform setup and

perks that I would want as a Creator and

a platform going to be implemented in

like the next month it's going to be

crazy holy moly I'm so excited just told

some investors as well they were excited

about to it's on the way to get some

lunch going to go head up m& best

supermarket in London I don't know maybe

that's controversi maybe that's

controversial to say I don't know it's

pretty good they've got good meal deals

here you

know I can't tell if we're going to the

supermarket or freaking France the train

station somehow what's going on look the

next train to depart from platform 18

will be the

1224 Southern service to should we just

low key go to Paris do a creator sub and

Par they got the best Jam Donuts we

found it it's still a me deal meal

deal we're snacked

[Music]

up if they want specifically the

communities

feature it's a little bit different than

what we currently offer so yeah cuz the

communities is like bundled groups where

we're just really supporting the

automation of groups by themsel let's

see how it goes they've got 250 people

so we'll find out how you doing man

really good thank you Jacob how are you

very good you uh are you in the UK right

now Crea technology Studio they've given

us space as there uh is 30 the highest

which is London is

396 I the reason I'm asking these

questions cuz I'm trying to get the

perfect product kind of like map in mind

what would be perfect for you guys okay

so we have this is crazy I just had a

call with a guy in London he's got these

huge WhatsApp communities that he's like

helping manage and essentially they got

like hundreds of users the problem is we

don't have the integration with WhatsApp

communities working we have the groups

working but not the communities Well

turns out we do I've been telling people

we don't I just tested it while I was on

the call and it worked so freaking hell

we're ready to go we're going to onboard

some people this what fro okay let's

go uh

all right we are on our way home Eddie's

already gone home she's feeding hery

right now is dinner we're going to go

out for a quick run but very productive

day and here's the reason why we

realized this morning there is an

incredible advantage that we have that

we can play in our deck of cards for

Subs next few months and not just for

like the creative space and mizing

communities but also just for like a

platform space and positioning ourself

against other existing competitors in

the market now this is going to come

down to three main things the first one

being pricing the second one being

friction to actually get into the

platform and get into the sub experience

and number three other people doing it

and should I jump in now is there a

reason for me to jump in whether that's

hype or it's trending or it solves my

problem instantly are there any barriers

if we can solve those three things and

stand apart from the rest we have a huge

opportunity to disrupt the paid

community space not just paid but free

as well so long story short today smash

out a brand new V2 internal dashboard

this is going to be used for all subc

creators going forward where they can

manage all of their subscription ions

manage their pricing but there's also a

very significant change to the way that

creators actually get paid on the

platform coming soon there'll be an

announcement on LinkedIn I'm sure but

that'll be tomorrow's job I just need to

get this brand new V2 dashboard done by

the end of tomorrow implement this new

payout pricing structure and then I

think we'll be good to go so let's head

home let's go for a run with M and we're

going to kick it off first thing

tomorrow morning woo

hey

hello hey oh who didy

is on the