I launched my 24th startup (SaaS)

Summary

In this video, the creator shares their journey of launching a software with 1.6k users in just 20 hours after release, achieving 'Product of the Day' status. They reveal their unconventional approach to finding startup ideas by building solutions to personal problems, which often resonate with a broader audience. The video showcases a 7-day development process using Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and MongoDB, emphasizing rapid prototyping and minimalism. The creator advocates for quick product launches to gather genuine feedback and assess viability. They also detail their launch strategy, leveraging platforms like Twitter, Product Hunt, and Reddit to maximize exposure and user engagement.

Takeaways

• 🚀 The speaker's software gained significant traction, acquiring 1.6 thousand users within 20 hours of launch and being selected as the 'Product of the Day'.
• 🌱 The idea for the software did not exist two weeks prior to the launch, highlighting the rapid development process.
• 🛠️ The speaker emphasizes the importance of building solutions to problems encountered rather than just brainstorming for startup ideas.
• 🔍 The concept for the software originated from the speaker's own need for a simpler feedback management tool as a solopreneur.
• 📈 The speaker used a feedback management tool called 'Kenny' but found it too complex and expensive for solo users, leading to the creation of a more streamlined alternative.
• 🛑 The speaker's development process involves making trade-offs, such as removing non-essential features and avoiding certain software engineering tools, to speed up the product launch.
• 💻 The technical stack for the software includes Next.js for the frontend and backend, Tailwind CSS, Daisy UI for components, MongoDB for the database, and NEX OAuth for user authentication.
• 📈 The speaker's launch strategy involves leveraging platforms like Product Hunt, Twitter, Hacker News, and Reddit to create momentum and attract traffic.
• 🎥 The use of humorous and engaging videos on Twitter is part of the speaker's launch strategy to attract attention and potential users.
• 📊 After two days, the product attracted 7,000 visitors and 1.5 thousand sign-ups, receiving positive feedback and recognition from industry peers.
• 💰 Currently, the product is offered for free with no immediate plans for monetization, allowing for widespread adoption and feedback collection to inform future development.

Q & A

How many hours had passed since the launch of the software when the speaker recorded the video?

20 hours had passed since the launch of the software when the speaker recorded the video.

What achievement did the speaker's software receive shortly after launch?

The speaker's software was selected as the 'Product of the Day' and received a badge for this recognition.

What was the speaker's approach to finding startup ideas before the change in strategy?

Initially, the speaker spent hours and sometimes days brainstorming startup ideas, hoping to come up with something magical, but these ideas did not work out as expected.

How did the speaker's approach to finding startup ideas change over time?

The speaker shifted from thinking about ideas to building things, which led to encountering problems and subsequently finding startup ideas to solve those problems.

What is the name of the feedback management tool the speaker used and found issues with?

The speaker used a feedback management tool called 'Kenny' but found it to be cluttered and too expensive for solopreneurs.

What specific problem with Kenny inspired the speaker to create a new product?

The speaker identified two main issues with Kenny: its complexity for solo users and the high cost for managing multiple products, which inspired the creation of a simpler, more affordable alternative.

What is the name of the new feedback management tool created by the speaker?

The new feedback management tool created by the speaker is called 'Inso'.

What is the main difference between the speaker's approach to building software and that of traditional software engineers?

The speaker focuses on making trade-offs by removing non-essential features and avoiding certain engineering tools to ship products faster, rather than focusing on traditional best practices like using TypeScript, extensive testing, and complex branching strategies.

What is the speaker's current revenue after changing their mindset and focusing on shipping fast?

The speaker's revenue increased significantly, ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 per month after adopting a faster shipping approach.

What was the speaker's launch strategy for the new product?

The speaker's launch strategy included creating a funny video for Twitter, posting on Product Hunt, Hacker News, and Reddit simultaneously to create momentum and attract as much traffic as possible.

Why is the speaker offering the new product for free initially?

The speaker is offering the product for free to get it into as many hands as possible, understand its stickiness, and identify power users who might benefit from future paid plans and additional features.

What was the outcome of the product launch in terms of visitor numbers and user sign-ups?

After two days, the product had 7,000 visitors from various platforms and 1.5 thousand people signed up for the product.

What badge did the speaker receive from Product Hunt as a result of the launch?

The speaker received the 'Product Hunt of the Day' badge as a result of the launch.

Why did the speaker decide to make a video during the launch?

The speaker made a video during the launch to create interest and leverage the popularity of videos on social media, as well as to express their own enjoyment in making them.

What was the speaker's initial mistake during the launch, and how was it resolved?

The initial mistake was a wrong link on Twitter. It was resolved with the help of a friend, who provided a computer to fix the issue during the launch.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Rapid Growth and Product Launch Strategy

The speaker discusses the impressive growth of their software, which acquired 1.6 thousand users within 20 hours of launch, and was selected as the 'Product of the Day.' They share their journey from struggling with startup ideas to adopting a hands-on approach, building solutions to encountered problems. The software idea emerged from the need for a simpler alternative to existing feedback management tools for solopreneurs. The speaker outlines their process of building a product in about a week, emphasizing the importance of rapid prototyping and minimal viable product strategies, and reveals their tactics for a successful launch day, including leveraging social proof and targeting various platforms for maximum visibility.

05:01

🛠️ Building a Product in 7 Days: Tools and Techniques

This section delves into the technical aspects of building a product in just seven days. The speaker uses Next.js for both frontend and backend development, incorporating Tailwind CSS and Daisy UI for styling and components. They opt for MongoDB as their database solution, deploying on MongoDB Atlas. For authentication, they employ Nextra and add social providers like Google, Facebook, and GitHub, along with email login via Mailgun. The speaker highlights the importance of making trade-offs, such as removing non-essential features and avoiding certain development tools, to expedite the shipping process. They also discuss the significant shift in their mindset from a slow and secure approach to focusing on fast shipping and effective landing page copywriting, which has led to substantial revenue growth.

10:03

🎉 Launch Day Execution and Initial Results

The speaker recounts the launch day experience, detailing the multi-platform strategy involving Twitter, Product Hunt, Hacker News, and Reddit to generate momentum and traffic. Despite a minor mishap with a Twitter link, they managed to correct it with the help of a friend. The emphasis is on the importance of Twitter for potential users and leveraging the platform's activity to boost the launch. The speaker also shares their launch video strategy, which involves creating engaging and humorous content to attract attention and votes on Product Hunt. They discuss the initial success of the launch, with 7,000 visitors and 1.5 thousand sign-ups, and positive feedback from industry figures. Financially, the product is offered for free, and the speaker is currently focused on gathering user feedback to determine future pricing and feature development.

Keywords

💡Launch Day

Launch Day refers to the initial day when a new product or service is released to the public. In the video, the creator mentions that 20 hours after the launch day, their software had already garnered 1.6 thousand users, indicating the immediate success and reception of the product.

💡Product of the Day

Product of the Day is a designation given to a product that stands out and is highlighted on a particular platform for that day. The video script mentions being selected as 'Product of the Day,' suggesting recognition and visibility that likely contributed to the product's rapid user acquisition.

💡Startup Ideas

Startup Ideas are the initial concepts or plans for a new business venture. The video discusses the common challenge of finding startup ideas, with the creator sharing their personal journey and approach to discovering ideas by building solutions to encountered problems.

💡Feedback Management Tool

A Feedback Management Tool is a system used to collect, organize, and prioritize user feedback for product improvement. The script describes the creator's dissatisfaction with existing tools like 'Kenny,' leading to the development of a simpler alternative for solopreneurs.

💡Solopreneur

A Solopreneur is an individual who runs their own business without a team, essentially working alone. The video emphasizes the need for a feedback management tool tailored to solopreneurs, indicating a niche market that the creator aims to serve.

💡Text Tack

Text Tack likely refers to the creator's personal methodology or approach to building text-based products or features. The script mentions using a consistent 'text tack' for all their websites, suggesting a streamlined process that minimizes changes and distractions.

💡Next.js

Next.js is a JavaScript framework for building user interfaces and web applications. The creator uses Next.js for both the frontend and backend of their software, highlighting its versatility and efficiency in web development.

💡MongoDB

MongoDB is a popular NoSQL database management system known for its flexibility and scalability. The video script mentions using MongoDB with Atlas, its cloud-based service, to manage the database for the feedback tool, emphasizing the ease of setup and use.

💡Nexauth

Nexauth is a simple authentication library that supports various social authentication providers. In the script, the creator uses Nexauth for user authentication in their product, including options like Google, Facebook, and GitHub logins.

💡Mailgun

Mailgun is an email service API that simplifies transactional email sending. The creator mentions using Mailgun to implement email-based authentication features, such as magic links, in their product, appreciating its simplicity and pay-as-you-go service.

💡Launch Strategy

A Launch Strategy outlines the promotional efforts and tactics used to introduce a new product to the market. The video details the creator's launch strategy, which includes leveraging platforms like Twitter, Product Hunt, and Reddit to maximize visibility and traffic.

Highlights

20 hours after launch, the software gained 1.6 thousand registered users.

Selected as 'Product of the Day' with a badge displayed.

The idea for the software did not exist two weeks prior to its launch.

The creator will demonstrate the process of building a product in about 7 days.

Software engineers may not appreciate certain rapid development methods used.

A strategy for launching a product and attracting 7,000 visitors to the landing page will be discussed.

The common question of finding startup ideas is answered with a counterintuitive approach.

The creator's journey involved moving from idea brainstorming to building and problem-solving.

Feedback from building 24 products led to the idea for the new software.

The use of a feedback management tool called 'Kenny' revealed a need for a simpler alternative.

The new software aims to serve solopreneurs with a simpler feedback management solution.

The importance of building solutions to experienced problems as a means to generate startup ideas.

A demonstration of the new feedback management tool's interactive demo and features.

The technical stack used for building the software, including Next.js, Tailwind CSS, and MongoDB.

The decision to forgo certain software engineering best practices in favor of faster shipping.

The creator's shift in mindset from slow and secure development to fast shipping for better outcomes.

A launch strategy involving Twitter, Product Hunt, and other platforms to create momentum.

The importance of genuine feedback and knowing if a product is worth the time investment.

The product is currently free with plans to assess user engagement before introducing a paid model.

Transcripts

all right we are 20 hours after the

launch day and my software already got

1.6 th000 users registered I was also

selected to be the product of the day

and I got this little badge right here

and the crazy part is that two weeks ago

the idea didn't even exist so in this

video I'm going to show you how I got a

bunch of startups ID I'm also going to

show you the product and the text tack

that I use and some methods I use to

build a product in around 7 days and

some software Engineers will not like

this part of the video and finally I'm

going to cover the launch day and how I

managed to get around 7,000 visitors on

my lening page let's go how do you find

startups ideas this is one of the most

common question that I get asked on my

channel and the answer is a little bit

counterintuitive when I started the

Journey about 6 years ago I was

brainstorming startup ideas for hours

like sometimes even days thinking I will

come up with something magical and I

implemented those IDs and none of them

actually worked but about a year ago I

started to stop thinking about ideas and

instead I started to build stuff

whatever it is and then I would stumble

up across problems all the time like DNS

issues or like knowledge uh issues or

like I don't know where to launch my

startups I don't know how to do this I

don't know how to do that and then now

my lease is filled with startups ideas

for instance for the software I just

launched here is how I got the idea I

have built 24 products and seven of them

are making money and I want to build

better products for people so I as them

what they want to use and for that I use

a feedback management tool called Kenny

it's a little feedback board where

people can suggest features and upot

them so I know which one to prioritize

the problem with Kenny is that first

it's made for a big company so it's very

cluttered there's a bunch of features

and is very complicated for soloers like

me and the second problem with Kenny is

that if you have more than one product

it cost at least $99 per month which is

an insane amount of money for a feedback

tool and just like this I had this idea

of building an alternative to Kenny that

is much simpler for smaller markets the

niche of solopreneurs so instead of

looking for ideas I buil solutions to

problems I experience and chances are

I'm not unique so many other people

might have the exact same problem as me

and they might be in need of my product

and when I launch it I saw that many

other solopreneurs experience the exact

same frustration with other feedback

management tools and that's how I know I

have a product that uh will be used by

users so unless you have been working

for a company for 10 years and you know

that there's some uh pains in their

workflow like they're slow for this or

they struggle to hire people then you

might be able to have a good startups

idea born from that but if you're uh a

guy just like me and you spend most of

your time home and you just want to

build apps chances are you don't really

have a problem that can be solved with a

digital product so the way to find good

startups IDs is to actually to build

something anything rebuild a habit

tracker that you use make a not taking

app a grocery app for you and your

family build anything along the way

you're going to stumble across problems

whether it's not knowing how to

implement this feature or struggling

with DNS Rec course or maybe it's even a

marketing issue and you don't know where

to launch your startups and these

problems will give you tons of startups

ideas so the way to find good ideas is

to think less and build more all right

now let me show you the text tack I use

and how I build a product in 7 days and

let's start with a quick demo of the

software okay so this is the demo of

inso the little feedback management tool

I created this is the landing page I

like to make interactive demo on the

left so the cards are clickable and this

is the landing page here for the feature

part I like to have some interactivity

so it makes people want to discover more

so if you hover with your mouse you'll

see all the little thing moving here and

there and that's pretty much it for the

landing page uh once you are signed up

as an admin you will see all the

feedback boards right here so this is

the one that I use for inso as an admin

I can change a few stuff here so I can

change the themes to match my brand I

can also uh manage the feedback that are

being given by users uh this one was

canceled because I fixed it I can change

say that I'm working on this one or I

Shi that feature and then there is a

public uh dashboard link where on the

right side we have all the features

suggested by users once they're logged

in they can uh click to upot them they

can also suggest any features they want

right here and they can have a

conversation on each uh feedback given

if they uh want to add more things there

so here is the text tack I use to build

this software and this is the exact same

text tack I use for all my 23 websites

when I don't change my text tack I don't

procrastinate and I can focus on

shipping features and product it's a

nextjs repo so the front end and as well

as the back end I have the little API

routes by nextjs everything is handled

with next I also use tawin CSS instead

of CSS as well as Daisy UI for the

components so things like uh the buttons

the inputs and the forms my database is

mongodb I hear you coming super base

developers I don't know why mongodb gets

so much hate I absolutely love it I

click a button deploy a cluster I have

it little string I add it to my code and

boom it's working and the cluster is

hosted on mongodb Atlas to authenticate

users whether it's uh admin users uh who

log to their actual dashboard or it's

just users who want to provide feedback

I'm using NEX oath it's a very simple

library that has a bunch of social

authentification providers so uh Google

Facebook and GitHub for instance and I

also always add a login by email so like

a magic links and for that I use mail

gun to send those emails there are tons

of developers who don't really like mail

gun I really love it it's super simple

to get started and they have pay as you

go service so for $1 you'll get 1,000

emails which I think is really fair it

took me around 7 days to build the

product and this is not very common

especially for software Engineers is

because I make lots of trade-off first I

remove a bunch of features that are not

uh essential so there is no way for

people to delete their account to

retrieve their password or stuff like

that and my second trick is that I don't

use a bunch of software engineer tools

so there is no typescript I ship

straight to production I don't use G

branches I don't test my code I I make

all these trade-offs so I can ship

faster I come from a developer

background so I used to do stuff very

slowly very securely I spent years

building apps that made zero to

sometimes a couple hundred bucks but

nothing crazy but after years getting

almost no results I changed my entire

mindset and I focus more on shipping

fast and having a better copyrighting on

my landing page and surprisingly at the

same time my Revenue went from not being

able to pay the bills to about 50 to

150k per month at the moment because

entrepreneurship is about making small

bets and you can see the pattern applies

to most successful solo prur out there

they start to ship one tiny feature of a

product and sometimes nothing happens

sometimes it takes off and go viral and

then at this moment they double down on

it and they grow a big company my advice

is this try to show the smallest version

of your product to the world as fast as

you can that's how you gather genuine

feedback and know if it's worth or not

your time and now that we're talking

about one of the most exciting part it's

time for a little coffee I usually

launch on every platform so product hunt

RIT hiker news and Twitter at the same

time and the goal is to create some kind

of momentum and get as much traffic as I

can in about one day but I made a little

mistake I normally schedule all my post

on Twitter to make sure they go right on

time when the product hunt launch starts

and one of my good friend was in budy

for just a week so I really wanted to

see him you might know him already it's

tibo maker one of the most prolific

Indie hicker out there he's built a

Twitter tool that he grew to

$600,000 in monthly recurring revenue

and he sold it for $9 figures he's an

absolutely Legend as he was here for

just a week we were having a lunch at

the same time as I was launching and

during the lunch with tibo one of my

close friend Nik called me and said the

product hunt link on Twitter is wrong

and I didn't know if my computer had

nothing with me besides my phone so my

friend chibo gave me his computer and

together during the launch we fixed the

launch all right enough of this here's

the launch strategies all right first

Twitter is the most important part of my

strategy because this is where most of

my potential users are and they're also

very active on product ton so can help

leverage the launch on that platform as

well I usually try to make one funnyish

video you'll tell me if it's fun or not

um where I say that I'm launching the

startups and I give the product hunt

link so people can see the products

through product hunt and hopefully they

will leave an up vote when they see the

product the reason I'm making these

funny launch videos is because first

they do well on X at the

moment videos X doing well it's kind of

weird the second part is because I love

making those videos I'm having a good

time and I hope people can see that and

so my tweet is more likely to perform

well now that I have close to 100,000

followers on Twitter it's tempting to

think that it's easy for me to launch

and it's not easy it's just easyer I

started to make those fun launch videos

when I had a couple hundred followers on

Twitter and back then my tweet would get

as many views and many likes as my

tweets right now even though I had

barely any audience there so even though

you don't have a big audience on Twitter

right now you can still make a nice

interesting tweet for for people to

discover your product those fun launch

videos were my style and I absolutely

love it but you can also be just show

behind the scene make a video show your

computer screen explain why you build

the products if you're a person who make

and launch app your life is so cool that

there are many things you can share on

Twitter you just have to find the right

format and find your own signature so as

I said before most of the launch

strategy relies on product hunt I

already made a video on my channel last

week to show you exactly how you can get

traffic and how you can optimize your

product hunt launch you can refer to

that and finally I launched on hiker

news and on Reddit those are two

platform that if you get lucky the post

can go viral and can give you a bunch of

traffic uh unfortunately this time I was

not one of the lucky ones but definitely

worth considering all right now let's

talk about numbers the product has been

on the internet for about 2 days now and

there are 7,000 people who visited the

site from product hun Twitter Reddit and

hiker news 1.5 th000 people sign up for

the product which is really big and I

also got some really positive feedback

especially from Peter levels one of the

most prolific Indie maker out there who

said the product is amazing and he loves

the Simplicity of it yay that makes me

so proud I also got the badge the

product hunt of the Day badge from

product hunt which is a good nice social

proof for my website and this is just

the beginning I hope that some Media or

newsleter will probably check the

content of product hunt and I might get

more traffic later financially wise I

spent $0 and I also made 0 as you've

seen there is no pricing on the product

is 100% % free for now I'm going to

leave it as it is for free and what I'm

doing in the reason there is no pricing

uh which is very unusual if you've been

following me I always uh say that we

should add a pay Woll on websites first

this is a bit special because I'm not

disrupting anything I'm just taking an

existing product and I'm making a

simpler version of it and I think it's

not fair for now to start charging for a

simplicity so what I'm trying to do is

I'm putting the product in as many hands

as I can for free and I see how sticky

it is um I'm looking for power users I'm

looking for people who will use the

product for month and either love it or

tell me that it's solving one of their

pain and then from that I will be able

to know if it's worth opening a paid

plan on the product and building more uh

features for those users so for now I'm

collecting feedback and waiting to see

for an opportunity all right that's it

for this video if you want to see the

other 23 products I made I'll share a

link to that video somewhere around here

and if you like this video consider

subscribing to the channel that really

means a lot all right until the next one

I hope you just ship it