(in which first-level wins are celebrated and second-level questions are posed)
One of the bigger, un-fun tasks of running a startup is trying to see around the next corner, looking for indications of smooth sailing or massive roadblocks. It can be tough to figure out.
But today, two months after going live as a business, I want to take a moment to appreciate and enjoy our progress so far.
Here’s what I’m really proud of:
- Our tiny team took no investment funds and built this ourselves over four months of development before launch.
- Since launching two months ago, we’ve made our own money back, and more.
- We just got paid for our first spinoff product, with another one on the roadmap.
- Our products help real people do real work, and we already have the glowing testimonials from small businesses to prove it.
- We’re living our mantra, “Work less. Live more.” We don’t work on Wednesdays.
- Nonprofits can now access our full $1,000/month platform for free. We love to give back.
Six big achievements in six months. Honestly, this is more than some million-dollar-funded startups accomplish in a year . . . or ever. It feels great 🙂
It’s also a little stressful. Because now I have to ask the second-level question: Does this first handful of happy clients translate seamlessly into the next 100 happy clients?
Luckily I don’t have to get there tomorrow – 100 clients is the goal by the end of the year. For now I’m focused on getting to 25 clients by July 1st. That’ll give us enough income to pay our rent and keep us in sandwiches while we grow at our own pace.
So my job for May and June is to take a step back from product development and start talking to folks about signing up for our platform. I want to get a ton of people into the free trial so they can see something they’ve never seen before: just how powerful and simple AI tools can be when they’re designed with real users and real work in mind – not overhyped vaporware.
Comment or DM me whenever you want. I’m happy to answer questions, give a demo, or anything else. And if you know of any nonprofits that could use a massive productivity gain for free, send them my way too!
PS – If you host a podcast or tech/biz/AI discussion group or review site, I’m starting to do interviews and talks as well.