If you simply comment, "skill issue," I will hide your reply and block you immediately.
If you use your brain and contribute meaningfully to the discussion, I might respond.
@petecheslock
I found Docker Compose a lot easier to learn to use. I only have 1 server, so that's what I use ๐คท๐ฟโโ๏ธ
I tried k8s and it was overkill, when all I really needed was a "let me configure my app and db in a repeatable way" tool
@baileyberro
I used Java when I was at Google.
I spent a lot of time using C++ on my own projects, but man, I would never use it on the server atp. It has arguably even more footguns than JS/ts
Whatever SaaS business I start after I'm done with Shopify apps...
The price will be at least $49/mo, ideally $99/mo or higher.
Being able to afford scalable marketing approaches (especially PPC ads) is crucial for high growth IMO
This year, I quit my job as a software engineer at Google to start my own SaaS business.
Despite a rough start, in July I finally got my first revenue, by building a
@shopify
app.
In 2024, my goal is to ramp up marketing and hit ramen profitability.
@ShimminyKricket
And a lot of content is about starting the business, not about actually succeeding with one.
Same with business models.
For example, the SaaS subreddit is overloaded with people asking for feedback on their ideas/apps, but rarely any discussions about marketing and sales.
Many customers have probably assumed I was a bot, because I send a welcome message as soon as I notice them install.
I might start waiting ~5-10 minutes before sending.
Removed the free plan in my Shopify app.
1. The people who pay for the app, paid from the start
2. Free users almost never upgrade to paid
3. Free users make up the overwhelming majority of support requests
We'll see how it goes.
Excited to announce that my app, Regios Post Purchase Surveys, is finally listed on the Shopify App Store!
I honestly thought this day would never come.
Next step - pulling out all the stops to market the app and get reviews.
@ThimoDEV
There are MANY, but if I had to pick a few:
- TS compiler allows you to ship broken code out-of-the-box. It's just a bandaid over the poor design of JS
- Subtle differences between TS and Node lead to runtime errors
- Very high # of required dependencies
- Map type [] operator
Finally added a 3rd pricing tier to my app.
I also closed off live chat for the lowest plan.
I was receiving way too many support tickets to be sustainable, and most of those were just feature requests (which have a designated place already).
With the new free time, I can
If you're using ChatGPT to write all your business's content, consider the long-term risk:
Don't you think we'll see accurate AI detectors released in the next few years?
What's going to happen to your SEO rank/email deliverability when that happens?
I always wanted to create my own programming language, with actual users.
My Shopify discount app's advanced logic builder is essentially a visual programming editor.
And yes, it has actual users in production.
Time to check that off the bucket list?
My 2nd Shopify app already has more installs + traction within 24 hours than my previous one.
I also just got off a call with an early adopter who clued me in on how it could have real value for lots of merchants.
Looks like it's time to pivot. ๐
IF YOU HAVE MULTIPLE PASSIONS,
DO NOT,
AND I REPEAT, DO NOT
TRY TO HAVE SEPARATE ACCOUNTS FOR YOUR INTERESTS
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOURSELF IS TO SHOW UP AS YOUR ENTIRE SELF,
EVERY SINGLE DAY
This is a great time to get into Shopify development.
Tons of new APIs that would take a lot of work for incumbents to migrate to, whereas a new app can use them as a point of differentiation from day 1
Solve a real problem and ship fast, and you'll get MRR
The reason I'm still on this site is because of the existing network of entrepreneurs that doesn't exist anywhere else
But I would be lying if I said the casual racism in the business community on here didn't make me consider leaving every day
Getting a small, but steady stream of users in my Shopify app.
One user reached out via live chat to report a bug.
This was a good opportunity to also ask:
- How they found my app
- What problem they were trying to solve
PMF soon?
#buildinpublic
You have no idea how many times I've considered creating a real Shopify store, just so that I can run experiments with discounts and make better content
Shipping my 2nd Shopify app soon, and I learned from my previous mistakes.
This time, I:
- Found an unsolved problem
- Talked to merchants as soon as the MVP was done
- Recruited early adopters to get feedback
- Identified where to promote the app after launch
#buildinpublic
Every day, I deal with the fear that my business will fail, and that I'll have to go back to a job.
Entrepreneurship is as much about survival to me as it is about personal freedom.
Want to save 6 months working on the wrong SaaS idea?
Watch my first YT video in 2 years:
I cover:
- Why "SaaS ideas" don't matter
- How to spot viable opportunities
- Recommended resources
Please RT to share with other founders!
The only way to stay consistent about marketing as a solo founder is to actively *make* time for it, instead of looking for free space between other priorities
It's better to write your posts when the creative juices are flowing than after you're already exhausted
Just finished a customer interview.
- Validated my assumptions about the problem
- Got feedback on pricing
- Committed to meet again next week
- Prospect gave additional feature suggestions
The road to a profitable SaaS business continues...
Your phone is the biggest source of distractions in your life.
To stay focused, I recommend:
- Put the phone in a separate room while working
- Disable all social media notifications
- Respond to DMs/emails at set times, rather than continuously
30-day growth snapshot for Regios:
- Acquisition: New trials up 9.35%
- Activation: Trial-to-paid ratio up 5.08%
- Adoption: 12.5% more new discounts created
- Revenue: MRR up 17.39%
- Retention: Rev. churn down 7.02%
- Referral: 400% increase in new reviews
Should I post
@jamonholmgren
This is also why people have been trying to use Dart on the server for years.
Especially now that Flutter is such a common choice for mobile clients, you could use 1 language, full-stack.
It's a small community, but super passionate.
Decided to get out of the house and work in a cafe today.
It's super energizing to overhear people's conversations about tech and entrepreneurship around me, and a lot less lonely.
Social media is the best way to connect with founders in your space.
But it's the worst way to stay motivated.
Remember that most people only share the wins. If you only go by what you see on your timeline, you would think that every entrepreneur is totally killing it, and
It takes a village to build a business.
I have received so much help from kind people along the way, that has contributed to my growth as an entrepreneur and engineer.
This isn't an exhaustive list at all, but follow these people:
-
@DebMecca
-
@eternerd
-
@faridmovsumov
-
Last night, I had a 45 minute call with someone who had just installed my app.
Sure, these types of calls don't scale, but that conversation gave me info I couldn't get through session recordings:
- Pricing sensitivity
- billing questions
- what people value in a discount app
Decided to face my fear of getting banned on Reddit, and...
Recommended my app to someone who said they were looking for an advanced offer app with lightweight functionality.
Ultimately, if I get banned for that, I don't care, because I would find it unreasonable.
Take any "advice" I give with a grain of salt
I am constantly learning new things, so my opinions change frequently
I'm not a SaaS guru or a teacher, just a guy who is documenting the journey of building his own company
I'm not here to be the most popular account.
I'm here to form connections with a small group of highly ambitious, highly talented peers.
(If you're reading this, that's probably you.)
I so wish I could send a Shopify store a collaborator request via API
This would greatly streamline customer support workflows, as we wouldn't have to log in manually each time
For example, if I'm answering a customer via phone, it's very inconvenient to send a collab request
I budgeted $X000/month, starting in April, to reinvest and grow my business.
- 25% went into hiring a dev to delegate coding to
- 75% is for marketing
Here's how it's going so far:
@baileyberro
I understand.
One of the main reasons for this Tweet was that the TypeScript compiler allows you to ship broken code out-of-the-box, and requires you to manually set flags to catch more errors at build time
The biggest mistake I made in my business in the last 6 months was trying to add new marketing channels instead of just sticking with the 2 that already worked
Even if the other channels "worked" on paper, they consumed valuable time to execute
@ScriptedAlchemy
What libraries are you using for Rust services? I'm willing to trade slower upfront dev speed for a more maintainable, reliable codebase
Those TikTok/YouTube videos bragging about "look at m, I have a $537k net worth at age 32" are way more cringe than they are impressive.
First, there's always someone younger with more than money than you.
Second, having a lot of money doesn't make you an interesting person
@_abi_jasmine_
@mightbeautistic
Once in high school, a teacher called me a "good actor" in reference to a skit I made with classmates.
I was surprised , but looking back, that should have been a sign.
This is the best possible post-uninstall feedback I could have asked for.
Still, it begs the question:
What can I do to prevent losing customers for this reason in the future, besides launching a new product?
I will never sell you a course on building a SaaS business
I simply don't have enough passion for teaching to do that
The main reason I share my learnings is to grow my "luck surface" by gaining exposure
If you have a JS/TS backend, include a "sanity check" script in your Docker build process
It should start your server (on a random port) and immediately exit
The purpose of this is to catch any issues the TS compiler that didn't, and prevent broken images from hitting prod
I don't know what's wilder:
1. It's been an entire 1.5 years since this Tweet
2. It's only been 1.5 years since this Tweet
Persistence and patience pay off!
#buildinpublic
We need a GDPR for mobile phone notifications.
Uber, Instacart, TaskRabbit, etc. should not be able to spam me with promotions unless I opt into non-transactional messaging
Idk who needs to hear this, but NEVER push a releast ro production before bed.
Wait until first thing in the morning.
That way, if it causes any breakages, you'll be awake & alert to revert it ASAP.
Don't waste your time trying not to offend people, especially not on social media.
I promise you, even if you don't pick a fight with anyone, someone will still find a problem with what you're doing.
Just be yourself.
If you want to improve at entrepreneurship, focus on consistency instead of results.
Only sustained effort over a long period will bring you results.
For example, you can't reach 100 sales without having 100 sales calls.
Finally migrating to App Bridge V4.
Direct API access is a great addition that will save lots of time.
No more need to create one-off API endpoints every time I want to request some data from the API.
I'm trying to find a dev on Upwork to help me with development of my app.
I created a small sample project to help me narrow down the list of applicants.
The idea is that if someone can knock this out in an hour, they have what it takes to work with me.
#buildinpublic