Hello there
This is the #22 Issue of Weekly Dan.
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This issue is brought to you by The Bootstrapped Way
Daniel (cool name, btw) extracted the main growth insights from 120+ startups.
Save yourself 40 hours of research. Find the most effective strategies Startup Founders are using to grow their businesses right now.
Mistakes are not your enemy
Founders are taught to make fewer mistakes.
They spend months reading guides to “prevent stupid mistakes” instead of building the product.
But here is the harsh truth.
You need to make mistakes.
This is the only way to succeed.
That’s why I collected 5 mistakes that every Founder should make.
I’ve made them all. This experience made me a better Maker.
1) Chasing cheap customers
We’ve made our product 50% cheaper.
Competitors have no chance.
Wrong. You will just attract customers that only care about the price.
As soon they discover a cheaper product, they will leave you.
But this is a good starting point. Only Founders who have worked with cheap customers can genuinely appreciate high-ticket customers.
So, go and make your product cheaper. Or even free!
2) Copying competitors
They launched a podcast.
We need it too!
Wrong. You don’t know their context and goals. Your product is different, and it requires a different set of tactics.
You can’t win your competitors if you only look at their backs.
This mistake will make your marketing weeks chaotic. But it will also make you calmer about the competition. Great trade-off.
3) Relying too much on vision
I experience this problem daily.
I know exactly what product to build.
Wrong. Your vision is helpful for the first version. But the more you rely on it, the more you build the product for yourself.
Early adopters are just like you. But the early majority is already very different. They need different features and marketing tactics.
You can only understand it by talking to them. These insights will adjust your vision to reality.
4) Focusing on the top of the funnel
Let’s launch on HackerNews, Reddit, Product Hunt, BetaList, and Twitter.
We need more traffic to get paying customers!
Wrong. These users will come, spend one minute on your landing page and leave. No changes in MRR.
You don’t need more users. You don’t need brand awareness.
Start with a converting landing page and a product that users actually love.
This way, you will be sure that new traffic will be monetized and not lost.
50 daily visitors and 5 sales > 1000 visitors and 1 sale
5) Building a product that is “scalable”
But what if 100 000 user will come?
This feature will break! Let’s make it more scalable.
Wrong. It’s way more likely that your biggest problem will be 0 users.
In my previous startup, I spent months and thousands of $ on features that 10 users used. But they were scalable as hell.
Going lean is the only way for Indie Entrepreneurs. Shutting down a one-week MVP is easier than 6-month MVP that is scalable.
That’s it!
What do you think about today’s issue? Hit me with a reply.
And see you on Friday with the usual 5 golden nuggets for Indie Makers.
Absolutely not a CTA 🙃
1) Learn more marketing frameworks with MakerBox Framework.
Now with a sexy bundle — get Tools, Frameworks, and Workbook for one price.
2) Let me roast your landing page.
It will be painful. You will love it.
3) Ask me anything (new 🔥)
Let’s solve your challenge together. Asynchronous and live options.