Episode 687 | An 8th Thing You Should Never Do, Things That Don't Scale, and More Rob Solo Topics

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Nov 14, 2023

Rob Walling dives into the pitfalls founders should avoid, adding a crucial item to his list. He critiques Meta’s new ad-free subscription services for Facebook and Instagram, sparking an interesting discussion. The conversation then shifts to the value of manual processes in startups, highlighting insights from Paul Graham about the importance of doing things that don’t scale. Real-world examples showcase how manual onboarding and direct customer interactions can help validate ideas while building a strong foundation for growth.

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ADVICE

Focus on Your Funded Project

Never take funding and then start side projects.
Focus is crucial for startup success, and spreading your efforts across multiple projects is detrimental when you have investors.

ADVICE

Premium Subscriptions

Consider offering premium, ad-free versions of your products.
This allows users who value an ad-free experience to pay, while others can still use the free, ad-supported version.

ADVICE

Manual Onboarding and Billing

Manually onboard your first customers to understand their needs and pain points.
Delay coding non-essential features like billing until you've validated your product and identified areas for improvement.

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In episode 687, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where discusses a variety of topics. He revisits a recent episode to add one more item to the list of things founders should never do. Rob also offers a hot take on Meta’s new subscription plans and weighs in on a Hacker News post about doing things that don’t scale.

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Topics we cover:

1:50 – There’s one more thing that founders should never do
8:44 – Facebook and Instagram will offer a subscription for no ads
12:42 – Ask HN: Paul Graham’s “Do Things That Don’t Scale”
19:53 – Lugg, doing what it takes to prove out an idea

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If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!

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