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I have worked in the HR domain for 6+ years now. As a leader too, some of my biggest mistakes at Localoye (250+ employees startup I founded) as a CEO were people related.
In 2019, I started working remotely, and then the 2020 lockdowns accelerated the remote work phenomena. So when I quit my job in December 2019, I knew the exact problem I wanted to solve
- After quitting job, explored ideas for a while and decided on starting off in the HR space with a Slack app
- Started code in April 2020. Recruited a few early beta partners. Worked with them in May. Launched on Producthunt in June
- Launched another major feature on September 2020 (Icebreakers)
Failure - Not able to grow / sustain Localoye after raising $5 Million, a team of 250+ employees and presence in 3 cities
These days? Very less - Averaging 15 hours in a week
In January - plan to get back to 40 hour weeks
In the past - was very crazy - 80+ hours easily
Success - I have finally learned how to learn things and get better 1% better everyday
I self learned to code when I turned 30
Last year, I self learned the Ukulele over the internet
Social media mainly
Idea (spend time on this, it matters a lot!)
Validation of the idea (do bit of market research, quickly launch MVP in 2-3 weeks and test it out)
Polish the positioning (who is this for?)
Find scalable distribution channels (how will they find you while you sleep?)
PH - good traffic, but poor quality
SaaS
Grow revenue - organic installs from social media and word of mouth
Challenges - learning to balance personal with business. I suffer from Ankylosing Apondylitis which makes desk work difficult, and I have to take immunosupressant injections every few months to counter it
Goals - get to FIRE (financial independence, retire early)
Organic word of mouth + social media
I reach out to all customers on social media + ask phone numbers and then add them on Whatsapp
Product feedback - is the only way you can go from idea to PMF
Running a business is like any other skill. You get better at it with practice
Books - It doesnt have to be crazy at home
Dont quit your job.
Learn to code. Launch a small project (max 2-3 weeks work)
Find 10 customers to sign up with you. Take feedback from them.
if you want to increase your chances of success (in b2b SaaS) -- try to stick to the boring markets. The more old, proven, crowded they are - the better because the problem is already validated.
You just have to do 1% better than others.
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