Hey bootstrappers,

You’ve heard of the chicken or egg dilemma, but what about the audience or product?

Traditionally, you’d build a product and then sell it. But with so many companies vying for your audience’s attention, your voice can get lost unless you can afford to amplify it. 

Some entrepreneurs get around this problem by building their audience first. You might start a blog, write Twitter threads, or be that person on the forum with the answer to everything. 

Once you’ve built an audience by being helpful, it’s warmer to your sales messages. Listening to people’s wants, needs, hopes, and fears offers countless product ideas, too.

Then all you need to do is build a product, share it, and refine it with feedback. Sounds simple enough, but it doesn’t always work out that way (as this week’s founders show).

Which do you think is better: product-first or audience-first?

Chris Roper

Managing Editor

How Moving to Japan Led to Culture Shock, Love, and a Six-Figure Business for This Expat Founder

Eric Turner met his cofounder and wife, Manami, after emigrating to Tokyo. Together, they built a list of the best places to work in Japan, helping expats find rewarding employment.

After graduating in Japanese and Computer Science, Eric Turner eschewed a life behind a desk in favor of exploring Japan as an English teacher. One year later, he moved to Tokyo to pursue a job in engineering, discovering that expats unfamiliar with Japanese culture struggled to fit in.

He began compiling a list of companies where expats would thrive and shared it on Reddit. Then with Manami’s help, they built a website where expats could leave reviews of their experiences, which became the earliest version of their future job board, Japan Dev.

“The first twelve months were tough. Manami and I would finish our day jobs and work on the site. We’d get questions from companies during the day and respond at night, updating their job listings and fixing bugs. Japan Dev finally started earning revenue toward the end of 2020.”

Wins 👍

1. Adapting to cultural expectations. Rather than irk the companies they wanted as clients, Eric and Manami removed the reviews section to avoid alienating prospects.

2. Charging less than traditional recruiters. Now the Japanese workforce changes employers more often, it’s cheaper for employers to hire through a job board than a traditional recruiter.

3. Using case studies and testimonials. Japan Dev draws visitors to the site using SEO and then converts them with social proof.

Challenges 🤔

1. B2B marketing tactics. Eric spent so much time marketing to employers, not job applicants, that they didn’t earn a single commission in their first year.

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Challenge Accepted: Don’t Settle for a Job or Startup That Fails to Bring You the Happiness (or Revenue) You Need

After several failed startups, Tom Hunt won success with a B2B podcasting business, Fame, by capitalizing on his newsletter audience to make over $100,000 in MRR.

From chemistry to consulting, Tom Hunt led a meandering career before experimenting with entrepreneurship. He landed modest success with a marketplace connecting CEOs with virtual assistants but sold it after burning out trying to make his first million dollars in three years.

He continued experimenting with a friend before finally accepting a job at Ebsta to run their inbound and outbound marketing campaigns. Here, he realized how easy it was to get clients on a podcast he’d started. That’s when Fame, a B2B podcasting service, crystallized.

“We suddenly had our best customers come into our office to get interviewed where before they’d ignored us. I thought this was the holy grail of B2B marketing: you have this attributable ROI from relationships with guests. You also get long-term brand-building benefits.”

Wins 👍

1. Building an audience with a newsletter. By sharing marketing tips and strategies with other B2B marketers, he compiled a database of leads for Fame when it launched.

2. Inviting customers as guest speakers. Tom won clients’ trust by making them feel like their opinions mattered, overcoming even the staunchest objections.

3. Winning his employer as a client. Since Tom’s first podcasting success was as an employee of Ebsta, it made sense that they hire him when he left to start Fame.

Challenges 🤔

1. Engaging sales executives. Managers and c-suite hold great disdain for sales calls, which is why Tom spent time building his audience by being helpful in his newsletter.

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This Director and Producer Are Revolutionizing Remote Production to Build a Six-Figure Startup

Combining everything you need to record pro videos from anywhere, Studiobox was born during the pandemic when Hollywood shut down and the film industry needed help.

Movie industry veterans Ian Smith and Max Ostrove were stuck at home like everyone else when Covid put Hollywood filmmakers on lockdown. Some, like Ian’s wife, continued their work on Zoom but with such poor production quality that Ian saw a business opportunity.

With the help of his friend Max, Ian got working on a prototype Studiobox that included production equipment like cameras, lights, and cabling to give those filming from home a pro finish – without needing a technician. But like all products, getting it right is never easy.

“When the box arrived, things had come unplugged, and it was nowhere close to plug and play. I got on a zoom with a technical guy on the other end. I had to walk him through plugging everything back in – this was the same thing we were trying not to do.”

Wins 👍

1. Teaching himself about dropkits. Ian spent months online learning how to build a studio in a box that would boost production value for remote filmmakers. 

2. Bringing in an SFX friend to help with the design. Their friend the “Wizard” who’d worked on The Mandalorian helped hardwire everything so it survived shipping.

3. Building self-operating software. To scale, Ian and Max are building software to help people operate the equipment independently, making it a true plug-and-play product anyone can use.

Challenges 🤔

1. Staying relevant after the pandemic. Once Hollywood reopened, the cofounders reframed Studiobox as an all-in-one remote production suite to keep orders coming in.

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