The startup world is changing fast, and it's exciting.
This post is all about these big changes. If you're into startups, or thinking of starting something yourself, these are the patterns you need to know.
Let's get into it and see what's new and what it means for you.
MVP speed (1x per month)
Building minimum viable products has gotten fast. Real fast. From Toyota Camry to Porsche 911.
It's entirely feasible to create a fully-functioning product each month, and it's something I recommend.
By creating MVPs, you discover what speaks to customers and what doesn't. More MVPs means more shots on goals.
More shots on goals, means more chance of hitting product/market fit.
Something every entrepreneur is looking for.
2. Superniche is the new niche
The popular saying “there are riches in the niches” doesn’t work anymore.
2024 and beyond: build superniche products (aka very vertical products)
Superniche just means really micro niche. Take your niche audience and focus on 10% of it.
The beauty about superniche is you can always expand up the chain to go niche and eventually non-niche.
Just because you are superniche doesn’t mean you aren’t thinking big.
3. AI-accelerated is the norm
I’m astonished at how many people just use ChatGPT and say they use AI.
There is so much more.
Look at your entire way of conducting business. Where can you use AI to accelerate your workflow? How can you use AI to build your products faster?
AI is caffeine for your business. Fuel for the tank.
4. Community 1st, software 2nd
The old way of doing things was build software first, then build a community second.
But nowadays, it almost always makes sense to start by building a community first, and then build software (or a product) to sell them.
Less risk because you know what to build and for who. And plus, you’ve got a line of customers waiting for you instead of scrambling to find customers.
I call this model the ACP funnel. You start by building an internet audience on social, convert to a free community on a platform like Skool, Facebook Groups or WhatsApp and then you build a product for them.
You can learn more about the ACP funnel by watching my ACP playlist on YouTube or joining our paid membership Community Empire (people landing their dream job or building their dream company).
5. No-code 1st, some code 2nd
Your first version should have no code. If you have custom code in your minimum viable product, you’ve launched too late.
6. 10x more automated
How you automate dictates how you are able to grow and scale.
In a world where Zapier connects you to 6000 apps before you hire someone, see if you can automate.
And looking at each employee and seeing how you can automate, will multiply performance.
7. Global teams, localized products
Hiring just in your town makes sense if you own a restaurant, but if you’re building a business powered by the internet, it almost always makes sense to hire globally.
I love how my friend Niko Bonatsos puts it: “Talent is universal, but opportunity isn't”
The talent is out there, you just have to find them.
And global talent means a better margin for you while giving people a cool opportunity.
8. $1m+ revenue per employee
With the leverage of AI, community and code, employees are way more efficient.
It won’t be uncommon to generate $1m per employee.
It used to be high-status to brag how many employees you have on your team. In the new world, the new high-status thing is what your revenue per employee is.
9. Popup apps
Imagine there's an app that doesn't stick around all the time. It pops up now and then, in certain places, and you've gotta be there to catch it. This could be in a VR world where you strap on your headset and step into a special spot. Or, it's like a treasure hunt on your phone, where the app only works at specific times, kinda like a shop that opens and shuts its doors at certain hours. Think of it as exclusive drops or flash sales but in app form.
This is taking the digital world and giving it a real-life twist, making some moments and spots super special because you can't just get them anytime you want.
Popup apps are about to make our online adventures way more interesting, making sure you stay on your toes for the next cool thing to pop up.
10. Needs the marketing holy-trinity to hit escape velocity
Gone are the days of “I just need product/market fit”. You need more:
content/market fit so you’ve got built-in distribution
community/market fit so you’ve got built-in retention
product/market fit so you’ve got a product people will talk about at their dinner table
11. Accelerated by “boring marketing”
I think we’ll see a resurgence in a bunch of “boring” ways to build customers too. SEO as an example is having a comeback. People are realizing becoming ad-dependent or dependent on social platforms is like living in quicksand.
Note: I use BoringMarketing for my AI-assisted SEO. I invested in the company after I saw the results on getting thousands of organics visits on my websites.
12. More “multipreneurs”, multiple revenue streams
In a world, where you can create products quickly, multiple revenue streams will be the norm.
Instead of entrepreneurs just creating products, they’ll be creating portfolios of products.
They will be known as multipreneurs, people who create multiple products, multiple companies.
13. Design matters. Bar is high
I tweeted today that all websites look the same. It’s the same problem we have with cars looking the same, cities looking the same, coffee shops looking the same and even weddings looking the same. I’ve written about this before as the “fast-foodification of the internet”.
But, it’ll be the companies that stand out via design that really outperform. It’s a “cheap” way to stand out. Design a website, social assets, landing pages that spark intrigue. Intrigue leads people down the rabbit holes you want.
Note: I use Dispatch to design everything like this email or the Late Checkout website. Book a free call with them (you'll see it on the website).
14. Partnered with creators (creators are the distribution)
Creators are still mispriced and people are realizing it. Building a company with a creator will be more common than building a company without one.
15. Feels like a game (levels, status, badges, in-app currency, challenges, collectibles/items)
If you want human beings to do something, make it feel like a game.
Especially to gen-z, wrapping your products with social causes will not only create impact for the world around you, but also your bottom line.
You'll see more and more products with a social impact angle.
17. 99% of MVPs won't need VC
The default funding mechanism will be bootstrapped for tech startups. It’ll be putting up a low cost MVP, partnering with a creator, using AI/automations/global talent to fuel fulfillment and scaling from there.
18. Competition is about to go way up
In a world where the cost to create is nearing zero, you’ll be competing against 10x-100x the competition.
It’s daunting, but it's the reality when it becomes so easy to create and distribute software, code and media.
I hope this has been fruitful for you.
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Next up, bookmarks I saved this week worth reading
Take note. Fun prompt: pick 3 most interesting spaces for you and brainstorm 3 startup ideas.
#4
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." — Scott Adams
The founder of this $75M company gave me and you his best startup ideas
I sat down Alex Lieberman, co-founder of MorningBrew and StoryArb and we jammed a bunch of free startup ideas you can take.
You can listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube (fun fact: at the end of the video you'll see my horrible haircut)
Enjoy!
P.S: Are you in Community Empire? If you believe in the future of startups, it's where you need to be.
The membership includes:
Research: monthly email with 2-3 niches and startup ideas based on our research
Community: Work alongside some of the most innovative creators (includes live events and sessions)
FREE Skool subscription to create your own community (worth $99/month on its own)
Get feedback on your startup from fellow builders
Get new ideas, vent & rant
Thousands of dollars of discounts on tools like Descript to Notion
Private Q&As/masterclasses with people like Andrew Wilkinson on holding companies to David Spinks on building community to Andrew Gazdecki on buying a business.
Quick announcement: I thought you should know that we'll be increasing prices to $150/month starting March 1st.
The current $99/month price was bringing in too many people, so we're trying to keep the community limited to extremely high quality builders.
Do you want to join and get grandfathered into the old price? 300 legends have joined.
Thank you for reading Greg's Letter. I hope you found it valuable. Forward to a friend if you did or share on social to get others thinking.
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