Zero to $Sales in 30 Days · Alternative Assets are Trending · Saving Earth as a Biz Metric

Channing here. Now that we're approaching the 2020 mountaintop, a bigger picture of creative destruction is taking shape. It's a collage of two photos: 2020's destruction on the left, and 2021's creation on the right. (That is, if all goes well with the new COVID-19 vaccines.)

I won't call 2021 "the year of the startup," because let's face it: it's the 21st century, and every year is the year of the startup. But we are in the midst of a new boom:

And make no mistake: some of those VC-backed startups will have a bit of trouble in the staffing department. Because the excitement fueling Big Tech is fueling Indie Tech as well.

On to the newsletter (browser version here). Here's what you'll find in this issue:

• You've got 30 days to build a product and make a sale. Can you do it? Because this indie hacker did.
• In the news: Slack joining Salesforce? Courtland gossips about Y Combinator culture. Stripe eyes $70bn+ valuation.
• While you were shopping on Black Friday, marketing expert Harry Dry was taking notes on everyone's promotional strategy. Cheat off his test!
• Investing in stocks and other mainstream assets can be a struggle. Learn about a trending investment alternative that offers unexpected opportunities.
• 188,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. Learn about the indie hacker whose main metric relates to saving the planet.

Special thanks to Halden Ingwersen, Pete Codes, Dru Riley, Harry Dry, Ben Issenmann, and Wes Bos for contributing to this newsletter. Want to contribute a piece of your own? Check out this doc for an idea of what I'm looking for. —Channing

⏳ Zero to Sales in 30 Days

by Halden Ingwersen of The Deep Dive

If you had 30 days to get your business off the ground or give up on it forever, could you do it?

Because that's exactly what Ben Issenmann did this spring:

Going from zero to making sales in just four weeks is a daunting task no matter when you do it. But here Ben was, trying to do all of this in May 2020.

If you don't remember, not much was happening back in May. No biggie. Just worldwide lockdowns as COVID-19 ramped up, protests against police violence and brutality across the United States, and record high unemployment.

During a time when most people were stressed out beyond belief and businesses were failing nationwide, Ben decided to take on a completely voluntary challenge and try to get his product going.

So what did he do first? Where do you even start a project like this?

By the end of the month, he had created Supercreative: an all-in-one resource for creatives of all types featuring tutorials, expert-taught courses, templates, articles, tools, and online events.

But he hadn't simply created the new project. He'd also found tens of users and gotten them to open their wallets to the tune of thousands of dollars. People didn't just like Supercreative. They loved it.

So how the hell did he validate his idea so quickly and effectively? The secret, as it so often is, was all about doing something that didn't scale:

Once he realized what he was onto, Ben was addicted, and there was no going back. But in order to go forward, he would need a lot more than a LinkedIn announcement.

And the marketing approach he put together after those first 30 days has been effective, to say the least:

To find out more about how Ben has grown Supercreative from just a few users to a couple thousand, read the full interview.

📰 In the News

💰 $5k in a week: An indie hacker talks about monetizing a community for developer bloggers.

📹 Courtland talks YC culture: Courtland and Jason Calacanis discussed YC culture and how to be an indie hacker on the podcast This Week in Startups.

💸 Salesforce might acquire Slack: Will this make indie hackers host communities elsewhere?

🐘 PHP 8 is out: The unfashionable coding language that powers Pieter Level's wealth gets an upgrade.

📬 Sam Parr sends "mistake" email: A creative way to announce his paid newsletter Trends is on sale.

🎙 Mubs is on the Indie Hackers podcast: Courtland talks to the prolific maker.

💻 CSS Scan update released: Easily copy and paste any website's CSS.

📈 Stripe could be worth $70bn: Rumor has it the payments platform is seeking a new funding round.

🧳 Tech CEOs are leaving SF: Austin, LA and Denver are attracting CEOs leaving the Bay area for financial and political reasons.

🧠 Harry's Growth Tip

by Harry Dry of Marketing Examples

Wes Bos's Black Friday email is a lesson in copywriting.

Go here for more more short, sweet, practical marketing tips. Discuss this story with other indie hackers.

📈 Alternative Assets are Trending

by Dru Riley of Trends.vc

Problem

Mainstream assets (stocks, bonds, real estate) tend to trade in efficient markets. It's hard to find an edge when others have the same access and information.

Solution

Alternative assets (tax deeds, sports cards, fine art) have access and information problems. They may be illiquid, volatile, hard to authenticate and value. But every problem presents an opportunity.

Players

1. Wine
2. Watches
3. Art
4. Facebook Groups
5. Music Royalties
6. NFTs
7. Instagram Accounts
8. Domain Names
9. Whisky
10. Spotify Playlists

Predictions

• Alternative assets will become more accessible. Vinovest (wine), Otis (collectibles) and Masterworks (fine art) give us access to alternative assets.
• Transaction costs will drop. Marketplaces, like Swapd, save time and sometimes broker fees by moving deals from DMs to public listings. Fractional ownership platforms sidestep 25% premiums from auction houses like Sotheby's.
• Influencers will exert more control over alt prices. See Logan Paul and Pokemon. Gary V and Sports Cards. Jack Dorsey and Bitcoin. Buffett, like Binance, also bumps prices.

Go here to get the Trends Pro report. It contains 200% more insights. You also get access to the entire back catalog and the next 52 Pro Reports. Discuss this story with other indie hackers.

🌎 Saving the Planet as a Business Metric?

by James Fleischmann of Milestone Road

188,000 pounds of CO2 removed from our atmosphere. That's the metric that counts for Ben Sterne of Oco ($410/mo). Here's why:

Join Milestone Road to peak behind the curtain of the latest Indie Hackers milestones. Discuss this story with other indie hackers.

🏁 Enjoy This Newsletter?

Tell me how I can make it better! Or help me out by contributing to it directly.

Go here to discuss this issue with other indie hackers. —Channing