​

My 2013 essay, This is Web Page, has been top of Reddit for the past day. It's wonderful to see that, eight years later, it still resonates!

(Welcome new subscribers! 👋)

Today, I wanted to share three things that have resonated with me lately.

1. The founder of MailChimp sits down for an interview

Everyone should know Ben Chestnut's story. Today, MailChimp is a massive success, with over $800 million in annual revenues, but not everyone knows how they got there.

It's especially heartening to hear that even Ben struggled in his first company (a web agency):

Again, the whole episode is worth hearing. I listen in Overcast.

2. Marie Poulin's most vital channel

My friend Marie is having an incredible year. A Notion power-user, she started sharing her tips in 2019 and the response was electric: "My twitter mentions were on fire."

She responded to that demand by launching Notion Mastery.

I talk a lot about identifying customer demand: the market should already be “pulling” for what you’re building; the demand should already exist.

In Marie's case, this is definitely true: she discovered a pocket of pent-up demand.

Yesterday, I stumbled on this tweet:

She figures 75% of her course sales come from her YouTube channel. It's a good reminder:

1. When people really want instructions, tips, and tutorials: they go to YouTube.
2. Every successful business person I know has found 1-2 channels that deliver most of their results. Finding a marketing channel with momentum is crucial.
3. Being continuously helpful to a group of people looking for help can be a great way to build your platform. Earn their trust!

For my company (Transistor.fm), YouTube is becoming our second most important acquisition channel. It's worth investing in!

3. What motivates people to start a business?

I recently saw a VC tweet: "The best founders aren't motivated by money." 🙄

I couldn't disagree more.

I'm a father of 4 kids. When I was working a regular job, my wife and I struggled to make ends meet.

When I quit my job in 2014 to start my own company, my purpose was to make more money and have more time for my family.

There's no shame in starting a company so you can give your family a better life.

I know many entrepreneurs whose original motivation was to pay for diapers, daycare, and healthcare for their kids.

In my books, that makes them “the best founders.” 💯

Cheers,
Justin Jackson
Co-founder, Transistor.fm​
​@mijustin​

PS: I've assembled a collection of my best articles here.

​

This newsletter is brought to you by ⚡ MegaMaker ⚡
(a private community for bootstrappers)