Formerly Software Ideas. Now helping small businesses win with AI.
Joined December 2013
- Tweets 2,247
- Following 178
- Followers 2,681
- Likes 1,931
121 Photos and videos
Pinned Tweet
7 Oct 2020
Today marks three months of Software Ideas!
I wrote a retrospective, summarizing how I created, discovered, validated, and grew Software Ideas to $6k MRR in only three months. Check it out!
indiehackers.com/post/how-i-โฆ
5
14
123
AI is killing the business models for Open Source companies ๐ฅ
Starting with orgs that donโt have a hosted upsell like Tailwind, but any company whose business model is โconvenience as an upsellโ should be in full-blown panic.
Hereโs 6 solutions: ๐งต
Jan 8
Tailwind lays of 75% of their team. the reason is so ironic:
> their css framework became extremely popular w AI coding agents, 75m downloads/mo
> that meant nobody would visit their docs where they promoted paid offerings
> resulting in 40% drop in traffic & 80% revenue loss
1
1
3
1,317
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
3 Oct 2020
I honestly think founders are too quick to build an MVP.
I see a lot of readers want to jump right to building, instead of talking to leads, learning how to speak their language, and learning how to market and sell to that audience.
18
16
126
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
5 Sep 2021
I'm pretty sure that this post is still the single most valuable resource I've given away on the internet.
indiehackers.com/post/my-notโฆ
3
10
48
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
18 May 2021
Businesses that have to explain to users why they are valuable CAN be successful... but YOU shouldn't make one.
(Quick Thread...)
1
2
13
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
18 Aug 2021
My hottest take is that I believe 99% of bootstrapped founders should be doing pre-sales.
Here's some advice I gave to a peer on Indie Hackers that explains why I feel so strongly about it:
(Thread)
2
14
58
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
10 Sep 2020
"Find an audience" <- Wrong.
Can you imagine trying to 'find an audience' in real life? Walk around the streets until you find one?
You build an audience by doing useful or interesting things.
Start by finding a MARKET, and do useful things until an audience finds you.
15
28
187
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
31 Jul 2020
The must-read business books for founders:
* The Mom Test by @robfitz
* Obviously Awesome by @aprildunford
There's 50 more that are great, but these are the two that you need to read even if you HATE reading.
No excuses to not have read these two.
18
8
115
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
24 Sep 2020
It's always interesting to me when I get compliments for being a "good marketer". I'm an introverted developer by nature, so it's a huge compliment!
Just goes to show that it's a skill that can be learned.
5
2
73
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
3 Jan 2022
If you enjoy my thoughts on business, you may want to follow @SoftwareIdeasIO - I'll be moving a lot of my analysis there!
2
14
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
12 Jul 2021
The simplest checklist that I can think of for evaluating a product idea:
1) When your ideal customer hears about it, do they say, "Shut up and take my money!"
2) Do you have a way to get a lot of ideal customers to hear about it?
If both are a "yes," you have a good idea!
4
7
70
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
29 Mar 2022
Your first time writing CSS as a startup founder:
"Hmm, maybe I should consider BEM or SMACSS for my naming conventions? I want to make sure my CSS is clean and robust..."
Your 100th time writing CSS as a startup founder:
1
2
1
28 Mar 2022
The Software Ideas audience is 96.6% male. I imagine that it's a reflection of the larger startup audience in general.
What can we do as a community to encourage more female bootstrappers?
3
25 Mar 2022
I talk a lot about โproduct risksโ - risks that a product canโt be built, even if there is market demand for it.
A lot of founders donโt get the concept at first, but I think I just found a good example ๐
25 Mar 2022
Startup idea: A startup that specializes in bringing back dead pets to life
3
Kevin Conti ๐บ๐ฆ retweeted
23 Mar 2022
Submissions for the first ever "Glam That Plugin" series are open now!
Better yet, the smart and saavy @lesley_pizza will be co-hosting as well!
If you want a free marketing audit of your free/mium WP plugin, fill out the form and watch your inbox!
mattcromwell.com/glam-that-pโฆ
28 Feb 2022
I'm considering doing a regular series where I take random free plugins from the Directory and do a walkthrough of how I'd market it or approach monetizing it.
I'm taking suggestions for the series name. And also would love to hear if you think it's a TERRIBLE idea or not.
3
12
17
23 Mar 2022
Really great article by @GeoffTRoberts, check it out!
outseta.com/posts/the-unspokโฆ
1
1
1
23 Mar 2022
Geoff, I've been thinking about a lot of similar things to what you've written here, especially around the psychological struggles of being a bootstrapper. Great content!
1