I'm launching 12 startups in 12 months
Yep. Inspired by @levelsio I am going to launch 12 well-executed startups in 12 months.
Why?
I spent the last 2 years working on different projects that I never launched because of me being a perfectionist.
Depressions, depression, depression...
In a nutshell, I want to stop wasting my time and get sh*t done.
I wrote a short blog post about my progress that I will continuously update:
https://chriswiso.com/12-startups-in-12-months/
P.S.: I first hesitated to write this post, because it doesn't provide any value to you guys, but you know what? F*ck perfectionism and fear of rejection. Seek discomfort.
Hi Chris,
I've theorized a lot about these type of challenges, and have even started collecting stats on people completing them, see the link below.
Some people will tell you to focus on one product: ignore this. As I see it, these challenges are very effective, and the time constraint is a key factor in promoting that success. A month, as opposed to a weekend hackathon is enough to put together something you can charge for. The main benefits of these challenges are:
1.) Practice in shipping.
2.) Practice in scoping projects to your level of ability.
3.) Quick experiments in product/market fit. You're looking for the right pond to fish in, and doing this more effectively than the person shipping one or two products a year.
4.) These challenges aren't about the product, they're about developing you.
Good luck, are you working on this full time?
I'm adding you to the post below:
https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/is-success-in-12-products-in-12-month-challenges-a-statistical-outlier-3da018c3bb
Wow! Thank you for the motivational words and for adding me to your list. I will make sure to keep you updated on my progress. Yes, I‘m working on this full time 24/7 🙂
Good luck again, Chris.
I've read you're blog post: not being able to code was an obstacle in the past. Though, today, knowing how to code is less of an advantage, certainly not a prerequisite, and in many instances probably a hindrance (see my article, Why Start-ups aren't about the tech.) .
Fellow indiehackers @bentossell and @brentsum have products that are useful for founders like yourself (link below). Knowing the full scope of what you can build, with click and point tools, will pay dividends.
Another advantage I didn't mention is that everybody has a fantasy about doing what you're doing. A well executed content marketing strategy around this will help you. Don't know what I mean: study @andreyazimov (he also was from a non-coding background).
Links:
newco.app
codefree.co
https://www.indiehackers.com/@webapppro/why-start-ups-arent-really-about-the-tech-c9a228dfc4
Your article is amazing! I can relate to it from a different perspective. I never learned how to code, but from the age of 14 to 18 I spent most of my time on affiliate marketing and quick money projects. I was little successful, because all I knew about was marketing, but I knew nothing about building products, content writing and all that. I was only focusing on driving customers. The first thing I always thought about when approaching a new project was the monetization and not how to make the product provide true value. Obviously that approach mostly lead to failure for me. I signed up for your newsletter and I will check your recommendations out once I‘m back home. 🙂
P.S.: Did you release part 2 yet?
Hi Chris,
Good to hear you're going full-time. One last point: platforms like IH are both the best and worst thing to happen to bootstrappers.
They provide motivational support and inspiration: yet they are dangerous in a insidious way, because they make it a lot easier to talk and get excited about start-ups, than actually doing the hard tedious work of building one. Kind of like living in San Francisco or London, where your entire week can be filled with start-up related events, leaving you little time for actual work.
It's like the saying: if you don't have an agenda, you become someone else's.
Do it with a friend and keep each other accountable!
cool, will be happy to follow this. what are your areas of interest in which you plan to start something?
I'll be working on mostly digital marketing related projects. I've been running a successful social media management business for about 2 years now and the goal of my first project is to expand this business. The only project that I am currently working on that is not related to digital marketing, is an e-commerce shop for buddhist malas that I am working on with dad. I'm definitely interested in more projects that are not digital marketing related.
I see the pain, though luckily/unluckily I have never been a perfectionist. BUT ...
I just do not see the point in spending a year pushing out 12 projects doomed to insignificance. Its reminds me of the swings anorexics make into bulimia.
I think you should deal with your perfectionist bug head on. And get a project into the light and growing.
I appreciate your advice, however I have to disagree with you. Indiehackers started as a simple list of interviews with founders of transparent businesses, and now look at what a great place for people like us it has become. What about Nomadlist? What about Minecraft? ... 1 month is just enough time to build the most simple version of an idea and launch it. If it works and people like it, I'll put more effort into the project and it might eventually turn into something big. Obviously that is not going to be the case for all 12 startups, but it's still worth it.
Chris. First off, I just don't want to see you waste 12 months. I must have struck out on 10 projects to every 1 I got a hit on. I know having decided to do something, its hard to give much ear to a doubter. But I did get some hits, and the best hit came after 4 years of just battling away with a vision. Seriously.
Every business starts small. But not every small business gets big. Sure you can launch in a month. Thats not the question. The question is whether a project which you are not really committed to can survive after launch, or even give an indication of its success potential. Most businesses really struggle until they get into the black. And its only the perseverance and vision of the founder that gets it there.
We‘re all different and I‘m not doing this to necessarily create the next big thing. My aim is to improve my own personality and I believe this challenge will be of good use to do that. While your experience of this sort of challenge was not positive, there‘s plenty of people who had great success with it. I‘m not a roboter. If I see that one of my projects is going good, then I‘m certainly going to invest more time into it and not just abandon it to start something new. I don‘t know what‘s going to happen. I guess, learning by doing.
Thx for your input 🙂
When you follow @levelsio 12 startups in 12 months, you will learn:
Launch faster;
Technology doesn't matter;
Fail fast; and
Money motivate you more.
Good luck!
" F*ck perfectionism and fear of rejection" I know exactly what you mean brother! I'm suffering from this exact same disease. its good to see someone breaking out of this curse and actually starting something. I've signed up for your newsletter. you've got a stalker ;) :D
I'm not calling these startups, but I'm launching little service offerings on carrd.co
today's: https://nlistme.carrd.co
I know I can help people and earn money. But, I want to craft an offering I feel really compelled to actually tell people about.
It's one thing to have something people like and will pay for. But, if it doesn't get you out of bed in the morning, it's not going to work.
Wish us all luck as we slide into Q4
I read the title and thought it was weird. Who would want to split focus and "quit" an idea after one month?
But after reading your post and understanding where are you coming from, I totally agree with your decision and wholeheartedly support your initiative.
Agree with your PS too!! The best of luck for you and ship it!
What if they were marketplace apps (e.g. android, iOS, WP plugins, chrome plugins, etc) that could be launched and then need no further support unless they got very popular?
I wouldn't call them "startups", but not every for-profit project has to be big!
Thank you for your support! Your post made me smile 🙂
Chris, have you identified what kind of support you'll need? ( knowing yourself better than we do?)
I'd recommend having a short list of what you know can be distracting for you.
I will definitely have to change my current lifestyle. I am going to stop working from home and will force myself into a library for the first couple of weeks to see if that will help me focus. I also started using a todo app so I don‘t forget what I need to get done by the end of the day.
You mean I should make a list of distracting things that I should avoid doing?
Hi Chris,
What kind of marketing/distribution channels are you going to use?
What’s the goal here?
Is the goal simply “shipping” or are you expecting any of them to be successful with high user engagememt?
Of course I want them to be successful. Before I start a new project I want to make sure that I have a solid traffic generation and monetization plan. 👍
That’s great, but In that case pick ONE idea, SHIP IT after one month and then iterate on it all year.
If it works better for you then make sure you ship a valuable increment every month.
You won’t have enough time to make any one product any good if you try to do 12 in a year.
Agreed. 🙂
Really? So you’re going to change your plan?
No, I am not going to change my plan, but I do think that once a product is working I will probably invest more of my time and resources into it to make it better. As a results I will have less time to create new products. Let's see what happens...
That sounds like an extremist, which might get you in the same place you are in right now in a completely different way. Build one and do it right this time. And remember, don’t build a product-first company either. Balance.
I agree with this. @darafsheh
I totally agree with you. I want to seek balance in all aspects of my life, however that is exactly what I am struggling with. My problem right now is, that I fear rejection and never ever finish the stuff that I am working on. The point of this challenge is to help me face this problem by seeking discomfort, so I can finally find a balance in what I do.