I wish to start 12 startups in 12 months

As is so often the case, people with the skills needed to create software tend to focus on “building”.

We’ve known for years, at least 12, that seeking validation should be the first step, therefore, consider taking a step back and reframe the practice as: “validate 12 ideas in 12 months”.

• Nomadlist was validated by way of an open google doc and crowd sourcing data points.

• WIPchat was validated on twitter using threads.

• I think product hunt was also validated via twitter. I do remember Ryan always being very excited about new products.. that said, it was a long time ago..

Alternative frame: Use 12/12 to validate.

That is, find a market (that you can reach!) and their problem first. Then figure out the solution (your offer) and build.

This is a great excercise and something Im hoping to do myself. Keeping the issue simple is key to making this work effectively

I've never done it before, but I think it's a good exercise. I think the main benefit is it puts you in the 'get it done, get it into production' mindset. When I switched from being a programmer at a large corp to being an indie hacker, I needed to drop a lot of big corp habits. Stuff like:

• Over engineering solutions
• Thinking about every damn edge case
• Testing every line of code

I would rather focus on one instead of 12. Business is not something you can start just like that and expect to make a profit.

Many startups won't even make a single penny in profit for the first few years. You can host 12 new websites and call it 12 startups.

But in reality, building a sustainable business requires time and effort.

My startup took me 3 years.

Many believe developing software or creating an eCommerce store is starting a business.

No, it's not. Business is all about sales and making a profit out of it.

You can even start a business without any product.

Take me, for example. I started my copywriting business 3 years ago. I had a website and all other things in place. But it was still hard for me to get clients.

I took all the possible steps to gain clients, and most importantly, I have spent a lot of money on the process.

But today, I made my business sustainable. I get clients consistently, and the business makes me a profit.

So my suggestion is: take a single problem and provide a single solution. Once you become good at it, you'll have enough profit to build new businesses.