Launching a startup in 3 days — a story about fighting founder procrastination
Hey Indie Hackers 👋 Marc here, building startups from Bali 🥥
Last week I had a startup idea, bought a domain name, and imagined tons of features.
After procrastinating for 24h, I realized I was falling into the perfectionism trap...
So I scheduled a Product Hunt lunch in 3 days with 0 lines of code and committed publically on Twitter.
Here is a recap of the story, and why you should set up short deadlines to boost productivity.
Stick to the end to see how I ended up on Joe Rogan's podcast
Day 1: Building
I wanted to show the compound effect of tiny habits. For instance, if you read 10 minutes a day, you'll finish 12 books in 2023.
I manage to get an ugly prototype working by the end of the day but I'm already late on the schedule.
Day 2: Instagrammable
Showing the compound effect of habits is great. But it won't be enough to motivate people to stick to it. I must find something else...
So I create a sharable Habits Grid with fancy gradients: New Year resolutions here we go!
Day 3: Joe Rogan
To compete on Product Hunt, I need to stand out. But I'm a poor indie hacker with no employees.
So I make a simple, hopefully fun, YouTube video using clips from Joe Rogan's podcast.
I also build a feature so users can directly import their habits to my gamified habit tracker—Habits Garden 🌱
That's it! Building a startup is hard. It's easy to get trapped, slack, or procrastinate.
I really recommend you add constraints to your workflow for better productivity.
My app is live today on Product Hunt, if you have a minute, I'd love your support ❤️
nice video hahaha you have done good work
Thanks James. glad you liked it!
I've fallen into the same perfectionism trap before. Committing to something publicly and even scheduling a Product Hunt post to force yourself is genius, definitely going to try this strategy in the future 🤩
Also, the video is the best 😂
Thanks Amos, love your support!
Congrats Marc! Definitely gonna try Habits, love the format. Not Joe Rogan yet but sharing a podcast episode I live by I thought you might enjoy: https://open.spotify.com/episode/45mdsE71r7wNHtEQyz13wl?si=7667cdbe8def43f5
This guy has very similar productivity advice - moving fast while removing dependencies and fluff, after listening to this I started asking myself daily "why not today?" and it helps so much with clarity and direction. Thanks for the good read!
Why not today?
I love this!
hahaahaha I love the video !!
Thanks 😊
I like the idea behind this launch. The video was gold lol.
I can see you hitting that 5k MRR mark with all of your tools very soon.
That'd be a dream. Thanks for your support!
Always
Making yourself to comply to strict timelines is hard, you did a great job. Congratulations on the launch.
thanks a lot 🙏
great video, did you use an app for it? or just scour through podcast episodes?
hunted podcasts... ^^
then used instagram green room filter
and final cut pro for editing :)
creative video nice work
Love the product, watched the video and for once I thought it's real 🤣🤣🤣
Great job Marc, you keep on inspiring me and hopefully others
if only it was real haha
Thanks a lot for your support!
Saw the Video on twitter - that was really cool !
Got any tips on building a small community in 3 days too 😅 ?
I'd nail the pitch to future members and find what's missing in current communities.
I don't think someone can build a community in 3 days, but anyone can create the positioning :)
Thanks for the support!
🔥
Ha, wanted to do something similar after I read Atomic habits, but thought there are enough of habit forming apps on the market. I find useful to remind myself about the reason why certain habits are important to me. Let's say I do cold shower for dopamine and energy release. It'd also be cool to have suggestions from high-achievers for inspiration.
How do you make people aware of your product?
my site is almost ready and functional but i end up nitpicking things, currently working on SEO but that takes about 6 months to see results.
So, how do you create awareness of your website?
for this one it's just the launch
i don't think it has potential for SEO so I'll just see what happens