How to become a solo-founder in 100 days
There are just over 100 days left in 2023
Most people who want to start a business will coast into the new year having made no progress.
But by setting a few deadlines for ourselves, we can
- Test ideas
- Launch a business
- Get customers and monetize
- Build credibility
- Launch publicly
All within the next 100 days.
Up for the challenge?
Here are 6 steps (with week-by-week breakdown) on how to have a Tiny Empire running by the end of the year.
1. Find ideas
Deadline: End of September
Read newspapers, browse Reddit or Quora and look for common problems that people have.
I recommend reading last week’s guide on How to come up with the best startup ideas for my process for finding ideas that are actually good business ideas.
2. Test your ideas
Deadline: 1st week of October
You want to validate that people are willing to spend money on the idea. Not just that the idea is good, but that they will happily pay for it.
There are a few ways to do this:
- Create a landing page with waitlist or fake paywall
- Setup calls with people in the industry and ask them directly
- Post on social (doesn’t validate willingness to spend so not the best)
Don’t be scared to share ideas. People don’t want to steal them. The value is not the idea itself, but the execution of the idea.
3. Launch a very simple version
Deadline: 2nd week of October
Do as little work as possible. Use no-code tools where possible to build your 1st version.
Don’t use complex tools for the sake of it. Simplicity beats power when it comes to a 1-person business. Choose the simplest possible tool for the job. It can be better to use tools which provide off-the-shelf solutions, rather than building something bespoke.
For example, you could build a blog with a tool like Bubble but you would need to manually create all the functionality (commenting, guest authors, canonical links, SEO images etc). This is time consuming and is more likely to give you ongoing issues. Alternatively, you could use an off-the-shelf blogging platform like Ghost or Squarespace which take care of all the functionality for you. They have a team who keep it up to date, so you don’t need to worry about that, and you can spend all your time on the part that actually makes money, writing and growing the blog audience.
4. Find customers using social or sales
Deadline: Mid October until end of November
If it's B2B, do direct outreach via email or LinkedIn to attract the first few customers.
Create a simple sales pipeline with the following stages:
- Interested (they’ve shown interest in your initial email)
- Meeting booked (after sending them some sales materials, they have booked a meeting)
- Confirmed
- Invoiced
- Closed
Take your potential clients through these stages as they show interest.
If your business has a B2C element (including things like communities, media companies etc) focus heavily on social content, dedicating a decent portion of your week to it. These companies have a longer route to monetization so you will have a harder time getting to monetization by 2024.
5. Gather reviews, case studies or testimonials
Deadline: December
Now that you have at least 1 (hopefully happy) customer, you can utilize that customer to help you get more. To do that, we look at what we can extract for our sales materials, e.g.:
A first client who will hopefully be happy with your product/service and lead to word-of-mouth referrals
A positive review you can add to your site + sales materials and possibly share on social media
A logo you could add to your website
An example of a previous client’s success story that you can share in sales emails
Work for your portfolio (if you’re a service business)
Now that you have a tiny bit of credibility with 1 customer and a positive review, you can capitalize on that as much as you can to get another client. With every happy client, repeat the process and add their positive reviews to your site + sales materials, constantly growing your credibility.
6. Results
100 days in, you should now have:
- A live site/app
- Early customers
- Reviews/Testimonials
Congratulations, you’ve built and monetized a business or side-project in 100 days and you’re starting 2024 with a business that is already making money and a strong foundation for a great Tiny Empire.
If you’re up for the challenge, let me know in the comments below.
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Becoming a solo founder of a business in just 100 days is an ambitious goal that requires careful planning, dedication, and execution. Here's a general roadmap to help you get started on your journey:
Day 1-10: Idea Generation and Validation
Day 11-30: Business Planning
4. Create a business plan: Outline your business goals, target audience, revenue model, and marketing strategy.
5. Legal structure: Register your business and handle any necessary legal requirements.
6. Financial planning: Develop a budget, secure initial funding (if needed), and set up a basic accounting system.
Day 31-60: Product or Service Development
7. Develop your product or service: Build a minimum viable product (MVP) or offer your initial services.
8. Testing and iteration: Gather user feedback and make improvements to your offering.
9. Branding and marketing materials: Create a website, logo, and marketing materials to establish your brand presence.
Day 61-80: Launch and Early Marketing
10. Launch your business: Go live with your product or service.
11. Marketing strategy: Begin marketing efforts through social media, content marketing, email marketing, and other channels.
12. Build an online presence: Optimize your website for search engines (SEO) and engage with potential customers on social media.
Day 81-100: Growth and Scaling
13. Customer acquisition: Focus on acquiring more customers through targeted marketing and sales efforts.
14. Monitor performance: Use analytics tools to track your business's performance and make data-driven decisions.
15. Adapt and scale: Expand your offerings or enter new markets as your business grows.
Remember, becoming a solo founder is a challenging journey, and 100 days is a relatively short timeframe. You may need to be flexible in adjusting your timeline based on the complexity of your business idea and your progress. Building a successful business takes time, effort, and perseverance, so stay committed to your goals and continue learning along the way.
Thank you, ChatGPT.
idk why but this sounds like a chatGpt response 🤔
as much as I would like to believe I don't really think you can actually get early customers unless you do already have a following/connections within the industry
Loved this content, definitely pinning this to my wall
🙏
So here are step by step guide I use personally. The mindset going to this step is DO FAST FAIL FAST
Go to reddit and pick a subreddit that you are most familiar ( of course the one with good market also ) with as this will make it easier for you to communicate and provide value in the subreddit.
Go trough the posts and see the one with most comment and engagement ( not jus upvotes, downvotes also good things as there is something people don't like )
Go through the comment. Here you can see generally what make people tick. What they like what they don't.
See where you can fit in. What problem you can solve or something you can sell.
Now you should have a brief understand what business you want to make and who will buy the product. So go to creativeblogtopic.com insert the business and target customer and the tool will analyze google trend and search for you. It will then return you topic and keyword that best for blogging for your idea.
From the topic and keyword write a simple blog and also a simple reddit posts. Try make it controversial so it will give a reason for people to engage.
Now you will do it couple of time to test the water, and see how people are reacting to it.
If you got engagement now you have an idea that somehow you know people are interested to.
So go built MVP. Remember this MVP is for validating some more. Think the MVP as a glorified survey. Put if interested give email on the back of the product and do pop up asking them to rate the product.
There you go. From there you can get idea and validate it and remember to do it fast. Don't spend so much time as you need to iterate things fast and move on top of your previous understanding of market. Speed is the key to success.
Here some more reading if you interested:
Acquiring Your First Users Out of Thin Air
How to build a MVP: Focus on what user want
When Building MVP, Speed is the Focus
Struggling for Idea? Here’s How to Extract Ideas from Reddit
Good Luck
That's the way to do it. Unfortunately, most people get stuck on step 4.
I think the important part here is to find early adopters asap, even if they're not paid. Invite people to use your platform for free in exchange for feedback.
That feedback is more important than $X in the early stages and will help shape your product.
Love the idea, going for it!
💪
My struggle now is to find ideas, and on the tech side, I just know little about Bubble. So overwhelming and daunting.
The "Brainstorming Ideas" section on the explore page is a great place if you're struggling to come up with ideas. Good luck in your endeavours!
I didn't know where to post this, but do you think it's good to use "build in public" for a print on demand business?
I didnt found any reasons for not doing it. Gove it a try 🚀
Will do soon thanks!
Incredible post. It will help many of us get started. <3
Love this template! Quick question, can you clarify what you meant by invest heavily in social content for B2C elements?
Definitely a good guide.
I have a few questions.
Let's say your idea is a bit too complex to set up an MVP for it without validation.
I guess you would just set up a landing page for it then.
How do you generate the traffic considering you don't have X account with 14k followers.
I am currently in this situation and I am still scratching my head on what would be best considering Facebook ads seem to be very expensive.
Also, will get early access be good enough for fake paywall will be more promising?
Inspirational. A good outline to follow. Thanks for this. I have a wp template if anyone needs one for a landing page. Cheers
Glad it was useful David!
I like this. A question: how do folks design their fake paywall and how far does it go in the sales process. What do you show the user when that process ends? Do you just give them an error message?
I would send them to a survey and tell them they are on the waiting list. This way, when your MVP is ready, you'll have a list of customers waiting to pay you.
The most important is that initial conversion. Typically, just getting an email address and/or a phone number is best. This means you can connect and establish a relationship with them. If your front end conversion rate is too low, then frankly it doesn't matter what's behind the curtain.
Feel free to ask followups...I wrote a book on early stage landing page testing, and I'm happy to help. The TLDR of the book is that landing page MVPs can be used to test out your business model, not just give you a green light for an idea.
Identify your problem and solution. What problem are you solving for your customers? What is your unique solution?
Validate your idea. Talk to potential customers and get their feedback on your problem and solution.
Great advice! I followed your suggestion and validated a small project, the Minesweeper game, with shorter cycles and reduced costs. I spent two days on conceptualization, one week on development, and released it within a day. I continued to make sporadic enhancements and improvements to the game. You can find it at ohminesweeper dot online (replace dot with .).
So glad to hear this Tristan. Looks great! Do you have plans to monetize?
How did you validate that people would pay you for this?
I am so pumped up :D
Anyone else feeling inspired to take up the challenge and start 2024?
To become a solo founder in 100 days, you'll need to be focused, efficient, and willing to put in long hours. Here's a step-by-step guide:
Days 1-10: Idea generation and validation
Brainstorm a list of business ideas. What problems can you solve? What products or services can you create that people would be willing to pay for?
Once you have a list of ideas, start to validate them by talking to potential customers and getting their feedback. You can also do market research to see if there is a demand for your product or service.
Days 11-30: Business planning
Once you have a validated business idea, it's time to start developing a business plan. This should include your business goals, target audience, revenue model, and marketing strategy.
You should also start to think about your legal structure and how you will finance your business.
Days 31-60: Product or service development
Now it's time to start developing your product or service. If you're selling a physical product, you'll need to find a manufacturer and get your product produced. If you're offering a digital product or service, you'll need to develop your website or app.
Start with a minimum viable product (MVP), which is a basic version of your product or service that you can launch to customers to get feedback.
Days 61-80: Launch and early marketing
Once you have an MVP, it's time to launch your business! This means making your product or service available to customers and starting to market it.
Focus on targeted marketing strategies to reach your ideal customers. You can use social media, email marketing, and paid advertising to promote your business.
Days 81-100: Growth and scaling
Once you have launched your business and started to acquire customers, it's time to focus on growth and scaling. This means finding ways to attract more customers and increase your revenue.
You can do this by expanding your product or service offerings, entering new markets, and partnering with other businesses.
Tips for becoming a successful solo founder
Be organized and efficient. As a solo founder, you'll be wearing many hats, so it's important to be organized and efficient with your time.
Prioritize your tasks and focus on the most important things first.
Don't be afraid to ask for help. There are many resources available to help solo founders, such as online communities, mentors, and incubators.
Take breaks and don't burn yourself out. It's important to take breaks and recharge so that you can be productive and creative.
Becoming a solo founder in 100 days is ambitious, but it's definitely possible if you're focused and efficient. By following the steps above, you can increase your chances of success.
solo founding is really tough — the comradery you get from being in the headspace with at least one other person is so valuable.
Now after struggling for 2 years in business I wanna continue my studies and business together. I am an SEO expert. Recently my 1 year old site got a hit from google update: I am thinking to start a new project and rank it in just 3 months : wish me good luck!
I am a beginner independent developer and have completed the development of an AI painting product for consumers (toC). Currently, I am looking to acquire the first batch of seed users.
I am now creating an image editor Chrome plugin and also making an API on the same thing and putting up on rapidAPI hub. I will also create SDKs.
I am anxious about distribution and getting first 1000 users. Also the reviews, case studies and testimonials are my focus as well.
As a techie I always struggled with marketing and GTM.
Don't be afraid to share your creativity. Ideas are just the beginning; it's the continuous execution and ultimately delivering value to your target users that matter the most. Utilize communities and social networks to share your ideas; it might attract your customers and yield returns.
Seems like an interesting plan. Day 1! Will post on IH if successful and the lessons I learned even if I fail
This really helped me make sense of my business ideas. Im actually part way through every step you mentioned, so was getting a bit confused and lost. Now im definitely going to be launched by the end of the year.
Amazing to hear this!
Thanks for sharing. This really helps me put my own thoughts in perspective
An ideal plan
Interesting. I will try this!
Definitely a solid outline.
Depending on how busy you are, you could probably even cut this timeline in half.
Waitlist was a huge help with idea validation for one of my projects.
My latest project (findcool.tools) went from idea -> launch -> paying customers -> positive feedback within 30 days.
Granted, much simpler product though. I think how aggressive you launch (and where) can be a big help in speeding things up if done right.
The reason I focus on getting products shipped asap is because you don’t want to spend more time than you have to on building something that might flop.
I’ve seen people spend years on something before calling it quits and pivoting.
Again, great post!
This has really helped me structure my thoughts that I have been having lately. Thanks for sharing 😊🙏
I just started building my first SaaS so this helps a lot! 🙌
Do you know superneox lightsaber, any suggestions on how to get a code from it?
Superneox lightsabers are custom-made lightsabers that can be programmed to have a variety of different colors, including purple. However, the code for the purple lightsaber is not publicly available.
To get a code from Superneox, you will need to contact them directly. You can do this by sending them an email or by contacting them through their social media pages.
Here are some tips for getting a code from Superneox:
Be polite and respectful in your communication.
Explain why you want a code for the purple lightsaber.
Be patient. Superneox is a small company and they may take some time to respond to your request.
If you are unable to get a code from Superneox, there are a few other things you can try. You can try searching the internet for codes that other people have shared. You can also try contacting other lightsaber companies to see if they have a code for the purple lightsaber.
Here are some additional tips:
Try searching for Superneox lightsaber codes on forums and social media groups.
Contact other lightsaber enthusiasts to see if they have any codes they are willing to share.
If you are unable to find a code, you can try programming your own lightsaber. There are a number of resources available online that can help you do this.
I hope this information is helpful.
when i want to access a website example https://onlinbillmepco.pk browser go hang and i am on waiting to access any website this issue also i am facing.can any one help me in this regard.