Distribution is more important than product

At 26, Daniel Ch has already built multiple successful businesses and sold one for a life-changing amount of money.

I caught up with him to understand how he does it. The short answer is that he focuses on distribution over product. 👇

So many projects

James: You're only 26, but you've already achieved a lot as a founder. When did you start?

Daniel: I started my first business when I was 15. It was an online shop selling ties, bow ties, etc.

James: When was your first success?

Daniel: My first success was a business I started with my brother in 2017, and it's still alive today: Legit Check By Ch. It's a core piece of our micro-holding company, CH Group.

James: How's it doing?

Daniel: Legit Check has been doing 6 figures per year.

James: Anything else you're working on?

Danel: Simple.ink recently got acquired.

We also run SignHouse (a docusign competitor) and we are launching two more:

• SaaSPad.co - content+SEO agency for SaaS companies!
• Guides.ai - simplest and most efficient guides on everything AI

Other than those, we're always working on multiple smaller projects.

James: That's a lot. Why so many projects?

Daniel: I guess it's a cocktail of:

• Semi-ADHD
• Impatience, as I’m young
• The need of spilling my creativity into something
• An itch
• A lack of focus!
• Some sort of boredom
• An internal "chase”
• Fun

James: How do you do it all?

Daniel: It’s 2 of us - my brother David and I. So we both individually get credit for the effort of 2 people. That’s the secret.

James: How do you choose what to work on?

Daniel: We pick each project very carefully. Every project has to be able to stand on its own after a certain amount of time. It can't be a “needy” project, as we dont' have the bandwidth.

That said, I'm actually just starting my first needy project in a long time — SaaSPad. But I want to be very careful with it.

James: What's a good example of a project that stands on its own?

Daniel: Simple.ink wasn’t a needy project. Website hosting usually means long billing cycles and, besides some initial help, not a lot of customer support. Same goes for SignHouse.

Make a business that can run on its own. That’s what I always recommend!

Viral loops need lifetime deals

James: How much is SignHouse making?

Daniel: SignHouse is now doing $1,000-$3,000 per month. And $10,000-$20,000 when we're doing campaigns.

James: Why not always run campaigns then?

Daniel: With lifetime deals, we want to be a bit careful. I think of it like the volume dial.

I don’t want to oversell. I want to go bit by bit to the next level (e.g. let’s go get another 100 paid customers, but not 1,000) just so I know we can manage it properly.

James: Why lifetime deals?

Daniel: SignHouse has viral loops. When a user sends an email, the recipient finds out about us. So one user brings multiple users — at $0 CAC.

A viral coefficient that has a low user base is close to 0. You need that user base.

And given that it’s such an old industry, we need to get up to speed and get that viral loop spinning.

That's my hypothesis anyway. Time will tell whether I'm right!

Get acquired by building a business (not a product)

James: How much did you sell Simple.ink for?

Daniel: Sadly, I can't share too much about the numbers because of my confidentiality clause. But I can say it’s an amount that was life changing and 6 figures. It bought me more freedom and changed my mindset.

James: Why did you decide to sell it?

Daniel: We got an offer that we thought was very good. We put on our wisdom hats and realized that, even though we were 25 and 19, it would cover our retirement.

James: How responsible of you.

Daniel: You should take risks when you’re young… but perhaps if you have a foundation of stability, it's easier to take those risks.

James: Any tips for someone who might want to get their product acquired?

Daniel: Yep.

First, turn a buck. We optimized for profit. You should do the same.

Second, make sure you don't need to sell. Because you can only sell when you don’t necessarily have to sell. That’s leverage. It’ll protect you from making stupid decisions, accepting lowballs, thinking short-term, etc

Third, when selling, list the startup everywhere. We sold the company through Acquire.com and paid the fairly-earned 4% commission to them. But really, list the company everywhere - Twitter, Acquire, Flippa, FB groups, etc. It’s better to have options.

Finally, build something you’d want to acquire. And I'm not talking about the product; I'm talking about the business. Processes, SOPs, people - everything.

Distribution > product

James: Where would you say your genius is?

Daniel: What I’m really focusing on is distribution. SEO, viral loops, setting up a system where affiliates make a ton of money with us, etc. — I've noticed that's what makes me tick.

Am I an expert? Not sure, but I’m on my way to it. I sold a company due to the distribution I built.

And in my mind, distribution is more important than product.

James: Always?

Daniel: No, that doesn’t apply to everyone.

I’m not in it to innovate. I’m in it to make money in a healthy way — i.e. provide a lot of value to people and, in a fair way, charge for that.

So for the type of products I would build, distribution is more important than product.

Plus, I’m not that great at product!

James: Fair enough.

Daniel: Also, products can be replicated. Competitors can catch up. But great distribution is difficult to replicate. It can be a moat.

James: How was Simple.ink's acquisition affected by distribution?

:Daniel: Ultimately, it made the company more desirable to the acquirer.

We had distribution in place that was automated and self-sustainable, so that reduced risk. All they would have to do is tend the garden, instead of having to match our skill and output.

James: Fair enough. Any hot distribution tips for indie hackers?

Daniel:

• Focus on what worked for you and others in the last 12 months. Conditions change.
• Copy 90-95% of what you see that works, adapt the last 5-10% to you.
• Invest in SEO. It keeps on paying at low-to-zero marginal cost. Most of my success comes from SEO, so obviously I will beat that drum like crazy.
• If possible, set some conditions from the start so that if you're winning you're winning big — like the viral loop I mentioned earlier.
• Diversify your distribution channels
• Be a farmer (long-term focus), not a hunter (short-term focus).

Farming > hunting

James: Tell more more about farming vs hunting. What does "hunting" mean to you in this context?

Daniel: "Hunting" is looking for quicker, short- or medium-term results. But those are also things that do not scale. They are one-offs.

• Ads
• Influencer campaigns
• PR campaigns
• Cold sales
• And, of course, the holy grail: Going viral

James: And "farming"?

Daniel: "Farming" is slow. But it's rewarding, it compounds, and it keeps on giving. Some examples are:

• SEO
• YouTube videos
• Affiliate programs
• Making genuine connections with other founders, etc.
• Spending that extra time to make your workplace a great one for your team
• etc.

They’re hard to get off the ground, but if you have the time, just do them.

James: If farming is the way to go, why doesn't everybody do it?

Daniel: The problem is the mind. Farming feels too slow or two time intensive. Like the seeds you planted four months ago are and are only amounting to a piece of land where everything looks like mud.

But if you've seen what you can grow in a garden given enough patience, then you know what farming can do.

James: Seeing is believing.

Daniel: Once you do it, you can’t go back.

Farming isn't for everyone

James: Should everyone farm?

Daniel: No, you need to decide whether you've got time or not.

I’m 26 now and I’m impatient as hell. But I know objectively I've got a lot of time to compound growth.

I saw a Twitter post the other day about an indie hacker who is 40+. They don't have as much time as I do, and they have kids to feed. So they don't care about farming. They need to hunt now and put enough resources aside.

Then, they can worry about farming.

James: What is the farming:hunting sweet spot?

Daniel: Best case scenario is 80% farming, 20% hunting.

Skip the advice

James: Any parting advice for indie hackers?

Daniel: Two things. First, stop searching for advice!

I used to make this mistake a lot. I thought that by gathering every piece of advice, I would end up with a unified theory that would guarantee my success.

Kinda like Thanos putting together all the stones.

All advice put together leads to… THIS!

“The recipe to success.”

Nope, no such thing.

James: No?

Daniel: All advice is like the clothing you try on in the changing room. Could look wonderful, but not on you. So what do you do with it? You just put it aside.

Why would you buy an extra small when you fit a medium?

I think that's what people do with advice. It doesn't fit them, but they still buy that piece of clothing.

James: So all advice should be ignored?

Daniel: Not ignored. Listen to all advice. But don't follow any of it. Just hear it. Whatever bubbles up from within later is the advice that fits you (probably!).

James: I like that.

Daniel: And follow the stories — not the advice — of people who were where you are 12-24 months ago.

Stripe’s story, Apple’s story, etc. — they don’t matter. They did all this under different conditions

What you want is just the next few steps on the staircase. Not a huge jump.

Don't take it too seriously

James: And the second piece of advice (that no one should listen to)?

Daniel: Don’t take your business too seriously. Too strong of a grip on something can take the passion out of it. I sometimes forget that.

James: True enough! Where can people find you?

Daniel: I’m most active on X.

If you’re a SaaS founder and want to invest in SEO, I started a content agency that increases MRR.

If you’re into AI, I paid $5,000 for the domain guides.ai so we can create beginner’s guides for AI.

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