@PocketBryan – Solo founder with a year of runway. Can I make it work?

“What is this all about and why should I care?”

Posted on July 7, 2021

In late June, 2021, I quit my job at Amazon to pursue my life-long dream of running my own SaaS. I watched my Dad start his company as kid and have wanted to do the same for 30 years. I now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go full-time on my idea, for up to a year (probably not enough time, I know), so I’m going for it!

I’ll post updates and learnings here as I go. To learn more about what drives me and why, you can read about it in “What’s this all about?” or read the short version in the Twitter thread, below:

1/ My dad started a software company when I was around 10. I remember walking out in the mornings, often seeing him asleep on the couch because he made ends meet doing after-hours support (customers were billed per call, I believe). Even though it looked exhausting, I…
— Bryan 👋 (@PocketBryan) March 25, 2021

👷 Video Updates

Introducing FreelanceSugar!

Posted on August 3, 2021

In this video, I give a quick tour of what I’ve been working on and thinking about, including the recent change (expansion!) of scope that I’m taking on with FreelanceSugar.

Previously, I was focused entirely on invoicing, but I’ve been seeing and hearing more and more complaints about how it’s such a pain to switch between one app and another to send out an proposal, get a signature, then send out invoices, and keep the client up-to-date.

I’m going to fix that with FreelanceSugar. It’s super ambitious, which will be the toughest part. I need to get something launched as soon as possible so that I can start learning from my customers, but there are a certain number of features that are just table-stakes for what I’m looking to do for Freelancers.

But one thing I know is that freelancers and side-gig hustlers are who I want to serve, so I’m going to double-down on them, and I’m excited!

Newsletter - 💎 SaaS Founder Gems

💎 SaaS Founder Gems Newsletter #4

Posted on August 2, 2021

Happy Sunday!

Welcome to your weekly edition of the SaaS Founder Gems Newsletter from @PocketBryan!

👉 This week, I’m going to try a different format: Rather than simply include a list of articles and brief summary, I’m going to include what I specifically learned (and that you may as well).

Ready? Here we go!

Articles

Interesting and actionable articles, worth your time.

The Good Enough Launch
Written in 2016 by Amy Hoy, this is still 100% valid. It’s a quick, fun, and thought-provoking read.
✍️ What I learned:
- If you’re really building something that people crave, they’re willing to put up with more rough edges that you think they are. This is a good litmus test for whether you’re sinking time into something that people will actually want and use.
- One question/doubt I still have: I’m launching into an existing market with established competitors and a clear baseline (minimum features) that users are expecting. Can I still launch earlier than I’m comfortable with (as she recommends)? If not, maybe I’m not differentiating myself enough.

Books and Courses

Marketing for Developers
I bought and read this book a couple of years ago, and loved it. It helped me get over the “marketing/sales is icky” feeling that I felt as a developer. I ran across it recently in my bookmarks, and I will be reading it again (and recommend you do too)
✍️. What I learned:
- Marketing isn’t about trying to convince someone to buy something they don’t want — it’s about getting in front of as many 👀 eyeballs as possible, so that you can find the people that do want what you’ve built. The Internet is enormous, so you cannot (I repeat cannot) expect people to just stumble upon your product and suddenly want to buy it. You have to get in front of them (sometimes multiple times, because people are busy), and this book talks about how to do that, what you should be thinking about, and when.
Best Startup Growth Books, by Product Hunt
I have an addiction to books, and especially books about entrepreneurship and startups. There is so much to be learned from people that have succeeded or failed before, so long as you can sift through the fluff and motivational nonsense to find the real gems. This list of upvoted books could help do just that!
✍️ What I learned:
- I had this bookmarked from a couple of years ago, and it now has a completely new list of books (many that I had never heard of). I need to bookmark this and come back to it about once a month for more awesome SaaS/Marketing/Startup tactics and knowledge 🤤

Tools, Tips, and Code

Favico.js
I’m saving (and sharing) this for later. This little JavaScript library allows you to add a badge or indicator (like for unread notifications) in your favicon.
✍️ What I learned:
- Although I’m sure I’ve seen it, I didn’t realize just how dynamic a favicon could be. Hmm… I wonder what other things I can do with it 🤔
Freelance Rates Explorer
So many of us freelance or do side-gigs, and one of the hardest things (aside from finding clients in the first place) is knowing how much to charge. Bonsai put together this tool that aggregates the data their users charge their clients for, to give you an idea of what the going market rates are like. Even though Bonsai is (or will be) a competitor, I’m not too proud to admit this is a pretty great tool!
✍️ What I learned:
- I could (should) be charging close to double what I have always been. How about you?
Amazon Web Services in Plain English
Even while working at Amazon, I couldn’t stay on top of all of the AWS products, what they did, and how I might use them. This guide is awesome (and I wish I had seen it earlier). It has a “should have a been called” column for each product, which is spot on. If you’re using AWS (or would like to), start here to understand what each service does.
Gorgeous Wallpapers
This has absolutely nothing to do with being a SaaS founder, but who doesn’t love a gorgeous new wallpaper? This site has a beautiful selection of space/planet-themed wallpapers without annoying ads or popups. Seriously, they’re gorgeous.
🌇. My pick (which I just set my desktop to) is this Martian landscape

Interesting Twitter Threads from this week

(Click to see original)

What is your best advice for acquiring your first customers?

PS: answer only if you tried something that worked
— Victor 🤙🦙🦄 (@Lamacorn20) August 1, 2021

If you consider yourself a community leader, you need to read the replies. https://t.co/8bnuHBjghp
— 📙 Alex Hillman (@alexhillman) July 28, 2021

Jeff Bezos once said:

"The No. 1 thing that has made us successful by far is obsessive compulsive focus on the customer."

Money is secondary. Your primary job is to make the customers' life better.
— Aadit Sheth 👋 (@aaditsh) July 31, 2021

Interested in learning about startup acquisitions? I got you covered.

– Valuations
– Due diligence
– Legal docs
– Deal structures
– Transferring assets
– Financing
– More

Download all of @microacquire's eBooks and videos entirely free.https://t.co/0fAmCC2snc
— Andrew Gazdecki (@agazdecki) August 1, 2021

If you don't know what Product-User fit is, read @peter_lauten's awesome article here: https://t.co/qdzvbHibZP
— Peter Suhm (@petersuhm) July 29, 2021

How to Grow Your Online Audience

Key Lessons from the Fantastic Webinar by @APompliano ("Pomp") and @david_perell

If Building your own Online Empire by yourself is something you are interested in

Read this

👇👇

[THREAD] pic.twitter.com/gV2NvjvAsT
— Eddy Quan (@waronweakness) June 20, 2020

I never thought of myself as a writer.

So why do I now write one million words per year?

Because I discovered writing is a superpower.

Here are 67 benefits of writing.

👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/lcbSV53mps
— Sean McCabe (@seanwes) February 22, 2021

🥂 That’s it for this week!

What did you think of the new format this week? Should I keep it or go back to how it was last week? Let me know!

👷 Video Updates

Day 14 Video Update: Adding Invoice Line-Items

Posted on July 20, 2021

It’s been four days since my last update, and I don’t have a ton to share, but that’s kind of the point. Even when you’re going full-time on something, there are days when family calls or you’re just not that productive.

That’s how the past few days have been for me.

In this quick 2-minute update, you can see the progress I’ve made with the create/edit invoice screen when adding invoice line-items.

Thanks for following along!

👷 Video Updates

Day 10: Projects and Invoices!

Posted on July 16, 2021

Just a quick 2-minute update on what I’ve been working on yesterday and today

✅ Done: Wrapped up the finishing touches on creating a new client
✅ Done: Added the ability to create new projects (and associate them with a client)
✅ Done: Project billing preferences can now override client-level preferences
✅ Done: Edit and view a project
✅ Done: Project activity feed
✅ Done: Project notes (including markdown parsing)
✅ Done: Create an invoice (no line items yet, but you can provide basic info and payment preferences)
🔨 Working on next: Adding line items to invoices, saving, and editing
🔨 After that: PDF invoice generation (preview mode)

Launches

Videos

Podcasts

Articles

Articles

Books and Courses

Tools, Tips, and Code

Interesting Twitter Threads from this week

Articles

Articles