For even the very wise cannot see all ends."For even the very wise cannot see all ends." ― Gandalf, J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring Whenever people talk about advice, they either lament that there is too much survivorship bias (as in "anecdotal evidence of what worked for them won't help others") or that … Continue reading Too Little, Too Much: Advice and How to Take It
Author: Arvid Kahl
Arvid Kahl is a software engineer turned entrepreneur. He co-founded and ran FeedbackPanda, an online teacher productivity SaaS company, with his partner Danielle Simpson. They sold the business for a life-changing amount of money in 2019, two years after founding the business.
Arvid writes on TheBootstrappedFounder.com because bootstrapping is a desirable, value- and wealth-generating way of running a company.
He has written the best-selling book Zero to Sold and is currently writing The Embedded Entrepreneur.
In over a decade of working in startup businesses of all sizes, Arvid has learned a thing or two about what works, what doesn't, and how to increase the chances of building a successful business.
Burnout
Every week, I see more people talking about burning out. It seems to be hitting anyone: from seasoned entrepreneurs with glowing track records to people scrapping their side projects because they can't even handle their day job anymore: people are struggling. I feel it too. Being cooped up for years isn't cool, not even for … Continue reading Burnout
What Founders Can Learn From the Facebook Outage
If Facebook can survive a 6-hour outage, so can you. Let's talk about unexpected downtime, which is often a direct consequence of dependency risk. Even Facebook experiences platform dependency risk. In fact, their attempt to avoid platform dependency risk introduced a new dependency, which caused this fail cascade to happen. Because Facebook truly wants to … Continue reading What Founders Can Learn From the Facebook Outage
Copycats and Endurance
Almost every product that ranks #1 on ProductHunt eventually gets copied. Someone sees an interesting product getting traction and decides to build the same thing. They check out the product's landing page, copy that verbatim, and sign up for a free account. If it's a SaaS, they go through every product interface, take a screenshot, … Continue reading Copycats and Endurance
Audience-building is not Community-Building
I've seen people make the following observation more and more: "you shouldn't build an audience; you should build a community!" Now, there is a lot of truth to that statement. It appears, on the surface, to redirect self-interest towards something more collaborative. It's not about having an audience to sell to, but creating a thriving … Continue reading Audience-building is not Community-Building
Pivoting in Public: Risks and Opportunities
Pivoting a business is scary. Changing what you offer is like switching lanes on a busy motorway: there are many things to consider, and steering anywhere too quickly can create accidents. You need to understand where you come from and where you are going with your business when you pivot to something else. Pivoting in … Continue reading Pivoting in Public: Risks and Opportunities
Why Reading Fiction Is Important for Entrepreneurs
I recently heard a saying: "leaders read, and readers lead." It made me reflect on my reading choices over the last few years and what I have discovered from switching things up a little. A few years ago, you would have been unable to find any fiction in my library. All I consumed were non-fiction … Continue reading Why Reading Fiction Is Important for Entrepreneurs
Consistency, Accountability, and Perseverance
Two years ago, around this time, Danielle and I had just sold my SaaS FeedbackPanda. But we didn't just sell a business: I quickly learned that I had sold my source of passion and motivation as well. Someone else got to do what I had enjoyed doing so much. I fell into a pretty bleak … Continue reading Consistency, Accountability, and Perseverance
Of Tangibility and Lawnmowers
Ever since Danielle and I moved to Canada, I've been having a few new adventures. Getting to mow the lawn in our backyard was one of them. For a city boy like me, this was a novel and exciting activity, and it definitely impacted me. Danielle pointed out that I have been talking a lot … Continue reading Of Tangibility and Lawnmowers
The Creeping Nature of Stress for a SaaS Founder
I did an Ask-me-Anything on ProductHunt this week, and one question stood out to me. Jon Jackson asked me about the kind of life I led while running the business, how stressful it was, and what that looked like. Doing AmAs gives me a lot of opportunities to reflect on those things. Now that there … Continue reading The Creeping Nature of Stress for a SaaS Founder
