For many entrepreneurs, having passive income is the ultimate goal. It's a great goal, too: having money coming in without having to do any work sounds better than selling your time and attention to the highest bidder. My entrepreneurial journey has mainly been focused on building a portfolio of income sources that are as passive … Continue reading Passive Income and Entrepreneurship

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

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

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

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

The final of the women's 800m race was a spectacular event at the Tokyo Olympics this year. In the last few seconds of the race, Athing Mu, a US athlete, was more than five meters ahead of the runner chasing her over the finish line. Mu was incredibly fast and dominated the field from the … Continue reading Why Competition is Good For Business

I've spent most of the last two weeks watching a group of professional gamers lose. For days straight. During those many hours observing them play, I found lessons that every entrepreneur should take to heart. I'll share them with you today. I'm a big fan of the online game World of Warcraft. I've played very … Continue reading What Watching Gamers Fail for Days Can Teach You About Entrepreneurship

Wherever you look in the founder community, people talk about "how to hack SEO" or "how to hack Twitter Ads." I'm not a fan. Hacks are focused on instant gratification. Those looking for hacks play finite games; they expect to "win" at something incredibly complex and opaque that it's very hard to make out who … Continue reading The Myth of the Immediate Payoff