To Pivot or Not to Pivot
This week, I made a choice. And it has a lot to do with focus and opportunity. And, most of all, money. To set the stage, let me share this voicemail I received earlier this week: Hey Arvid, Mahogany…
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Product
Focusing on Customer Retention Features
I read an article this week about the “Tyranny of the Marginal User.” The author discussed how large companies focus more on attracting new customers than retaining current ones — primarily due to…
Read the essay →The Rubber Band Effect
When AI researchers Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin tried to explain generative AI to journalists in early 2022 —when just a few hundred researchers and early adopters were toying with the new tech and…
Read the essay →ChatGPT: Goldmine or Minefield for Indie Hackers?
Everybody in the indie founder community is talking about ChatGPT. Some founders discover how powerful it is as a writing tool, others have it build their products, and some entrepreneurs are even…
Read the essay →The SaaS Solution-Workflow Fit
Every single founder out there quickly hears about the product-market fit. But many entrepreneurs go for years before thinking about another such “fit” that is pivotal in how well your market…
Read the essay →Negative Reviews are Good for You
I was recently listening to the early episodes of my favorite Star Trek podcast, and the hosts talked about the unfairness of a particularly nasty Apple Podcast review. One star, paired with a snide…
Read the essay →The Forever Transaction
Next time you’re at a gas station or a convenience store, and you’re ready to pay, look at all the things they shove in front of you, hoping to sell you yet another high-margin product: sugary…
Read the essay →Managing Expectations: Making Good (on) Promises.
Expectation management. What is that? It sure sounds like mind control. I don’t think my expectations are anything that someone else can manage. Nobody can dive into my mind and magically alter what…
Read the essay →The SaaS Market Maturity Paradox
SaaS businesses are most impactful in entirely new markets and the markets they have been serving for a long time. Anywhere in between, starting a new SaaS business has the potential to create a…
Read the essay →Make it Easy to Cancel
It is a great retention strategy to make it easy for your customers to cancel your product. You may lose a few payments, but you gain something much more important: an ex-customer who feels…
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