Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

What I struggled with:

• At the conference I attended, the goal was to show off an early version of the software and an MVP of a book directory built on my blog (My Learning Library). The blog feature was done, and people were impressed when I showed it to them. The software was finished the morning of the conference, but it was designed to run locally, and we couldn’t get it to run on my computer. It was frustrating to not be able to show it to people. I had to pitch it without demoing it, which went over decently. A few people are interested in seeing the demo.

What I learned:

• I tested a name at the conference, “I Study Entrepreneurs,” and it did well. I’m definitely using that name in the future.
• Discovery platforms and relationship platforms are materially different. Discovery platforms have algorithms that help people find you. Think TikTok or Instagram. The downside is that you don’t own the relationship with the user. It’s borrowed distribution, meaning someone can change your ability to reach people anytime. Relationship platforms give you a direct relationship with a user that you own, but discoverability is much harder. Think blogs, newsletters, or SMS. This is owned distribution, meaning no one but you can change your ability to reach users (mostly).
• Several entrepreneurs’ entire business model revolves around creating content that’s a deep dive on a person, industry, or topic. I met a few of them at the conference.
• Buying local newsletters that people are running as side projects and scaling them is a strategy that can do well.
• A newsletter can be a great growth engine if you sell products or software. If you’re savvy, you can convert your newsletter marketing from a cost center to a profit center by paying to acquire subscribers and getting paid to make them aware of other products or services.
• I learned a ton more from conversations and presentations!

Those are my struggles and learnings from the week.