This article is part of my ↗️ where I share insights on building things in tech. Join me :)‍ Note: resource newsletters 👋 I’m , a product builder. I’ve built multiple apps using the method: , , , , , , +more Zoe Chew rapid MVP sneaker app personal FAQ meal kit app virtual event app SaaS tracker food delivery content app In this post, I will share my reflection notes, processes, and frameworks — how I rapidly test new ideas, generate paying customers, and optimize daily performance. Let’s find out: 1. Global paying customers 🌍 “If your customers are international you are an international company.” — Andreas Klinger My biggest milestone in 2021 is building an international business with global paying customers. Today, my customers are mainly from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Germany. I’m in the digital business and I offer products for tech entrepreneurship, such as: Building a no-code content app in 1 hour Building an online legal marketplace MVP 12 Notion templates+10-part Notion training Case study: How to launch on Product Hunt #1 Food delivery app template Online store mobile app template How did I get here? I transitioned out of my marketing work and got into MVP creations in 2019. I launched apps, , and ended up working with remote teams from North America/Japan where I helped build and advise in products and GTM (while being in SEA). featured globally I experimented with digital business models and built a portfolio of side projects. I turned them into profitable businesses through building in public, content marketing, SEO inbound traffic, and personal branding. How to go global as an entrepreneur? Pick any industry which access to your offering and distribution . For example: SaaS, digital products, content, online education, paid online community. has no geographical limitation Create products for the Think about how you can provide values for people who operate remote-first, or those who rely on digital tools/resources. global target audiences. Match your . My marketing channels include: , , , and . Find your winning channel — you don’t need to do be on *every* social media platform. product with the right distribution Twitter Medium Substack LinkedIn Scale your . Create once, distribute forever, compound repetitively. Create evergreen content that has long-term value. The websites I built two years ago and the blog posts I wrote three years ago are still generating sales for my business. personal brand I use Gumroad and Stripe (payment), Carrd and Webflow (website), Namecheap (domain), Notion (project management & documentation), Airtable (database), Calendly (meeting & consultation). Tools to run a remote business. 2. On Deck Founder Fellowship (ODF) 🤝 After launching multiple profitable projects, I decided to discontinue consulting work to explore something new. As a builder, I always wanted to build something that has future valuation. I was at the intersection of media and tech entrepreneurship. But I couldn’t solidify my vision. One day, On Deck’s candidate team reached out for an interview. I’ve heard strong testimonials from my friends who joined ODF. , was my first impressions about On Deck. Needless to say, I said yes. “Standford for the Internet” “Builders build together” and “Silicon Valley in the cloud” I went through the interview call and got accepted in Founder Fellowship 10 in June. At that time, it was a 10-week remote program for $2950 USD (now they are part of ). ODX My experience in ODF A few months after the program, I’m confident to say ODF was time+money well spent. It was a forcing function for building my next thing. My first week at ODF was all about the introduction and getting to know other founders: The rest of my experience as an alum during my cohort: I met ex-founders who’ve sold their startups, talented product minds who’ve worked at top tech companies, speakers from Coinbase and Facebook, etc. You’re in the right place when you’re not the smartest people in the room. Vetted professional network: You’re one Slack DM away from your next intros, connections, opportunities, perspectives, knowledge, expertise, etc. ODF community felt special because people tend to seek to provide values first, before being the receiver. Spirits of service: I met people who’re going through fundraising, pitch meeting, incorporating as a remote company, looking for co-founders, hiring potential talents, and exploring new startup ideas. Diversity in the journey: I’d schedule multiple 1:1 calls till 3 AM, offer my product expertise, and make new connections. We’d attend rapid-fire pitches, venture meals, masterminds, accountability, virtual co-working, hackathons, weekly social, etc. Founders’ activities: Lifetime access, fundraising program, partner offers, freelance gigs, office hours, recorded workshops, directory, talent hubs, etc. Resources: Notes for ODF newcomers: to starting something new as an explorer of new ideas — or a founder who is already working on MVP and want to move to the next stage (i.e. funding, pitching, hiring, customers). ODF is for you if you’re committed you want to pursue. Have a plan on what/who you’re looking for: expertise, industry, sector, business goals, personal interests, support, etc. Use or to keep track of your connections, follow up, or stay in touch. Align your goals with the community activities Notion CRM Airtable There are fellows who commit 5hr/week and those who do 20hr/week. Participate at your own pace and adjust when necessary. Allocate a time that works for you. You can catch up on recorded Zoom sessions. Since I prefer live interactions, I adapted to the Pacific Time from my SEA timezone (Sleep: 4 am; Wake: 12:30 pm). Joining outside of U.S. timezone. is shaped by how much value you put into the community. Your ODF experience 3. Profitable new startup 🚀 ODF has helped me tremendously. Specifically, the 1:1 founder conversations, perspectives from others, and the mastermind sessions. After building multiple projects, I came to a point where I needed to find something that helps me to stay intellectually curious around innovation and media. Therefore, I founded , an online publication that covers consumer tech and Internet platforms. The goal is to help entrepreneurs understand how to build the future. Venturescale Here’s my founder’s thesis: Business Insider acquired Morning Brew, a newsletter company . HubSpot Trends by The Hustle. As long as people are searching for information, new kinds of media companies will continue to form. Media companies are valuable. for $75M acquired Most tech analyses are written by management consultants, journalists, and researchers. Venturescale is done through the lens of a product builder, thinker, and practitioner. Why you? How I built & validated a media startup The best way to indicate a validation — get people to pay for it. I wrote and published my of the venture report and shared it with my email subscribers. Minimum viable prototype. first paid version Over the next 7 days, I received hundreds in revenue. As of today, Venturescale has become profitable. That’s when I decided to pursue this idea. Proof of concept. was the third step. I used to create a one-pager landing page and included a free preview of the publication. As the website content expands, I switched to to leverage the CMS. Website Carrd Webflow Sell first, before you build anything. You can create the distribution (i.e. the audience, email list, followers) before you create the product or startup. You can create a prototype (and sell it), before worrying about the company logo, incorporation, web design, and social media. Lessons. Framework for finding your next thing Finding what to build next is always hard. Therefore, I figured out a structured framework for myself. Your “next thing” could be something that intersects at: (where do you want to be) Innovation, startups, and tech entrepreneurship Domain : (why it’s hard for people to replicate you) being the builder, seller, and storyteller at the same time. Personal moat : (what’s in your toolbox) offer my consulting, strategic, and product thinking skills Skillet : (how do you want to run your day-to-day): bootstrap the revenue as a media startup then expand the platform to be tech-enabled Operation (what do you want to create): tech analysis, market deep-dive, and strategy in consumer tech Creation (who do you want to connect as a result of this project): intellectually curious minds Connection 4. International feature 🥳 I have no idea how much impact I’ve created through my work until I found out I was mentioned all over the places on the Internet. I’m grateful for people who go the extra mile and appreciate my work in public. Thanks for the generosity! Around-the-world-mention 2021: of The Year Product Hunt Community Member in Venture Capital, Startups & Entrepreneurship Medium Top Writer 2021 Nomination in 6 categories Hacker Noon’s Noonies for early-professionals Top 10 Career Influencers by We Love No Code Inspiring No-Code Leaders 2021 How I built an international personal brand? I prefer heads-down building time instead of constantly posting on social media. Therefore, I approached branding through documentation. I started by solving my own problems with tech, building MVPs/side projects, sharing my processes, amplifying through content, and using distribution channels to get discovered. Document your process. Share what you know: insights, mistakes, dos and don'ts, lessons, tools, mindsets. Don’t be that person who is afraid of sharing because someone “will steal my idea”. If you don’t get it out there, you will never know if it’s going to work. Provide massive values. (not in the blockchain context). People trust people who “build” things, not “talk about” things. Create a body of work that verifies your expertise and skillset. It can be creating a personal website, portfolio page, video series, podcasts, blog posts, newsletters, etc. Proof of work 5. Personal growth 💪 This year, I spent a great deal of time on “biohacking” experiments. The goal was to achieve holistic health, increase my “brain RAM”, and long-lasting physical energy. Some notes on 2021: Great 5.0 Business revenue and profit growth 📈 Biohacking (micronutrients, circadian rhythm, holistic mindfulness) 🥦 Practice deep work + deep rest cycle ⏰ (I use for 4–7–8 breathing; for consistent breaks) Interval Timer Pomodoro extension Quality sleep, eyes open ~5 am without an alarm (I use , sleep mask, and took a ) 😴 Bose Sleepbuds II Sleep Masterclass Fair 3.5 Read 16 books | target 25/year 📚 (mostly on tech & entrepreneurship) Meditate 209 hours in total | target 60 min/day (I use , mostly silent meditation) 🧘🏻 Meditation Timer & Log Medium followers hit | target 4,500 🎉 3,000 Poor 2.0 Lack of expressing my thoughts on social 💭 Phone screen time/day~2 hr (target 1 hr/day) 📲 Daily movement 135 min/week (target 300 min/week) 🏃‍♂️ [1] Find me on Personal Site / Twitter / LinkedIn 🔥 [2] Insight on building things in tech — Join my newsletter 💌

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Templates I Used To Validate Ideas and Get Paying Customers in 2021

Templates I Used To Validate Ideas and Get Paying Customers in 2021

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