> concierge migrations<p>This was a hack I used on an eventually failed software venture. We were in an incubator and had about $10k and the start of a pivot. We hired 3 contractors to build an MVP in about 2 weeks. We focused on the core functionality of the product. Since we used Rails we also were able to use a module that gave us a nice admin UI around our data model. This let us do the data entry for pilot members while we got feedback on the core product. Since we were providing a way for vendors to sell products with complex facets (prices in multiple currencies, descriptions in multiple languages, complex product availability etc) we could control the data entry and also avoid building complex wizard UIs for users that surely would be given up on with our limited value prop at the time.<p>Thinking back on that hack I think it is definitely something I'd do again.
Congrats - I've been following Nathan's journey for a few years now. I am not a customer of his web app, as his product was not built for what I do, but nevertheless I have been reading his annual 'report cards' and have bought a couple of his e-books.<p>Just curious for those that are lambasting his methods of marketing - how do you sell or market your products or services? Are you even involved in the marketing & sales aspect of a business, or is your role just coding, devops, finance or other?
I love his book "Authority" (not affiliated with the author, just got a lot of value from it). It states that one of the best moves to make a claim of expertise is writing a book, and contains a framework to write a book about something you know in ~3 months.<p><a href="http://nathanbarry.com/authority/" rel="nofollow">http://nathanbarry.com/authority/</a>
Wow, this is pretty astounding. Congrats Nathan.<p>Personally though, I don't get how this kind of marketing strategy works. I unsubscribe SO FAST from things that seem like mass emails that it just wouldn't work on me. I suppose I'm a huge exception to the general public? I'm even surprised when I look over at my girlfriend's gmail how many promotions she has (not in a separate tab).
<p><pre><code> > Since we haven't raised money and aren't planning on a
> big exit, I want to continue to pay myself well through
> distributions so that offers to buy the company continue
> to be easy to decline.
</code></pre>
That's my favorite line from the post. People in the middle stages of building a long-term business have this tendency to think it's somehow wrong to take some portion of the profit for yourself - most believe it should be reinvested or redistributed.<p>This doesn't take into account that claiming a portion as yours <i>is</i> an investment - it's an investment to secure your own continued long-term interest in the project.<p>Clearly you wouldn't do it to the point where the company is suffering - but to the point where maybe you're just not growing as fast? Or have to do to add some features? Often a worthwhile tradeoff.
Dir. of Engineering at ConvertKit here. We're hiring![1]<p>Nathan is super smart, genuine, honest and generous. Our culture is a reflection of his personality, which makes ConvertKit a fantastic company to work for.<p>[1]: <a href="https://weworkremotely.com/jobs/4266-senior-rails-engineer" rel="nofollow">https://weworkremotely.com/jobs/4266-senior-rails-engineer</a>
I'm aware that market is possibly the best kind of fitness evaluator for what kind of ideas the world needs - but every time I see smart people getting excited about making good money by doing what's been done so many times before makes me sad. These kind of stories should be a hopeful example for people who are not yet able to make a comfortable living, but as a community we shouldn't glorify them nearly as much as we do at the moment.
Congrats on the success Nathan! I was at your workshop in Boston back in 2013, and read Authority in 2013. It inspired me to launch <a href="https://lsathacks.com" rel="nofollow">https://lsathacks.com</a> (I had an existing book series).<p>I've now released video courses on the site, things are going very well revenue wise, and I'm on a steady path of much further growth. I honestly don't know what would have happened had I not read Authority back when I did.<p>Very inspiring to see what you've done with Convertkit, and it's making me consider more direct sales.<p>p.s. Here's an early writeup you did, in case you don't remember. <a href="http://nathanbarry.com/authority-case-studies/" rel="nofollow">http://nathanbarry.com/authority-case-studies/</a>
Nathan, thanks for telling your story! I'd like to hear what your take is on something I thought when reading this article. One factor in ConvertKit's success is that RSS is still sort of broken.<p>My thinking is that a big benefit of the service is that I can sign up for my favorite blogger or YouTuber to email me when they post something new, rather than checking the page a couple times a week and finding nothing new half the time. I've never found an effect RSS service for myself and I suspect many, many others feel the same. If we had, the content providers we love would reply on that instead of being a potential customer for you.
«Bootstrapped» with 55k$ and an already succesful business is not exactly boostrapping to me.<p>This achievement is very impressive nonetheless. Growing a business even in a known environment is very hard, I know it first hand.<p>It's especially interesting that he shares numbers, some I'd love to be able to do but money is particularly taboo in my field. Having your accountant and banker tell you that your numbers are actually very good compared to others despite being under the target you set to yourself is especially comforting.<p>Having your banker call you and congratulate you because you're now largely cash flow positive is exhilarating.