2017: I spent a year building a startup that made $0. 2023: I launched 10 products and made…

1/ An idea, quick The most successful products were built by solopreneurs scratching their itches. @levelsio building NomadList while traveling the world is a great example.

There are tons of existing problems gravitating around you. Build a habit of looking around. If you’re working 9/5, it’s the best place to explore. Search for experiences that bother you. Or knowledge you wish you had.

If nothing comes, start something new. Try a new sport, start a new daily routine, or acquire new skills. You can also solve universal problems: Businesses want more revenue, and people want to be more productive. Finally, you can upgrade a product you or your friends use.

When you get started, ideas don’t matter. Building them does. You’ll discover real problems and get tons of promising ideas.

2/ The 24-hour startup My 2017 startup failure went like this: I threw away all the code, quit my girlfriend, and moved to a new country.

The more time invested, the higher the expectations. In the tough world of entrepreneurship where expectations are rarely met, spending months on a product is a recipe for burnout.

Every startup has a 24-hour version: Airbnb is a spreadsheet, and Instagram is a Google Drive. Find yours. Remove all non-critical features. Spend a week or two building. Write a good headline and ship with a buy button.

TL;DR; Building a successful startup is a repetition of tiny failures. Be comfortable being imperfect. Take action. Now is a good time to write some code.

I share everything I learn as a solopreneur every Saturday morning: How to find startup ideas, launch fast, and get profitable ↓ marclou.beehiiv.com