I Reached $4k/Mo. But How Many Great Startup Ideas Have Died?
I just reached $4,000/month with my internet startup as a solo developer.
Because I didn't let people talk me out of my startup idea.
You have an idea for a startup. You're excited and want to tell everybody about it.
You start by sharing it with your friends.
"I don't think that's a good idea.""Doesn't this exist? So many big platforms do it. Very competitive."
Then, you share it with investors.
"I think you're great, but this idea is not for me.""I don't see how this could grow 100x."
And when you hear people saying these things, there's a good chance you start doubting your own startup idea.
"Maybe they're right. Maybe it's not a good idea."
$4,000/month
Like the feedback I got from a Twitter user a few months back:
"... the ideas that you're pursuing are a smaller subset of the successful products."
"I'd say that the next thing you build that solves a problem that you've faced yourself."
But when I now reached $4,000/month with MicroFounder, the same person DM'd me again on Twitter:
But I understand why this Twitter person says this, and I'll explain it through the concept of physical vs non-physical startup.
Physical and Non-Physical startup
This is how I've been thinking about my startups: there's a physical part and non-physical part.
The physical part of my startup is what everyone can see in the physical world: website, blog posts, tweets, etc.
But the non-physical part of my startup is so much more. This non-physical part of my startup includes all the thoughts that I've been thinking about it all those years as well as the whole life experience that inspired me to begin with it.
And here's the thing. Other people can only see the physical part. So of course I understand why they don't believe in it as I do.
I see so much more – I can also see the non-physical part of my startup.
But why do you start doubting your idea?
It's not because the idea is bad. It's not because it's unlikely to succeed.It's not because you're the wrong person for the idea.
The reason is this: you start talking about your idea before it has gathered enough momentum.
And so you let other people talk you out of your startup idea.
Gathering momentum
Find a way to believe in your startup idea longer, so it would have time to gather more momentum. This requires a knowingness – or call it a decision – that your idea will come to fruition.
When you feel that you are starting to doubt your idea, stop yourself. Stop talking about it, stop thinking about it. Because at this time the more you talk about it the more you introduce resistance to it. You're not doing the idea any good, so just stop.
Another way is to go more general. Out of the specifics of the startup and into the big vision. Why are you building this? What kind of personal life experience led you to the idea? How will the success of your startup change your life?
How many great startup ideas have died because their founders let other people talk them out of their ideas?