After 5 months, $0K in revenue.
Starting something is easy.
Designing and building is relatively easy.
Even getting feedback from my initial network felt easy.
That's when I stalled...
In about August last year, I heard Brett Williams of DesignJoy on a podcast talking about the amount he was earning through his productized subscription model and I thought "I could do that". So why not!
I launched GoDesignGo.co in September '23 after throwing together a basic Squarespace website in a number of weeks.
I then reached out to my network targeting people that fit my ICP (start-up founders and design hirers within early stage startups) and started booking in discovery calls and feedback sessions to validate my initial website and messaging.
The initial calls were super helpful!
Really interesting feedback given some had never heard of the concept, some actionable feedback on the messaging but also a lot of questions.
Most notably, why?
"Unlimited design subscription" sounded exciting, but a number of them struggled to grasp how they would integrate it into their existing teams.
I set out to answer these questions by revisiting the messaging within the site; giving examples of the types of problem the service could solve while also explaining how it works.
At the same time, I noticed an influx of similar services being launched in ProductHunt and IH with the quality of the sites being significantly higher than the one I had thrown together in a couple of weeks.
I decided the existing website was no longer good enough and decided to rebuild using Webflow.
Having not used Webflow before, it took me longer than expected. Even when using a template I had bought to use as a starting point.
In hindsight, I now realize, it’s easy to let the logical voice in the back of your head saying “We should probably revamp the site to compete with the increasing market” mask what’s really going on. A fear of failure and avoiding the uncomfortable; finding a way to acquire customers from scratch!
As a product designer, although I have worked alongside extremely talented marketers, founders and even been heavily involved in discussions about distribution, targeting our ideal customer etc. it is completely different when having to do it yourself!
Especially, when the majority of what you read (and even your past experience) all leads to the same logical conclusion; you’re going to have to start creating content and building a community.
No mean feat! And definitely something I am having to learn from scratch.
So what’s next?
Continuing to reach out to my remaining network on LinkedIn and then figuring out how to niche down. “Early-stage startups” is still pretty broad, so I’ll be experimenting with different ways to niche down and continue the feedback loop.
So here is to a new year of leaning into uncomfortable territory, becoming a “content creator” and growing GoDesignGo to $25k MRR!
If you want to follow my journey, I’ll be posting fortnightly updates on https://www.indiehackers.com/product/godesigngo
🔥 Roast My Landing Page
We need more stories like this to normalize the fact that success doesn't come this easy. Having an idea is not enough. thanks for sharing
agree
Thanks @gomeyy! I know right, from reading all of the amazing success stories here and on LinkedIn, it's easy to think everyones finding it easy except you. I've also been guilty in the past of coming up with loads of ideas and rationalising myself out of seeing them through. Determined to stick at it this time and just see what happens! Hopefully reading about my journey can encourage others to stick at it too.
The website is great imo and the value is clear from working with you. However, for high B2B services such as yours I believe credibility comes a long way -> get your face on socials and build a strong personal brand with smart viral content. Best of luck
Thank you @Airzrayan appreciate it! Yeah, I've noticed the same pattern for 99% of successful agency or service providers (i.e where credibility is one of the defining differentiators, not features or functionality.)
My next big focus is now going to be building a strong personal brand on LI, IH and X. Thanks for the advice; you've nailed exactly what I need to do next 🙌
Persistence will always pay off. Wish you good luck.
Thanks @zdaskcom 🙏 That's exactly where my current mindsets at. Patience and persistence will pay off in the end 💪
Awesome story @Surfandstrategize, love your process and plans.
I'm starting a similar ride, but with web development. Last October i launched RapidRails UI component for Ruby on rails applications (https://www.indiehackers.com/product/rapidrails-ui-components). I was lucky that I got support from friends and Rails community on Twitter.
Now I'm pivoting the product to service. RapidRails Development Agency for Rails applications. I would create custom UI components for Rails applications using TailwindCSS and ViewComponent from a design file (figma or sketch).
As it obvious, most developers and designers are not keen to dig into traditional marketing routes. So alternative path is needed. Most of my network are developers who can do what I do or not interested.
I would like to know how did you approach your prospects? What were your techniques? What do you advice ?
Hey @ahmednadar it sounds like we have somewhat similar barriers (i.e our existing network isn't comprised of people who are our target market).
The approach I'm taking is:
Communities
Outreach
The above is just what I've come up with based on what I've read about the best way to approach acquiring customers as a B2B (there's tons of stuff out there, especially on IH.)
*"As it obvious, most developers and designers are not keen to dig into traditional marketing routes. So alternative path is needed."
I think I know what you're saying, however, I think as founder, as everything I've read by other successful founders, is that we essentially need to build out those skills. Certain methods are popular and successful for a reason.
My current thinking on marketing is that I'm trying to:
I would strongly recommend doing some research on other founders that have been there, done that and had success. Then it just comes down to trying things and seeing what works for you.
Good luck! Hope this helped!
Thanks @Surfandstrategize for the detailed answer. And I would like to echo your words and plans which you listed beautifully.
After reading many posts and stories about successful founders/creators I found; they followed a systematic and planed long path of self promoting with steady progress which it had paid off.
Being a part of a community is a free ticket to guarantee success and gaining trust when value is provided. I fully believe it's effectiveness and yet, still struggle to commit to it, because my commitments with work or other stuff. But it is never too late to start and provide value again as I used before I got but busy.
Additionally, being active on social media, DMs, cold emails 'outreach' worked well for me when i pre-launched RapidRails.cc and I need to balance time between continue producing more UI components and being active with outrach.
You are right when you said; "is that we essentially need to build out those skills." Yes, more skills we need to hone and practice. Your marketing plans sounds effective. Great points.
Hi Caleb, thanks for sharing your journey! You're clearly very talented.
I'm in a similar position -- a non-tech startup in a tech startup world -- so I have some thoughts and questions after traveling a similar road.
Do startups see the need / value for design? I'm wondering if you're encountering a bunch who are bootstrapping and will just build a site and/or logo for themselves.
It may also be the case that tech-oriented founders aren't interested in non-tech components of the work they're doing. We certainly see that -- anything that isn't 100% related to tech development just isn't on their radar.
Finally, how much 1:1 pitching are you doing? 100% of our leads and projects to date have come from connections of connections (of connections) -- which speaks to @anthonyriera's point about building trust. You may need to do more intro meetings.
Looking forward to following your progress!
Thanks for kind words @anne_clawson! We do appear to be in the minority here on IH, but actually think that could play to our advantage.
I think your point about startups/founders not valuing design is true, especially for super early stage, bootstrapped side-projects. However, as a startup has reached a point where they are wanting to grow, acquire more customers OR they have started to acquire customers beyond early adopters (generally more tolerant of poorer design and bugs), that's where design becomes a priority in my experience.
That does raise a good question, and one I need to solve; how might I accurately target startups and founders at that particular stage of their journey?
Thanks for the question though, is definitely something I've not thought nearly deeply enough. Time to really dig deep and nail down my ICP!
In terms of 1:1 pitching, none so far.
My current goal is to build trust through sharing my expertise and advice on a number of platforms (including IH). It's also already proving a fantastic way to get feedback and iterate on my current value proposition, messaging and positioning.
I am also fortunate enough to have a few people in my network at various VCs and incubators which could prove fruitful. However, I'm waiting to pull the trigger there until I feel I've refined my positioning and messaging to a point where there is a higher chance of closing.
Thanks for your support!
Glad to find a fellow traveler!
For what it's worth, I've found it very informative to do individual pitches. You may want to try a handful with low-stakes leads.
The way I do them, they're not hard sales pitches, they're conversations. Having the 1:1 real-time feedback of a conversation (video call or in person) is invaluable to me in refining our offerings. Even if I don't close a sale (hard on the first go round anyway), I learn: 1) what are this person's pain points? 2) how do they think about the services I offer -- high priority, low priority, nice-to-have? 3) WHEN do they start thinking about the services I offer? 4) who do they see as my competitors? 4) what budget do they have and 5) OFTEN they will make an introduction to someone else they think might want what I have to offer.
That's a great idea, thank you 🙏 That list of questions is also super helpful - I'll be using those!
I've actually been using a very similar format during my calls with people from my existing network that I initially identified as my target market. So good to know it's a format I'm already familiar with.
These calls have been invaluable for getting feedback, but what I realised, is that the maturity of the companies they all worked for, for falls more into a Scale-up category (i.e with established design teams and processes) and just isn't something they'd consider.
Now to re-target and use the above with (hopefully) my real target market. Always learning and improving :)
Hey Caleb, thanks for sharing your journey with us!
First of all, well done on your updated landing page: love it, clear, simple
I would say your biggest issue is distribution, this is now becoming a very competitive market and like every other businesses, productized services have their fair share of challenges.
I would suggest you treat your service as any other startups, same rules are applying.
Something that be a good lead generation for you is free tools, free courses or something that would establish your credibility for your target audience.
productized services are working really well when you're trusted online, this should be your number 1 goal!
Design Joy works so well not because of the design he creates, but because what his business represents!
Happy to chat more about that! Also if you're ever interested, I created https://breeew.com that helps productized services owner like you to get started :)
I also build that in public 😅
I 100% agree. “Poor distribution – not product – is the number one cause of failure.” which I'm now in the process of finding out the hard way haha. Thanks for the advice about free tools, courses etc.
You're also absolutely right about the "trust" element, and that's a great observation of what's driven DesignJoy's success. I think I also have a lot to offer in terms of my expertise from my 10 years experience in UX/UI and product. Time to start establishing that credibility through free advice and being active in communities where my target market are active.
Congrats on breeew.com! Looks slick and like something a lot of productized service owners would benefit from; well identified problem/market fit!
I look forward to following your journey!
I'm not sure about it but when I visited the website, The header seemed failed to capture the attention. May be you wanna experiment with cover heading.
I think you’re onto something there @priyashpatil I’ve had some feedback from discovery calls that the proposition sounds great, but they aren’t sure how they’d use the service. Basically, it doesn’t point to a clear problem. I just added a task to my “Now” column in Trello to come up with 3 alternatives to test. I’ll ideate today and get a test this evening. Thanks for the feedback!
Awesome. Glad to to know. Keep me posted when you make changes.
Thanks! That would be greatly appreciated. Will do.
Thanks for this. I feel like I am in the same boat. You here all these stories of 0-$5000 MRR in two months its great to hear that someone else is going through the same struggles. Keep it up!! you will get there in the end.
Thanks @HMasudi ! Exactly! It was a bit of shock when 2 months in I was still at $0 but I guess the failures and struggles seem to be written about less until the success has followed. Hoping this can help normalise the struggles I’m sure the majority are going through. Thank you, we will!
Good luck, Caleb!
Thanks @Bryan2000100! Onwards and upwards!
thanks
You’re welcome @RSTheme :D
Hi Caleb,
Have you considered to take a second look at your pricing until you get the first customers on? I have one in my network pursuing a similar productized design journey, and he has about 5 customers total who each pau about $3000/month. His selling point is that it is much cheaper than a full time employee and in his experience, the volume that comes in from each client varies month-to-month, so he is just spending time while needed.
Basically the clients are paying for the ability to get designs done fast when needed.
Yes! That is something I’m going to be doing this evening. I’ve read quite a bit about gradually scaling your pricing as you get traction and was probably a bit optimistic with my current pricing.
Oh, that’s interesting. Thanks for that insight. My page highlights a similar value proposition, but I think I’m currently trying to communicate too many (need a clearer well defined message)!
Thanks for your support and advice!
If this project isn't working, and you already spent that much time into it, why not just create a new thing entirely and start from scratch? Do it better, faster, make a completely different concept.
Your conclusion being to continue until you turn $0 into $25k sounds unrealistic and counterintuitive. Just make something else that can get to at least $500 in a week.
Also, don't want to be harsh, but you promote design services yet there are writing errors in the page, and the fonts used look strange in that specific combination. The landing page itself is part of your design portfolio, and if it's not excellent then it won't inspire much trust in your services.
You're absolutely right about the need to pivot when a project isn't working. I think in all honesty, the problem is that I'm not sure it isn't working because I haven't put it "out there".
My main focus now is to validate/invalidate that as quickly as possible to iterate/adapt or pivot.
Good spot! Thanks for that; the pitfalls of rushing out copy changes last minute ;) Thanks for your feedback, really appreciate it.
Yeap! That's what I said. All those who are building in public looks like perfect entrepreneurs. They know everything and turn an idea into a great business in days. Ok, let's suppose it's true... it's not for everyone. Thanks for sharing your journey making it more reliable and all the best in that journey!
Thanks for your support @Germerlo! I know what you mean, it does seem a lot of the building in public community are much more seasoned operators... but then everyone starts somewhere. Hopefully my relatively slowly starting story can inspire others to keep going even when it feels like you're not making much progress. I'm determined to get there eventually. Patience and persistence ftw.
Appreciate you sharing this with us Caleb! All we see are the "overnight" successes so thank you for being vulnerable and sharing some real-world learnings. Rooting for you and excited to follow you on this journey.
Thanks for the support @phillipou ! I'd been putting off writing my first 'building in public' post until I had "something to show" (i.e actual revenue or customers) as that seems to be the most common type of post I'd found. But then I thought, just write about where you're at, I can't be the only person finding this hard.
Going to keep documenting my progress including some more journal type posts just showing my thought process, different directions I could take, ways to validate, experiment etc.
Hopefully, it will be the type of content others will find interesting and helpful.
Thanks for following me on this journey!