Why I failed to build a startup in 24 hrs
Last Sunday, I tweeted out that I will build a startup from start to finish in 24 hrs
I knew I wanted to build a Twitter growth tool but apart from that I hadn't done any research into it at all. The plan was to decide on key features, build them out and release it the same day.
Fast forward 24hrs I failed to do what I said I would do. I wanted to create an elaborate post which is an extension of this Twitter thread to discuss what happened and what I would do differently.
Chose a high code project with lots of API Integrations
Building a twitter growth tool requires it to be very closely integrated with multiple Twitter APIs. Of course, that entails reading the docs, understanding them, coding them and the last but not least debugging them. This was just a lot to do.
Focused too much on design
I am a sucker for good design. I even have a website dedicated to feature great looking landing pages. I spent almost double the time than what I should have spent. Ended up trying different things by changing code rather than just building from my simple Figma design. Good design although is great and much needed often does not help with validating core features in a MVP.
Tried to push my own Authentication
Getting "Log in via Twitter" to work was pure pain. I knew about alternatives like Firebase and Next.js which make authentications super easy but I had never used them before. I thought it would be faster to code it up on my own than try to understand and make them work. I was so wrong.
Got distracted by all that fame
My tweet was going viral while I was building all of this stuff. I was excited about it and constantly replying to people. I was way too distracted to focus on one thing for even 15 minutes straight. I should have just focused on building which was the intention in the first place.
Closing Thoughts
Now, that I have the scar tissues from this failure I know what to do and what not to do. So, I have decided to continue the "build a startup in 24 hrs" thing and do that every week.
Follow me on Twitter if you want to see what I am up to 😁
Good, he's going to give himself more than 24 hours next time.
Lol
Haha, why do I keep doing this to myself
It's not a Failure you had just completed a step to figure out the right one. I saw this video on YouTube but I am not sure I can post it here. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4UeodIMhhk
did you use trends.co or explodingideas.co to get your initial idea? what sparked it for you?
Nope. The idea came from my own problems trying to grow in Twitter
love it
Ah authentication, rookie mistake
Now, no question, I just deploy Magic link, no thoughts involved at all
This one need to have Twitter Auth because its a twitter analytics tool
Just keep doing
Yes absolutely.
Thank you for sharing
I just hope my experience will help others :)
💩happens, and when you have such tight deadlines, you can either finish quickly or fly off the ramp fast.
But at least you've validated that this brings you traction, and know what to look out for.
I once read a very nice eBook that got me into indiehacking and making products in the first place (took me years of consuming content before actually doing this)... But it basically showed how to "go from idea to shipping" in a weekend.
The catch was, however, you would do some necessary homework before that weekend started: researching similar tools for a couple of minutes, reading into the frameworks or api's that you'd need, and getting your stuff ready to roll.
When the weekend took off, you'd be coding away and glue-ing all those building blocks you'd have learned about together so you get results.
That approach can be used for a 24 hour setting also. Just build features first, and do perfection later is my take on this.. As styling is very cool, if the features suck, nobody will pay.
Wishing you all the best and looking forward to your next attempt!
Code Hard, Ship Harder 🔥
What book was this?
Thanks for the insight mate. Will get it right the next time.
Thank you for sharing this Nilan :). Can’t wait for your second try!!!
Thanks Thomas. Coming up this Sunday
Next time don't build a product.
Focus on getting paying customers.
It's the only thing that matters.
I know it's difficult because you're a CTO and you're (naturally) focused on building a product but the product is the least important thing for a successful startup.
In fact, focusing on building and selling a product is actually detrimental to your success - it's the reason why over 90% of all startup fail.
The truth is that you don't need a great product (or any product at all) to start getting paying customers.
It's all about marketing. And the right marketing strategy can build you a very successful business without a great product at all.
I've written about this quite a lot on here but rather than repeat myself I'll point you to a resource that explains exactly what I mean and what you can do with this info - www.thebluntmethod.com
Best
Chris
Hey, I'm a co-founder of an ed-tech start-up platform and we have multiple roadmaps to upskill for Web Development, SEO, Consulting, Finance and UI/UX design. We are releasing new roadmaps each week. Do check it out if it interests you. I definitely think it would be super useful to upskill or even learn something new.
We are currently in talks with Amazon, Google and various other platforms to incorporate our idea. Do let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas about the page.
www.thepathfinderproject.co.uk
Only those who try and fail eventually get success, you've made one step further into it!
Hey, I'm a co-founder of an ed-tech start-up platform and we have multiple roadmaps to upskill for Web Development, SEO, Consulting, Finance and UI/UX design. We are releasing new roadmaps each week. Do check it out if it interests you. I definitely think it would be super useful to upskill or even learn something new.
We are currently in talks with Amazon, Google and various other platforms to incorporate our idea. Do let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas about the page.
www.thepathfinderproject.co.uk
Inspirable!
I wouldn't call it a failure. I love the intention. Just keep going!
I loved that your conclusion wasn't "I need to be less tough on myself" but "I need to figure out a way to do it." Best of luck in the future! :)
Be realistic, go to a hackathon. Preferably a web3 hackathon. You'll need a team of people to succeed. No one becomes ultra successful on their own
Rome wasn’t built in a day don’t put yourself down you have a great product already in landings.dev (kudos to you, first time on this website and I’m feeling inspired) so you clearly have the skills to build great things.
Keep it up and thanks for sharing 👍🏻
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Thanks for sharing this Nilan.
Some good lessons learned for other people who might want to try a similar challenge.
I would have loved to see the good things that came out of this too :)
Yeah some people have picked up on this trend and started doing similar challenge. So definitely something good came out of it.
Thanks for sharing this. I'm working on figuring out a 24 Hr Block for a build and was trying to understand the amount of research and prep i need to do. This helps. Did you use any tools to track time / progress during those 24 hours?
I just use the Notes app in MacOS for keeping a todo list but thats it