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56 Comments

X Startups in X Months: Good Idea?

I'm wondering if sprinting through a bunch of projects is a good idea.

Going fast (all else equal) is not a bad thing in of itself, but I have a feeling that what is happening here in at least some cases is that someone does not have enough information on how to prioritize or is unable to make a strategic business decision and commit to this GREAT idea they might have.

I don't know what's good, so I'll just go for everything. Does that sound like a good thing to do? Don't we need to research and make strong decisions and commit to something?

That's one thing I want to figure out before I choose and start working on my next project.

Maybe I can do a 3 startups in 12 months version of this

  1. 12

    I'm not a fan of this personally.

    Since you're pre-planning to do multiple startups, you're essentially pre-planning for failure. Seems wrong to me.

    If you notice: most people making a full-time living off this are doing it with a focus on 1 successful business. You might not (and likely won't) find success with your first idea, but that doesn't mean you should go in assuming it will fail.

    A better mantra: "I will launch in X days". Then, see what happens, ride the wave, if it doesn't grow, rinse and repeat.

    1. 1

      I'm with you -- "launch this in X days" or "alpha tests in X days" have been great motivators for me across at least 8 pivots in the past 2 years. Most often, after that launch, I do a follow-up. Other times I pivot. My record for the 8 is 1 profitable, 1 failed, 1 ongoing, and the other 5 back-burnered.

    2. 1

      So fail fast and don't linger/get attached basically, one of the pillars of lean agile startups. I like this alternative

      1. 1

        Yep exactly! Only get attached if you're still finding growth with the idea. But also SaaS takes time. I don't think I can get where I wanna be in just 1 month. That's why this "X companies in X amount of time" seems odd to me. Patience.

        1. 1

          Interesting, I created a similar topic here: https://www.indiehackers.com/post/can-any-b2b-saas-product-reach-10k-mrr-7d5400c48b Would love to get your view on this similar question. Basically its about when to quit and when to move forward.

          1. 1

            I actually loved your post, I'll write up a response on it after work today 😉

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        This comment was deleted a year ago.

    3. 1

      This comment was deleted 2 years ago.

  2. 9

    If you have a good idea with a proven market and given the chance to operate why not ?

    Some market only requires a functional competitor platform for them to consider while others not.

  3. 9

    I think it works best if the ideas are "smaller". If you have an idea that you think has amazing potential and would require work, I would suggest doing that alone. And going the usual validate -> mvp -> beta -> launch route.

    If you aren't sure that these ideas are great or they won't require toooo much work then I think x startups in x months is great because you get a lot of practice building & launching + attract a lot of attention & build an audience.

    But those are just my $0.02.

    1. 1

      Yes, I agree. It’s a good way to get going as long as the idea are small.

      Also, you’ll get better at launching and you’ll get a feel for what is and isn’t wanted by the market

    2. 1

      Yeah, that makes sense. If one has a bunch of smaller ideas, it might be a good thing to just sprint through them and see which are worth focusing more on as they "test".

      I find it interesting that you separate "validate" and "mvp". I think that is a revelation for me actually, because I thought an MVP is used to validate an idea, but that sounds costly.

      I guess I need to find ways that are even smaller and simpler than an MVP to check if my ideas are worth pursuing?

      More than $0.02, thanks for your input.

      1. 3

        Glad it helped!

        Yup, validation is not the MVP. Your validation is just a landing page ideally.

        Make a landing page, showcase your value proposition and see if people are willing to give you their email address or better yet pay in advance.

        If enough ppl are interested -> decent idea.

        For example I haven't built the MVP for my app yet, I just made this landing page to test the waters.

        Ashish

  4. 5

    Sprinting through a bunch of projects can be a good idea, but you'll have to plan well.

    Reserve time for validation, marketing and building. Ideally, you probably should be doing a bit of validation/marketing each day. If you have a good idea of who will be your target customers, and what they need, you'll probably do better.

    I feel like the biggest benefit to 12 in 12 is that you become better at scoping ideas, figuring out how to validate, market and build in a short time by cutting the cruft to really get to the core of what's important.

    In terms of small products, I like what @dvassallo advertises with a portfolio of small bets. He has many small products that took less than a month to release and is doing pretty well with them. But he already has a massive audience.

    Then, there's the original one, @levelsio that did the 12 in 12 and achieved a massive success. Not sure what was his audience before he started but I'd guess he already had one.

    There's also @amyhoy that has done well with ebooks written in a short time in the past. Doing 12 in 12 months should be possible. She also already has an audience.

    Other people that seem to be doing well selling small products are @AndrewKamphey who sells Google Sheets and a tool to sell Google sheets and @hughdawkins that sells Notion templates.

    I'm not saying that having an audience is a prequisite for success. But it definitely helps. So, by building in public, engaging daily in the community you're looking to serve and asking your network to help you promote your products might be critical for your success.

    1. 1

      Ideally, you probably should be doing a bit of validation/marketing each day

      I think this is so important, something that I really need to work on

      I think having an audience gives you social validation, not just potential customers. A potential customer might be more encourages when they see you have an audience (even if the audience aren't customers)

    2. 1

      Well said!

      Segmenting it into validation, building and marketing is a great approach. I think even with a small (or even no) audience it's absolutely possible to be successful. Obviously, an audience helps, so building in public and 12 in 12 makes for naturally interesting content so by sharing everyone wins!

    3. 1

      The question I have is when is the time to quit. I created this post that might be interesting for you as well: https://www.indiehackers.com/post/can-any-b2b-saas-product-reach-10k-mrr-7d5400c48b

      Would love to get your view on this.

  5. 3

    I think it is a great exercise. You quickly realize what makes a product succeed when you've pumped a few out (distribution). But more importantly, I think it works best when done in public.

    Those who've done it best (like @levelsio) have done it in public. It is a very clever way to do two things in parallel: build products and cultivate an audience. If you do both in parallel, it is hard not to let one feed into the other. This cross pollination will increase the odds that you will build something your audience will want to use.

    1. 2

      Interesting to think about the relationship between one's audience and their product because in my mind the audience might be different that your customers (although of course there can be an intersection)

      I realize having an non-customer audience can still directly help encourage customers, does that make sense to you?

      1. 2

        yes, makes sense to me. I've just noticed that when the audience and customers have a large overlap (like in the case of nomadlist), building in public has more upside.

  6. 2

    I do 12 startups at the same time.

    1. 1

      😏

      "I love making my own startups. None were successful until now. However, one day, one startup will!"

      All the best of luck to you.

  7. 2

    One way to look at this is - build n things in n months. Another is, to seek to validate/test n things in n months. Subtle but really important difference.

    The goal is not n things. It’s identifying something with clear potential, something that has some traction or shows signs of traction.

    Time boxing is an excellent way to run experiments without going down a rabbit hole and blowing months building the wrong thing.

    It’s a solid strategy IMO, if it’s done with the goal of validation, testing, experimenting and learning what to focus on long term.

    Imagine you’re further along the path, you might decide to do 12 features in 12 months as a way to feel out and gather feedback on what’s actually important to your current customers vs. what they might say they need.

    Experimenting and learning is a good mindset to bring when you’re swimming in uncertainty. 🍻

  8. 2

    You should try differentiate from "startup" and "project".

    Start with your goal for wanting to do this, what are you trying to achieve?

    If it's to build a big business, then "x startups in x months" is not a good framework. If your goal is to be better at launching products and learning from how they perform in the market, then "x startups in x months" is probably a good way to think.

  9. 2

    You're putting too much pressure on yourself to commit. Just make something.

    I like follow David Mamet's path. When he writes, His character is in 1 room, and if that character stays in that room it's a play, if they leave, it's a film.

    1. 1

      "Just make something": beautifully said. This is what matters...

      My primary challenge isn't to commit to X products in X months, but to prioritize which of my ideas to pursue. I think I need to find a way to validate/test before starting building an MVP

  10. 2

    I'm a huge fan of the "12in12" approach. It has several advantages:

    First, it counters one of the most common mistakes to make, which is spending too much time getting your project out there. One month forces your "minimum viable product" to be truly minimal.

    Second, it makes it easier to avoid having a scarcity mindset around ideas. You're optimistically deciding in advance that ideas are a dime a dozen, and that no single idea is so special that you can never move on. And in my experience, people make the mistake of sticking with bad ideas more often than the mistake of abandoning good ones.

    Additionally, 12in12 helps you take your deadlines more seriously. With only one project, it's easy to say, "I know I wanted to finish in a month, but let me extend to two. Wait, no three." With 12in12, it's much harder to do that, because that would mean sacrificing your overall goal. 12in12 helps remind you to focus on the long-term view.

    Third, I've always believed you get more experience with lots of cycles through a loop than you do with one really long cycle. You'll learn more from writing 5 decent books than from slaving over one masterpiece for 10 years. You'll learn more from trying 12 startups in a year than from just trying 1. It gives you perspective. You can compare and contrast the experiences, tease apart learnings, and build your intuition.

    Finally, you can quit! If one of your projects starts taking off beyond a reasonable doubt, there's no reason you have to stick with the 12in12 plan and start a new project next month. Or if you finish the entire year with no hits, you can look back at what you've done and choose to follow up on whichever project looked most promising.

    I've interviewed founders who've done both of these things and found success.

    1. 1

      More Cycles > Longer Cycles. What a great way to put it. Love this.

      The part about taking deadlines more seriously really resonated with me. Definitely guilty here. I indeed allow things to drag and get attached to ideas! But I have quite a few ideas, so I might need an approach similar to 12in12.

      Also, admittedly, I do have traces of that possibly childish concern of sharing my ideas (so special ideas) before starting to work on them. Seeing myself write this makes me just want to list my ideas out here and get it over with.

      All the replies here are actually making me consider this. I am considering a few methods to decide which one of the ideas that I have to start working on next, let alone in the 12in12 public style.

  11. 2

    Ideally, we improve at least one relevant skill with each iteration. The quantity and quality of products you’d like to commit to launching should vary based on factors like one’s personality(cognitive skills, temperament, goals, etc) and external circumstances (family, job, etc).

    Personally , I’d set a different scope:
    Build as many projects and emphasize market research, validation, and failing fast when necessary. The problem is it’s harder to measure and evaluate your objective progress, although you can quantify those factors, too. Like, measure how long it takes you to market research, send polls and surveys, build a landing page, etc..

    Cheers

    1. 1

      I am really loving the concept of learning and gaining experience faster by going through iterations/cycles!

      You make a really nice point here: if we measure some metrics and look at them across the iterations, we should see a trend of improvement. Something interesting to keep in mind (and track) while working.

  12. 2

    Hi @Mazindy,

    I started last week with 3 products in 6 months. I hope this is doable, even on the side.

    An important point for me is: It is not about creating "startups" but "products". In my opinion, the precondition to make this meaningful and successful is to define a common topic or theme for the products. The products should not be completely separate from each other and should not address completely different audiences. Instead, try to find a common topic or a common problem you can solve with different kinds of products. With this frame, you can actually iterate and pivot instead of starting from scratch with each product.

    Finding a great topic is probably not as easy as it seams. A great approach is to select a topic or problem domain you are deeply interested in and where you can already provide value based on your existing capabilities. Then, the products are mainly just "incarnations" of your experience, knowledge, etc.

    Last but not least, make sure you know why you want to embark on a build-3-startups-in-12-months journey. Building 1 product in 3 years may be a better idea depending on your objectives, the problem you want to solve, your personality, and the resources you have. For me personally, it is about overcoming my fears (with building in public) and my inaction when it comes to finishing and launching (with committing to 3 launches in 6 month). I want to get feedback and learn.

    Good luck and all the best,

    -- Mitja

    1. 2

      Hi @mitja 👋🏼 Saw you coming from Berlin where I am living as well 🙂

      I created this post that might be interesting for you as well: https://www.indiehackers.com/post/can-any-b2b-saas-product-reach-10k-mrr-7d5400c48b

      Would love to get your view on it.

    2. 1

      Hi @mitja!

      Yes, I agree that it is important to distinguish between products, projects and startups! The distinction can make or break this approach.

      We're also definitely on the same page when it comes to fears of building in public but wanting to learn and get feedback from the community.

      With regards to "themes", I think what you are sharing here is brilliant actually!

      I have many ideas that are in the pipeline (that I hope to be able to work on some day). Most of these ideas are very different and some of them have common themes, industries, and technology.

      Taking advantage of this commonality can really help indeed, not just pivot, but with the challenge that I am facing now: what should I start to work on next.

      I think I can group the ideas by theme and choose to work on the simplest idea in the biggest group of ideas!

      Thank you!

  13. 2

    I'll probably try to do 2-3 ideas in a year. I don't think I can properly give them care and attention to fully make something worth selling.

    Look what people from 12 in 12 create... mostly the most easy copies of what exist anyway (yet another Slack community, pings, etc...).

    1. 1

      Hi @strzibnyj 👋🏼, I am asking myself when is the time to quit? Here is a post I created: https://www.indiehackers.com/post/can-any-b2b-saas-product-reach-10k-mrr-7d5400c48b

      What is your view on this? Would love to get your oppinion.

    2. 1

      Yes, it depends on size/scope of the project. There is a balance that one needs to be aware of

  14. 2

    I have 4 ideas that shouldn't take longer than a week to code each. But there is no way for me to market/promote 4 products simultaneously. In this case 12 products. Unless I try to position myself as the "builder guy" and promote myself using those products.

    12 products in 12 months was meta back in 2014. That's how levelsio managed to get published on wired. Today it's possible to release 12 products in 12 hours. I bet. There are no-code tools. AIO solutions for authentication and payments. Open source boilerplates etc. There is nothing special about it.

    One way to replicate his success is going after a meta. Web3 is meta right now for example. No one dares to come up with a promise of 12 web3 projects in 12 months. That may provide a chance to be on popular crypto news sites. Bring some spotlights along with many opportunities.

    Otherwise I don't see it can solely work.

    1. 1

      Exactly, a startup isn't just coding something up in a week. It's about a business: marketing and sales, strategy, learning from it, and providing value to customers.

      It's all about scope of the project.

      By meta, I think you mean trending or novel? Web3 is a relatively new technology whose use is still unsaturated. So maybe there is more chance to build something that is actually interesting.

  15. 2

    I think sticking to a good idea you believe in until you succeed is harder than keep switching between projects

  16. 2

    Do something many times and you will become better at it.

    If you want to become better at shipping things then 12 startups 12 months is a great exercise.

    What do you want to get out of it?

    https://austinkleon.com/2020/12/10/quantity-leads-to-quality-the-origin-of-a-parable/

    1. 2

      Just went through the article! Love the parable! (altho needs care so it is not applied incorrectly)

      1. 2

        Hi @marcusstenbeck Hi @Mazindy 👋🏼 Hmmm, not sure. Does it mean you should quit a lot and try as many things as you can? When is the right time to quit and move to the next challenge?

        I created this post (Link) as I am curious to get other views and I have the problem for myself: I created a product, but when is the right time to move forward and when should I quit?

        Would love to get your views on this.

        1. 1

          It depends on what you want to get out of it. If you want to strictly create a successful business then money is the most important metric.

          I’m more in the camp of “if I can make money doing this thing I really enjoy then awesome”.

          There are tons of business ideas that can be lucrative, but product-founder fit is most important to me.

          What’s most important to you?

          1. 1

            Interesting, I think in terms of product-market vs product-founder fit I have not been prioritizing one over the other.

            I always tried to find something I love AND that can pay the bills. So far I enjoyed building my stuff (good product-founder fit) but did not get any money for it (low product-market fit) which was frustrating over the long run.

            Do you have a clear prioritization of those things? Or did you ever have a situation where you loved working on something but it simply did not get market traction which also frustrated you?

            1. 1

              What you describe is the holy combo!

              I haven’t yet found the holy combo. But working on it!

      2. 1

        I also love it. It’s not gospel, just a great mental model among many other ones.

        I think your original question should be asked around what you want to get out of it.

        You should design the exercise’s parameters around that.

        A common startup trope around this is “is it time to learn or is it time to earn”?

        You could for example make 12 startups and try to sell them all on Microacquire. That really puts the focus on you to build something sellable.

        But again… what do you hope to achieve?

        1. 1

          Learn to earn basically. The objective clearly is to profit for me. I'll do my Master's degree one day (formal learning). Now my goals is profitable, meaningful, sustainable business.

          But doesn't mean I'll chase the $ at the expense of everything. The experience (and the learning that comes with it) is important too, and should automatically happen.

    2. 2

      "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

      1. 2

        “Do or do not. There is no try.”

        1. 2

          "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."

          It's about which one fits you the best.

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            “Sucking at something is the first step to becoming sorta good at something.”

            I will keep practicing my one kick. 😉

      2. 1

        Yes, but it's not really the same thing the next time you repeat, because you hopefully sharpen your skills and learn new things... So yeah this is a good point, those "various" startups better be sufficiently unique.

    3. 1

      Yeah, I would agree that learning and experience is a big part of it. But rushing through a project might cause you to miss chances to learn something.

      But lingering too much on the other hand might get you stuck, or reduce the time you have to work on something that can teach you more.

  17. 2

    I kinda understand where you're coming from. For me, I'm doing 12 startups in 12 months as a way of experimenting with what works and what doesn't, and as a way of learning.

    I'm not expect all of these ideas to make lots of money or succeed, but it's a nice motivator when it comes to learning new skills. Since, I'm already spending time learning Tensorflow and NodeJS, I may as well build something real with it instead of the same 3 apps that everyone builds when learning a new language. Giving myself the goal of building 12 startups, means I have 12 different app ideas to build here.

    As for research, DO MARKET RESEARCH! The point of doing 12 in 12 months isn't to skip steps, it's to speed up those steps. Most people spend months upon months in the research stage and never get anything done. Instead, dedicate 1 or 2 days to market research, verify demand, launch an MVP to further validate.

    12 startups in 12 months isn't for everyone, it's for people like me that enjoy the adrenaline and pressure of having to move fast. If you're not motivated by tight deadlines and the pressure to move quickly, that's okay. Doing 3 in 12 months or 1 in 12 months, or what ever you want is just as cool! :)

    Remember the key here is to learn and have fun. If something like this isn't fun for you, don't push yourself to do it. 🥳

    1. 2

      I like the ideas you are focusing on, experimenting, learning, doing something relevant while you're tinkering with new technology. Makes total sense to me: biggest jumps in my technical experience were from building something I want to use as opposed to "Hello World" apps (besides work/projects).

      Market Research and intelligent strategic decisions would be one of the challenges for me at this stage. I wonder how one can speed this up:

      0- Validation: polls? landing page? Can be sped up by building faster.
      1- MVP can be sped up, it's about development, build faster.
      2- Market feedback: this is about getting the word out, and then people responding and giving you feedback. This time frame here is harder to define/control.
      3- Iteration: improve/change product based on market response. <= Do you start the next project at this stage or afterwards?
      3.a Start new project
      3.b Go to item 2 (see how the market reacts to changes made in 3)

      I want to admit that I don't enjoy deadlines :| but I realize that going fast is important.

      1. 2

        I speed up market research by doing 2 things:

        1. At the very beginning of a project, when all I have is an idea, I use Ahrefs and semrush to see how much traffic the biggest players in the niche are getting. If the niche has 2 - 4 big players getting at least 20K hits per month I consider the niche warm enough to enter. I then look at the content these big players make, keywords, and backlinks to get a wider scope of the niche.

        2. Once I know the how big the niche is and where the big players are posting, I then look for communities and social media hangout spots (# tags, groups, etc). After finding these spots, I will join them and start engaging with the people there so I can learn what their pain points and needs are. Lastly, I will drop a survey or poll (if allowed) to get direct feedback on my idea.

        The nice thing about this is you can run multiple research campaigns at the same time. Pick a niche, verify the niche, find communities, drop polls/surveys, wait.

        1. 2

          Well thanks for mentioning Ahrefs and Semrush, I didn't know about them before. Obviously I need to work on my marketing skills.

          "multiple research campaigns": this kind of implies starting more than one startup at the same time! Or perhaps just the validation aspect can overlap and the rest of the "phases" better be focused on a particular product/startup

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    This comment was deleted 2 years ago.

  19. 2

    This comment was deleted a year ago.

    1. 1

      I agree "startup" is misleading. A 1-month project/experiment has the potential of becoming a "startup".

      There seems to be agreement that this approach is applicable to a particular type of ideas, basically projects and experiments. E.g. a group of small ideas that you want to sprint through.

      I'll use this approach to just put my older product/project online and do some marketing and move on, instead of being stuck with something I'm not sure what to do with.

      "not sure what to do with it" is very similar to indecisiveness. I can't make good decisions because either I don't have good experience/intuition and/or I don't have data.

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