Remember that Gaza has the most amputated children per capita in the world. Next time you see a child, you should remember this fact. because Palestinian children aren't this abstract concept, but real people just like the children in our own neighborhoods
I totally missed you can embed AI features directly into claude artifacts. I ran the first GPT store hackathon in NYC and I feel like people were very underwhelmed. What could you do in a custom GPT you couldn't with a shared chat? The integration felt very annoying. Claude I feel nails how easy it is to build + how easy it is to share
The best way imo to get early sales for your startup is to use your network. Look at people you directly know who have the problem. I feel like this should be enough to get your first customer or two. After that I'd look at warm introductions.
I've found that in today's world, people are fatigued with inbound email and LinkedIn and so even if you have something valuable, getting someone to listen can be hard. So I think warm intros help at least get to the demo stage.
You might not think you're super connected but via six degrees of separation, you should be able to get a dozen or so demos booked via people who know people in your ICP.
If that doesn't work for your first ten customers (or first customer if enterprise) then you have to seriously question if you're working on the right problem.
You mentioned offering deals or rewards for trying out your product. I recommend against rewarding people for just trying your product. Because if the pain is not so great that they are willing to try out the product on their own, you're probably working on the wrong problem.
This is super cool! Huge upgrade to my product screenshots. Wondering if you're offering this as a react component - something I can embbed with a lead magnet or on a site.
Please don't use this. It might look nice, but as a user and potential client or customer, this is reducing the utility of your screenshots.
_You_ know what your screens look like, so you might enjoy seeing them blurred and tilted. But _I_ don't know, that's the information that I would be trying to get.
Sometimes too many options makes it harder to find a good place to start. This poster sees and end result and wants to start at some relevant content to learn - there's nothing constructive in being a jerk here.
I left big tech to start a company. The timing worked out great in my case. I was already trying to leave and the layoffs gave me an "angel round" to be able to pursue ideas. The biggest surprise was the uncertainty and amount of hours you have to work at a 0-1 company.
Current idea is taking off. I'm solving a global problem that affects literally every company. We have early design partners but looking to team up with a cofounder before we get further along.
If you're a big tech worker who was laid off an actively exploring ideas and want to team up, hmu! Email + twitter in my bio
TBH reach out to your former coworkers in your cofounder search. Have a bunch of coffee chats with them, you never know who might also be thinking about doing a startup.
Avoid people you haven't worked with. A lot of shit happens to every company and you need to have built some foundation of trust to get through those situations.
> when I learned it was common for a founding engineer to get like half a percent of the company, I was appalled. I'd rather just start my own startup
I don't think people appreciate how hard it is to go from 0-1. To validate a product/market, get initial customers, before raising, heavily derisks the business and 1% is fair. Sure, you could just start your own startup, but you'll have to go through the brutal glass eating process of doing exactly that, starting a company.
