Hey Reader,

If you’re like me, you probably have a lot of ideas and ambitions. Sometimes, in the rush to pursue them all, we can get in a “check the box” mentality where we do each to a minimal degree so we can move on to the next item as quickly as possible.

But more isn’t always better. More should mean better results, not just “more”.

A few years ago, we mapped out a three-year product vision.

As a team, we were eager to launch our own commerce product. (That product exists today: ConvertKit Commerce.)

It was tempting to say we should hire a dedicated team to build that product as fast as possible while we also worked on all of the other features on our roadmap at the same time. While we could have made a compelling case for that, I don’t actually think it would have been the best strategy. Let me use LEGO to illustrate what I mean.

Imagine our product vision not as a list on the wall, but flat on the table like a blueprint for a small city: each feature or initiative is a building.

With our entire plan in front of us, we spread out throughout the landscape and start building. Single-story buildings pop up here and there. The goal is to get to occupancy as quickly as possible (checking the box on that feature), before moving on to the next building. When one strip mall is finished, we do some marketing and promotion, but not enough for our dream clients to move in, so instead we’re left with a Radio Shack here and a Subway over there.

As we move through the blueprint, buildings go up in record time, but they never go beyond one story. And we’re never as proud as we hoped to be of the tenants who move in.

This is the strip mall approach. If we took that strategy, we’d build a better city than competitors (since we have better vision and execution), but it would still be rushed without anything reaching its full potential.

Taking the strip mall approach means you close deals, but churn is higher because you overpromised.

That’s not what success looks like to me.

Instead, I recommend building a skyscraper!

Building a skyscraper means staying focused, iterating, and then promoting the hell out of what you’ve built before moving on.

By building a skyscraper you get to realize the full potential. That’s why we have free and paid recommendations, a creator directory, and so much more coming.

Then from there we can use that success to execute on the next point of our mission. Build Manhattan, not more urban sprawl.

More isn’t better. Better is better.

---

---

​

PODCAST

Sahil Bloom – Using Flywheels to Build Longevity

In this week’s episode of the podcast, I sit down with investor, entrepreneur, and content creator, Sahil Bloom (in front of a live audience) to unpack the key strategies and lessons that will help you achieve longevity and sustainability in the creator economy.

We talk about:

• How growth arbitrage on Twitter (or "X") is different now than what used to be
• How he uses agencies to turn cost centers into profit centers
• When to pivot on a project or company vs keep going
• Habits for creating and managing your time as a creator
• And lots more...

​Watch or listen to podcast »​

TWITTER THREAD

Startup Death Spiral

When your growth is too low to raise money, you end up trying to save money, which often results in reduced growth, which feeds back into the original problem of having growth too low to raise money.

Immad calls this the Startup Death Spiral and in this thread, he covers some ways to avoid it.

​Read thread »​

Have a great week!

—Nathan