Entries from February 2011 ↓

Photo by dierken

Note: Some readers disagree with both the mathematics of this post, as well as its conclusion that “many try, but few succeed.” Please keep that in mind as you read.

Our best estimates put the number of developers in the world at around 5 million.

If you appply the 80/20 rule you can estimate:

• Of those, 20% (1 million) want to launch a startup
• Of those, 20% (200,000) have enough motivation to start educating themselves about the process
• Of those, 20% (40,000) will actually start building something
• Of those, 20% (8,000) will actually finish building something
• Of those, 20% (1,600) have prepared themselves enough to achieve some measure of success

To make it into the last group you have to make it through the four above it. What have you done today to move yourself closer to the last group?

Photo by The Consumerist

The process of opening a credit card merchant account is like getting an enema with a rusty potato peeler. It’s something you don’t really want in the first place, and the longer it drags on the more you regret doing it.

This was the situation I found myself starting almost a year ago today (applying for a merchant account, not getting an enema).

Continue reading →

Photo by ToastyKen

“Marketing sources have a half-life.”

I read this quote a few weeks ago. I don’t recall where it’s from, but it put into words a concept I’ve had in my head for ages but haven’t been able to communicate.

The concept centers around the idea that traffic sources decay over time. Some decay faster than others, but they all die out eventually if you don’t invest time to maintain them.

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The Hacker Monthly Startup Marketing Special Issue is now available for free in PDF, epub and mobi. I’ve just downloaded it for consumption on my iPad, but it looks like a solid collection of startup marketing articles. One of my recent posts has also been included.

You can download this issue for free at Hacker Monthly.