My next thing 👀
I launched my next career move in a Google Doc
Nothing can be more no-code and scrappy than just a Google Doc, right?
Yep, so I just used a Google Doc and a $8 domain to announce my next career move.
In case you missed it on Twitter, I’ll recap it for you on this newsletter.
Earlier this week, I announced a new project. Something that’s super close to my heart and which aligns with the mission I've been on over the last 5 years.
But let me tell you a story first ⤵️
It was 2018 and I just hit rock bottom. I was in a deep financial pit as I burnt my life savings of ~$17,000 on a new startup idea that ultimately had 0 customers & 0 revenue.
What was even more painful was that I spent 8 months of my precious life assuming I was building a great product. But no one cared.
Why?
Because I was building in silo.
At the time, I was in Atlanta at a deadend corporate job and was hustling in the evenings and weekends. I had ~400 followers on Twitter and perhaps one odd founder friend in my inner circle. The journey was rocky and I had to shut down after 8 hard months.
Lesson?
Failure crushes your spirit when you are ALONE I vowed to myself that I will never build in silo again. I became intentionally active on Twitter, joined a rising no-code movement and made every move in public. This changed my career trajectory.
How?
I stopped assuming things and began openly testing ideas in public instead.
I shipped a series of 15 products all one by one patiently and publicly sought feedback. I shared my highs, lows & was vulnerable and authentic throughout.
In the process, I became a better storyteller & learned how to build community.
Then I put a bat signal out to join a high-growth startup 🦇
I got recruited in public, landed 40+ interviews and in a remarkable turn of events, I accepted a fantastic opportunity at On Deck to lead the first ever No-Code Fellowship.
Here’s more on my On Deck interview process which unfolded in public.
On Deck No-Code was wildly successful.
We had over 500 ambitious founders who became our Fellows and shipped 700+ ideas to life through various cohorts and capstone projects.
We had crazy high ratings. We set NPS records at On Deck, the community love and affection was palpable on Twitter. See this.
There was one super consistent recipe that helped me achieve this sort of success: ⤵️
Yes, you guessed it. BUILDING IN PUBLIC.
I shared my journey of building that community frequently and I would get comments like this almost daily ⤵️
Then I left On Deck as part of the unfortunate layoffs in May 2022.
Landed a role building community at Day One again.
There I ran one cohort, collaborated with @garyvee for a new program that thousands of people tuned in.
But I was hungry for something different. So here it is.
Introducing "BUILD IN PUBLIC FELLOWSHIP"
BIPF is a community dedicated to helping founders fall in love with building in public and leveraging it's power to help accelerate their startups and careers.
The vision is to build what would be a virtual "Disney World for founders who are building in public". A magical and meaningful community and educational experience. Something I wish existed for me when I got started in 2018.
Here's more about it:
I shared this news with a few friends and founders and the response has been beyond amazing.
The first cohort starts on March 6, 2023 and applications are open now.
APPLY NOW
We're going to have an incredible selection of guest speakers include Dru Riley, Vedika Jain, Sharath Kuruganty and Arvid Kahl. We also have an amazing roster of incoming fellows joining the 1st cohort. It’s going to be historic!
Incoming Fellows
Gary Darna (Founder, MicroMerch)
Lola Ojabowalola (Founder, Lunch Pail Labs)
Candice Ammori (Founder, ClimateVine)
Chris Strobl (Founder, SalesMachine)
Miguel Muñoz Duarte (Professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation)
Owen Willis (Founder & Angel Investor)
Katt Risen (Founder of No-Code Exits)
And more
In summary,
✅ I'm launching my next thing
✅ It's an invite-only Fellowship
✅ 6-week cohort w/ live sessions
✅ Accountability and support for your journey
✅ Masterminds and feedback loops
Become a prolific founder building in public in 2023!
APPLY NOW
In the true build in public and work in progress fashion, here's the Google Doc behind the upcoming website launch: buildinpublicfellowship.com.
Thanks for reading! Super excited :)