25 Weeks. 25k users.
Join me on the journey
I probably just lost $2,500. Completely willingly.
Let me explain.
The Challenge
I’ve decided that, for the next 25 weeks, I am going to give away $100 to a random subscriber of this newsletter if I don’t gain 1,000 new users on my software projects during that week. That means that if I get 999 new users each week for the next 6 months, I’ll have to give 25 of you 2,500 dollars (total) in cold hard cash.
To clarify, by “users” I mean demonstrably engaged people who have signed up for a product I have built. Not page-views, impressions, or other decidedly less important metrics.
This isn’t a completely inconsequential amount of money for me- I’m an 18 (almost 19) year old grad student- 2,500 could pay for a month of housing in my hometown, SF.
So why am I doing this?
The Fear of Launching
I have always had some fear when it comes to building in public. Something about launching a product that is not fully polished and rigorously tested has been a major block for me. These tendencies become very apparent when I look at my Github- I must have more than 50 half-finished projects that will never see the light of day.
To me, the wasted effort is a travesty- how many people could I have provided actual utility to during those hours I spent on self products? What could I accomplish if I spent my energy trying to actually impact the lives of people, instead of learning the newest tech stacks- if I just, as Colin and Samir say, pressed publish more often.
That’s what I’m going to determine with this challenge.
What I’ll post here
I’m hoping this newsletter can serve as a great resource for anybody hoping to learn how to build something people want, grow products, and iterate quickly- or, alternatively, I hope it can be fun amusement for anybody excited to see me frantically try and cross 1k users each week.
In addition to being potential benefactors if I ever do miss the 1,000 user mark, you’re going to get 2 weekly updates on my journey building these products for the next 6 months.
On Mondays, I’ll post a recap of the week- I’ll talk about:
My strategy and successes/failures in growth that week
Product building and technology decisions
Lessons learned along the way
Additionally, if I didn’t manage to hit that goal for the week, I’ll announce who’ll be getting the 100 dollars and hop on a call with them to exchange PayPals/Venmos.
On Thursdays, I’ll send an update on the products of the week and my thought process behind the utility I’m providing that week.
By the way, (please) do share this newsletter with any friends you think might enjoy that kind of content! I realize there’s a bit of a perverse incentive since the more people that read this newsletter, the less likely you are to get the 100 dollars the weeks that I do fail- but it really would help a lot.
Now,
Will I actually pay $100 when I fail?
Yes, I will.
“Why should we believe you?”
I understand the skepticism- I haven’t figured out how to provide super concrete evidence of my commitment to this challenge, but I think you can trust my word for the following reasons.
Social Legitimacy: all editions of this newsletter are going to go on all my social profiles, including LinkedIn- so if I do back down on my word, it will be extremely public and have negative downstream effects.
Verification: In the case that I don’t hit 1,000 user, I’ll post as detailed proof as possible of payment. In the case that I do hit the 1,000 user mark, I’ll post verification of engaged and real users in that week’s edition.
So, spread the word and let’s see how I do on this challenge!
Subscribe here for updates! The challenge will kick off October 2nd!