Episode 25: Build Something Small, Build Something Now w/Justin Jackson

Posted on June 16, 2015 by christopher.hawkins

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Justin Jackson joins the show today. From hacking on a Vic 20 to releasing multiple products and podcasts, Justin has done a lot! More importantly, he’s figured out a lot about how to make small products work.

In this episode, we talk about Justin’s experience with audience selection, message amplification, getting traction with small products, and more.

Bootstrapped Product Talking Points

why you should build something small, NOW
why you should hang out with your audience every day
how to look for patterns to tailor products around
how to start with info-products without jumping the gun

Show Notes:
Marketing for Developers – A guide to marketing your software, apps, and digital products
Product People Club – Daily stand-ups and community for solopreneurs
Amplification – Creating great content isn’t enough; to get it seen by thousands, you need amplification.
Product Hunt Handbook – Learn how to effectively launch your own product on Product Hunt.
Build & Launch – Build and launch your own product
Product People Podcast – A podcast focused on great products and the people who make them
Justin Jackson on Twitter

James Altucher (remember the 1% rule!)
Getting Real, 37signals
Jason Fried
Designer news
Designer subreddit

Episode 24: Learning As You Go w/Tracy Osborn

Posted on June 2, 2015 by christopher.hawkins

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Hi there! To help Chasing Product grow, please take a moment to visit iTunes and give the show a 5-star rating. Thanks!

Tracy Osborn joins us today to talk about her founders journey. From college CS to art courses, to an incubator, Tracy has made her bones in the industry by learning as she went along. Now, Tracy can claim multiple products and recently authored a book.

In this episode, we talk about Tracy’s early experiences working in both startups and agencies, her experiences with partnerships, and why it pays to get an app in front of customers, fast. We also cover some practical aspects of being a founder and keeping a product moving forward.

Bootstrapped Product Talking Points

the benefits of participating in an incubator/accelerator
how Kickstarter can aid your product launch
why it’s important not to dilute your focus
why learning as you go is better than reading books

Show Notes:
WeddingLovely – Tracys web product
Hello Web App – Tracys book; Learn to Build a Web product w/Python & Django
Limedaring – Tracys blog

Python
Django
500 startups
Y Combinator
Kickstarter
PyCon
Nathan Barry
Authority
Gumroad
Leanpub
Product Hunt
Reddit
Uber
Skillshare

Episode 10: If At First You Don’t Succeed, Product Launch Again w/Tim Whitacre

Posted on December 19, 2013 by christopher.hawkins

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Hi there! To help Chasing Product grow, please take a moment to visit iTunes and give the show a 5-star rating. Thanks!

In this episode, Tim Whitacre of Plain and Argyll Studios shares what he’s learned while transitioning out of freelancing and into products. Tim is fearless, and freely shares the story of multiple non-thriving attempts at product launch, as well as the story of his newest product launch (which has since taken off!).

Bootstrapped Product Talking Points

Tim’s comments on the tension between consulting revenue & investing in product
the critical nature of pricing for your app
what it feels like to sell off a product
how to maintain the motivation & desire to try again

You can follow Tim on Twitter or check out his blog for more info on Tim’s work and the story of the startups he’s been a part of.

Barley – The Inline Editor for Everyone
New! Barley for WordPress – Released after we recorded the podcast
Presstaurant
HostedNotes – Password Management Made Simple & Secure

The show notes will be fleshed out later – for now, just check out the interview! Tim talks about a side of product launch that most people shy away from, if not hide completely; what it looks like & feels like when a product launch “fails”. I put “fails” in quotes because as long as you learn something, it’s not really a failure.

Tim learned from every product launch experience, moved on, and now has a hit on his hands. Learn from him!