Table of Contents
- Tell us about your product and what inspired you to start it?
- How long did it take you to acquire your first 50 customers, and what was your growth strategy?
- Which technology stack are you using and what challenges and limitations does it pose?
- What are some of the most essential tools that you use for your business?
- What have been some of the biggest insights you've gained since starting your entrepreneurial journey?
- Your recommended books/podcasts/newsletters etc.:
- What other products are you working on?
Jason Leow is the founder of Lifelog - a Micro SaaS to write 100 words a day every day, towards your goals.
Tell us about your product and what inspired you to start it?
Completely random start. A previous writing platform closed down. A bunch of us daily writers were homeless. I stepped up to create a new home for us. It was completely out of necessity, but it’s the only app I made myself that I use everyday now.
How long did it take you to acquire your first 50 customers, and what was your growth strategy?
Not hit 50 customers yet, but the demand was validated already, the users were there but homeless (the previous writing platform we're on closed down). So it justified me spending 3-5 months coding it up.
I tried #100daysofmarketing to find the right distribution channel. And it was Twitter. Now I tweet about Lifelog every day.
Which technology stack are you using and what challenges and limitations does it pose?
Nuxt.js for frontend, Bulma for CSS library, Strapi headless CMS for backend, Heroku for hosting.
Main challenges and limitations:
- I'm self taught, so mainly still learning how to work with Javascript.
- I love using the jamstack approach for my apps, but the decoupled frontend and backend—while great to isolate features and prevent 1 issue from bringing the whole app down—also meant more time to upkeep 2 different repos. Basically more moving parts. It's a trade-off that I accept.
What are some of the most essential tools that you use for your business?
- VS Code for coding
- Telegram for group chat
- Twitter, Zlappo for tweeting
- Makerlog for task logging
- Google Sheets for micro-apps
- Notion as backup writing base if server went down
- Lifelog itself for reflection and clarity (I dogfood my own app!)
What have been some of the biggest insights you've gained since starting your entrepreneurial journey?
Consistent hard work alone isn't enough. Success in business depends a lot on chance and luck, more than we like to give it. Just being hardworking alone while being blind to opportunities that come up won't work.
I don't have to go all in on one big bet, but can concurrently run a diverse portfolio of small bets. Right now I have 2 SaaS, 1 digital download product, 2 service businesses. I can work serially on them, in seasons. It doesn't distract me. It can work. Start marketing even while building. I regretted not marketing it more in the early days.
Your recommended books/podcasts/newsletters etc.:
Podcasts:
My First Million
Indie Hackers
Remotely Interesting
Newsletters:
James Clear 3-2-1 newsletter
The Milk Road
Shaan Puri's 5 tweet Tuesday
What other products are you working on?
I run a diverse portfolio of products and services.
• plugins.carrd.co - plugins to power up Carrd sites
• sheet2bio.com - a link-in-bio using Google Sheets
• outsprint.io - design x gov consulting service
All my products are here - https://sheet2bio.com/jason/
