I'm the co-founder of Transistor.fm (podcast hosting and analytics). I write about SaaS marketing, bootstrapping startups, pursuing a good life, building calm companies, business ethics, and creating a better society,.
What do you think?
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I've been sharing a bunch of bite-sized thoughts lately. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts. -------- AI isn't going to replace usI keep hearing people worry that AI will take over software development, product development, writing, video production, and other areas. I'd be worried if you write low-quality, spammy, clickbait articles (AI can do that easily). If you write simple, boilerplate code for a big company, your job might be at risk. But for those who care about doing quality work, AI doesn't even come close to replacing us. When building a product, the overall experience you craft matters. You can't just duct tape together AI-generated code and build a solid UX. We've seen this with no-code builders and starter kits. To build something great, you need someone with expertise. AI is a reasonable tool for augmenting skilled people in specific areas. But on its own, AI is bad at good software development, writing, video editing, and customer service. Even when AI is a helpful tool, it still requires us humans to prompt and direct it. The more expertise you have, the better you can wield AI as a tool. Some say, "Well, AI can't do all that yet, but it could soon!" I don't think we should worry about things that haven't happened yet. It's likely we've already reached the limit of what large language models (LLMs) can do. All of this cheap, low-quality AI will create more opportunities. There will be opportunities to stand out for those who care about quality product design, customer service, and creating meaningful experiences. At Transistor, we doubled down on human-powered customer support. People rave about it. That kind of care will help you stand out; customers talk about it.
Thoughts? Reply on Bluesky, or reply to this email. ------------ With lottery tickets, your chance of winning stays the same every time you buy one. But when it comes to building (and marketing) products, you can get better with each attempt and dramatically increase your odds. https://bsky.app/profile/justinjackson.ca/post/3lfxexcqjgc2o --------------- Should you still build a SaaS?There’s a lot of “don’t build a SaaS (too hard)” narrative right now. If you have the desire & drive, build a SaaS! Many types of businesses can “work,” but SaaS has (by far) been one of the best revenue models on the planet. I tried building ~10 SaaS projects before I found something that worked. It was hard to get here, but it's worth it. In truth, building any business that’s a long-term success and consistently profitable is challenging. It’s all hard! So, you might as well choose the superior business model (especially if you’re excited about software). Tyler King asked: "Do you think it's gotten harder, easier, or stayed the same over the last five years?" I think it's always been hard. It's difficult to determine whether it's harder now than it was. Some things are easier and better (infrastructure, caching, frameworks), and others are more challenging (marketing, growth, distribution). I still think it's one of the best lottery tickets you can buy. Although you're unlikely to win, your odds are much better than those in most other competitive arenas. Again, if you have the desire and long-term drive to build a SaaS, you should probably do it. (And consider getting a co-founder). Reply on Bluesky, or reply via email! Cheers, PS: Brian and I recorded our first episode of The Panel podcast! Here's a little 1-minute preview: We would love it if you've subscribed on:
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Justin Jackson's SaaS marketing experiments
I'm the co-founder of Transistor.fm (podcast hosting and analytics). I write about SaaS marketing, bootstrapping startups, pursuing a good life, building calm companies, business ethics, and creating a better society,.
I think most folks assume that people who create content (YouTube videos, podcasts, screencasts, public speaking) are mostly extroverted.But this conversation I recently had with Aaron Francis, Marie Poulin, and Brian Casel on the Panel Podcast calls that into question: Curious how you would answer this question. Reply on Bluesky Reply on YouTube Or, reply to this email. Cheers,Justin Jackson PS: this is just a short clip from a fantastic episode of The Panel podcast. Listen to the whole...
Hey friends, This episode was so good. Marie Poulin and Aaron Francis joined us to discuss the realities of building creator-driven businesses. We talked a lot about YouTube (they describe how each got traction there) and their current video making process. They also challenged conventional wisdom about sticking to one niche. For them, pivoting between projects keeps them fresh and prevents burnout, even when the traditional wisdom is to "just focus." Listen wherever you get your podcasts:...
In the pursuit of "making podcasts more discoverable," the podcast industry has welcomed YouTube with open arms. However, I think we're underestimating YouTube. I think it's "eating the world" in a way we've never seen before: I just made a video about it: I also wrote a blog post about it: 👉 justinjackson.ca/podcast-industry-youtube And I released it as a podcast as well: JUSTIN'S BRAIN • EPISODE 11 Is YouTube going to kill audio podcasts? 10:19 MORE INFO I don't think YouTube cares about...