The whole idea of being a thought leader is sleazy. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t want to be a thought leader.
I never intended for this to happen; I didn’t start The Prepared with any plan for how it would help me win friends or influence people. The work it takes to manage and write gets slipped into odd corners of my week – on the subway, during lunch, after my family goes to bed. I write it in addition to my job and my personal blog and my side projects. It takes up more of my time than any of these, or the half dozen or so conference talks I give every year. And it pays off more consistently – and in more nuanced ways – than any of those things ever could.
Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.
Persistence Over All Else
I like to think that I’ve got a distinctive voice, and that my curation is on point, and I’m pretty sure that the subject matter The Prepared covers has just the right balance of breadth and focus. But by far the most important factor to its growth has been its consistency.
In the beginning I sent The Prepared out to nobody – literally. I considered blasting everyone I had ever emailed, inviting them to subscribe to this thing that didn’t really exist yet, but decided instead to just start sending it and let it grow naturally. Doing so wasn’t particularly rewarding – in fact, it was lonely – but it helped me work out a few kinks in my format and cadence. And when I did get my first subscribers, it felt like something I had earned. I haven’t missed a single week since then.
There are certainly other ways to approach a newsletter, but I strongly recommend that whatever path you take, you be consistent about it. Value having shipped the thing over having perfected the thing; it’ll pay off well.
What your peers are reading!
Not long ago, I was trying to watch a video on YouTube. I got the expected “5-second till skipping” countdown and had my mouse hovering over the skip link, but the video was interesting. I laughed, so I figured I’d give it another few seconds to see what the product was all about. I ended up watc... ...Read more
According to the New York Times, when Page looks at a potential company to acquire, he wants to know if the product is, like a toothbrush, “something you will use once or twice a day.” Page clearly understands habits. As I wrote in my book, “Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products,” frequent... ...Read more
Contrary to MVPs, where the goal is to get something barely usable out the door and into the market for initial feedback, an MLP takes the opposite approach, treating, among other things, the first-time experience of a new user very seriously. This is the first time they’ll see your product, the... ...Read more
What are the Top 10 things I’d tell myself to do better, if I could go back in time? My top list: Slow down big decisions — when you aren’t sure. You have to move fast and break things, but if the pit in your stomach says “maybe don’t do that” — slow that decision down. My biggest mistakes ha... ...Read more
How to build a billion dollar digital marketplace – examples from Uber, eBay, Craigslist, and more Marketplaces are easily underestimated When marketplaces get big, they can get really big. Some of the biggest tech successes ever – eBay, Airbnb, Alibaba, Uber – are marketplaces worth ... ...Read more
From lack of product-market fit to disharmony on the team, we break down the top 20 reasons for startup failure by analyzing 101 startup failure post-mortems. WHERE IS THIS DATA COMING FROM? Start your free trial today Email Email SIGN UP After we compiled our list of startup failure post-m... ...Read more
Top Mobile App Development Companies
We specialize in business and enterprise application development and outsourcing services for iPhone, iPad and Android platforms and also provide Mobile Web and backend services..more
We do iOS, Android and Windows Applications. Website, Mobile and Interface Design..more
Zco Corporation is a tried-and-true software development company that has been living and breathing technology for over 25 years. Its team was handpicked for specialties in mobile app development, ...more
We help our clients turn ideas into applications that make sense. Our comprehensive, in-house team will use the power of design and technology to bring your ideas to life. We specialize in mobile a...more
Looking to Build a Mobile App?
Here are some of the best apps built by developers from our network.
