I did something crazy again! 😅
Honestly, I’m kinda shocked it did so well.
Let me tell you the story of how one tweet + a stripe link generated $1,000 in revenue in just a few hours.
In case you need proof, here are some of the sales 👆
The idea
For a long time, I had this idea of creating a community.
You see… I’m a social person. I love being around people. So over the years, I’ve built several communities for developers, YouTubers, and so on.
Since I started my challenge to make $1m, I noticed that a lot of people cheered me on and even started their own personal challenges.
While everyone was posting and engaging on social media, I thought it would be interesting to gather all these people in one place - a Discord server.
The idea was that we could all motivate and help each other while working on our projects.
You know how sometimes when you’re alone and nobody’s pushing you, you end up slacking and procrastinating? Well, one of the core ideas of this community was to get people to GET THINGS DONE!
Every week, members would “sign up” to do specific tasks they choose and consider important to get their projects moving forward.
Throughout the week, they’d keep us posted with their progress. This way, even if you feel like slacking, because you are in a community of active builders, you’d still feel bad if you’re not holding up to your promises, right?
So, that was my idea - a community focused on getting things done, helping each other, and learning from case studies.
I actually had the Discord channel created for a while, but I didn’t invite anyone. I was a bit reluctant to do so. It was fear of failure 🤔
So I kept postponing the launch.
But I couldn’t shake off the idea. I kept thinking about it.
I even told my wife about it, and she said, “I know you. You’ll definitely do it at some point. You can’t hold on for long when you have something going on in your mind.”
Funny how well she knows me. 😆 But we’ve been married for 8 years, so I guess that’s expected, right?
From Idea to Tweet
So after thinking about this for weeks, I finally decided to do it!
Afterall, what’s the worst that could happen? I fail, I learn, and I move on.
So I crafted a tweet explaining the idea behind the community and asked people if they’d want something like this. I also explained that it wouldn’t be free, for a few reasons:
- People don’t value free stuff as much. I’ve been doing this for years and noticed the big difference between free users and paid users. When you pay for something, you have a higher chance of using and benefiting from the product.
- I was going to be involved in this too, giving my time and energy, so I felt it was right to get some value out of it. Plus, it could help with my challenge as well.
- I wanted to make sure that people really got value out of it, so I proposed a 14-day money-back guarantee. If you don’t get value, you get your money back. I don’t need people’s money unless they get something out of it!
After posting the tweet, a few people mentioned they’d like to join.
I considered this as my MVP (Minimum Viable Product) - a very scrappy MVP, lol.
But it was just a tweet.
Adding the Stripe Link
Then someone pointed out, “does it count as an MVP if there is no stripe payment link?”
Well said! In order to validate an idea the right way, you need to get people to pay for it. Everyone can say they want something but when it comes to paying, that’s when you see who’s serious and who’s not.
So I went to my Stripe dashboard, created a product with a Stripe link, and posted it below the main tweet.
I also told people that this was just an idea, and I’d only launch the community if there were at least 20 sales. Otherwise, I’d take the L, refund everyone, and move on.
The calm before the storm 💰
Nothing happened right after posting the tweet with the Stripe link… 🤷♂️
It was quite a ride, so I wanted to take a nap to clear my head.
But then… something happened!
I got the first sale 15 minutes in! (P.S. Thank you, Brian, for this! 💜)
Then another sale, and another, and another… This was so exciting!
Sales notification on my phone 👆
Honestly, I wish this feeling to all of you reading this!
It’s the best feeling ever to get that Stripe payment notification when you make a sale!
And just like that, the sales kept pouring in.
Two hours later, I had 20 sales! WOW! 🤯
I had validated my idea! There was demand for this. So I went ahead and updated the Discord community, preparing it for inviting everyone.
After the initial sale, I updated the price from $39 to $49, and to my surprise, I still got more sales coming in! So yeah, I can safely say that my idea was validated.
The next day, I invited everyone, and we had a blast!
So many nice people with so many cool ideas and projects! This is the start of something great, and I’m happy I finally pulled the trigger and launched this idea.
Lessons Learned
Looking back now, I see that my fear wasn’t justified. I need to be more courageous in the future. (Grow them ⚽️⚽️s lol)
After all… What’s the worst that can happen? 😅 The project flops and I move on. 🤷♂️
But at least I’ll learn something from the experience and know what to do next time!
Before I wrap up, I want to address something some of you might be thinking:
“Yeah, but you had an audience of 180,000+ followers. It’s easier for you to validate an idea and sell a product!”
And you’re right. It’s easier.
BUT… Keep in mind that I also started from 0 followers back in 2019. It took me years to get to this point. Years of being active, posting, and engaging.
And there are people who validate their ideas with a small following (check out what Joschua’s doing)
So, rather than finding excuses, maybe start working towards your goals! 😄
Good luck! 🚀
P.S. If you’re looking for a community of people who get things done, consider joining the Indie Action Club! 💪