Hunger in the eyes of a 24-year-old: the diary of my entrepreneurial journey

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 19/02/2023:

• I'm continuing developing my MVP.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 26/02/2023:

• Finishing to create the MVP

 

[Artiom O]

The way you verified the demand for the problem is pretty interesting. I never thought about just asking people on the internet on what they think about X.

But specifically, what type of problem is the idea based upon ?

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 03/04/2023:

• I'm creating an application for mobile to help my syster in manage the work shift of its team. She told me that in her field, most of the people do that manually still.
• I'm going more in depth in the no-code platform field by interviewing people expert in that field. I think that the MVP of my next project , after the application for mobile, will be built using one of this tool to go as fast as possible into the market.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 16/04/2023:

• Since at work I'm changing team and they're onboarding me, I've a lot of new stuffs to learn so I didn't have much time to work as I wanted on the application to manage work shifts. By the way, I implemented the main logic and I need to adjust some aesthetic details and after that I can give it to my sister in order to receive feedbacks.

 

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[BlackLands]

UPDATE 30/04/2023:

• Working on the MVP with my friends. Our idea is to writing the algorithm in a such way that make possible to easily add "blocks of logic" based on the feedback we received.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 28/05/2023:

• I attended a meetup the last week where I meet a lot of entrepreneurs and good people to make contact with. I'm planning to go more often to this place full of like-minded people.
• About the MVP, it's harder than I thought and I'm going to ask help to someone to avoid being stuck.

 

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[BlackLands]

UPDATE 04/06/2023:

• I've asked help on some sub-reddits and to some friends in order to make progress on the MVP. Today I'll implement their feedback hoping that it works.
• I'm attending several entrepreneurs meetups/events where there a lot of entrepreneurs with successfull business. I've the feeling that something can happen here, like business partnership and so on.
• While I've a stable job, I'm looking for another job where I can growth more and learn more.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 11/06/2023:

• After a period of autoanalysis I decided to abandon the project since I wasn't interested in it anymore. I like to talk with people, manage a team, study and collecting notes. Now I know that no one care about my passion, but I'm starting to think how I can monetise my YouTube channel and investing on my personal brand.
• I'm organizing sessions with expert in marketing and personal branding in order to create a plan to sell my knowledge to my community on YouTube. At the moment the channel is not so big but I already received some feedback from my community to sell them notes or to guide them in their project.
• I don't know how to say this, it's not that I've abondoned the project because it was difficult but more because it didn't match some traits of my personality and this cause my a very bad mood with a negative impact on my life. Growth a YouTube channel is difficult too, but I'll learn skill more aligned with me.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 25/06/2023:

• This week I was in holidays

 

[BlackLands]

If there are people truly interested in the content you make, that's a great match. However, even with YouTube there will be things you might not like and might not align with your ideology for example, but gamifying things and implementing the strategies you mentioned for better learning will help you through struggles.
And about feedback, don't get hooked on it. From your original post and the updates I believe you will be successful if you continue putting in the effort, but who was here to reinforce you along the way on the forum? Again, lack of feedback. Luckily some people read your posts and responded something nice, but not many. The bottom line is that you should find passion, values and motivation within without getting dependent on feedback. Great work so far, keep it up!

Thanks man for the comment, I really appreciate it! Is there anything in particular that make you think I'll be successful if I put effort into it?

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 23/07/2023:

• Bulding the website from where customer can book a session with me, I'm having some trouble in connecting Calendly and WordPress but I'm figuring it out.
• I've hired a video maker who will help me with the videos.

 

[BlackLands]

Blabla.. mentorship, meetups, reflection.

Go find a customer. Sell them something. Find more customers. Tell us about your progress.

Agree with you man, I'm working in it. I cannot just go out with the first idea I've in my mind

 

[Mace22]

Nice too see you taking action!
If you want to learn the most about business, don't read books, watch videos, etc.
You learn the most by doing, not failing. If you associate failure as a positive thing, that is bad. The goal is to try to succeed, but failure is a possibilty. Because somebody else failed doesn't mean you have to fail

 

[skyflare]

You learn the most by doing, not failing. If you associate failure as a positive thing, that is bad.

That's such an awful advice.
When taking action failure is inevitable but to succeed you have to accept failure as a good thing, because you will eventually face them and you learn from the mistakes in your life.

 

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[maverick]

You're either learning or winning

 

[BlackLands]

You're either learning or winning

I'll win man

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 06/08/2023:

• My landing page is done and the offer too. I'm offering consultation in a specific niche.
• The idea is to use my YouTube channel to acquire clients. I've a collaborator who will edit my videos (don't have time with a full time job) and the first one will be published next week.
• In the meantime I also have the content calendar already done and the script of the first 5 videos done.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 13/08/2023:

• I've uploaded my first video where I advertised my service. Although I haven't acquired any customers yet and haven't started offering free calls, it's still too early to expect immediate results. I plan to remain patient and continue posting one video per week. While I've received numerous comments, the primary objective of this video was to establish an emotional connection with my potential customers rather than pushing for sales.
• Initially my strategy involves releasing a total of 4 videos and gauging the response. If I don't receive any bookings for free or paid calls after this initial phase, I'll consider adjusting my approach (communication style, topics, etc.) and my content calendars.
• In addition to my ongoing efforts, I'm also dedicating time to enhance my skills in Data Science. In the event that I decide to transition to a new job, I'm particularly interested in working within a SaaS (Software as a Service) company. This industry has always intrigued me, and I'm drawn to it because it aligns with the CENTS commandments so it would be as a gym for me for when I'll start my one.

 

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[BlackLands]

Thank you man! I really appreciate your support!

 

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[Kevin88660]

Are you willing to share more on the market segment that you are serving?

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 10/09/2023:

• My first customer didn't show up for the appointment, but I don't mind. Every week, I can write the scripts for two videos for my YouTube channel and record them. My videomaker will handle the rest so that, in the end, I can publish one video a week.
• As you know, I'm a Data Scientist with a strong background in Computer Science, and I'm considering working on an MVP for a SaaS product (I don't have to edit my YT videos so I can invest time in one other project). This MVP will not only solve a problem I have (which keeps me motivated), but it will also be a valuable addition to my portfolio, helping me secure a new job and further improve my technical skills.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 17/09/2023:

• Every week I upload 1 video on my YT channel. Currently I think that I'm getting good views if compared to my channel size, but I'd like to test new formats to see how the viewers react since currently aside from one video, I didn't receive a lot of comments/interactions so I'm not sure if what I'm doing is working or not.
• I'm developing the backend of a small MVP that will help me to automatize an aspect of my life. I think that I'm not the only one who has this issue, so later I'll try to sell it in order to gain more experience in the SaaS business, plus gaining tech skills that I can always levarage to get a better job.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 08/10/2023:

• Still making a video a week and all of them are slowly growing over time. I'm having partnership with other channels to. I want to become the point of reference in Italy for one specific software.
• At my current job I'm currently waiting to work on a new project in MLOPS that will enable me to learn valuable skills for the future (how to develop an llm model and put it in production for example).
• I've receival 3 proposals from 3 different startup from my friends that I've meet thanks to university and my past work experiencea. Off course I need to evaluate them based on the CENTS framework but some of them seem to be quite good. Honestly I'd like to work in a startup just for the experience and the vibes, I'm bit tired of the corporate zombie world.

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 15/10/2023:

• Still making 1 video a week. My YouTube channel is slowly growing and I've also did an interview with another YouTube channel bigger than mine that is allowing me to gain subscribers. Slow growth but costant.
• I'll spend the next week thinking about one business ideas that will solve one problem that I encountered during my job search. I need time.
• I've published a script to automatize a task for a specific userbase of a note-taking software. Let's see if I receive any feedback and if I can start iterate on it.

 

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[BlackLands]

UPDATE 22/10/2023:

• After some iterations I think to have found the right topic to talk about in order to growth my YouTube channel. My last video is going crazy in terms of views and watch time and I'm receiving a lot of connections on LinkedIn. My number of subscribers is growing a lot too.
• I'm building an MVP that will allow people to automatically fetch new jobs and send to the HR a self-application email based on the keywords in the job description in order to increase the chance to be noticed.

 

[sunlong]

Hello everyone, I will use this thread as a diary of my entrepreneurial journey. This is the main information about me:

• I am 24 years old and born in southern Italy, a place where the highest ambition for a young person is to work in an office for life or enlist in the armed forces.
• I have a bachelor's degree in computer science, a master's degree in Data Science and several experiences abroad. I studied in Stockholm and worked in a big tech in Luxembourg, plus I ran a startup podcast where I got to interview several experts in the field of artificial intelligence and improved my ability to ask the right questions. Since January I am moving to Spain to work full-time as a Data Scientist.
• I have a small YouTube channel where I talk about speeding up learning and I run a small podcast where I interview experts in different fields. Although it does not have much of a following partly because I never invested too much time in it, it has given me the opportunity to meet millionaires and investors and more generally to expand my network.

Why I want to become an entrepreneur:

• I have always been a creative person and the idea of creating something of my own doesn't let me sleep at night. Also, when I get messages from people thanking me after watching one of my YouTube videos, I realized that giving value is what I enjoy most.
• My mother died when I was 18, I want to start a foundation in her name and financially help as many boys and girls as possible to continue their schooling.
• I want to be free and no longer have the need to work. If one day I want to read Russian literature all day, I want to be able to do that.
• My escape number is about 8 million euros, this amount will allow me to live the life of my dreams without having the need to work. I aim to reach this figure in 10 years. It's not possible to earn this amount of money being and employee.

For 2023 my goals are:

• Develop a SaaS platform and have at least one paying customer.
• 25,000€ euros in the bank of liquidity.

What am I doing as of today?

• In October I graduated from college and so now I have time to focus on my entrepreneurial career. I started thinking seriously about it 2 weeks ago.
• I created a landing page for a SaaS service that I want to develop. I have created a small team of freelancers who are creating me the video introducing the platform and the background voice explaining what problem I am going to solve.
• The landing page is ready, now I have to test the market response and improve the presentation based on feedback. My target audience is mainly students so I am going to talk to my brother's friends and the mayor of my country in such a way as to publicize my idea in schools. In addition to that, the video inside the landing page will be publicized on social and we will see how many people will enter their email inside the form.
• I have not developed anything yet, if the response is positive will develop a prototype using no-code platforms.

I will update this thread every Sunday.
I don't know whether I will eventually succeed or not, I just tell you that I have seen the people I loved die and I in the first place risked my life. I don't give a damn about doing what needs to be done, I have no mental limitations.

I am always open to feedback, so feel free to comment.
I wish you a good life and a death with no regrets.

Hello friend, can you share your website link?

 

[BlackLands]

UPDATE 29/10/2023:

• YouTube is going very good! The channel is growing, I'm understanding better my target audience and I'm receive a lot of messages from people. I'm not earning any money for now but I've the feeling that I'm building a community. Aside from that, my podcast (hosted on my YouTube channel) is helping me creating connection with other entrepreneurs and like-minded people.
• I'm doing interviews with some startups and I'm investing time in doing the home assignment so I didn't have a lot of time to work on my MVP.
• MVP: the main features are there, I need to deploy the code and set a schedule to run it automatically.
• At work I'm working on an AI project that will help me in acquiring usefull skills for my entrepreneural journey (already know this for sure since I did an analysis of the skills requested from the companies for the role I want) and, in the worst case scenario, for y "classic" carrer.

PLUS: Next week I'm gonna visit Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and exterminations camps in order to think more about life, death, gratitude and growth more on the personal side.

 

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[BlackLands]

UPDATE 19/11/2023:

• I've met a lot of entrepreneurs in the past week and I'm discussing few business opportunities with them. Of of this guys is a direct contact with a CEO of a 1 billion evaluated company.
• This weekend I'm in Milan to evaluate a job offer from a startup.

 

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[BlackLands]

UPDATE 03/12/2023:

• Working on a new project at work. I'm learning how to put in production an Ai model.
• I'm doing live sessions on YouTube where I'm building an MVP for a SaaS in public. I'm leaning Django and React. I'm proceeding very slow because the project is big, but step by step I'm learning the required skills to build my own MVP in the future.