Godfrey Yu

[Riley Brown @rileybrown]

Longer Video:

Using Claude to make a fully functional note-taking app with a real-time backend in just 4.5 hours without writing a single line of code.

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[Time stamps]
00:00 Designing the App Layout with @AnthropicAI Claude + Artifacts with screenshots
00:53 Drawing a diagram for edits
01:37 Adding Functionalities to Notes
05:17 Deploying the App on @Replit
06:05 Creating a Dynamic Backend (more detail next video)
08:02 Integrating Firebase
10:52 Final Touches and Features
13:20 Conclusion

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

How do you keep going when giving up seems like the only option?

In July 2020, my last startup, Learnseeker, was about to fail. We had spent $300k on our product, but no one was buying. Every day, I woke up feeling anxious.

One Saturday that July, I couldn’t get out of bed. Thoughts like "I’ll never make it," "Just give up," and "This is too hard" crowded my mind.

Seeing my struggle, my girlfriend (now wife) started reading me motivational quotes from Tom Bilyeu:

"Remember, if you don’t quit, you can find a way."
"Quitting is the enemy, not failure."

None of it worked, and I told her to stop. Thankfully, she didn’t listen and kept reading.

All of a sudden, one quote hit me: "In times of trouble, return to improving your product or performance. You can DECIDE to change and improve."

In that moment, everything changed.

I realised I could learn to sell. Feeling sorry for myself was useless; I just needed to get better. That weekend, I read several sales books and watched training videos.

Three weeks later, I entered a sales meeting with my new knowledge—and finally closed my first software deal over Zoom.

I was ecstatic. I had succeeded in an area where I had no experience, just through self-learning. It gave me confidence that I could learn and find a way to win no matter what.

Since then, I rely on these three lessons to keep me going when I feel like giving up:

1. Make Sleep Your Highest Priority

Fatigue makes a coward of us all. It hurt my decision-making. By prioritizing sleep, I gained the ENERGY to resist negative thoughts and make better choices. A rested mind and body handle pressure and challenges better.

2. Believe That Change Is Possible Even If I am Average

Inspired by Tom Bilyeu, I embraced the idea that the brain can change. With sincere effort, anyone can improve over time. Even if I’m average, I can become extraordinary through learning and hard work. This mindset gave me the confidence to tackle any obstacle, knowing I might be just one skill away from solving the problem.

3. Tying self-esteem to willingness to learn from mistakes

I used to be deeply affected by mistakes and failures. But by changing my mindset, I began to see mistakes as data to learn from. I now embrace a learner's identity and tied my self-esteem to the learning process rather than outcomes. As a result, when I have a bad day or made a mistake, I don’t feel bad. Instead, I feel good because I value my willingness to find the right answer over being right all the time.

This shift means that my self-esteem is now tied to learning, not outcomes. I now feel good about myself every day, despite challenges, mistakes, and uncertainty.

By making these changes, I gained control over my emotions and actions. When you feel like giving up, remember you can change and improve. Keep going. You’re one skill away from your next breakthrough.

I’m Godfrey @ItsMeGodfreyYu , co-founder of Exabloom, sharing my journey as a startup founder and business stories weekly on X.

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

Founder Maturity:

1X Founder: 'more time.'
2X Founder: 'more focus.'

1X Founder: 'We need a Head of Sales.'
2X Founder: 'Everyone is the Head of Sales.'

1X Founder: 'Here is what we've built...'
2X Founder: 'Let me solve your problem X'

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

Startup founders face the strongest emotional challenges due to constant uncertainties & randomness. 🌀

Solution: Establish strong routines in other areas of your life and stick to them, no matter what. 🧘‍♂️ These routines provide the mental stability you need.

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

The best part about being authentic is not to worry about any image to maintain.

[Marc Randolph @marcrandolph]

Fundraising doesn’t make your business better.

It just buys the time to make your business better.

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

Behind every successful entrepreneur is:
∙ Failed product launches
∙ Moments of self-doubt
∙ Money concerns
∙ Ignored achievements

Every entrepreneur has experienced it. That's why it's so important to support each other. Help others, help yourself. 🚀

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

Whenever you enter a partnership, ask yourself this question to succeed more.

How can I help my partner to earn slightly more?

Do this, and you will never have to worry about getting the wrong end of the bargain again.

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

@OneJKMolina I disagree, the point of the nurturing is when the injured man is looking for hospital, the hospital you want him to go and trust is YOURS.

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

@thedanielaros 100m offers by Alex Hormozi

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

I was confronted with a new problem today building my company, and realised an interesting insight.

Startup building does get easier overtime and is truly a skill.

The problem that I had is about figuring out a certain go-to-market strategy.

The past me would have spent 10 times as long to figure it out.

But because I’ve deal with this problem before, I figured it out within minutes.

It just shows that no challenge or problems you have now will go to waste.

Keep hustling!

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

Death is the only teacher we need.

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

Builders, if you want to achieve differentiation from your competitors and grow, you only need to understand 2 things.

Most people got differentiation wrong because they don’t break it down into its 1st principles and understand these 2 things.

and EVERY product/service has these 2 things. It doesn’t matter if you are in tech, services, saas, B2B or B2C.

They are…

1. Benefit
2. Vehicle

1. is universal. Everyone wants to get rich, everyone wants to stay healthy and live forever, everyone wants to have great sex, great relationship, lots of love etc.

This is the unchanging side of things, and it is fairly easy to figure out.

2. Is where it gets tricky, because it is HOW you deliver the benefit.

Where differentiation comes from is right here.

The art of differentiation is HOW you craft the vehicle of delivery and it has both an art and science to it.

For example, just by naming your methodology differently, you would have already successfully differentiated from your competitors.

Instead of saying “learn art with me”, you can just say “spiral art learning method to become a master painter”

If you want me to send you a detailed guide on the exact framework I use to differentiate from the competitors and generate more than $10m for others, reply “full” and I will dm it to your inbox.

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

People tried so hard to find that 1 meal, 1 fuck, 1 sleep, 1 goal to satisfy them. But it is a fallacy.

You will NEVER be done.

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

Founders, what tool do you recommend for scraping Google maps email and listings?

[Godfrey Yu @ItsMeGodfreyYu]

Whenever you are push against the wall, understand that this is the moment that will define your story.