alex ✦

0-to-1 PM/Designer/Roadmapper

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

@StarlingBank I was applying for a business bank account and I had to swap out to get some personal bank statements when it asked for them. When I try to continue, it says there’s already an application in progress but I don’t see a link for this.

Any help? I already have a personal and additional business account.

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

Link: https://t.co/5fJRgujPRw

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

I've got a link to some free Framer templates if anyone is interested - link in the comments! Not mine, but figured it'd be helpful...

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

📣 Free help for anyone struggling with their hero copy!

Comment your site and/or your headline + context and I'll riff with you on a few ways to improve it.

You could use Claude but it doesn't cost $20 a month to comment 😉

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

@stvn_h I was thinking the same thing the other day!

That being said, it offered no discernible reason to use it over YT so I kind of like the new direction.

It's like a slightly less shit Wistia, might give it a go when I'm in need of video embedding tbh

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

Despite the prevailing wisdom, I'd recommend regularly updating your website as an early stage product.

Why? Because pre-PMF you're pretty unlikely to have nailed your messaging.

I updated our site this week and have actually found the exercise to be very helpful. Here's why:

Previously, we weren't really positioning ourselves at all. We were focusing on the problem a bit too much - not inherently wrong, just hard for users to understand what we're replacing.

Competitive positioning pits you against an alternative (which is what we've gone for, positioning ourselves against email).

Contextual positioning places you as a way to improve an existing workflow - for us, this would be something like "speed up time to close by using us for content management, multithreading, etc". I only opted against this because microsites are a fairly new concept for sellers. It's hard to position yourself as an improvement to an otherwise unfamiliar idea.

Anyhow...

I spent a bit more time on the copy than I would've liked but I'm happy with the results.

I totally understand if those in the IH community don't want to tackle this job but if you're selling to more established companies and teams like us, I'm of the opinion that differentiating copy helps a ton.

Buyers at established teams tend to have a better understanding of the tools they need and what's available and as such, disregard those with a more generic feel or look about them.

If it's built using Tailwind components, or has the ol' white background, black Inter headline, it's probably going in the pile of no's because it's indistinguishable.

Their job security could be resting on this decision. It's hard to make the case for trying out a new product when there's an incumbent - especially so when the website doesn't really quite sound like it understands your issue.

"Nobody got fired for buying IBM" can probably be applied to any vertical or category nowadays. Stick with the most reviewed on G2 and you'll be fine. If you want to stand out, you've really got to try to fit in with the big guys.

#buildinpublic #bootstrapped #MarketingTips

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

Design is one of the only moats left.

Or at least that's the conclusion I've come to this week.

After a slight summer hiatus I'm back building whomso. I've eased back into it by spending some time revisiting all our competitor websites. Not always productive but in this case, fruitful.

B2B startups often mix up "spending time on UI" with "manager training" and other items on the list of Least ROI, Most Wasted Time.

But I'll always advocate for UI. At a time when you can theoretically replicate almost any SaaS product using a tool like Cursor within a week, defensibility through feature buildup is hard.

You can't rely on the couple of years head start.

What you can't automate is a bold, user-centric product with good taste. Now 'good taste' is subjective but this is where I see the majority of competitive battles play out.

Think about it. If your product has the same features and the same price point, what's going to differentiate you?

I'm neglecting things like the channels you use and brand but all other things being equal, design will be the moat.

With that in mind, I'm spending a day or so reworking our site which is a perfect example of what not to start out with and then looking at ways we can simplify our product.

[Marc Köhlbrugge @marckohlbrugge]

how to come up with startup ideas:

1. start building a product
2. run into problem
3. build quick fix for that problem
4. ditch the product
5. sell the quick fix instead

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

@smayzes It is subtle but it's a neat addition, nice nod to the branding!

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

It's hard to get stuck into founder led sales when the alternative is so much comfier.

But churn comes from a lack of guidance on the buyers side.

Selling not only helps them get more out your product, it also helps you hone your positioning.

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

@typefully 👀

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

Feel like I may have made a mistake not using @typefully

I like a lot of the CRM components of Tweet Hunter but god it's buggy.

Unsure why my posts are being scheduled 3 days prior to me writing this. And that's ignoring the UX flaws.

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

Looking into the stats behind dark social lends so much weight to the #buildinpublic movement and other content marketing.

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

@frantzfries Entirely depends on what the definition of successful is.

Useful, well designed products that generate solid MRR - doesn’t matter.

High value, high growth with a TechCrunch byline - probably matters.

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

@lennysan (4/4) All of this is to say that products don't need to rely on entirely logical choices.

There doesn't need to be an ROI on every decision.

Sometimes it just needs to bring a little bit of tactile joy.

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

(1/4) Recently listened to Rory Sutherland on the @lennysan podcast. Beyond the very British rants it's a great listen.

Full of interesting examples of #marketing greats and failures.

One actionable idea for #startups is that logic ≠ right.

[alex ✦ @_alex_ms]

@lennysan (3/4) Because for reasons nobody can quite articulate, it just 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙.

There are plenty of examples of this.

The 'create another' button that feels like such a time saver in Linear is a personal fave.