Do not index
Do not index
Almost all of you know me from Tweet Hunter and Taplio era.
And I have been recommending bootstrapping for as long as I can imagine.
But that wasn’t my first startup.
In fact I also raised 500k€ for it.
I poured my soul into it.
I was all-in. This was THE ONE.
And it failed. Hard.
Let me tell you about the project I believed in most... and what it taught me 👇
The Backstory
It all started when working on my first app. I joined a few events and hackathons and kids were loving it.
Many of them asked me about building games.
And no not just one kid. Many,
So I built MagiCats Builder.
A game where you create games, share them with the community and discover hundred of crazy creations (like Lego, for games). A fun way to discover basic coding.
But the point of today’s newsletter is not to deep dive into the product and what I built.
You can find all that info here if you want to read:
The Sexy Trap 💔
You know that feeling when you've built something beautiful?
When people see it and go "Wow!"
When your friends are impressed?
When it looks perfect on Twitter?
That's exactly what happened with this project.
It looked amazing. It felt innovative. The design was flawless.
But here's the brutal truth:
"Sexy" doesn't mean "profitable".
The Warning Signs I Ignored
One of the best traits in an entrepreneur is to have a far sight for danger. I didn’t have that at the moment.
Looking back, the red flags were everywhere:
- Everyone loved the idea, but nobody pulled out their wallet
- We kept adding features instead of validating the core
- Our team grew faster than our revenue
- We celebrated downloads, not dollars
What Actually Happened
We built an incredible product that nobody wanted to pay for.
All those vanity metrics? Useless.
All those compliments? Worthless.
Turns out:
Potential doesn’t pay the bills.
The Harsh Lessons
Here's what I tweeted back in June 2021:
"LESSONS SUMMARY:
- Limit your team size as long as you can. It will make everything more complicated
- Ship with a limited scope and validate your core features before expanding
- Don't always follow the herd, think for your specific situation"
But now, with years of perspective, I'll add these:
1. Validate Ruthlessly
Don't ask "do you like it?" Ask "will you pay for it NOW?"
2. Ignore Vanity Metrics
Downloads, signups, and compliments don't pay the bills.
3. Stay Lean Until It Hurts
Every person you add multiplies complexity.
4. Focus on Pain, Not Delight
Customers pay to solve pain, not for "nice to haves." Build painkillers, not vitamins.
The Real Truth About Failure
Failure hits different when it's the project you believed in most.
It's not just a product that failed.
It feels like YOU failed.
But here's what I learned:
The projects that feel most exciting are often the ones where your judgment is most clouded.
My new filter
Now, before I start anything, I ask:
- Is this solving real pain?
- Will people pay specifically for this?
- Can I validate it quickly and cheaply?
- Am I being honest with myself?
But it’s not all bad ❤
That failure taught me more than any success.
It's why Tweet Hunter and Taplio succeeded.
It's why I'm much more careful now.
It's why I'm better at spotting real opportunities.
It’s why my new products (Revid, Outrank) are growing at record speeds.
Sometimes you need to crash hard to learn how to fly.
Tweet of the week
This kid build a simple AI startup, gets a ton of social traction, lists it for $120k and has more than 10 solid offers (of much more than $120k).
You can just do things.
Hit reply and tell me - what was YOUR biggest failure? I promise I'll read every response 👇🏻
Keep building (and failing forward)
Tibo 💻
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