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Regarding (1), are you selling B2B or B2C. I've found that B2C customers typically don't care that much, and if anything they are happy to be communicating with

Regarding (1), are you selling B2B or B2C. I've found that B2C customers typically don't care that much, and if anything they are happy to be communicating with the founder. This is true once you have something built. It may be different when you're still at the idea phase, and thinking about building. B2B customers will definitely care. Some will ask you to have millions in insurance and source code in escrow before they'll work with you. But there are some out there that are more flexible, or who just don't think about it that much. Regarding (3), it's good to be in a big city for networking purposes, but these days it doesn't really matter that I'm in SV. I go to meetups only occasionally, and most of my networking happens at conferences. If you're finding it's hard to talk with customers remotely, then I guess it would be worth it to consider relocating. But I'd prioritize keeping the burn rate low, which means your small town is going to win out over a big city.

solo_prono 3y ago
Thanks! I am selling B2B. However I guess it is more like Figma or Notion or some of these apps, where anyone can use it (individuals or companies).
- BoorishBears 3y ago
  Solo founder works for B2C2B, and I think that's what you're looking to do based on what your examples. Notion is actually the poster child for the strategy: you target a group of people who have the job title that'd use your product, but build something that appeals to them on personal level as consumers. You don't bother with typical B2B messaging, no enterprise-y sales pitches, and you lean into community building. That way your users will want to share it with their friends (who tend to be other people with similar job titles), want to bring it into their company for semi-personal-use, and eventually push for their employer to adopt it officially (and you charge them more for it as business users). By the time you're face to face with the "Business", they've already established there's value in what you're selling and the signal is coming from the people they trust most.
  - avarun 3y ago
    For further context, this strategy is known as Product Led Growth (PLG).
    - BoorishBears 3y ago
      Technically I'm advising them to go more towards Community Led Growth, but it's rooted in a similar place as Product Led Growth https://www.amity.co/blog/duolingo-figma-notion-and-hubspot-leveraged-the-power-of-community-led-growth https://www.amity.co/blog/duolingo-figma-notion-and-hubspot-...

solo_prono 3y ago

Thanks! I am selling B2B. However I guess it is more like Figma or Notion or some of these apps, where anyone can use it (individuals or companies).

BoorishBears 3y ago
Solo founder works for B2C2B, and I think that's what you're looking to do based on what your examples. Notion is actually the poster child for the strategy: you target a group of people who have the job title that'd use your product, but build something that appeals to them on personal level as consumers. You don't bother with typical B2B messaging, no enterprise-y sales pitches, and you lean into community building. That way your users will want to share it with their friends (who tend to be other people with similar job titles), want to bring it into their company for semi-personal-use, and eventually push for their employer to adopt it officially (and you charge them more for it as business users). By the time you're face to face with the "Business", they've already established there's value in what you're selling and the signal is coming from the people they trust most.
- avarun 3y ago
  For further context, this strategy is known as Product Led Growth (PLG).
  - BoorishBears 3y ago
    Technically I'm advising them to go more towards Community Led Growth, but it's rooted in a similar place as Product Led Growth https://www.amity.co/blog/duolingo-figma-notion-and-hubspot-leveraged-the-power-of-community-led-growth https://www.amity.co/blog/duolingo-figma-notion-and-hubspot-...