Chess, Open, Bootstrap, Remote
Good morning, Bonjour, Guten Morgen, Buongiorno, Buenos días, शुभ प्रभात & 早上好! Wishing everyone everywhere a successful, productive and safe week! Despite the urge to get things done, I hope you were all able to relax a little of the weekend.
Speaking of relaxing, I was blown away over the weekend when I read of the Iranian teen named Alireza Firouzja, who beat chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in a 90-minute contest! No tech, no #NoCode, pure 100% undiluted brainpower… Stunning!
Source: CNN, Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
The Iranian is the second-youngest player to reach the 2700 Fédération Internationale des Échecs, the rankings that govern international chess competition. Not bad! Congrats! Read the article here.
🌐 Maker Stories
I really enjoyed Kieran Ball’s latest Growth Lessons newsletter, which fluttered into my mailbox over the weekend. This issue summarises the story of Pete, a Maker from Edinburgh who back in early 2019 worked in a betting shop on minimum wage, leaving after his manager was threatened with a knife. He decided to work for himself and launched the No CS Degree website. Inspired by Pieter Levels, he follows the #OpenStartup philosophy, which helped him generate massive interest in his work as well as first revenue traction. His advice is to make things people love, celebrate your achievements and monetize quickly! Read Pete’s full story here and signup to Growth Lessons here to receive future Maker wisdom.
🌐 Bootstrap Funds
Below some background reading on bootstrap funds, which provide financing and connections for “bootstrapped” startups, while still make good returns without winning the unicorns. Funding does not always follow the traditional equity route though, with different models such as Revenue-Based Financing and Shared Earnings Agreements. The following three links should give you a good introduction into the players, the opportunities and the funding methods:
The New VCs: Revenue-Based Versus Shared Earnings by Tristan Pollock
Venture Debt: 50+ Options for Anti-VC SaaS Founders by Nathan Latka
🌐 Notion Podcast
Last but not least, you should all listen to the latest Twenty Minute VC podcast by Harry Stebbings with Notion's COO Akshay Kothari and Index Ventures Partner Sarah Cannon. Their discussion of the future of remote work will be of interest to all indie makers and hackers out there. Listen here.
That’s it for Monday! Keep safe and see you all tomorrow!
Source: Giphy