Tomorrow
The product is in the best place it has ever been. For the first time, there are no blockers in the model. In other words, without our intervention, it can fully "come alive."
I struggle to articulate this at times, and because of that, how I create things might seem compulsive to others. To me, a product is not complete until it is self-sufficient. And in its sufficiency, {fibonacci sequence visual*} it can spiral out (scale) to its potential only limited by the universe it resides in (the market). If there is anything that blocks that sufficiency or ability to scale, to me, it is incomplete, and I cannot rest until it is.
An example of an incomplete product is a laptop without the letter 'E' key. This does not mean making a product ultra-complex, loaded with tons of features like a 48-hour battery life. No, it can and probably should be very simple and then iterate along the way. A 1-hour battery will suffice for v1. But in that simplicity, it must be complete and have the ability to come alive, grow, and blossom into something new. Like a seed. If it is missing any element, it will not germinate.
For the first time, I feel as if the seed is complete. Our product can come alive, grow, and blossom. Creators can join and create content (workouts, recipes, meditations, or education) on their own. They can invite their outside audiences to follow them. Users can join on their own and follow the creators they want. As more creators share more content, the product grows in content and becomes more valuable to users. As more users join and interact with more content, the creator payout pool grows and the product becomes more valuable to creators. It is self-sufficient with the ability (including the right incentives) to scale.
This is not to say that I will rest, as it still needs to hit a "breaking point," or the point at which the seed germinates, the blackhole explodes, or the water begins to boil. At that point, what once felt dead comes alive. This requires an unknown level of momentum. We must reach that level, like pushing a boulder off a mountain top. But once we do, because of the completeness of the product, that boulder will snowball down the hill.
To initiate this momentum, we have strategically partnered with three aligned creators who are using Upspace: Paul Ziegler, Joey Sorts, and Alex Bolivar. Tomorrow to start the New Year, they will be welcoming their audiences in together with messaging like {ex. Paul} "Join me, @joeysorts @alexbolivar, and 50+ other creators to get access to all of our recipes, workouts, and more all for one price."
Today, we will be rallying all of our other creators to join Paul, Joey, and Alex tomorrow using the same messaging to welcome their audience into Upspace too.
The hope is that this initiative over the next month will trigger enough momentum to get the flywheel going where users join, increasing the creator payout pool, and incentivizing more creators to create on Upspace and invite more users in, and the cycle continues (the Fibonacci spiral of growth).
The rains begin tomorrow. And by the end of the month, we hope to have enough water to lift the boat and take it off to sea. Between now and then is your chance to join us.
Thank you,
Shaughnessy
P.S.
As a baseline, we currently have 40 paying subscribers. We will keep you posted on traction over the next month. If you want to check the app out now, you can do so here.