Note: 4 Weeks to Launch is an ongoing series about building passive income across multiple startups — a new startup every 4 weeks. Read the first post on 4 Weeks to Launch to get started, or subscribe for weekly updates.
I am building a new mini startup every 4 weeks. The goal of each startup is to provide a useful product/service and to generate 💰. By blogging about my journey I aim to teach others about how to build a business rapidly through Silicon Valley know-how.
Why am I doing this?
Passive income is awesome! Invest once, then reap the rewards forever! At least this is how it goes in theory…. Technology or a lot of cash are the best ways to build passive income and since I don’t have millions to invest, I’ll focus my efforts on technology in the form of startups.
I moved to Silicon Valley 3 years ago and started Lenda with my co-founder Jason. Before that I dropped out of school and built a modest web dev/design shop in Philly. I’ve learned a lot about building businesses, however Silicon Valley still doesn’t have all the answers. The focus there is the classic method of spending time for money. The dream in San Francisco is the same broken dream as everywhere — work hard, get rich. In SF the dream just has more zeroes.
I believe time is wealth. Specifically freedom of choice with our time. We are wealthy when we no longer have to trade our time for money and are free to use our time however we choose; a day, month, year, lifetime, while never having to worry about shelter, comfort, food, security.
This kind of freedom is what I have always wanted to achieve and this is the focus of 4 Weeks to Launch.
4 Weeks to Launch format
Every month I will pick a new idea. I will test the hypothesis by using any legal (and moral) means. So we’re talking to people on the street, blowing up my personal Facebook, cold emails/phone calls. Anything. The goal of week 1 is to get at least 1 paying customer by the end of week. If we can do that we prove that someone is willing to pay for the product.
Week 2 is all about growth — can I get more users? Can my system handle more users, or do I need to make it more robust? How can I get an MVP as quickly as possible? There will be a lot of Google Sheets and Forms, as well as emails, texting and other unscalable tools.
In week 3 I’ll take my customers, feedback and MVP and start building a Ruby on Rails website. What does this idea look like in a self-sustaining platform? What do I have to delegate, automate, eliminate? What is absolutely necessary for a stand-alone solution?
Week 4 is the week for cleanup and blowup. How do I turn on the faucet with users? What is the least I can do for maximum value?
Why not just 1 startup?
One thing that I picked up in Silicon Valley is diversification is key to any investment strategy. Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors aim for 1 in 20 companies to actually do well. That’s only a 5% success ratio!
The problem with this model is that if you’re the entrepreneur, you either succeed or fail. You don’t have a portfolio of startups that you’re invested in. Your pool consists of 1. Your company.
I believe I can flip the model. Rather than build 1 $100,000,000 company, I’d rather build 10 $10,000,000 companies. I also think building smaller companies is more achievable. You can have 5 fail and still do well. Hell, you can have 9 fail and if only one does well you’re still set for life! With the Silicon Valley startup model you have one shot and if you miss, you have to restart way back at the beginning.
One might argue that I won’t be able to build a quality company in just 4 weeks. That’s true, but I believe I’ll be able to build quality MVP that is semiautonomous. After each startup incubates I’ll be able to find the 20% of the companies that make 80% of the revenue, and focus my efforts there.
Lastly Parkinson’s law states that a project will expand to take exactly the time allocated for it — might as well fail or succeed fast!
Free data and code!
All of my data, revenue, earnings for each of these startups will be publicly available. Some of my businesses’ source code will be open source. I want to help myself and make money, but it is almost equally rewarding to help others.
4 Weeks to Launch goals & OKRs:
Public accountability is one of the most effective tools I know of to make sure you do follow through. The more public, the more your fear of embarrassment at failing, and the internet is as public as you can get. These are the goals for 4 Weeks to Launch:
- $10,000 / month with < 2hrs/week in necessary maintenance
- Fully automated/delegated businesses to minimize my interaction
- Build 1 new business every 30 days that generates revenue passively
How can you help?
Is the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard of? Impossible? Exciting? Want to do it with me? Let me know by leaving a comment or ❤️, upvoting on Hacker News or emailing me at elijahmurray@gmail.com.
P.S. I wish I could say that I was inspired by the founder of NomadList, levels.io’s 12 Startups in 12 Months. Sadly I came up with my 4 Weeks to Launch before learning of his adventures. If you haven’t heard his story check it out!
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