Hey guys ‘n’ dolls,
It’s been a while!
This post is a bit of a long one. For those of you who can’t be arsed here’s the short version, though I’d suggest at least skimming the Lessons Learned in bold…
TL;DR
- Left job 1 year ago to work for self = Fail
- Next attempt = minor victory == WIN
- Next attempt = EPIC FAIL
- Wants IT experience with IT company for hands-on learning – No formal IT skills
- Lands & negotiates higher level IT Dev J.O.B., Salary & bonus = WIN!
- Learned lots about IT, successful SaaS platforms & awesome business strategy
- NOW: Planning exit – First full on SaaS / Product hybrid in the property sector
The Story So far
Roughly this time last year I left my job to work for myself. The thought of working in my J.O.B. was literally killing me. I weighted up my options and jumped head first into the unknown to focus purely on my first major project.
It failed.
Lesson Learned: Marketing & Sales >= Product
I had to up my game and find a way to survive. It worked and resulted in my first book. It still sells a few copies today, but not enough to live off. So I experimented with some imports to fuel a second book. The imports bombed and took a massive chunk out of my wallet.
Epic fail.
Lesson Learned: Test SMALL & source locally where possible. Also, just because you think something will sell, sure as hell doesn’t mean it will. Cut your losses and move on.
I decided I needed to improve my programming skills, particularly in the enterprise arena, to prepare myself for some serious business. In particular I wanted to fully understand how fast growth SaaS platforms set themselves up to scale, how they deal with development and see first-hand everything that made them a success. The options available were; self-study Internet courses; distance learning; college/university (LOL!); or get a job.
Bear in mind, I have no formal qualifications in programming or technology.
However, for the past 16 years I’ve been tinkering with computers, electronics and a lot of programming languages purely out of a hobbyist interest in tech. Turns out my portfolio of skills and abilities in code (put together in the space of 48 hours) were more than enough to land my first PROPER programming job. I walked into a role with one of the fastest growing tech companies in the country, at a regular developer level, after being APPROACHED by a recruitment agency for a Junior position.
Lesson Learned: Always negotiate. I picked up an increased salary and bigger bonus by putting some freshly seasoned haggling skills (from negotiating with Chinese manufacturers, etc) to the test. Don’t ever settle for the first offer.
Since joining the company in April, I’ve seen the ins and outs of a business that makes very close to £1million per month in sales. They started out with a product that failed, along with a few more failures after that. It took them several attempts and a lot of cash to get to where they are now. The ethos of the company oozes out of everything and everyone; from the products they sell, right down to the employees at every level. They have won more awards than I ever knew existed and I get to be a part of their success and their story.
The only problem is, I’ve tasted freedom.
I’ve held it in my hands and caressed it whilst listening to its siren song. I need to be in total control of everything I do. Having accountability for the success of some awesome products is one thing, but doesn’t compare to owning it outright. I have no intention of settling down into a permanent JOB, or working for someone else, no matter how great they are. It’s nothing to do with the company and I definitely have no bad feelings or negative opinions about them. In fact, I admire and aspire to create my own future ventures as a reflection of their core values and operations. The way they do business works exceptionally well and is refreshing to say the least.
Lesson Learned: Know where your exits are. Whatever you do, or wherever you are, always know what your exit options are. Pick one if you can, but keep your eyes open. If you don’t know what to aim for, how are you going to get there?
The Plan
So here is my rebirth from the blazing pits of stellar failure. This thread (for now on the outside) will be a running documentary of the progression of my process of my next venture, so here’s the CENTS plan:
Need
The property market is overrun by estate agents & solicitors/lawyers who take an average of 5-7% of the property sales value at the end of a transaction, whilst taking forever to complete some very basic legal forms. The market needs disrupting. A gap in the market is a platform to take prospective buyers and sellers through everything they need to transact properties in private and/or representing themselves legally, without a legal aide.
Entry
The barrier to entry is very high. Laws change constantly. The legislation in place is verbose, dull and full of loopholes & caveats. It is very easy to make a mistake, costing you a lot of time and money. Anyone wanting to compete needs to either be a lawyer, or be very good at teaching complex subjects to people who have little interest in the subject. I digest and dissect information very effectively; especially complex, not particularly stimulating data. I’ve also taught complicated tech subjects to seniors and technophobes… with a 100% retention rate. Law shouldn’t be much different.
Control
I have no control over the law. They could change things to totally prevent private property transactions, giving the game to a monopoly of estate agents and solicitors/lawyers. I also have little control over the price to pay for legal documents & the stationers that can provide them. I can, however, control the rate at which updates are processed and turned into updated products. With all legislation there are loopholes, you just need to know where to look. If a monopoly comes into law, then there are plenty of courses to become a qualified solicitor/conveyancer to continue the service.
Scale
With traditional fees stretching people’s budgets, the potential to save thousands of [£/$/Y, etc] is going to be appealing. The growing number of tech-savvy first time buyers and internet-capable last time sellers, means there will be plenty of opportunity to scale. If the property markets implode once again, people will need to claw back every penny in cost savings that they possibly can. If the markets continue to rise, then those same people will want to keep as much of their capital gains as possible, giving as little as possible to the non-essential middle-men. I understand how to build and support large scale (2million+ transactions per day), resource intensive SaaS applications and will be able to scale the tech without a problem. This will be a baptism of fire in sales and marketing for me, so I’ll need to bring in outside help to get some speed… I’m not making the same mistakes again.
Time
Scalable infrastructure to support the product; A sales and marketing team to sell the product; A care team to support the customers; Eventually an experienced lawyer/solicitor/conveyancer to manage the updates & legal side; A development team to maintain & enhance the product & any internal solutions that will have a positive business impact. The platform will be fully automated and self-serve, with human support available 24/7 (eventually). I intend to take myself out of the equation and let it run itself, with some carefully picked managers I have yet to employ.
That’s it!
An entire idea strewn out from the ashes of failure. You don’t need a 400 page business plan. You don’t need to spend months thinking about one idea…
Just grow a pair and execute.
Run with your idea and see where it takes you. If it doesn’t fit CENTS or at least the opportunity to make some bank in the meantime, cut it loose and move onto the next one… FOCUS ON ONE PROJECT AT A TIME!
In light of recent events, I have no problem with sharing this idea on the forum in its entirety. I may move it to the inside eventually, but for now it will remain open to the whole forum to show you my next failure success. The only way someone can compete with me is to spend thousands on lawyers & legal fees; study a LOT of dry legal subject matter, keep up to date with the legal updates and be careful not to break the law in some obscure way; OR already be a lawyer with the time, money and knowledge of the property transaction market. If you happen to be the latter and feel like competing against me, drop me a PM… perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement…
TODO:
- [70% complete] Digest & Dissect data into every scenario & check for current updates to procedures.
- [1 private seller on board] Approach sellers who have been on the market for 6-12 months without a sale for FREE trial run & testimonials.
- If successful, translate to SaaS platform. If not successful, refine & repeat trials. Pull in professional legal help if necessary.
- Bring in sales & marketing team.
- Bring in support team.
- Bring in development team
- Manage with a light grip, but stay in control from afar.
- Become market leader in the UK & stay ahead of copycats & competitors.
- Expand into foreign markets, starting with the US & other English speaking nations.
- Expand into non-English speaking nations
- ???
- PROFIT
Hope you found something useful from all of this. Feel free to ask questions along the way, preferably on this thread so others can benefit. I’m not a massive fan of emails or PMs either, so please don’t PM me unless you’ve got an offer I can’t refuse (other than blackmail. Don’t send me blackmail please
)
Anyhoo…
Let’s make some money!
😀
It’s been a while!
This post is a bit of a long one. For those of you who can’t be arsed here’s the short version, though I’d suggest at least skimming the Lessons Learned in bold…
TL;DR
- Left job 1 year ago to work for self = Fail
- Next attempt = minor victory == WIN
- Next attempt = EPIC FAIL
- Wants IT experience with IT company for hands-on learning – No formal IT skills
- Lands & negotiates higher level IT Dev J.O.B., Salary & bonus = WIN!
- Learned lots about IT, successful SaaS platforms & awesome business strategy
- NOW: Planning exit – First full on SaaS / Product hybrid in the property sector
The Story So far
Roughly this time last year I left my job to work for myself. The thought of working in my J.O.B. was literally killing me. I weighted up my options and jumped head first into the unknown to focus purely on my first major project.
It failed.
Lesson Learned: Marketing & Sales >= Product
I had to up my game and find a way to survive. It worked and resulted in my first book. It still sells a few copies today, but not enough to live off. So I experimented with some imports to fuel a second book. The imports bombed and took a massive chunk out of my wallet.
Epic fail.
Lesson Learned: Test SMALL & source locally where possible. Also, just because you think something will sell, sure as hell doesn’t mean it will. Cut your losses and move on.
I decided I needed to improve my programming skills, particularly in the enterprise arena, to prepare myself for some serious business. In particular I wanted to fully understand how fast growth SaaS platforms set themselves up to scale, how they deal with development and see first-hand everything that made them a success. The options available were; self-study Internet courses; distance learning; college/university (LOL!); or get a job.
Bear in mind, I have no formal qualifications in programming or technology.
However, for the past 16 years I’ve been tinkering with computers, electronics and a lot of programming languages purely out of a hobbyist interest in tech. Turns out my portfolio of skills and abilities in code (put together in the space of 48 hours) were more than enough to land my first PROPER programming job. I walked into a role with one of the fastest growing tech companies in the country, at a regular developer level, after being APPROACHED by a recruitment agency for a Junior position.
Lesson Learned: Always negotiate. I picked up an increased salary and bigger bonus by putting some freshly seasoned haggling skills (from negotiating with Chinese manufacturers, etc) to the test. Don’t ever settle for the first offer.
Since joining the company in April, I’ve seen the ins and outs of a business that makes very close to £1million per month in sales. They started out with a product that failed, along with a few more failures after that. It took them several attempts and a lot of cash to get to where they are now. The ethos of the company oozes out of everything and everyone; from the products they sell, right down to the employees at every level. They have won more awards than I ever knew existed and I get to be a part of their success and their story.
The only problem is, I’ve tasted freedom.
I’ve held it in my hands and caressed it whilst listening to its siren song. I need to be in total control of everything I do. Having accountability for the success of some awesome products is one thing, but doesn’t compare to owning it outright. I have no intention of settling down into a permanent JOB, or working for someone else, no matter how great they are. It’s nothing to do with the company and I definitely have no bad feelings or negative opinions about them. In fact, I admire and aspire to create my own future ventures as a reflection of their core values and operations. The way they do business works exceptionally well and is refreshing to say the least.
Lesson Learned: Know where your exits are. Whatever you do, or wherever you are, always know what your exit options are. Pick one if you can, but keep your eyes open. If you don’t know what to aim for, how are you going to get there?
The Plan
So here is my rebirth from the blazing pits of stellar failure. This thread (for now on the outside) will be a running documentary of the progression of my process of my next venture, so here’s the CENTS plan:
Need
The property market is overrun by estate agents & solicitors/lawyers who take an average of 5-7% of the property sales value at the end of a transaction, whilst taking forever to complete some very basic legal forms. The market needs disrupting. A gap in the market is a platform to take prospective buyers and sellers through everything they need to transact properties in private and/or representing themselves legally, without a legal aide.
Entry
The barrier to entry is very high. Laws change constantly. The legislation in place is verbose, dull and full of loopholes & caveats. It is very easy to make a mistake, costing you a lot of time and money. Anyone wanting to compete needs to either be a lawyer, or be very good at teaching complex subjects to people who have little interest in the subject. I digest and dissect information very effectively; especially complex, not particularly stimulating data. I’ve also taught complicated tech subjects to seniors and technophobes… with a 100% retention rate. Law shouldn’t be much different.
Control
I have no control over the law. They could change things to totally prevent private property transactions, giving the game to a monopoly of estate agents and solicitors/lawyers. I also have little control over the price to pay for legal documents & the stationers that can provide them. I can, however, control the rate at which updates are processed and turned into updated products. With all legislation there are loopholes, you just need to know where to look. If a monopoly comes into law, then there are plenty of courses to become a qualified solicitor/conveyancer to continue the service.
Scale
With traditional fees stretching people’s budgets, the potential to save thousands of [£/$/Y, etc] is going to be appealing. The growing number of tech-savvy first time buyers and internet-capable last time sellers, means there will be plenty of opportunity to scale. If the property markets implode once again, people will need to claw back every penny in cost savings that they possibly can. If the markets continue to rise, then those same people will want to keep as much of their capital gains as possible, giving as little as possible to the non-essential middle-men. I understand how to build and support large scale (2million+ transactions per day), resource intensive SaaS applications and will be able to scale the tech without a problem. This will be a baptism of fire in sales and marketing for me, so I’ll need to bring in outside help to get some speed… I’m not making the same mistakes again.
Time
Scalable infrastructure to support the product; A sales and marketing team to sell the product; A care team to support the customers; Eventually an experienced lawyer/solicitor/conveyancer to manage the updates & legal side; A development team to maintain & enhance the product & any internal solutions that will have a positive business impact. The platform will be fully automated and self-serve, with human support available 24/7 (eventually). I intend to take myself out of the equation and let it run itself, with some carefully picked managers I have yet to employ.
That’s it!
An entire idea strewn out from the ashes of failure. You don’t need a 400 page business plan. You don’t need to spend months thinking about one idea…
Just grow a pair and execute.
Run with your idea and see where it takes you. If it doesn’t fit CENTS or at least the opportunity to make some bank in the meantime, cut it loose and move onto the next one… FOCUS ON ONE PROJECT AT A TIME!
In light of recent events, I have no problem with sharing this idea on the forum in its entirety. I may move it to the inside eventually, but for now it will remain open to the whole forum to show you my next failure success. The only way someone can compete with me is to spend thousands on lawyers & legal fees; study a LOT of dry legal subject matter, keep up to date with the legal updates and be careful not to break the law in some obscure way; OR already be a lawyer with the time, money and knowledge of the property transaction market. If you happen to be the latter and feel like competing against me, drop me a PM… perhaps we can come to some sort of agreement…
TODO:
- [70% complete] Digest & Dissect data into every scenario & check for current updates to procedures.
- [1 private seller on board] Approach sellers who have been on the market for 6-12 months without a sale for FREE trial run & testimonials.
- If successful, translate to SaaS platform. If not successful, refine & repeat trials. Pull in professional legal help if necessary.
- Bring in sales & marketing team.
- Bring in support team.
- Bring in development team
- Manage with a light grip, but stay in control from afar.
- Become market leader in the UK & stay ahead of copycats & competitors.
- Expand into foreign markets, starting with the US & other English speaking nations.
- Expand into non-English speaking nations
- ???
- PROFIT
Hope you found something useful from all of this. Feel free to ask questions along the way, preferably on this thread so others can benefit. I’m not a massive fan of emails or PMs either, so please don’t PM me unless you’ve got an offer I can’t refuse (other than blackmail. Don’t send me blackmail please
)Anyhoo…
Let’s make some money!
😀
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