Summary - Specific

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Summary

To $10 Million in 4 Years: Choosing Your Path

You're a builder at heart, with a decade of startup experience and a $10-20M exit goal in sight. You're at a crossroads with two products: AudiowaveAI, a passion project with potential scaling challenges, and FigmaTimeline, a technically demanding tool for a market you know is underserved.

This summary distills key insights from Paul Graham's "Do Things that Don't Scale" to help you choose your path.

The Power of Unscalable Actions

Graham emphasizes that early success hinges on doing things that don't scale. This means getting your hands dirty: manually acquiring users, providing exceptional customer service, and even assembling products yourself.

For AudiowaveAI, this could mean:

Personally reaching out to potential users in your target market (people who love audiobooks and want to read more efficiently).
Offering concierge onboarding to help new users get the most out of the product.
Gathering detailed feedback to iterate on features and address user pain points.

For FigmaTimeline, it could mean:

Partnering with design influencers to get early feedback and build buzz.
Creating tutorials and documentation that are tailored to the specific needs of Figma users.
Offering hands-on support to help designers integrate the tool into their workflow.

Finding the Right Fit

While both products have potential, your personal connection to AudiowaveAI and the technical challenges of FigmaTimeline present key considerations.

AudiowaveAI's advantage: You're your own ideal customer.

This deep understanding of the problem and solution can be invaluable in the early stages.

FigmaTimeline's advantage: The distribution is inherently easier, and you've identified a clear market gap. However, the technical complexity necessitates finding a co-founder.

Funding: Do You Need It?

Graham doesn't explicitly address funding, but his emphasis on early hustle suggests that bootstrapping or seeking smaller angel investments might be a good fit for your goals. This allows you to retain control and focus on building a solid foundation before scaling rapidly.

The Path Forward

The decision ultimately boils down to your risk tolerance and where you feel most passionate.

AudiowaveAI: Can you crack the distribution puzzle and overcome the margin challenges? If so, this could be a profitable, bootstrapped business.
FigmaTimeline: Finding the right co-founder is crucial.

If you can build a strong team, the market potential is significant.

Remember, the most important factor is your commitment to doing the unscalable work that will set your chosen product apart and propel it towards your $10-20M goal.