3 builders who never spoke to each other

Spend most of the week selling

Once the product and the pitch are settled, the constraint is conversations, so move your own hours out of building and into talking to buyers. Founders who grow fastest run a ratio most builders would find uncomfortable.

The method

1. 01

   Founders who grow fastest spend most of their time selling and a minority of it building, roughly nine parts to one.

2. 02

   Once the product and the value proposition are settled, shift your own time out of building and into talking to as many prospects as you can. Kahl hit that point at Podscan around break even, roughly a year in.

3. 03

   Point everything at selling until the offer has produced results you can point to, and only then look for what to automate.

4. 04

   Accept that for a service business the lever that moves revenue most is getting on more sales calls, and price high enough to fund the machinery that produces them.

What it returned

• About a year of building Podscan to reach the break even point

Sources

• Reflections on my time in Y CombinatorChris Frantz · chrisfrantz.com · 2022-08-22
• S02 Episode 3: How to Value Your Funnel with Greg Hickman - Double Your FreelancingGreg Hickman · doubleyourfreelancing.com · S02 Episode 3: How to Value Your Funnel with Greg Hickman · 2018-05-01
• Navigating Sales Challenges as a Solopreneur in PodcastingArvid Kahl · thebootstrappedfounder.com · The Solopreneur’s Struggle · 2025-05-09