2 builders who never spoke to each other

Look like the two people you actually are

A brand new company dressed in corporate language repels the buyers most likely to go first, because a meaningful slice of them would rather back a named human than a faceless vendor. Put your own name, face and headcount on the page and let the ones who need a big supplier walk. Those buyers tend to arrive wanting paper invoices and bespoke work anyway, so losing them early is a saving.

The method

1. 01

   Stop dressing a brand new company up as an established one: the corporate costume repels exactly the people who would have bought from you first.

2. 02

   Write the About page as one person talking: your name, the thing you built, a couple of real questions it answers, and an invitation to tell you what is wrong with it.

3. 03

   Resist dressing a one-person operation up as a larger company, because plenty of business buyers actively prefer backing an independent developer and turn into your best customers.

4. 04

   Buyers who need a corporate veneer before they will purchase are the ones who go on to demand paper invoices and bespoke work, so filtering them out saves you time.

5. 05

   Sell the attention a small team can give: the personal support customers cannot get from the big alternative is a differentiator you can lead with.

What it returned

• His own early About page billed Smart Bear as a leading supplier of tools that mine enterprise version control data for risk analysis and decision support, wording he now cannot parse himself.

• The rewrite he wishes he had used opens with his first name and asks readers to try it and report what is bad about it.

• Rival store locator apps posed as bigger firms with corporate sites and a dozen names on a team page, while Storemapper customers said outright they liked supporting a solo founder

Sources

• You’re a little company, now act like oneJason Cohen · longform.asmartbear.com · You’re a little company, now act like one · 2009-08-31
• Micro-SaaS Ebook: from Idea to Shipping a Minimum Viable ProductTyler Tringas · tylertringas.com · Avoid the faux professionalism · 2016-11-29
• 42 Questions to Ask Before Starting a BusinessPreetam Nath · preetamnath.com · Can I differentiate on product, or distribution? · 2021-01-10