The key has been to act despite discomfort.

Movement creates clarity, and small wins build confidence.

Overthinking fades once you start to do the damn thing anyway.

Overthinking wears the mask of careful diligence but is really just avoidance.

Growth needs discomfort (discomfort that I wanted to avoid at all costs).

Realizing this helped me push past hesitation and keep moving forward.

I decided to stop coding for a while to focus on growth and marketing instead.

Posting imperfect content, like a messy YouTube video, gave me real feedback and early wins over endless overthinking.

Growth, sales, and marketing felt uncomfortable for me as a coder.

They put my work in front of strangers and risk rejection.

Avoiding them left me stuck with flat sales and no users.

What I've learned over the past week 🧵

Overthinking hides behind two traps:

the Vulnerability Trap, where fear of judgment stops you from sharing work
the Quality Trap, where perfectionism delays launching projects. Both stop movement and block clarity.

I’m willing to bet it’s because they’re making updates on their end.

For example, if you buy $1,000 of credits today and spend all of then 5 years from now, their cost to operate probably went up and they could be taking a hit.

I don’t like it as a consumer but I think there’s some truth there.

Yeah it’s all the stuff that my technical brain doesn’t want to be important but knows is the most important lol

I did most but not all of that.

My biggest mistake was not validating.

I started building because it solved my own problem and I assumed that I wasn’t the only one dealing with that problem

Yesterday I made a validation framework so we’ll see if that’s helpful!

I kept adding features to Rippl even though I had zero users 🤢

I did it to hide from sales and marketing 😱

I started a code freeze to solely focus on finding users 🚫💻

I'm going value-first and providing solutions to problems in order to build trust, then try to sell 🧪

#buildingpublic #marketing

im repurposing blog posts to video content

what do you think?

feel free to skim, theres a transition at the end id like feedback on too 🙏

#buildinpublic #marketing #videocontent #video

I think if you focus on “who am I when nobody is looking?” you can really set yourself up for some kind of success

Hahaha nope but it’s good to know I made that mistake too 🫠

I just stumbled my way through OBS and davinci resolve. I can send you links or we can talk on discord about it. Whatever works for you!

I spent the last week focusing on video

its a "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks" approach 😂

im happy I spent the time slogging through the learning process because video content feels like a good card to have up my sleeve

also, comment if you catch the error lol

#buildinpublic

Nah mine is postrippl.co!

Thanks! Hopefully it was the right move before starting my Google Ads campaign. I didn’t want to pay for traffic with such low conversion potential

I’ve been working on ripple as a product for a few months now (part time). Before it was a tool on my local to help solve my own problem

definitely distributing. im focused a lot of making content to be value-first whenever possible

for example I just made my first product demo video and put it on my landing page to make conversions increase before paying for google ads traffic

Building this skill proved more valuable than buying a one-off service. Now I can quickly tweak and improve because I invested time in learning, not just in a product. That skill compounds.

I saw that my first video didn’t need to be perfect, just good enough to start. Comparing myself to pros was pointless. The key was building skill and actually shipping something.

I skipped quick fixes and decided to do the work myself. At first, sifting through all the fluff was frustrating, but I kept digging for real knowledge and found tools like OBS and DaVinci Resolve.

Searching “how to make social media videos” threw me into a mess of sponsored ads pushing tools, courses, and shortcuts. It was noisy, costly, and designed to drain my patience and wallet. (jokes on them, the wallet couldn't be more empty)

I wanted to add video to my landing page after learning it could boost conversions by 86%. I’d never made a video before. This is the solopreneur grind: learning new skills from scratch while trying to grow.

#buildinpublic #marketing

Thanks! It honestly feels weird to share so much detail. I used to think taking the time to share detail is just slowing down my work

But now I realize how important it is for creating a community based on shared experiences

This game can get lonely so we have to build the community for ourselves

yup, I did it

focused on everything but the marketing and now having to backtrack lol

#buildinpublic #solopreneur

Building a community beats taking courses.

Real advice comes from those in the trenches, sharing what has worked. It’s not about finding the perfect solution, it’s about growing together and figuring things out without judgment.

Entrepreneurship thrives in uncertainty!

Building from scratch means stepping into the unknown. Feeling lost isn’t a glitch, it’s a sign you’re moving. Progress can feel uncomfortable because you’re forging the path as you go. Honestly, that’s probably how it’s meant to feel.

Confident founders seem polished now, but they weren’t always sure either. They tell their stories backward, after things worked out. That uncertain, “I don’t know” feeling is part of starting something new. Accepting it helps you focus on learning fast without pretending to have it all figured out.

Moving forward without a clear map is its own skill. Early on, you won’t have all the answers. You just have to act, even if you fumble. That leap on Reddit might not land Rippl’s ideal users, but standing still won’t get you anywhere. Movement brings clarity, even if it’s slow and awkward.

Most decisions happen with way less info than we want. We try things, hope they stick, and pick up skills we never planned to learn (I'm looking at you, marketing!). It feels clumsy but maybe this chaos mixed with embarrassment is exactly how it’s supposed to go.

Startup advice usually sounds like everyone has a clear playbook. Meanwhile, I’m in bed scrolling Reddit, worried Rippl’s missing onboarding means I’m off track. Knowing how to build stuff doesn’t mean I’m good at getting people to actually use it. It’s messy and that’s part of the deal.

original blog post: cjlovesdata.com/blog/your_bl...

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