The (not-so-obvious) reason #buildinpublic works for me:

I'm a writer at heart. Writing about how I build helps me process, learn & further my thinking.

The truth is, I don't build in public for you -- though I enjoy seeing my shares help other people.

I do it for me.

Doing a deep dive on a few other M&A database products to make sure we're truly filling a gap with @TheyGotAcquired's deals database...

So pumped to see we have lots of data and context on private transactions the other big players in this space don't have 💪

#BuildinPublic

Feels like an inflection point for @TheyGotAcquired.

We're in a good place with:
+ Team
+ Content engine
+ Audience growth

Turning my attention now to our products & revenue-drivers.

What they are & how we're prioritizing 🧵

#BuildinPublic

Got Qs this week re: revenue streams for @TheyGotAcquired.

They are:

💰 Reports (and in future, database access)
💰 Newsletter sponsors
💰 Referrals to M&A partners
💰 Coaching for founders looking to sell (coming soon)

#buildinpublic

Since this tweet seems to be doing better than my tweets promoting the launch, here's the link to show us some love!

producthunt.com/posts/they-got…

(Also, I love that this community is so into the #buildinpublic details)

If you appreciated this #buildinpublic thread:

👋 Follow me: @alexisgrant

RT my original tweet 👇 Cheers!

twitter.com/alexisgrant/st…

Reviewed our financials for August.

Not profitable, but took a big step in that direction:

It was the first month when we had two revenue streams instead of one.

The plan is to have four by next year. Two are working so far 🔥

@TheyGotAcquired #buildinpublic

#BuildInPublic update (this one feels vulnerable):

Had our first profitable month for @TheyGotAcquired in June. 👊

June revenue covered all June expenses.

Not paying myself yet. And might not cover expenses in July.

But we're on track for profitable by EOY.

In one month, we've leaped from DR 20 to 25, via Ahrefs:

For @TheyGotAcquired. #buildinpublic

(I've been heads down so haven't read about it, but heard there was a Google update recently so that might have affected it as well.)

Format for @TheyGotAcquired newsletter:

+ Sends 2x/wk, Tues & Fri
+ Includes 1-2 new stories + podcasts
+ Plus a short sponsor msg
+ And Behind the Business section (Tues) that shares how we're building the company
+ All on @ConvertKit

#buildinpublic

TheyGotAcquired.com/newsletter

Slowly, slowly, slowly climbing the ranks in @ahrefs.

#buildinpublic @TheyGotAcquired

Was sick last week, which led to a small epiphany.

Building fast to take advantage of opportunities for @TheyGotAcquired = I hadn't stopped to delegate enough.

Taking this week to document & hand tasks to others.

So next time I'm sick, things will still move. #buildinpublic

We hit 2K newsletter subs for @TheyGotAcquired! #buildinpublic

Tbh, I'm disappointed it took us this long to get to 2K.

Here's how I pump myself back up, by reminding myself that...

Wouldn't be #buildinpublic if I didn't also share challenges:

+ Hiring / building the right team takes time

+ Going from strategic leader of a big team to bootstrapper with a small team of freelancers = lots of adjusting expectations

Two months into @TheyGotAcquired, two top-of-mind learnings:

+ There's more advertising/sponsorship money in this space than I expected. Will likely lean on that more heavily than originally planned.

+ Feeling even more confident now that this will work.

#buildinpublic

Was feeling a bit scatterbrained / all over the place b/c so many opportunities for @TheyGotAcquired.

Started my week by writing down top three priorities.

End of Monday, already crossing one off 💪✅ #buildinpublic

Friday wins (to remind myself what I achieved this week before ending my work day):

🎉 Finally managed to get media liability insurance

🎉 Tried a new reporter and she was fabulous

🎉 Onboarded an Operations Coordinator

🎉 Spring is here. #buildinpublic

Having a live website makes it so much easier to:

+ Convince reporters to write for us

+ Convince founders to share info about their acquisition

Being live, and having a decent About page, goes a long way.

#buildinpublic

TheyGotAcquired.com/About

Building a startup isn't all rainbows.

A lot of minor frustrations have got in my way lately: laptop broke, illness, lost a team member so need to hire a new one.

And of course, feeling down over the war.

That NYT feature came when I needed a morale boost.

#buildinpublic

One takeaway from having 1,000 emails subscribers at launch for @TheyGotAcquired:

Some of the best opportunities / shares / connections have come from people I didn't know were on our email list.

Sharing publicly = people come out of the woodwork to help.

#buildinpublic