Not Business Advice ✍️

How I made $1M from my personal projects

From my daily blogs that I've been writing for the last 5+ years.

πŸ“• Book 4:

Burning the boats
($4,000/month, early 2021)


Ebook πŸ“™
Direct downloads
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Audiobook πŸ”Š
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πŸ“— Spotify πŸ“˜ MP4
Video πŸ’»
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πŸ“• YouTube




πŸ“œ Table of contents


πŸ“• Introduction
1. Recap

πŸ”₯ Why I quit my job
1. I realized that dream jobs don't exist
2. I've had consistent results
3. I fell out of love with engineering
4. I stopped learning
5. I was spinning my wheels
6. I took the red pill
7. I want to embrace risks
8. I've stacked the odds in my favor
9. I want clarity of mind
10. I want to feel alive
11. The time is never right

❀️ Quitting my job
1. Escaping the circus
2. Enjoying the show
3. The dark side of the show
4. Lifestyle design
5. Cloak and dagger
6. It's all about the money
7. An offer I can't refuse
8. Strip tease show

πŸ“œ Appendix
1. What's next?
2. Time travel







Introduction πŸ“•


That's it. It's done.

I just quit my job to go full time on Cyberleads.

It's been a long time coming. I launched CyberLeads nearly one year ago. But it's been three years since I first started building products seriously and dreaming about this moment.

My first 19 products failed. CyberLeads was my 20th.

In this book we'll talk about something special.

Probably the most important milestone.

Quitting your job to go full time.




Recap πŸ“…


Here is a quick recap of the journey so far.

While in university, I spent 2 years perfecting and launching an app that went nowhere.

Then, I discovered bootstrapping and started building products.

In my first year of building products, I launched 10+ products and managed to get up to $100/month.

In my second year of building products, I focused on one of those products and managed to get up to $200/month.

That wasn't enough, so I had to throw in the towel and get a full time job.

Then, in my third year of building products, while working a full time job, I launched CyberLeads and surpassed my salary.

Now I'm about to quit my job and go full time.








Part 1: Why I quit my job πŸ”₯


Many people ask me why I decided to quit my job.

And why now, as opposed to sooner, or later.

Well, here are my reasons.



1. I realized that dream jobs don't exist πŸ’”


The first reason I quit my job was because I realized that dream jobs don't exist.

I thought that this would be my dream job.

Or to be more precise, I was afraid that it would be my dream job.

I was afraid that I would fall in love with the company and forget all about my dreams and side projects.


After all, it ticked all of the boxes:

β€’ It was an MIT startup

β€’ With founders that were MIT professors and graduates

β€’ They worked with NASA

β€’ Built life saving medical devices

β€’ Offered a good salary, perks and benefits

β€’ Sounded cool at parties and to my parents

β€’ And was the best job I could get


Thankfully, I was wrong.

It was just another job.




2. I've had consistent results πŸ“ˆ


The second reason I quit my job was because I've had consistent results.

I could worry all I want. And I could come up with excuses all day long.

But CyberLeads has made more than my salary six months in a row.

Some months even double my salary.

Even though my systems are not ideal. Even though I still don't feel like I'm standing on solid ground.


There are many things I don't like about my business.

β€’ Twitter is my main marketing channel, which is unstable
β€’ I'm in a market with high churn, customers don't stick around
β€’ My revenue is wild and fluctuates, it's not like a salary
β€’ My growth is not as smooth as I would like it to be
β€’ People compete with me all the time


But I cannot argue with the numbers and the facts.

In a perfect world, I would like to have predictable, scalable systems that work while I sleep. Be in market with super low churn and customers sticking around for years. Get customers on autopilot through Google.

But we don't live in a perfect world.

I have to adjust my sails to the wind. Not try to change the weather.

Yes, my business is wild. But it has been growing consistently.




3. I fell out of love with engineering πŸ‘¨β€πŸ”§


The third reason I quit my job was that I fell out of love with engineering.

For years I thought that I loved coding. However, as soon as I started working as a software engineer, I realized that I didn't love coding, but creating. Software was just my tool of use.

Writing unit tests and building internal dashboards is not what I call peak creativity.

Actually, writing code for eight hours every day made me sick of it. That's the reason why many parts of CyberLeads are built without code.

Also, meetings about scalability, legacy codebases, updating our clusters with the latest tech and sharding our databases for peak performance were not my thing either.

The only things I enjoyed talking about were product related. Competition. Positioning. Features we should add or remove. Funding. Pivots into other markets.

Higher level stuff. Not tweaking and perfecting small components of larger systems.

Maybe I'm not an engineer at heart.




4. I stopped learning πŸ‘¨β€πŸ«


The fourth reason I quit my job is that I stopped learning.

I hardly learned any new technical stuff.

The things I learned and took with me were all intangible.

β€’ Like seeing what companies look like from the inside. Understanding that they are slow. That it's not scary to compete with them. And that most employees are lazy, including myself.

β€’ Flipping my priorities 180 degrees. Instead of wanting to create a unique product that changes the world, deciding to change my world first. Make money and escape the rat race. Then, I can worry about changing the rest of the world also.

β€’ Understanding that I don't have to work all day to progress. I only worked for two hours per day, and I made those hours count.

But, I learned those things straight away. Like in the first 2-3 months.

After that, I was just coding dashboards and attending meetings.




5. I was spinning my wheels πŸš—


The fifth reason I quit my job is that I was spinning my wheels.

After learning all the intangibles above, my day job became mundane.

I was present in meetings, and completed the tasks that were assigned to me, at a speed that was just fast enough to not get complaints from my manager and team.

However, this is the truth:

β€’ When I wanted to focus on my day job to get shit done, CyberLeads' growth would slow down.

β€’ And when I focused on growing CyberLeads, my performance would dip at my day job.

It was impossible to do great work, at both, at the same time.




6. I was blind but now I see πŸ’Š


The sixth reason I quit my job was that I saw another way.

There was a specific day that changed everything for me.

It was the day I realized that CyberLeads' monthly revenue surpassed my monthly salary.

I shared it online and the post blew up, resulting in even greater revenue.

Many people congratulated me and commented small nuggets of wisdom. But there is one comment I will never forget.

I'm paraphrasing, but it went something like this:

"You'll never be able to go back now. It's one of those things that once you see it, you can never unsee it again. It happened to me as well. Many, many years ago."

I gained confidence. I knew there was another way now. And I knew that my days working for someone else were limited.

It honestly felt like I took the red pill in the Matrix.

Every meeting. Every performance review. Every 1 on 1 with my manager. They all felt different.

I will never forget one day specifically, when my manager asked me what I want to achieve in the future.

I wasn't sure if he meant personally, professionally or specifically within the company, so I asked for an example.

With a smile on his face, as if he was proposing something I could not possibly resist, he told me:

β€œWell.. for example.. you may want to become the respected, go-to guy for the 'X company dashboard'.”

What. The. Fuck. At that moment, I wanted to laugh. But to be honest, if I didn't have CyberLeads, I would probably want to cry.




7. I want to embrace risks πŸ“Š


The seventh reason I quit my job is that I want to embrace risks.

Everything good that has happened to me has been through some amount of healthy risk taking.

You cannot live in bubble wrap and expect to grow. You need to leave your comfort zone.

Nassim Taleb's books really changed my perspective on risk, randomness and life. Highly recommend.

They remind you that life is chaotic. And you shouldn't try to change that. Embrace it's unpredictability and make it work for you. Not against you.

You will have to take risks. But not all risks are the same.

With some risks, you should be super conservative. Risks that could ruin you if they go wrong.

Like taking a massive loan from criminals. Or robbing a bank. Or putting all of your money on a new crypto coin. You get the point.

Take enough of these risks, and you will pay for it.

But with other risks, you should be the opposite. Wild, experimental, and playful. Risks that won't ruin you if things go wrong. And that will bring you a lot of upside if they go right.

Like starting a new business with zero capital. Or moving to another country. Or starting a new hobby. Or going to a party. Or even tweeting. Best case scenario, you get customers, build an audience, and make friends. Worst case scenario.. well, there is none!

Take enough of these risks, and you will be "blessed with luck".

And finally, you should also avoid taking medium risk bets with medium upside. This is the trap most smart people fall into.

Like climbing the corporate ladder for years on end. For a somewhat guaranteed result. And a somewhat fulfilled life.

It reminded me of my own way of thinking. But I was never able to articulate or formalize it.


It made me think, what does leaving my day job look like?

In which category of risks does it fall into?




8. I've stacked the odds in my favor 🎲


The eighth reason I quit my job is that I believe I've stacked the odds in my favor.

Instead of leaving right away when I could, I decided to stay at my day job longer.

One reason was to honor the contract I had signed. I didn't want to leave the company and my team out of the blue.

Another reason was to continue saving up money.

I managed to set aside almost $50k. Which means that even if for some crazy reason I was to start making zero dollars per month starting from tomorrow, I would still have enough runway for 2 years.

Specifically:

β€’ $10k from my Greek grandpa, Alex.

β€’ $10k from my day job.

β€’ $30k from CyberLeads.

Thank you pappoo. You don't know it, but you helped your grandson achieve his dreams. Rest in peace. I love you.

If things go well, I am free for life. I gain my freedom. I scale CyberLeads. I travel the world. I set even more money aside.

If not, and for some reason CyberLeads goes to zero, I still have two years of runway to figure things out.

And again, even if for some even crazier reason I am completely incapable of generating a single dollar in the next two years, I can always just find another job and try again.

At least I will have a cool story to tell, and I probably will have travelled a lot.

Hmm.. That's a good bet. I'll take it.




9. I want clarity of mind πŸ’§


The most important reason I'm leaving my day job is to have a clear mind. To stop having to think about things that are irrelevant to CyberLeads. Like meetings. Or sprint deadlines. Or what my manager thinks of my performance.

That being said, I'm not planning to work ten hours per day on CyberLeads, either.

The same way I don't want to be dragged into meetings all day long, I don't want to work on CyberLeads all day long, either.

Actually, I don't even think it's necessary.

I remember working 10 hours per day on the wrong things back in Greece, going nowhere.

And this year working for 2 hours per day on the right things and changing my life.

So I don't want more time. I want clarity of mind to make sure that I'm rowing in the right direction.




10. I want to feel alive πŸ”₯


The final reason I want to quit my day job is to feel alive.

Sometimes you just want to throw yourself in the fire. This is one of those times.

I want a big change. Similar to how this time last year I left Greece and moved to Italy, to start this full time job.

Small incremental improvements are great. Small habits can change your life. Yes. But sometimes you are not looking for a small incremental change, but for a big earthquake that will shake your foundations.

That's when you have the best chances of growing exponentially.

Similar to how conquestadors intentionally burned their ships upon arrival.

Of course, that's just a figure of speech. I'm just typing on a keyboard.

And I could always find another job if things don't work out.




The time is never right ✨


I'm very confident in my decision.

I took my time, and I didn't rush anything. I've stacked the odds in my favor, and I honestly believe that I will make it.

I had predicted that when the time is right, leaving won't even be a dilemma anymore. And that's how it feels. It's not a dilemma. I see absolutely no reason to stay.

Staying one more year at my day job to save an extra $10k or $20k from my day job will change nothing. It will probably just keep me back.

At the same time, I understand that I cannot predict the future.

Sometimes, you just have to say "fuck it" and go for it.








Part 2: Quitting my job ❀️


Ok, it's happening.

I talk to my manager and announced that I'm quitting.

Specifically, I explain that I won't be renewing my contract at the beginning of the new year.

He's cool. Or at least he seems to be.

Technically I could have not notified them at all. But I decided to notify them 1 month in advance, to have my conscience clear.

I had 4 weeks left.




Escaping the circus 🀑


From the moment I handed in my notice, all meetings felt meaningless.

No one cared about my opinion anymore. And it was awkward talking about things that would be built after I'm gone.

During those meetings, I would either work on CyberLeads, or just open my notes, write and daydream.

Actually, everything you read above was written during those meetings.

With my new, sober, third person perspective, I remember realizing how we were all playing a game.

We were all playing "business". Pretending to be serious, professional adults performing complicated activities.

Overcomplicating what we do to justify our salaries and positions.

Software engineers overcomplicating software. Designers overcomplicating design. Marketers overcomplicating marketing. And so on.

It felt like the story with the emperor's new clothes.

We all know it but no one is admitting it.




Enjoying the game ⛹️‍♂️


My daily updates became one sentence long again.

Similar to how they were when I first started working at the company, when I was still pure and naive.

"I fixed the bug we found yesterday and now I've moved on to the next feature from the backlog. That's it from my side. Thanks."

On the other hand, some of my teammates were still playing the game:

"I ran an investigation for the new service that we want to deploy and scale on AWS and took into account the different parameters, especially given that cost is an important factor. I also started working on our migration to AuroraDB and started working on the implementation of blah blah blah blah..."

I couldn't even understand what he was talking about.

One year ago, I thought it was because I was new. Or dumb.

But now I understand that it was on purpose. By design.

If me, a fellow engineer from the same damn team could not understand, how could a non technical product manager, designer, marketer or founder from the company understand?

Well, they couldn't. And that was the point. He was playing the game and appeared as a rocket scientist. A genius at work.

I was also playing that game up until a month ago.




The dark side of the show 🌘


However, there is a dark side to this game.

If I had joined the company before building any products of my own, maybe I would have never built products.

Everything would have seemed too complicated to me.


β€’ You need a team of engineers to build your product

β€’ You need a team of designers to design your product

β€’ You need a team of marketers to market your product

β€’ You need a team of salespeople to sell your product

β€’ You need a CTO to make sure you can scale to the millions

β€’ You need a CEO to come up with the vision

β€’ You need a CFO to take care of the finances

β€’ And you probably need funding to hire all these people.

You cannot do everything by yourself.

That's crazy.




Cloak and dagger πŸ₯·


My manager was not happy with me.

Completely out of chatacter, he fired me 1 day before my last day.

β€’ Maybe he was mad because I was leaving early. He asked me to stay another 3 months to help with some deadlines, but I refused.

β€’ Maybe he was mad because I wasn't vocal in the meetings anymore and did the absolute bare minimum after handing in my notice.

β€’ Or maybe he was mad because he was following me on Twitter and saw me focusing on CyberLeads more than my job.

In any case, all he said was that the reason was "bad performance in my final 2 weeks at work after handing in my notice".

Up until then, in every single 1-1 we had ever had, he had nothing but great things to say. Zero complaints ever.

I was shocked.




It's all about the money πŸ’΅


Looking back, I think I know what happened.

And it's way simpler. It's just money.

A few months back, they had fired a bunch of people due to the pandemic. And cut salaries for the rest of us that stayed.

They promised to give us back the money at the start of the new year. But they didn't want to give me the money now that I would be leaving. Even though I was legally eligible for it.

Their response was to fire me. Which technically they couldn't do, but I still didn't want to risk it.

I was setting up my business and my accountant told me that if I get fired I might lose all of my tax benefits.

So we made a deal.




An offer I couldn't refuse 🐴


I have a meeting with my manager and one of the co-founders and CFO, who had descended from Olympus to talk to the mortals.

I explained that firing me would cause me huge legal issues and financial problems.

They explained that they wouldn't fire me if I signed and agreed that I didn't want the money.

"This would have been a warm goodbye, but now it has turned into a cold goodbye and a fuck you", I said.

The founder agreed, "Yes, it has turned into a fuck you".

It was obvious. He was the one behind this, not my manager.

I got flashbacks of my boss in Greece, who didn't want to pay me and I had to go and collect the money by myself in person.

I had to remind myself that it was just a speeding ticket. And that not every fight is worth fighting.

So I accepted. All this drama for $1,500.

They kicked me out of all of the accounts, not even allowing me to say goodbye to my teammates or the company in the weekly meeting, as was standard practice.

I went home a few minutes later.




Strip tease show πŸ•Ί


Actually, the company doing this to me felt symbolic.

I was not meant to work for a company.

Walking back, I had already forgotten about them, the money and the drama. It was over. A new chapter had began.

When I got home, I put on some stupid music and started dancing and tearing my clothes off, performing a strip show to my girlfriend.

So much laughing. So much happiness.

I'm so happy.

I'm leaving the circus.

I'm going into the wild.








Appendix πŸ“œ


Update from the future, so I can be precise and correct.

A few months later, I received a payment from the company.

No communication. No explanation. Nothing.

I thought it was an extra salary or a payment sent to me by accident. Which I never thought about again.

But while polishing this book years later, I realized that it might have been that money that they owed me.

I checked the amount and it was indeed that.

So yes, they actually paid me.

I'm not sure why. Maybe they were afraid I would put them on blast on Twitter. Maybe they just changed their mind. Or maybe it was indeed by accident.

We'll never know. But as we say in Greece, the good should always be told.




What's next? βœ¨πŸ”­


I just quit my job to go full time on CyberLeads.

Super happy. But also a little scared.


I have so many things to do:

β€’ Incorporate my business

β€’ Move to a different city

β€’ Design my new lifestyle

β€’ And much more


I have absolutely no idea how I'll do them.

I have no idea if CyberLeads will keep on growing.

And I have no idea how I'll handle the weight of having zero constraints.

But I've never been more excited.




Time travel πŸ‘¨β€πŸš€


Hey. This is Alex from the future writing this.

I decided to clean up and re-post my blog posts as free books.

Nothing changed. Even if I disagree with things I said back then.


Regardless of marketing or algorithms, the greatest books have always ended up in my hands through recommendations.


So if you you enjoyed them, you can do the following:

β€’ Share them on X or LinkedIn

β€’ Message me so we can have a chat


Or don't. It's ok.

Thank you for reading.








Thank you to everyone that has been reading throughout the years πŸ–€

@florinpop1705 Β·
Got a long day ahead traveling back home so I got myself some nice books to read
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@Andrei0Vlad Β·
Finished all of them in one go. I could not stop. Oh, the pain!! The anger!! Such an eye opener..πŸ˜‘ I am on my 3rd (failed) project in 6 months, but now I feel @alexwestco saved me months, possibly years. thanks
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@tejas3732 Β·
That is the most inspirational piece of content I read. Bookmarking this for my future references β˜ΊοΈπŸ‘
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@consolerod Β·
The most honest, powerful and inspiring thing I've read all year. Gives me so much hope to see that I can have a stable life without giving my life to a boring 9-5 desk job. Congratulations man.
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@AgustinVqz Β·
When I was a child I remember reading The Eternaut comic at night I was completely hooked up, waiting for the next night to read again and continue the story. Yesterday I had the same feeling reading @alexwestco books and I woke up desperately to finish the sixth book. Looking forward to the rest of the books
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@martinrue Β·
"Most advice is bullshit" I'm sold.
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@dzung_fz Β·
Reading @alexwestco's third book and it's blowing my mind. His mini books aren't playbooks, but I've learned a ton from them. Really appreciate it.
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@timagixe Β·
let's break through the ceiling πŸ‘€πŸ‘€πŸ‘€
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@ShresthaBheart Β·
This is really a great read for aspiring indie hackers. Raw, authentic and super honest. I used to read @alexwestco blogs 4 years ago and this part feels super relatable to me. Yeah, those cute little side projects.
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@HsanC_ Β·
Just started reading Alex's books. Finished the first 2 today. So much value + it's FREE. Thank you so much Alex!! πŸ™
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@todorovskiognxn Β·
halfway through @alexwestco's book one, and i gotta say im surprised how brutally honest it is. wish for more books to show the real mess of being an entrepreneur instead of handpicked highlights
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@luisgnet Β·
this feels like holding a mirror this isn't some polished picture-perfect fairytale just a raw, gritty, and accurate depiction of what figuring it out looks and feels like reminds me that this shit is hard for everyone
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@lovish888 Β·
Book 2 done, on to Book 3 but maybe I should get some work done first πŸ˜† Thanks for sharing all this knowledge Alex.
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@TweetsOfSumit Β·
I'm currently reading the books of @alexwestco and I had to laugh very loud in public at this part πŸ˜‚ The lesson every indiehacker/founder has to learn the hard way.
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@mysancaktutan Β·
Feels illegal to read all these for free! Amazing stuff, zero BS, great work. Already waiting for the last two books.
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@MaximilianDrago Β·
been reading @alexwestco books and they are fire. so authentic and real, you feel like he's talking directly to you. hella inspiring brother, keep going!
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@cyphorous Β·
On to book 3 @alexwestco This speaks a lot as well to me 😌 Humbling. "The world is random and chaotic" I can't go around and making sense of everything.
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@kevin_miguet Β·
These words from the book 1 of @alexwestco hits different for the perfectionist I used to be. Reading is a leverage for your actions. Without action it's just a form of procrastination. Damn, it's even a good sign, it means you're growing. Show more
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@YAVIIIN Β·
I am only fishing up the book 1 @alexwestco but I can see myself at the very beginning of this journey. Thanks for sharing, it gives me the strength to build and document as well🫰
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@JayMacPPC Β·
Such a good read again @alexwestco! Just a few of the πŸ”₯ lines...
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@sundarbp Β·
reading Book:2 of @alexwestco reminded me of this movie line, youtu.be/u6aPgA5549g
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@alexwestco Β·
books are being translated into Korean πŸ–€ 🀯
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@luisetelo Β·
"Life is chaotic. And you shouldn't try to change that. Embrace it's unpredictability and make it work for you. Not against you." Please, never stop writing man. Thank you very much for sharing πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ‘πŸ»
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@lastFitStanding Β·
Exited to dive into @alexwestco's second book. I am a total newbie and I find it interesting to read his experience when starting out.
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@rrmdp Β·
Yesterday went to the beach, brought the tablet with me to start reading N1, got so hooked, read until 50% of N5 πŸ˜‚ Thanks for such a nice write!
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@fisheryeah Β·
I'm reading the first one now. Great writing and very honest. Love it!
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@scalingspencer Β·
Loved the book - been reading your tweets for years now, and it was really interesting to hear the whole story. Can't wait for the next one :)
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@alexanderaeswan Β·
Loved reading this, excited for the next one. Remember reading your blogs from when you were working in Milan. Inspired me to pursue my own thing and very happy I did
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@JacobSchwarz963 Β·
I read this in one sitting thanks for sharing man. It is really eye opening the amount of struggle that is required to building something. Thank you for being this honest.
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@KevinSidwar Β·
Hey Alex, anxiously awaiting the next drop. Didn't see it yesterday. Any idea when we might expect it?
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@colestriler Β·
"It's easier to become 10x luckier by increasing your exposure, than it is to become 10x better at understanding and predicting the world." Love this, man.
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@swyx Β·
great read. you write very concisely yet cover a lot of ideas. it also shows that you are building mental fortitude to handle anything. congrats!
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@rubenkenes Β·
Mate, at the end of your article "Two Years" I was like: This is so sad 😞, but here comes the happy part about the salesπŸ˜ƒ...nothing. Great read. I'm literally in the exact same spot!
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@VadimNotJustDev Β·
Reviewing 300 applications for notJust Incubator, I saw many founders doing the same mistakes we all go through at the beginning Just read the first book by @alexwestco, and this hits home
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Just finished @alexwestco Book 3. Learning Through Scars - a raw, unfiltered journey of building a $3K/month business without selling courses. No fluff, just real talk about failure, luck, and the grind. If you're tired of gurus and want a real story, this one's for you.
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@Amigov_AI Β·
Amigos, this is my truth that I have been drowning in for the last five years Alex's book are a must-read
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@flaviocopes Β·
Had to add @alexwestco as a case study in my upcoming Solopreneur Masterclass, among other incredible solopreneurs and small business owners we can all get inspiration from!
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@matosdfm Β·
My highlights from @alexwestco book 3 (Best one so far imo. Awesome and super honest read ❀️) More notes in next tweet
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@bel4dm Β·
I've never read a book in my life but I'm halfway on book 1. It's inspiring and makes me want to start a business.
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@martinrue Β·
I'm getting a lot of motivation out of these. Seems like all of builder X is reading them right now Alex! πŸ‘
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@gavin_wiener Β·
Recently read @alexwestco's two Kindle books πŸ”₯ Really is a great reminder that it may seem like everyone knows what they're doing... But we usually see only the successes, not the uncertainty, building + getting no traction, etc You just gotta keep moving forward + building
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@rrmdp Β·
Last Sunday evening downloaded all @alexwestco books by chance opened the number 6 and started to read it I couldn't stop until I finished it such a nice, authentic and hooking reading a real not BS entrepreneurship story Nice one Alex πŸ‘
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@jasonleowsg Β·
Just read your blog post. Had me at "having pimps, scammers, arms dealers and pornstars as customers"! Great stuff
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Credits ✨


Finally, special thanks to everyone that inspired and supported me, whether they know it or not.


β€’ Pieter Levels, thank you for building in the open and making this movement happen for all of us. It was your revenue tweets and blog posts that made me realize that I could do the same.

β€’ Courtland and Channing Allen, thank you for building Indie Hackers and putting a name to our little movement. I have read every single post, listened to every single podcast and have day dreamed countless times being on your show.

β€’ Patrick and John Collison, thank you for building the tool that has allowed us all to make a living online. No joke, Stripe changed our lives. In awe of what you're building with Arc Institute. And huge fan of your podcast "Cheeky Pint".

β€’ DHH, thank you for bringing common sense to the tech industry. Reminding us that you don't need to run a VC company and become a billionaire to be successful. And that you can have work life balance.

β€’ Jason Fried, thank you for sharing your contrarian views regarding work. It's inspiring to see how ahead of the culture you were with remote work and SaaS. Your books are awesome too.

β€’ Pat Walls (and Demi), thank you for replying to my emails back in 2021. Also for your awesome daily blog, which definitely inspired me to continue to write daily. Finally, thank you for showing us the power of focusing on one business, which you can adapt and evolve over time.

β€’ Daniel Vassallo, thank you for introducing me to Taleb's books and philosophy, they changed my world view and helped me with my journey. Also for sharing your authentic thoughts and taking a stance, even if it's not popular.

β€’ Stamos Venios, thank you for inspiring me to start this journey and for teaching me that you learn by doing, not studying. Your story inspired me a lot. I've told you this directly, but it's true. You are one of the main reasons I'm here today.

β€’ Sam Parr, thank you for sharing my little business with your audience. Even more importantly, thank you for always being nothing but kind and generous to me. Funnily enough, your show, "My First Million", helped me make my first million.

β€’ Derek Sivers, thank you for having the most awesome blog on the planet. Also for writing all your books and giving everything back to charity. You are awesome.

β€’ Jon Yongfook, thank you for building and failing products at the same time as me, from 2018 to 2020. You launched BannerBear roughly at the same time I found CyberLeads, after roughly the amount number of failures. It was cool to not fail and succeed alone.

β€’ Damon Cheng, thank you for showing us that even indie makers can acquire and grow businesses. Your run from quitting your job till today is legendary.

β€’ Marc KΓΆhlbrugge, thank you for building WIP.chat. Seeing other successful makers public TODOs made me realize that everyone just builds things, fixes bugs and makes mistakes. Like me. This was actually one of my most important realizations. It was frame breaking.

β€’ Danny Postma, thank you for showing us that even indie products can exit to a larger company. And that even after an exit, if you want it bad enough, you can go back to square one and try again and again until you succeed again.

β€’ Jason Cohen, thank you for your amazing blog and talks. Probably the best business blog in the world. And for your talk on boutique bootstrapped businesses. Seriously, that talk helped me niche down, raise my prices and change my life.

β€’ Dru Riley, thank you for running an amazing campaign for CyberLeads together, back in 2020. Those high revenue months were the final push and confidence I needed to quit my job. Thank you my brother. Forever grateful.

β€’ Andreas Klinger, thank you for being a class act and making an effort to help me find a job when I needed one. Also, for always replying to my emails and DMs.

β€’ Vic, thank you for helping me find the next lever of growth for CyberLeads. No joke, you helped me change my life.

β€’ Mubs, thank you for launching 50+ projects in public throughout the years and showing us how fast one can build.

β€’ Andrey Azimov, thank you for your epic 2018 run, becoming Maker of the Year and changing your life. Your scrappiness and determination were infectious.

β€’ Dimitris Raptis, thank you for being one of the very few people from our little hometown that is in our little bubble and industry. Also, thank you for reminding me that working on products you enjoy is more important than the money you make.

β€’ Katerina Limpitsouni, thank you for being the final person from our little hometown that is in our little bubble and industry. I've used your designs and illustrations countless of times. They are awesome.

β€’ Dimitris Kourtesis, Nikos Tsoniotis and Stefanos Tsiakmakis, thank you for accepting me in your startup incubator back when I knew nothing. Thank you for teaching me that killing projects is just as productive as building them. This was one of the biggest lessons I ever learned.

β€’ Justin Jackson, thank you for your essays and podcasts regarding the importance of markets. You might not know it, but they were super impactful to me and helped me end up in the lead generation market, which helped me find CyberLeads and change my life.

β€’ Josh Pigford, thank you for being one of the first people to show your complete list of failed products before your big success. I remember seeing the list and preparing mentally to go through the same. I built 19 failed products, then the 20th changed my life. Thank you.

β€’ Nathan Barry, thank you for being one of the few people continuing to share revenue numbers after reaching millions in revenue. We have small businesses like myself doing that. We also have huge public companies doing that. It's great to have companies in the middle, like yours, do that too. Also, thank you for showing me the value of niching down and focusing on one segment of the market at a time. It really helped me grow CyberLeads and change my life.

β€’ Ali Salah, thank you for being one of the OGs from 2018 and showing me that slow, consistent growth, in a saturated market, while focusing on product, can actually happen. This hasn't been my own experience and it's another example that anything and everything can work, there are no magic recipes.

β€’ Michael Aubrey, thank you for being another story of hard work. Seeing you try for multiple years before finally achieving success is inspiring. Reminds me of my own journey.

β€’ Reilly Chase, thank you for showing me that you can build a boring business, on top of an existing platform, and grow alongside it. Been inspiring to watch you grow over the years, build a team, a house and a life for yourself and your family.

β€’ Rob Walling, thank you for your books and for your amazing podcast. I've listened to so many episodes over the years and there is always something interesting to take from them, because you and your gueststalk from experience, not theory.

β€’ Jack Butcher, Bilal Zaidi and Trung Phan, thank you for the awesome podcast, the great art and the funny memes you've all been sharing with us for the past many years.

β€’ Nico Jeannen, thank you for showing us that building and exiting multiple little businesses is possible. Also for keeping it real and sharing the good and the bad. There aren't that many people that do that and it's inspiring to see.

β€’ Marc Lou, thank you for setting a new standard on shipping fast. I thought I was prolific for shipping 20 products from 2018 to 2020, but you took it to a whole new level. Respect.

β€’ Peter Askew, thank you for blurring the lines between boring and cool. Selling onions online is simultaneously one of the most boring and one of the coolest businesses in the world.

β€’ John O' Nollan, thank you for inspiring me to build a remote business and travel the world. You were one of the first entrepreneurs I looked up to, and still a massive fan.

β€’ Harry Dry, thank you for showing me the power of storytelling and copywriting. Seeing your Yeezy.Dating saga unfold in real time back in 2018 was awesome and your climb to the top of the copywriting world is inspiring.

β€’ Jordan O' Connor, thank you for your amazing blog. I remember reading every single post, multiple times, as you grew your business from zero to tens of thousands of dollars per month, changing your life for yourself and your ever growing family.

β€’ Sahil Lavingia, thank you for building Gumroad, it helped me make my first $100K online. Also, thank you for challenging the status quo, thinking out of the box, doing things your own way and never being too busy to reply to my DMs back in the day. Truly grateful.

β€’ AJ from Carrd, thank you for showing us that you can build and grow a simple, elegant and useful product by yourself and make great money without charging high prices. Frame breaking.

β€’ Alex Napier Holland, thank you for being real and having authentic thoughts and opinions. Your are one of the very few non BS and non cringe people on my timeline.

β€’ Florin Pop, Mr Purple, thank you for staying humble and ambitious at the same time. It's inspiring to see you set goals and then go after them.

β€’ David Park, thank you for sharing the good and the bad so openly and authentically. Not only in business, but in life too. Your story is inspiring.

β€’ Andrea Bosoni, thank you for showing me the value of being consistent and for being one of my Italian brothers. It's been great your amazing content for all these years, whenever I see your posts I always get a nice feeling of familiarity.

β€’ Flavio Copes, thank you for showing me the value of writing daily, with the simple heuristic of "do stuff, encounter problems, write about the solution". Your website and blog remind me of what the internet was originally made for, real and authentic.

β€’ Lim How Wey, thank you for sharing all of your knowledge around SEO. It was really helpful to me. And thank you for always being kind and supportive, I truly appreciate it.

β€’ Arvid Kahl, thank you for sharing the story of exiting your SaaS business. It's been awesome to see you re-invent yourself and write your books.

β€’ Swyx, thank you for inviting me on your podcast back in the day and for always being kind and supportive. Also for being prolific and constantly working on new things and technologies, it's contagious.

β€’ Dmytro Krasun, thank you for showing me that progress happens slowly, then all at once. Your journey is awesome.

β€’ David Perell, thank you for spreading the benefits of writing and specifically of writing daily. Your essays, podcasts and newsletters are fantastic.

β€’ Noah Kagan, thank you for building AppSumo and for always keeping it real and honest. Seeing you embark on random new side quests like YouTube and being successful is cool to see also.

β€’ Andrew Wilkinson, thank you for showing me that you can build insane wealth with boring businesses. Your essays and books are amazing. It's great to see your progress from being a freelancer, to running a small studio and being afraid to hire people, to managing hundreds of employees, to running a portfolio of companies, to finally going public. Insane.

β€’ Andrew Gazdecki, thank you for building Acquire (formerly MicroAcquire) and helping indies like myself exit our companies and change our lives. Gazdecki style.

β€’ Steph Smith, thank you for all the amazing essays. I remember reading "How to Be Great? Just Be Good, Repeatably" and realizing that I don't have to be fancy, just consistent. Also, every single one of your MFM appearances was great.

β€’ George Mack, thank you for being one of the few, modern, original thinkers, popularizing new terms and expanding the lexicon. Your newsletter is one of the best I've read in my life, your ability to explain concepts is on another level.

β€’ Jonathan Garces, thank you for all the amazing memories working on CyberLeads together. You are the only business partner I've ever had and helped me more than I could even imagine. It was a blast, my favorite business era.

β€’ Lachlan Kirkwood, thank you for all the amazing chats over the years, going through similar milestones and challenges with our very different businesses. I'm really proud of you exiting your business and re-inventing yourself.

β€’ Vytas Bu, thank you for believing in me and trusting me to work together. Even more importantly, I'm grateful to call you a true friend and thank you for treating me like a brother.

β€’ Andreas Asprou, thank you for reminding me what true wealth is and for pushing me to take a break and write these books. I wouldn't have done it without you.

β€’ Max DeMarco, thank you for inspiring me to continue being the main character of my life. You always have main character energy and it's contagious. Seeing you grow and always challenge yourself was amazing. Hope to make it to your next Muay Thai fight.

β€’ Niklas Christl, thank you for being one of the most successful yet humble and honest people I've met. That contrast is amazing and inspiring. Hope to see you soon and catch up again.

β€’ Giuseppe Ettore, thank you for growing side by side since 2020. I still remember showing you CyberLeads when it was just an idea, during lunch break at the office. Time flies. We started our jobs on the same day in Milan, we both quit our jobs since then, have achieved a lot and always support each other. And I believe we always will.

β€’ Justin Gluska, thank you for the amazing chats in New York. I hope to see you again somewhere around the world.

β€’ Eracle, thank you for welcoming me to Las Palmas. We had many amazing chats and nights out. Hope to visit again.

β€’ Nikolas Konstantinou, thank you for welcoming me to the island of Cyprus. You have always helped me when I needed help, without asking for anything in return.

β€’ Dawid Cedrych, thank you for being a dream client and for showing me that true business is a win-win game. I'm forever grateful for your trust in me, for encouraging me to write and for always being humble and real.

β€’ Pete Codes, thank you for featuring me in your awesome newsletter and for being supportive over the years. It was also cool meeting in person a few years back.

β€’ Jonny Ward, Daniel Ward, Doug Ward and David Carter, thank you all so much for being generous enough to invite me one of the impactful coffee/dinners of my life, when you had absolutely nothing to gain from me. I will never forget.

β€’ Mohammad, thank you for giving me perspective on life and how you can continue being happy and positive no matter what happens.

β€’ All the staff and friends at Cafe Nero for giving me free coffee and letting me write my books all day.

β€’ Eneas Lari, for being my best friend in life.

β€’ My family.


And to all the people that have supported me over the years or have shared my books. If I missed you, it's not on purpose.

Constantly updating this list.





No spam, you have my word ❀️