TEJI TUESDAYS 
Issue #007 · 12th Dec, 2023

Hi All!

Here is your weekly dose of TEJI, a weekly round up of what I’m pondering and exploring. Feel free to forward along to a friend if you think they might enjoy.

Building a startup with no funding

Meet Peter Levels, an indie hacker who has built several successful startups completely by himself. His entire methodology behind how he creates startup ideas, builds and markets his projects can be broken up into a couple principles.

1) Unique experiences create unique ideas
2) Learn how to learn. Stop asking how to do things. Just do it
3) Sometimes you should ignore all advice and trust your intuition
4) Solve your own problems
5) Launch fast and iterate

If you’d like to learn more about Peter and his journey I’d suggest checking out this fantastic presentation on building a startup with no funding here.

1 minute podcasts

Last week I discovered a new app called Airchat which is like Twitter but for bite sized audio clips. I find the topics on there super interesting and engaging, some include: AI Exploration, Biohacking, Founder pitches and many more.

I like this platform because it feels like you can contribute to real conversations in meaningful ways. I plan on testing the platform further but if you’re over the surface level nature of TikTok I’d highly recommend downloading Airchat here to test out.

Why you should drive home a different way

About two or three years ago I was getting fed up with my life. I wasn’t creating what I wanted to and felt like I was in a rut. I was unsure of myself especially when it came to putting myself out there online. I’d been stuck in the same routine and I wanted to make a change.

One day I realised the harsh truth that nothing changes if nothing changes. So I
thought to myself I’m going to break these patterns by doing what my brain and unconscious wouldn’t expect me to do so I decided to make a small decision to simply drive a different way home.

You see, we all have patterns in our minds that are only engrained deeper and deeper the more we do things. The only way to break these patterns is to create new connections in our minds. By driving a completely different way home, or running a different route on your afternoon run you unconsciously open up new pathways inside your mind. This is a super small practice you can do if you’d like to try introduce change into your life.

Free game for YouTube thumbnails

We all know how important a thumbnail is on YouTube. It can either make or break your videos. I recently found an extremely useful method on Twitter to help find the perfect thumbnail for your video.

Basically, all you have to do is create multiple versions you think are interesting. Then goto Facebook and run an ad campaign with each of the options. Target your ideal audience and spend $5 on the ads themselves. You should have a clear winner at the end of your ad campaign. Take that image and use that as your final thumbnail.

You need to become a Purple Cow (Marketing 101)

I recently read a fantastic book by Seth Godin called Purple Cow. I finished the book in less than a day. The Purple Cow analogy, from Seth Godin advocates for creating products so unique and compelling they stand out in a crowded market, much like a purple cow would in a field of ordinary cows.

But how do you become remarkable?

In the book Seth argues advertising is dead and the only way to succeed is by having a product thats so great it markets itself. In the book Seth talks about a concept he created called an ideavirus. The only way to spread these viruses (your ideas) is by creating unique products specifically designed for the “sneezers” AKA the ones who are often the innovators or early adopters when it comes to a product or service.

The above graph shows how small the market for innovators and early adopters are. However, it’s these people who will bring mass adoption to your product through word of mouth. These are the cool kids that the late majority and laggards follow once it’s too late.

But how do I create things sneezers want to share?

At the end of the book Seth shares four slogans you might find useful

-Don’t be boring
-Safe is risky
-Design rules now
-Very good is bad

To keep things short, don’t be boring. unless that is everyone else is exciting. The book helps sharpen your perspective when it comes to figuring out how to think laterally when it comes to creative strategy. Would highly recommend giving the book a read if you’re into brand building like myself.

Feel free to give me feedback on Twitter. What did you like? What do you want more of? What do you want less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @TEJITOPIA and put #TEJITUESDAYS at the end so I can find it.
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Hope everyone enjoys their week!
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Love
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TEJI

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