This week’s Founder Finds includes:

💲 A B2B sales guide
🎵 Making music with AI
🖼️ An SEO guide for images
🎭 Manipulative design tactics
☕ A virtual coworking platform
🧠 Short courses on generative AI
➡️ And more…

🪶 Remember This

Word of mouth is the best (and worst) marketing.

🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

👥 Caleb Hong unlocked 1:1 Founder Intros by joining daily standups

📝 Emeric Victor launched RFPVerse

🎵 Darren Travel wrote about producing a music album with AI

📊 Royce Johnson built Qualimatch

📨 Uwe Dreissigacker launched a Premium Email Delivery Server for InvoiceBerry

🚀 Maciej Cupial reached a 700-day standup streak

🧠 M. Yousuf Faisal unlocked Trends.vc Masterminds by reaching a 30-day standup streak

🤓 Fav Finds

Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members

☕ Flow Club shared by Don Ho
A virtual coworking platform for focus and accountability

🧠 Learn Generative AI shared by Alex
A collection of short courses on generative AI

🖼️ Alt Text SEO shared by Prabhjot Singh Lamba
A guide to using image alt texts

🐦 Tweet of the Week

📘 Read This

Founder’s Guide to B2B Sales

This is a complete guide on everything you need to know about B2B sales.

It’s written for early-stage and growing startups.

• How to build and manage a sales company
• How to boost customer success
• How to build a sales pipeline
• and more…

💬 Join the Conversation

Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…

• (📈 Pro) AI strategy
  
• (📈 Pro) SEO resources
  
• (📈 Pro) Software free trials

👀 Watch This

How Brands Control Your Mind

Looks can affect how we perceive products, their value and utility.

Store layouts, ad colors and app interfaces use subtle design tactics to guide your decisions.

Some of them are made for your convenience. Others aim at manipulating your behavior.Understanding the motives behind these can help you build a more conscious approach to interacting with brands.

📆 Upcoming Events

Feb 19: Trends Tribe with 1:1 Founder Intros​

The Most Popular Link From Last Week:
 🚀 Startup Resources Toolkit

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📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

This week’s Founder Finds includes:

📨 An email sequence guide
🚀 A library of startup resources
📺 YouTubers copying each other
⏱ An AI-powered time tracking tool
🎮 12 growth lessons from an indie game
➡️ And more…

🪶 Remember This

People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.

🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

👥 Barbara Jones and Chris Beaumont unlocked 1:1 Founder Intros by joining daily standups

🥇 Elie Steinbock wrote about hitting #1 on Product Hunt

🧊 Simon launched Bento Pixel

🛡️ M. Yousuf Faisal launched Securing Things

🎾 Jarrad Pouncil qualified for a national tennis championship

🧰 Dru Riley hosted a Trends Pro workshop on split testing for creators

🧠 Rafael Servatti and Elia Zane unlocked Trends.vc Masterminds by reaching 30-day standup streaks

🤓 Fav Finds

Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members

🚀 Startup Resources Toolkit shared by Caleb Hong
A curated list of resources for founders

⏱ Rize shared by Shreyans Bhansali
A time tracking tool with AI features

🎮 12 Growth Lessons from an Indie Game shared by David Fu
A summary of how an unknown title became a viral hit

🐦 Tweet of the Week

📘 Read This

Your Guide to Better Email

Email lets you engage and nurture users outside of your product.

Here’s what a good nurturing sequence looks like:

• Welcome email: Remind users of who you are and what you do.
• Product adoption emails: Explain what a user should do and why.
• Upgrade email: Boost the value of premium features and create loss aversion.

💬 Join the Conversation

Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…

• (📈 Pro) SEO resources
  
• (📈 Pro) B2B sales toolkit
  
• (📈 Pro) Software free trials

👀 Watch This

The Copy and Paste Culture of YouTube

YouTubers are copying others’ titles, thumbnails and even entire scripts word-for-word.

• Learn why plagiarism is on the rise
• How to make original, unique content
• What’s the future of the creative community

📆 Upcoming Events

Feb 19: Trends Tribe with 1:1 Founder Intros​

👋 New Trends Pro Members

• Shushant Lakhyani (Digital Disruptor)
  
• Jassen Bowman (Bizorca)
  
• Matteo Grand (Portaire)
  
• Robin Stanley
  
• Chase Baer

The Most Popular Link From Last Week:
🗂️ Marketing Strategy Database

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🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

“Ship your startup in days, not weeks.” — Marc Lou

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❓ What You’ll Learn

• Who’s building SaaS boilerplates in public?
• How to get contact details of prospective customers?
• How to piggyback on AI trends?
• How to boost perceived value with a ROI breakdown?
• How to build social proof from developers?
• How to attract warm leads?
• What are no-code SaaS boilerplates?
• How to generate SaaS boilerplates on demand?
  
  

🔍 Problem

Each SaaS has the same core functions.

Such as notifications, payments, analytics and user authentication.

💡 Solution

SaaS boilerplates help you get to market faster.

You can build core functionality in hours.

🏁 Players

SaaS Boilerplates

• SaaS Themes • Laravel SaaS boilerplate themes by Simon and Albfort
• ShipFast • The NextJS boilerplate to build a SaaS, AI tool or any web app by Marc Lou
• Divjoy • SaaS codebase generator by Gabe Ragland
• No-Code SaaS Boilerplate • Customizable SaaS boilerplate in Bubble by Mohit
• Gravity • Build a Node.js and React app at warp speed by Kyle Gawley
• Shipped • Next.js boilerplate with auth, emails, payments and more by Luca Restagno
• Launch Today • Production-ready boilerplate for startups and indie makers by Paul Waweru
  
  

🛠 How to Build SaaS Boilerplates

• Build in public to get early feedback.
  • GeniePy shares updates in public.
  • Bhargav is building NextBase in public.
  • Gian Carlo shares Makerkit updates in public.

• Build a waiting list to gauge interest and get contact details of prospective customers.
  • Saas.js has a waiting list for SaaS patterns, tools and packages.
  • Samuel Štancl opened a waiting list for Laravel Tenancy Boilerplate 2.0.

• Presell to validate demand and get early users.
  • Max Stoiber opened pre-orders for Bedrock.
  • Jake Trefethen offers an early-bird price for Indiestack.
  • Muhammad Salman made $800 with a launch discount for the first 30 users.

• Piggyback on market trends by adding AI to your boilerplate.
  • NextAppFast uses AI to generate SaaS code.
  • AI Tool has pre-built OpenAI content generators.
  • BoilerCode has LangChain, Pinecone and OpenAI integrations.
  • Michael Dausmann added AI note generation with OpenAI to SupaNuxt SaaS.
    
    

🌱 How to Grow SaaS Boilerplates

• Explain the ROI in terms of time, money and energy saved by using your boilerplate.
  • Boostack says you’ll save $19,500 on development costs.
  • Turbojet says you’ll save 200 hours and $18,000 on development costs.
  • Ship SaaS says you’ll save $10,000+ and 2 months of development time.

• Share testimonials to build trust. Show that developers approve your tech stack and functionality.
  • ShipFast shares video reviews from happy customers.
  • Gravity shares its Trustpilot rating and customer reviews.
  • ASP.NET Zero shares how customers use it to build web apps.

• Build a lead magnet to attract warm leads.
  • SaaS Pegasus offers a free consultation.
  • Gravity offers a free SaaS boilerplate and a guide on building profitable SaaS apps.
    
    

💰 How to Monetize SaaS Boilerplates

• Charge per project.
  • Remixtape costs $299 per project.
  • Laravel Spark costs $99 per project.
  • Volca has $99 and $349 licenses to use with one project.

• Charge per seat.
  • NextAppFast has paid plans for 1 and 2 developers.
  • ASP.NET Zero charges for 3, 10 and 20 developers.
  • Makerkit offers plans for 1 and an unlimited number of developers.

• Offer lifetime updates to boost perceived value.
  • PySaaS offers lifetime updates for $149.
  • GeniePy offers lifetime updates for $129.
  • Nodewood offers lifetime updates for $595.
    
    

🔮 Predictions

• We’ll see no-code SaaS boilerplates. Non-tech customers will build SaaS without code.
  • Mohit G made a SaaS boilerplate in Bubble.
  • NextAppFast has no-code UI and database builders.
  • Jorg Poolman made Ultimate SaaS Template in Bubble.
  • WGMI Academy made an AI SaaS Starter Kit in Bubble.

• SaaS boilerplate generators will help users get boilerplates on demand.
  • NextAppFast can generate a SaaS from text.
  • Flatlogic generates source code for B2B apps.
  • Divjoy is a codebase generator for SaaS apps.
  • ABP Commercial is an app generator with pre-built SaaS modules.

• We’ll see more open-source SaaS boilerplates.
  • Golang Startup Kit is a SaaS boilerplate in Go.
  • Play is a free, open-source starter kit for Next.js.
  • Arjay Osma is building Nextacular for making multi-tenant apps.
  • Cuthbert Mirambo made an open-source SaaS boilerplate built in Laravel, Bootstrap 4 and Vue.js.
    
    

😠 Haters

“It’s hard to keep the boilerplate up-to-date.”
This is another way to boost perceived value. Take the burden off customers to keep up with security patches, bug fixes and best practices.

“I can make more money with software development services.”
While custom development services bring more money, SaaS boilerplates are digital products. They scale better than your time. You can offer both to get the best of both worlds.

“If I can build SaaS faster than competitors, why should I help them do the same?”
Others are turning their SaaS development expertise into boilerplates. People can buy from them and catch up with you. The difference is that you won’t get paid. Others will.

🔗 Links

1. ​Making $200,000 with a SaaS Boilerplate • The thread behind this report.
2. Building a Report on SaaS Boilerplates • The tweet behind this report.
3. SaaS Boilerplates and Starter Kits • The complete guide to SaaS boilerplates.
   
   

📁 Related Reports

• ​​​​​Digital Products • Share your knowledge at scale.
• Software Development Services • Help non-tech founders focus on their core competency.
• No-Code • Build a software business without writing code.
• Unlimited Services • Offer design, development and marketing services in one click.
• Affiliate Marketing • Build a scalable, performance-based salesforce.
  
  

🙏 Thanks

Thanks to Simon, Stewart Townsend and Matt Spear. We had a great time jamming on this report.

✏️ Emin researched and wrote this report. Dru researched and edited this report.

📈 What else?

Trends PRO #0142 — SaaS Boilerplates has more insights.

What you’ll get:

• 24 SaaS Boilerplate Examples (243% More)
• 9 Ways to Build SaaS Boilerplates (125% More)
• 10 Ways to Grow SaaS Boilerplates (233% More)
• 12 Ways to Monetize SaaS Boilerplates (300% More)
• 7 Predictions (133% More)
• 11 Links (267% More)

With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

• (📈 Pro) How to boost customer success?
• (📈 Pro) How to help users fit the boilerplate to their needs?
• (📈 Pro) How to increase your total addressable market?
• (📈 Pro) How to boost sales with strong buyer triggers?
• (📈 Pro) How to reach your target audience?
• (📈 Pro) How to build positive word-of-mouth?
• (📈 Pro) How to build a value ladder for your boilerplate?
• (📈 Pro) How to add value with a community?
• (📈 Pro) How to monetize open-source boilerplates?
• (📈 Pro) How to get a predictable cash flow?
• (📈 Pro) How to get a higher average order value?
• (📈 Pro) How to upsell custom software development services?
• (📈 Pro) Who’s building CustomGPT starter kits?
• (📈 Pro) What are AI-powered SaaS boilerplates?
• (📈 Pro) How to use SaaS boilerplates for side project marketing?
• (📈 Pro) How to boost adoption by piggybacking on developer trends?
• (📈 Pro) What SaaS marketing strategies and metrics should you know?
• (📈 Pro) Who made $11,673 in 5 days with an open-source boilerplate?
• (📈 Pro) Who bootstrapped a SaaS boilerplate to $25,000 per month?
• (📈 Pro) Who made $190,000 from a boilerplate?
• (📈 Pro) Who made $43,000 in 2 months with a SaaS boilerplate?
• And much more…
  
  

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💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

This week’s Founder Finds includes:

🚀 How to 8x your price
🤖 How AI will affect SaaS
🗺️ A roadmap to learning SEO
🗂️ A database of marketing strategies
📺 A Notion dashboard for YouTubers
➡️ And more…

🪶 Remember This

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

📝 Joel Pickin made a custom GPT based on The 1-Page Marketing Plan by Allen Dib

🗺️ Avy Leghziel launched the Manager’s Map of Chaos

🎶 Darren Travel released his first music album

🤖 Eddie Forson created CEO GPT

🛡️ M. Yousuf Faisal launched a cybersecurity toolkit

📺 Meiko S. Patton built a newsletter coach GPT for YouTubers

📨 Kevin Galang got an inbound lead for A Team Overseas after being featured in Founder Finds

🤓 Fav Finds

Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members

📺 YouTuber Notion Dashboard shared by Joel Pickin
A Notion template to organize your channel information, videos, ideas and more

🗺️ Learning SEO shared by Dean Shoven
A roadmap of resources and tools for learning SEO

🗂️ Marketing Strategy Database shared by AJ
A collection of 300+ marketing strategies for indie creators

🐦 Tweet of the Week

📘 Read This

How to 8x Your Price by… Repositioning

You can charge much more for the same product with the right value proposition.

While a lot of products say that they’ll save you more time, money or energy.

It’s 10x more valuable for a business to grow faster than it is to save money.

To build high-end offers, find a way to create value in the way your customers measure value and position your product as a way to accomplish that.

💬 Join the Conversation

Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…

• (📈 Pro) Finding affiliates
  
• (📈 Pro) Scheduling tools
  
• (📈 Pro) B2B sales toolkit

🎧 Listen To

AI and the Future of SaaS

Explore opportunities, challenges and threats that AI may pose for entrepreneurs and creators.

• Multi-modal AI will handle multiple media sources such as text, audio, images and videos.
• Businesses will build local fallbacks for AI features to avoid total dependency on AI platforms.
• AI-powered software is becoming a norm. Products without these capabilities will feel outdated.
  
  
  

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📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

Become a Trends Pro Member and join 1,200+ founders enjoying…

🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

This week’s Founder Finds includes:

🪤 21 mind traps
🏋️ A library of free workouts
🌱 Personal growth for founders
🔄 A cheat sheet for habit building
🔮 A directory of 2024 trend forecasts
➡️ And more…

🪶 Remember This

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.

🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

👥 M. Yousuf Faisal unlocked 1:1 Founder Intros by joining daily standups

🤖 Joel Pickin made a custom GPT implementing Justin Welsh’s Content Matrix

🥇 Elie Steinbock made a video on reaching #1 on Product Hunt

🏷️ Eddie Forson launched Tag Management for EnVsion

🎪 Simon launched Build in Public on Product Hunt

💼 Peter Elkins got the first inbound prospect for Fractional Executives

🧠 Pascal Samsoon unlocked Trends.vc Masterminds by reaching a 30-day standup streak

🤓 Fav Finds

Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members

🔮 2024 Trend Forecasts shared by Bernardt J. Vogel
A directory of industry forecasts for 2024

🔄 Habits Cheat Sheet shared by Dru Riley
A 1-page cheat sheet to build better habits

🏋️ DAREBEE shared by Peter Elkins
A library of fitness challenges and workouts

🐦 Tweet of the Week

📘 Read This

The Feedback Founders Need to Hear

As a founder, you should know what you’re doing well and where you’re falling short.

What worked for you when you started might not work for you now.

The best way to learn this?

Self-reflection and peer feedback.Ask yourself: What does your business need from you right now?

💬 Join the Conversation

Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…

• (📈 Pro) Finding affiliates
  
• (📈 Pro) Scheduling tools
  
• (📈 Pro) B2B sales toolkit

👀 Watch This

21 Mind Traps

Mind traps are thinking errors that get in the way of your decision making.

Here are 21 fallacies, biases and other mind traps that influence your decisions:

• Spotlight effect: You think that people are judging you but nobody cares.
• Contrast effect: You exaggerate the traits of one thing by comparing it to another.
• Gambler’s fallacy: You think that past events can influence random events in the future.
  
  
  

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📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

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🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

🧍 Daily Standups • Stay productive and accountable with daily, async standups. Unlock access to 1:1 chats, masterminds and more by building standup streaks.

💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

“AI amplifies human capabilities.” — Satya Nadella

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❓ What You’ll Learn

• How to build better products by “dogfooding”?
• Who used X (Twitter) to get a 7,500-person wait list?
• Who got 4,600,000 views on the launch tweet?
• How to fill your funnel with warm leads?
• How to get others to sell for you?
• Who used the existing user base to test AI features?
• Who’s building AI startup studios?
• Who is building embedded AI?
• How to deal with weak moats?
• How to control API credits usage?
• How to stand out in this crowded market?
• How to direct AI to get accurate results?
• How to build niche AI models?
  
  

🔍 Problem

We write first drafts, draw wireframes, edit videos and more.

This is slow and repetitive.

💡 Solution

AI-powered SaaS helps you get results faster.

• Jenni AI writes research papers
• Framer builds websites from text
• OpusClip turns long videos into short clips
  
  

🏁 Players

AI-Powered SaaS

• Loom • Video recording for screen, camera and audio sharing
• Notion • All-in-one workspace for notes, tasks and collaboration
• Hemingway AI • Rewrite text for clarity
• Grain • AI meeting automation tool
• Resume.io • Write resumes with AI
  
  

🛠 How to Build AI-Powered SaaS

• “Dogfood” your product by using it yourself. You will build better products faster when you understand and empathize with customers.
  • Matthew Lesiuk is building Clipio. He uses it for cold video outreach to market Clipio.
  • Bhanu Teja P is building SiteGPT. He used it to build a chatbot for his blogging platform Feather.
  • Simon Hoiberg is building Aidbase. He uses it to handle customer support on his personal website.

• Build an audience first. Fans are more eager to support you by buying or sharing your tool.
  • Dharmesh Shah shared ChatSpot on X (Twitter). His post got 4,600,000 views.
  • Bhanu Teja P launched SiteGPT on X (Twitter). The launch tweet got 1,000,000 views.
  • Mark Gadala-Maria says growing on X (Twitter) helped him get 7,500 people on the waiting list for Post Cheetah.

• Build a waiting list to validate demand.
  • Dorik lets you sign up for the waiting list for Dorik AI. It helps to generate UI, copy and images for your websites.
  • Slack lets you sign up for the waiting list for Slack AI. It helps to get insights into your chats and knowledge bases.
  • JetBrains lets you sign up for the waiting list for JetBrains Grazie. It helps software teams write and communicate better.
    
    

🌱 How to Grow AI-Powered SaaS

• Use side project marketing to get more users.
  • Hippo Video has a video ROI calculator.
  • QuillBot has a suite of free grammar tools.
  • Jungle Scout has a profit calculator for dropshipping.

• Use a freemium model to fill your funnel.
  • Aaron Edwards made DocsBot AI. It’s free for chatting with docs with up to 50 pages.
  • Abdulhadi Y made AI Magicx. You can make a limited number of articles, logos and images for free.
  • Helghardt Avenant and Michail Brynard made Lampbuilder. You can build 1 landing page with AI on its free plan.

• Use affiliate marketing to get others to sell for you.
  • Copymatic offers a 30% commission to affiliates.
  • Seamless.AI offers a 20-40% commission to affiliates.
  • Pieter Levels offers a 20% commission to Photo AI affiliates.
    
    

💰 How to Monetize AI-Powered SaaS

• Offer subscriptions to get predictable revenue.
  • Jon Yongfook is building Browserbear. He charges up to $949 per month.
  • Shawn Tucker is building Feedloops. He charges $69 per year while it’s in beta.
  • Dobroslav Radosavljevič is building Written Labs. He charges up to $49 per month.

• Offer single-use plans for a one-time price. This helps to serve users with occasional needs.
  • Jera sells website roast packs at Roast My Web.
  • Lior Grossman is building Completely. It costs $39 per competitive analysis report.
  • Philipp Seeser lets you enhance the audio of 1 file with Xound. It costs $4.99 per file.

• Use a free trial to convert more leads into customers.
  • Jared Rhizor offers a 7-day trial for MealByMeal. It helps to track food and calories.
  • Alex Buran offers a 7-day trial for Help-Desk.ai. It helps to build AI chatbots for customer services.
  • Eddie Forson offers a 7-day trial for EnVsion. It helps to uncover insights from your customer interviews.
    
    

🔮 Predictions

• Companies will let existing users try AI features for free. Before locking them behind a paywall.
  • Loom let existing users try Loom AI before launching.
  • Evernote lets users try AI-powered search for free before adding it to paid plans.
  • Archbee offered a beta of AI Addon for free to paid users. It now costs up to $50 per month on top of paid plans but is part of the Enterprise plan.

• We’ll see AI startup studios that take a systemized approach to building AI companies. 
  • Twelvefold builds generative AI tools.
  • 1811 Labs builds AI products in 2-4 weeks.
  • Slimmer AI is a venture studio for building AI products.
  • Pawa is a venture studio for machine learning startups.
  • VirASTRAL helps to build AI SaaS and generative AI products.

• AI will be embedded in hardware. The era of “smart things” will turn into the age of “AI things”.
  • Bolt uses Drover AI to boost scooter safety.
  • VoiceKitt is an in-car voice assistant. It helps salespeople close deals while driving.
  • Samsung has washing machines with AI Control. It also says smartphones are obsolete –– it’s time for AI phones.
    
    

😠 Haters

“Most of these companies are retrofitting AI into existing products. The future is AI-native UX.”
This is common with technology. It took decades for manufacturers to redesign factories around electricity instead of adding to existing factories. Progress is iterative.

“Some of these are AI wrappers with weak moats.”
If an AI wrapper can make people’s lives easier, they will pay for it. Seize the opportunity when you have it.

“Uncontrollable growth can lead to bankruptcy. Freemium users can eat up API credits faster than expected.”
Limit the number of available credits to free users. Design Sense lets you generate only 1 image for free. Logie has user caps.

“This market is crowded.”
You can differentiate by offering unique features, great customer support or serving a niche audience.

🔗 Links

1. ​$22,000 in 1 Week with a Better UI for ChatGPT • The thread behind this report.
2. Building a Report on AI-Powered SaaS • The tweet behind this report.
3. What The Generative AI Craze Will Look Like • AI experts and business leaders explain how AI will change the business.
4. Making $22,000 in 7 days • How Tony Dinh bootstrapped a better UI for ChatGPT.
   
   

📁 Related Reports

• ​​​​​Niche AI Models • These are fine-tuned to perform well on domain-specific tasks.
• AI Agents • They work on your behalf without your supervision.
• Prompt Engineering • Learn how to direct AI to get accurate results.
• No-Code • Stop wasting time, money and energy doing repetitive work.
• Software Development Services • Build a software business without technical skills.
  
  

🙏 Thanks

Thanks to Maciej Cupial, Stewart Townsend and Vishal Srivastava. We had a great time jamming on this report.

✏️ Emin researched and wrote this report. Dru researched and edited this report.

📈 What else?

Trends PRO #0141 — AI-Powered SaaS has more insights.

What you’ll get:

• 25 AI-Powered SaaS Examples (400% More)
• 18 Ways to Build AI-Powered SaaS (500% More)
• 11 Ways to Grow AI-Powered SaaS (267% More)
• 13 Ways to Monetize AI-Powered SaaS (333% More)
• 7 Predictions (133% More)
• 10 Links (150% More)

With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

• (📈 Pro) How to hedge platform risk?
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• (📈 Pro) How to use TikTok to get 150,000 users?
• (📈 Pro) Who used influencer marketing to add $100,000 MRR?
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• (📈 Pro) How to make $5,000 MRR with AI wrappers?
• And much more…
  
  

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This week’s Founder Finds includes:

📚 A note-taking system
🦾 An AI agents database
⏪ What is the Backwards Law
🔎 What are discovery platforms
🕒 How to balance side projects and work
➡️ And more…

🪶 Remember This

All profit is derived from risk.

🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

👥 Elia Zane unlocked 1:1 Founder Intros by joining daily standups

👨‍💻 Simon launched Authentic Devs

💰 Yuyu sold Opengraph.xyz for 5 figures

💼 Karissa Rischall left her day job while keeping her employer as a client

📩 Elie Steinbock reached 1st place on Product Hunt with Inbox Zero

🎵 Darren Travel made a music video with AI

🧠 Joe Montanino, Barbara du Perron, Rob Blake and Ren Saguil unlocked Trends.vc Masterminds by reaching 30-day standup streaks

🤓 Fav Finds

Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members

🦾 AI Agents Database shared by Bernardt J. Vogel
A database of 120+ AI agents with descriptions

📚 Insight Logging Framework shared by Eren Suzer
A note-taking system for podcasts, books and articles

🕒 Balancing Side Projects and Work shared by Royce Johnson
A blog post on pursuing passion projects while working

📘 Read This

The Backwards Law

The backwards law says that the more you pursue something, the less you achieve it.

For example, the more you pursue happiness, the more unhappy you feel.

Why?

Because you focus on what you lack instead of what you have.

Few things in life follow the backwards law. But those that do, are extremely important.

💬 Join the Conversation

Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…

• (📈 Pro) Finding affiliates
  
• (📈 Pro) Scheduling tools
  
• (📈 Pro) B2B sales toolkit

👀 Watch This

What Are Discovery Platforms?

Discovery platforms have built-in discoverability.

They help people find your content even if they were not looking for it specifically.

These platforms are incentivized to connect users with great content via algorithms.

Get Weekly Reports

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This week’s Founder Finds includes:

⚙️ What’s missing from EOS
📊 A life planning framework
🎨 A collection of Framer resources
🗺️ A blueprint to becoming a millionaire
👥 How to build an audience from 0 followers
➡️ And more…

🪶 Remember This

If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late

🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

🔁 Karthik Vijayakumar launched B2B From Scratch

💲 Simon got the first sales of WordPress Tailwind Directory

👨‍💻 Krish launched Git Checkout

🌐 Kevin Galang updated the landing page for A Team Overseas

📺 Elie Steinbock released his best performing YouTube video so far

🤝 Hj Barraza closed the second client for his productized service

🧠 Jarrad Pouncil and Trilok Hebbur unlocked Trends.vc Masterminds by reaching 30-day standup streaks

🤓 Fav Finds

Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members

📊 Strategic Life Planning shared by Breno Ferreira
A life planning framework based on strategic thinking

⚙️ What’s Missing from EOS shared by Ivan Malopinsky
A tweet about how to improve the Entrepreneurial Operating System

🎨 Remix Framer shared by Joe Montanino
A collection of Framer components, UI elements and websites

🔧 Try This

How To Build an Audience from 0 Followers

You need to get your content in front of people.

Here’s how:

• Experiment with content to see what works.
• Build a system that helps you publish content consistently.
• Stay top of mind by engaging with your audience and other creators.

💬 Join the Conversation

Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…

• (📈 Pro) Notion guides
  
• (📈 Pro) Scheduling tools
  
• (📈 Pro) A directory of GPTs

👀 Watch This

Blueprint to Becoming a Millionaire

Alex Hormozi shares the path to becoming a millionaire:

• Level 1: The fundamentals of wealth creation.
• Level 2: The tactics to make your first million.
• Level 3: How to stay rich and get richer.

Learn how to build a sustainable business that will help you create, maintain and grow your wealth.

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💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

“If it isn’t on YouTube, it might as well have never happened.” — Gordon Korman

Get Full Access to Trends Pro

❓ What You’ll Learn

• How to grow with YouTube Shorts?
• How to use AI to make content faster?
• How to start a YouTube Channel?
• How to monetize a YouTube channel?
• How to offer value to fans?
• What are multi-channel networks?
• How to A/B test video titles and thumbnails? 
• How to optimize your channel? 
• How to boost engagement?
• How to upsell channel memberships?
• How to make the perfect YouTube Short?
• What makes a great YouTube video? 
• How to beat competition by niching down?
• How are YouTube channels better than legacy media?
• Who is building a YouTube channel in public? 
• How to hack the YouTube algorithm?
  
  

🔍 Problem

We want content that fits our needs and interests.

💡 Solution

YouTube channels cater to our need for new and engaging content.

🏁 Players

YouTube Channels

• Minute Physics • Teaches physics.
• MKBHD • Tech reviews of consumer electronics.
• No Code MBA • Tutorials on how to use no-code tools.
• Sidemen • Challenges, sketches and gaming commentaries.
• Xyla Foxlin • DIY videos, builds on woodwork and engineering. 
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• Andrew Huang • Song challenges and tutorials on music production.
• Amelia Dimoldenberg • Interviews with celebrities using comedy and humor.
  

Tools for YouTube Channels

• Powtoon • Create videos with animated characters, templates, backgrounds, audio and more.
• TubeBuddy • Optimize your channel to get more views and subs.
• Descript • Write, record, transcribe, edit and share your videos.
• vidIQ • Boost your YouTube views and subscribers.
• Synthesia • Make AI-powered virtual avatars.
• OpusClip • Turn long videos into viral clips.
  
  

🛠 How to Build YouTube Channels

• Niche down to lower competition. 
  • Matt Parker mixes stand-up comedy with math. 
  • Bryan Johnson shares content on reverse aging.
  • Babish Culinary Universe recreates iconic dishes from films and TV shows.

• Build in public to earn trust and build awareness.
  • Casey Neistat vlogged his daily life, including the process of making his videos.
  • Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) shares behind-the-scenes on making tech reviews.
  • Peter McKinnon shares how he makes videos, takes photos and gives helpful tips.

• Use AI to make content faster. Use ChatGPT to write video scripts. Use AI image generators to make visuals.
  • AI Hustlewise shows how to make viral talking AI avatars.
  • Phil Pallen shows how to make an AI avatar using Synthesia.
  • Revenue Rebels shows how to make explainer videos using AI-generated scripts, voices and visuals.
    
    

🌱 How to Grow YouTube Channels

• Make YouTube Shorts. They are easier to create and yield better return on effort.
  • Blogilates’ videos get ~350,000 views. Her Shorts get up to 163,000,000 views. 
  • Jenny Hoyos’ videos get ~150,000 views. Her Shorts get up to 60,000,000 views.
  • Comics Explained’s videos get up to ~120,000 views. Their Shorts get up to 1,100,000 views.

• Split-test your YouTube videos to see what works. This can help you optimize your channel and boost engagement.
  • Evan Carmichael uses TubeBuddy to split-test his video titles and thumbnails.
  • Sean Cannell shows how A/B testing thumbnails got his channel to 1,500,000 views.
  • Kevin Espiritu A/B tested titles for this Epic Gardening video to boost his click rates by 38%. 

• Cross-promote your YouTube channel on social media. Use discovery platforms to reach a wider audience.
  • Casey Neistat is active on Instagram and Twitter.
  • Beta Squad promotes its channel on Instagram and TikTok.
  • Jon Youshaei shares YouTube clips on his Instagram and TikTok.
    
    

💰 How to Monetize YouTube Channels

• Sell merch to diversify your income. Let your true fans support you and get branded goods from their favorite creator.
  • Binging with Babish sells a range of cookware.
  • James Charles sells makeup palettes and brushes.
  • Dude Perfect sells clothing, toys and more.

• Sell products aligned with your channel. Offer tangible value to your fans.
  • Doug DeMuro auctions cars.
  • Nomad Capitalist sells tax planning and citizenship services.
  • Epic Gardening sells gardening supplies, seeds and other gardening products.

•  Offer channel memberships. Give more value to your true fans. 
  • YaBoyRoshi offers members exclusive content, live polls and merch.
  • CGP Grey offers exclusive videos, deleted scenes and wallpapers.
  • Dead Meat offers channel memberships with exclusive bonus content and commentary tracks.
    
    

🔮 Predictions

• YouTubers will build multi-million e-commerce businesses.
  • KSI and Logan Paul started Prime, an energy drink with $1,200,000,000+ in sales.
  • Doug DeMuro started Cars&Bids, a car auction marketplace with $230,000,000+ in sales. 
  • Kevin Espiritu bought Botanical Interests, a company that sells high-quality seeds with $30,000,000+ in sales.

• YouTubers will use generative AI to create scripts, characters, animations, audio and scenes.
  • Kevin Parry uses Runway to edit his videos and sound.
  • Alec Wilcock shows how to use ChatGPT to write video scripts.
  • Premier Gal shows how to use LaLaLai and other tools to edit videos and sound.

• YouTube channels will grow into multi-channel networks that cover many topics. 
  • The Game Theorists grew from video games to cover food, film and fashion.
  • MrBeast grew from extreme videos to gaming, reaction videos, shorts and philanthropy.
    
    

😠 Haters

“The YouTube algorithm is unpredictable.”
While this is true, there are ways to stack the odds in your favor. Experiment with content, see what works and stick to it. Great content will eventually get a boost from the algorithm.

“It’s hard to compete with popular YouTubers.”
Share your personal experiences and inject your personality.

“I want to start making content on YouTube, but I don’t know what to talk about.”
What are you passionate about?What do you know a lot about? Share stories based on your experience even if you’re not an expert on a topic. Show your progress learning a skill or a topic. People want authenticity more than ever.

🔗 Links

1. ​A Doctor Turned YouTuber with 4.8M Subscribers • The thread behind this report.
2. Building a Report on YouTube Channels • The tweet behind the report. 
3. The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Monetization • Monetization and growth strategies.
4. How to Grow A YouTube Channel • Beginner’s guide on how to grow a YouTube channel.
   
   

📁 Related Reports

• ​​​​​Personal Brands • YouTubers are personal brands with huge influence and following.
• Faceless YouTube Channels • Faceless YouTube channels lower key person risk.
• The Creator Economy • YouTube channels make a big part of the creator economy.
• AI-Generated Content • AI-generated content speeds up video creation.
• Short-Form Videos • Short-form videos are a great way to grow on YouTube.
  
  

🙏 Thanks

Thanks to Maciej Cupial and Don Ho. We had a great time jamming on this report.

Curtis researched and wrote this report. Dru and Emin edited this report.

📈 What else?

Trends PRO #0140 — YouTube Channels has more insights.

What you’ll get:

• 34 YouTube Channels (325% More)
• 14 YouTube Channel Tools (133% More)
• 7 Ways to Build YouTube Channels (133% More)
• 11 Ways to Grow YouTube Channels (267% More)
• 10 Ways to Monetize YouTube Channels (233% More)
• 7 Predictions (133% More)
• 9 Links (125% More)

With Trends Pro you’ll learn:

• (📈 Pro) How to craft effective video titles?
• (📈 Pro) How to make attractive thumbnails?
• (📈 Pro) How to boost subscriptions?
• (📈 Pro) How to optimize your YouTube SEO?
• (📈 Pro) How to use emotions to hook viewers?
• (📈 Pro) How to gamify your YouTube channel?
• (📈 Pro) Why should publish more videos? 
• (📈 Pro) What to do when you are low on content ideas?
• (📈 Pro) How to build a consistent posting schedule?
• (📈 Pro) How to build partnerships with brands?
• (📈 Pro) How to build interest with a channel trailer?
• (📈 Pro) Which YouTubers are selling their back catalogs to investors?
• (📈 Pro) Who crowdfunded $519,851 from his YouTube fans?
• (📈 Pro) Who made $1,025,441 from YouTube Superchat and Stickers?
• And much more…
  
  

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💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

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💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.

This week’s Founder Finds includes:

😱 What is Fear Setting
🎯 A book on doing less
🎙️ The 6 best podcast formats
✅ 19 product validation tactics
📅 40 questions to ask yourself every year
➡️ And more…

🪶 Remember This

Don’t be distracted by criticism.

🏆 Trends Pro Member Wins

🚀 Simon built Launch Story

🎓 Philip Obosi launched a Notion course builder

🧩 Atul launched Echo

⚡ Gab got the first superuser for Untools

🧰 Maisha Cannon hosted a workshop at Career Jam

🧊 Karthik Vijayakumar booked a client in 9 days from cold emails

🧠 Rahul Kahani, Keihan Popal and Onu Ocholi unlocked Trends.vc Masterminds by reaching 30-day standup streaks

🤓 Fav Finds

Tools, tweets and more from Trends Pro Members

😱 Fear Setting shared by Tony Tong
An exercise to help take action despite doubt

✅ Validate Your Product shared by Royce Johnson
A list of 19 product validation tactics ranked by difficulty

🎯 Essentialism shared by Giovanni Vanini
A book about getting the right things done

📘 Read This

Best Podcast Formats

Podcast formats form the structure of your episodes.

Here are 6 best formats for your podcast:

1. Fiction: telling a story
2. Solo: talking on your own
3. Co-hosting: working with a partner
4. Roundtable: wider panel of guests
5. Interview Podcast: new guest every week
6. Documentary: highly produced content mix

💬 Join the Conversation

Here’s what Trends Pro Members are talking about…

• (📈 Pro) Notion guides
  
• (📈 Pro) Scheduling tools
  
• (📈 Pro) A directory of GPTs

❔ Ask Yourself

40 Questions to Ask Yourself Every Year

Track your growth and life changes with 40 annual review questions. 

Review your ups and downs, wins and failures. Reflect on the past year and set goals for next year.

• What was your biggest achievement?
• Who was the best new person you met?
• What valuable life lesson did you learn this year?
  
  
  

Get Weekly Reports

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📈 Unlock Pro Reports, 1:1 Intros and Masterminds

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🧠 Founder Mastermind Groups • To share goals, progress and solve problems together, each group is made up of 6 members who meet for 1 hour each Monday.

📈 100+ Trends Pro Reports • To make sense of new markets, ideas and business models, check out our research reports.

💬 1:1 Founder Intros • Make new friends, share lessons and find ways to help each other. Keep life interesting by meeting new founders each week.

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💲 100k+ Startup Discounts • Get access to $100k+ in startup discounts on AWS, Twilio, Webflow, ClickUp and more.