Open Startups: Exhaust Data, Transparency, Open Makers

On the surface this is about open startups. It’s really about a lot more. Another name? How to Profit from Transparency.

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🔍 Problem

Startups have to cut through noise to stay top of mind for customers. And prospective employees.

💡 Solution

Open startups tell a story (mostly) with exhaust data. 

Revenue, page views, salaries and more. Data generated from business activities.

This is a marketing strategy. Not only for customers. But prospective employees.

In 2013, Buffer listed staff salaries publicly. Job applications doubled. Jumping to 2,886 from the 1,263 they received 30 days prior.

🏁 Players

Open Startups

• Product Disrupt —> Metrics
• ConvertKit —> Metrics
• ScrapingBee —> Metrics
• Starter Story —> Metrics
• Remote Leaf —> Metrics
• Marketing Examples —> Metrics
• Gumroad —> Metrics
• Makerlog —> Metrics

Open Makers

Makers sharing metrics and stories.

• Gabriel Chuan
• Darshan Gajara
• Jack Butcher
• Steph Smith
• Pat Walls
• Fajar Siddiq
• Daniel Vassallo
• Alex West
• Karthik Puvvada (KP)
• Dianna Allen

Open Platforms

• Indie Hackers
• Baremetrics
• LATKA: Top SaaS Companies
• Startup Costs
• WIP
• Makerlog
• Twitter
• Graphtreon

🔮 Predictions

• Exhaust data will become more publicly availableandaccurate.
  • Site Traffic
    • SimilarWeb
    • Alexa
    • Ahrefs
  • Foot Traffic
    • BlueFox
    • Gravy Analytics
    • FootPath
  • Revenue
    • Goldman Sachs
    • Second Measure
    • Datarade
  • Salaries
    • blind
    • Salary Project
    • #talkpay
• We’ll see the rise of the Open Maker. These founders track and share their work. They are sawdusting. Gaining upside from exhaust data that would otherwise go unused.

☁️ Opportunities

• Remove information asymmetries and profit from transparency. Need ideas?
  • Salaries
    • PayScaleGlassdoor
  • Home Services
    • Thumbtack
    • Amazon Home Services
    • Handy
  • Used Cars
    • Kelly Blue Book
    • CarGurus
    • Edmunds
  • Flights
    • Skiplagged
    • Skyscanner
    • Scott’s Cheap Flights
  • Insurance
    • NerdWallet
    • Zebra
    • Progressive
• Decide if you should run an Open Startup. Ask yourself…
  • Do I have a moat? If not, you may reverse course like SnapShooter and Transistor.fm.
  • Do my customers care? If not, why are you doing this? See the conversation between Amar Ghose, Patrick Campbell and I.
  • Do prospective employees care? Will this attract talent?
  • Do I need accountability? What gets measured gets managed. More so in public.

🔗 Links

1. Transparency — This TED radio hour episode tells stories of transparency. Covering everything from salaries to CIA operations.
2. The End of Asymmetric Information — Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok take a deep dive into information problems and their effects.
3. Doubling Down Instead of Shutting Down — Nathan Barry is the founder and CEO of ConvertKit. In an interview with Eric Siu, he said “…another important thing for us is storytelling. I want you to buy ConvertKit not just because it’s the best tool for your business. I want you to buy because of the team and the story and who we are and what we’re building.”
4. ‘100% copycat’ — Pierre de Wulf, co-founder of ScrapingBee, tweets about downside of sharing numbers. This is why moats matter.
5. Research: Gender Pay Gaps Shrink When Companies Are Required to Disclose Them — Denmark required companies over 35 employees to disclose gender wage gaps and the gap to shrunk to 7% from 17.5% between 2003 to 2008.