Day 1 – Launch Mode
8 Nov 2021This is day 1 of my effort to write everyday for the next 30 days.
Today is Day 1. I launched my first side project, a Shopify app called Blazon, less than a couple months ago. Blazon is an app that notifies shops of order-related events within Slack. As someone who built an e-commerce company, operational efficiency is a must. If you own or manage a Shopify-powered shop, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Why did I build Blazon?
To scratch my own itch. I've wanted to solo-launch a product and also use Elixir/Phoenix in production for the last decade. Like most builders, my side projects were "never ready to launch". I lost passion or I could never gather enough confidence to get it out to the public.
This time was different. It's odd. In my career, I've never been shy to launch products before they were "perfect". I had the protection of being in a group where blaming one person was unrealistic. It speaks to my fear of failure. Solo projects are square on me – no other engineers, designers, or marketing people to take the hit with me. Something about safety in numbers.
What's the goal?
Well, launching a side project was the initial goal. Now that it's live (and installed by a dozen shops (!), which I'll talk about in a separate post), I want to figure out a way to monetize it. It's currently free and I don't yet know my product or marketing strategy. That's part of the fun, isn't it? Figuring it all out.
In all seriousness, I'm fascinated with how much real estate this app has taken up in my mind. I find myself thinking about new features all the time. And even weirder, I have more thoughts about Blazon's P&L and content marketing strategy.
I'm glad to have taken the first real step. Now, I must go execute.