Thread by @cunninghamkaito, Been inspired by the Twitter community to start documenting my journey building [...]

Been inspired by the Twitter community to start documenting my journey building @usespred - SaaS to help you cross-list your items to Ebay, Poshmark, Mercari and more.

I& #39;ll be using this thread to talk about updates/milestones/mistakes and everything in between

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Down pointing backhand index" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index">

#openstartup

For context...

- I& #39;ve been part-time on @usespred outside of my assurance internship at EY (which is now done).

- 167 Email Subscribers.

- Spent ~$3000 in total. This includes the mvp, website, email, mockups.

- $0 in Revenue

Day 1

- Had difficulty implementing Typeform conversions as a Goal on Google Analytics.

- Took my first stab at paid ads on Reddit (r/flipping). $5 a day. Results look promising.

- Looking through submissions in regards to ppl& #39;s previous experience using cross-listing tools.

Day 2

-Project with contractor& #39;s now on hold. Still mutual interest in a potential CTO role but we both agreed dev timeline is too long.

-Switching MVP to @AdaloHQ and manually doing back-end. (Thank you: @jeff_weinstein )

- #Nocode is powerful - product walkthrough post tmrw!

Day 3

- Almost finished front-end (& switched to Bubble): Looking to start testing with some people on my email list later this week.

- Reading @basecamp& #39;s shapeup: https://basecamp.com/shapeup .

-">https://basecamp.com/shapeup&q... Emailed advisors with updates (similar to this thread but more condensed).

Day 4

- Completed Front-End on Bubble. Testing all day tmrw & going to read on design.

- Just heard back and got into a pitch comp for August

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Fire" aria-label="Emoji: Fire">.

- Messaged my network looking for a lead dev, planning on simultaneously building the code base while I& #39;m building the no-code mvp.

Day 5

- Tested out Bubble myself, works pretty well. Just taking care of some design aspects - I& #39;ve been thinking how "less is more". Testing delayed to tmrw.

- Made my first revenue (kinda?) from Spred. https://twitter.com/cunninghamkaito/status/1253094561179557888

-">https://twitter.com/cunningha... Spoke to a bunch of early adopters + insights!

https://twitter.com/cunninghamkaito/status/1253094561179557888

Day 6

- Bubble API plug-ins stopped working for me, (sadly didn& #39;t achieve too much today), going to re-visit this problem tomorrow.

- Had two calls - one with my advisor who& #39;s been helping me with recruiting + building a no-code mvp.

- 173 Email Subs

- Finished Shape Up

Day 7

- Reading principles of Product Design from @InVisionApp

- Had one CTO interview.

- Planned next 2 week objectives (finding a CTO, building the mvp, prepping deck).

- Talking to freelancers to implement Ebay + Etsy API on bubble, sadly couldn& #39;t figure this out myself.

Day 8

- Hired a freelancer to get the API& #39;s on bubble to work out. Trouble is Etsy uses Oauth 1 while Ebay is Oauth 2.

- Synced up google analytics spreadsheet add on: https://developers.google.com/analytics/solutions/google-analytics-spreadsheet-add-on

-">https://developers.google.com/analytics... Setting up a meeting with a couple of large reselling fb groups, see where it goes.

Day 9

- Learned about SAFEs and Priced Equity Rounds by Kirsty Nathoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk6JNTDec9I

-">https://www.youtube.com/watch... Looked into pre-money valuations (scorecard, vc, berkus): https://medium.com/humble-ventures/3-ways-angel-investors-value-pre-revenue-startups-ee05c81c6d80

-">https://medium.com/humble-ve... 181 Email Subscribers

- Conversion Rate increase from 1.49% to 4.59% the week before.

Day 9 - Learned about SAFEs and Priced Equity Rounds by Kirsty Nathoo: https://www.youtube.com/watch... Looked into pre-money valuations (scorecard, vc, berkus): https://medium.com/humble-ve... 181 Email Subscribers- Conversion Rate increase from 1.49% to 4.59% the week before.

Day 10

- Etsy oAuth1 API (substantially) completed

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎉" title="Party popper" aria-label="Emoji: Party popper">

- Adding call function to make it work and testing tmrw

- Made personal fb profile for Spred a couple days ago - first waitlist signup from FB

- Switched strategy from manually handling pw& #39;s to using Ebay/Etsy public api& #39;s

Day 10- Etsy oAuth1 API (substantially) completed https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

- Adding call function to make it work and testing tmrw- Made personal fb profile for Spred a couple days ago - first waitlist signup from FB- Switched strategy from manually handling pw& #39;s to using Ebay/Etsy public api& #39;s" title="Day 10- Etsy oAuth1 API (substantially) completed https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎉" title="Party popper" aria-label="Emoji: Party popper">- Adding call function to make it work and testing tmrw- Made personal fb profile for Spred a couple days ago - first waitlist signup from FB- Switched strategy from manually handling pw& #39;s to using Ebay/Etsy public api& #39;s">

Day 11

- Requested full access to @etsyapi - call to create listing wasn& #39;t working, but all get requests worked

- Had a call with a senior dev at Vinted + 2 potential CTO calls

- Caught up on chat msgs. 1 person has been following up every week and I& #39;m feeling that pressure

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😅" title="Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat" aria-label="Emoji: Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat">

Day 11- Requested full access to @etsyapi - call to create listing wasn& #39;t working, but all get requests worked- Had a call with a senior dev at Vinted + 2 potential CTO calls- Caught up on chat msgs. 1 person has been following up every week and I& #39;m feeling that pressure https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

" title="Day 11- Requested full access to @etsyapi - call to create listing wasn& #39;t working, but all get requests worked- Had a call with a senior dev at Vinted + 2 potential CTO calls- Caught up on chat msgs. 1 person has been following up every week and I& #39;m feeling that pressure https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😅" title="Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat" aria-label="Emoji: Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat">" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

Day 12

- Finished a one pager outlining problem/solution/market/metrics

- Made a mistake in terms of applying for @etsyapi - applied again today for full access after revisions

- Had 3 CTO Interviews

-

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📱" title="Mobile phone" aria-label="Emoji: Mobile phone"> customer discovery call with a reseller who owns a fb group!

13

Catching up on Principles of Product Design: https://designbetter.co/principles-of-product-design

Call">https://designbetter.co/principle... w/ @RitaRoloff - talked about accelerators, the ideation stage, vc $, no-code, and internships

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙌" title="Raising hands" aria-label="Emoji: Raising hands">

2nd round of

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📞" title="Telephone receiver" aria-label="Emoji: Telephone receiver">& #39;s with cofounders, where I& #39;ve been looking for intent > experience

Etsy Oauth vid

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14

Etsy Oauth1 Full Access Granted

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎉" title="Party popper" aria-label="Emoji: Party popper">

3

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📞" title="Telephone receiver" aria-label="Emoji: Telephone receiver">& #39;s with technical co-founders. I think I might have found the right fit, & we& #39;ll see where it goes from here.
Excited to build code base. We& #39;re on the same page regarding equity.

Substantially finished biweekly board & mentor update

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Down pointing backhand index" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index">

14Etsy Oauth1 Full Access Granted https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

3 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📞" title="Telephone receiver" aria-label="Emoji: Telephone receiver">& #39;s with technical co-founders. I think I might have found the right fit, & we& #39;ll see where it goes from here. Excited to build code base. We& #39;re on the same page regarding equity.Substantially finished biweekly board & mentor updatehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Down pointing backhand index" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index">" title="14Etsy Oauth1 Full Access Granted https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎉" title="Party popper" aria-label="Emoji: Party popper">3 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📞" title="Telephone receiver" aria-label="Emoji: Telephone receiver">& #39;s with technical co-founders. I think I might have found the right fit, & we& #39;ll see where it goes from here. Excited to build code base. We& #39;re on the same page regarding equity.Substantially finished biweekly board & mentor updatehttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Down pointing backhand index" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index">" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

Day 15

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💻" title="Personal computer" aria-label="Emoji: Personal computer"> Took a screen break today!

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📕" title="Closed book" aria-label="Emoji: Closed book"> Read a bit of...
- principles of product design @InVisionApp
- tools of titans @tferriss
- design course by @figmadesign

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📲" title="Mobile phone with rightwards arrow at left" aria-label="Emoji: Mobile phone with rightwards arrow at left"> Created + scheduled some social media content for the next 2 weeks with @latermedia

Day 16

- Worked on database, & fixing a hiccup with the ShippingTemplate, which could only do flat amounts. Took a couple of hrs to fix but good now!

- Updated the copy on my email automation series on @Mailchimp. Analytics attached

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Down pointing backhand index" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index">

- Started learning javascript @Codecademy

- Started learning javascript @Codecademy" title="Day 16- Worked on database, & fixing a hiccup with the ShippingTemplate, which could only do flat amounts. Took a couple of hrs to fix but good now!- Updated the copy on my email automation series on @Mailchimp. Analytics attached https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇" title="Down pointing backhand index" aria-label="Emoji: Down pointing backhand index">- Started learning javascript @Codecademy">

17

Ebay Oauth2 Completed.

Photo upload to Spred, which then uploads to Etsy works. This was the biggest challenge, and a custom plugin on Bubble had to be built.

Submitted @nvbc& #39;s round 2 application.

The upload form (1 form that helps you list everywhere) is being built now.

18

- Mapped out user onboarding sequence looking at some great examples: https://www.useronboard.com/

-">https://www.useronboard.com/">... Etsy& #39;s done

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Fire" aria-label="Emoji: Fire">

- Very, very rough mockup of the upload page - going to design tmrw

- Put up my first google adwords campaign with $150 in credits: https://ads.google.com/intl/en_ca/lp/coupons/">https://ads.google.com/intl/en_c...

18- Mapped out user onboarding sequence looking at some great examples: https://www.useronboard.com/

- Very, very rough mockup of the upload page - going to design tmrw- Put up my first google adwords campaign with $150 in credits: https://ads.google.com/intl/en_c..." title="18- Mapped out user onboarding sequence looking at some great examples: https://www.useronboard.com/">... Etsy& #39;s done https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Fire" aria-label="Emoji: Fire">- Very, very rough mockup of the upload page - going to design tmrw- Put up my first google adwords campaign with $150 in credits: https://ads.google.com/intl/en_c...">

19

Worked on Ebay integration - redrafted onboarding flow so a user& #39;s info (like their address), only needs to be filled out once

Sent 5

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📧" title="E-mail symbol" aria-label="Emoji: E-mail symbol">& #39;s to the ppl on my waitlist who sell on Ebay & Etsy to start testing next week

First-time founders fundraising webinar with @lolitataub!

19Worked on Ebay integration - redrafted onboarding flow so a user& #39;s info (like their address), only needs to be filled out onceSent 5 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

& #39;s to the ppl on my waitlist who sell on Ebay & Etsy to start testing next weekFirst-time founders fundraising webinar with @lolitataub!" title="19Worked on Ebay integration - redrafted onboarding flow so a user& #39;s info (like their address), only needs to be filled out onceSent 5 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📧" title="E-mail symbol" aria-label="Emoji: E-mail symbol">& #39;s to the ppl on my waitlist who sell on Ebay & Etsy to start testing next weekFirst-time founders fundraising webinar with @lolitataub!">

20

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✍️" title="Writing hand" aria-label="Emoji: Writing hand"> Wrote first post on Substack, outlining all my early stage marketing attempts.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔎" title="Right-pointing magnifying glass" aria-label="Emoji: Right-pointing magnifying glass"> Set up Google Ads, the CAC is pretty high - optimizing landing page tmrw.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✌️" title="Victory hand" aria-label="Emoji: Victory hand"> Adding "condition", "brand", and "size" inputs on the upload form to integrate with Ebay - almost done mvp

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Fire" aria-label="Emoji: Fire">

20https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

Wrote first post on Substack, outlining all my early stage marketing attempts.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔎" title="Right-pointing magnifying glass" aria-label="Emoji: Right-pointing magnifying glass"> Set up Google Ads, the CAC is pretty high - optimizing landing page tmrw.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✌️" title="Victory hand" aria-label="Emoji: Victory hand"> Adding "condition", "brand", and "size" inputs on the upload form to integrate with Ebay - almost done mvp https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Fire" aria-label="Emoji: Fire">" title="20https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✍️" title="Writing hand" aria-label="Emoji: Writing hand"> Wrote first post on Substack, outlining all my early stage marketing attempts.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔎" title="Right-pointing magnifying glass" aria-label="Emoji: Right-pointing magnifying glass"> Set up Google Ads, the CAC is pretty high - optimizing landing page tmrw.https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✌️" title="Victory hand" aria-label="Emoji: Victory hand"> Adding "condition", "brand", and "size" inputs on the upload form to integrate with Ebay - almost done mvp https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔥" title="Fire" aria-label="Emoji: Fire">">

21

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🙌" title="Raising hands" aria-label="Emoji: Raising hands"> 3 weeks - & MVP is now completed.

Use Case: Log in, fill out 1 form, click a button, post to eBay & Etsy.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="⏰" title="Alarm clock" aria-label="Emoji: Alarm clock"> Resellers are going to save tons of time with @usespred

Reflected on marketing efforts and releasing 1st newsletter!

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🗝" title="Old key" aria-label="Emoji: Old key"> https://kaito.substack.com/p/coming-soon ">https://kaito.substack.com/p/coming-...

👋 Welcome

Welcome to 💭 Transparent Thoughts - No Filter by Kaito Cunningham. You will be getting a “behind the scenes” look at my thoughts, strategies, and challenges building Spred - which is currently an...

https://kaito.substack.com/p/coming-soon

22

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎨" title="Artist palette" aria-label="Emoji: Artist palette"> Cleaned up ui/ux for Spred

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📅" title="Calendar" aria-label="Emoji: Calendar"> Scheduled interviews with Ebay and Etsy sellers to use Spred this week.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💸" title="Money with wings" aria-label="Emoji: Money with wings"> Applied to some scholarships for my school.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📕" title="Closed book" aria-label="Emoji: Closed book"> Prepared for class schedules + textbooks (taking classes from Mon - Wed).

Worked on ui/ux more today, & now I feel like I& #39;m overthinking it.

Bought 3 books that were on my wishlist (Genghis Khan, Sapiens, Win Friends & Influence People).

Goal this week: Have 3 hypotheses for mvp, and interview 10 Ebay/Etsy Resellers that are on my waitlist.

23

Had my first day of school consisting of zoom lectures

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😅" title="Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat" aria-label="Emoji: Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat">

Set up analytics on mvp with Mixpanel

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📊" title="Bar chart" aria-label="Emoji: Bar chart">

Thought of a couple of hypotheses that I wanted to prove during my interviews.

What are some questions that you believe are essential when testing your mvp with customers?

24

Drafted up onboarding questions & set up custom fields on crm. Researched best practices, & loved this interactive guide by @GrowthDotDesign on @Superhuman: https://growth.design/case-studies/superhuman-user-onboarding/

Drafted">https://growth.design/case-stud... up emails to send off to potential marketplace partners.

Almost at 200 on waitlist!

Superhuman's Secret 1-on-1 Onboarding Revealed

Superhuman is currently the most hyped and secretive startup. Time to unveil the curtain and look at their unique 1-on-1 user onboarding tactics.

https://growth.design/case-studies/superhuman-user-onboarding/

25

Prepared for my first three onboarding calls with ppl on my waitlist tmrw - I& #39;m so excited and can& #39;t wait (also super nervous)

Here& #39;s what a user sees after they connect their eBay & Etsy Accounts. Going to be spacing out the form fields a bit more so they cover the page.

26

Didn’t go as planned today

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😔" title="Pensive face" aria-label="Emoji: Pensive face"> - the 3 calls I was gunna have today either re-scheduled or were no-shows.

Have 1 onboarding call booked for tmrw, and one for Sunday.

I learned zoom is too high of a barrier to signup and use, going to try using IG dms with resellers instead!

26Didn’t go as planned today https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

- the 3 calls I was gunna have today either re-scheduled or were no-shows.Have 1 onboarding call booked for tmrw, and one for Sunday. I learned zoom is too high of a barrier to signup and use, going to try using IG dms with resellers instead!" title="26Didn’t go as planned today https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😔" title="Pensive face" aria-label="Emoji: Pensive face"> - the 3 calls I was gunna have today either re-scheduled or were no-shows.Have 1 onboarding call booked for tmrw, and one for Sunday. I learned zoom is too high of a barrier to signup and use, going to try using IG dms with resellers instead!" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

27

There& #39;s nothing better than a couple of error messages during the onboarding walkthrough

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😅" title="Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat" aria-label="Emoji: Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat">

Worked on 4 bugs today - added the "enter weight" input so it can start working again.

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✌️" title="Victory hand" aria-label="Emoji: Victory hand"> We& #39;re at 205 on the waitlist

28

Took a day off today to recharge the batteries

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔋" title="Battery" aria-label="Emoji: Battery">

Read “Genghis Khan Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford and loving it!!

29

Onboarding call with a clothing reseller who owns a 32k+ fb group! She loved the "Save as Defaults" options, but wants more integrations.

Key objectives this week:

- More onboarding calls
- Learn + improve user journey
- Improve design (this just looks bad

https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy" aria-label="Emoji: Face with tears of joy">)

29 Onboarding call with a clothing reseller who owns a 32k+ fb group! She loved the "Save as Defaults" options, but wants more integrations.Key objectives this week:- More onboarding calls- Learn + improve user journey- Improve design (this just looks badhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable=

)" title="29 Onboarding call with a clothing reseller who owns a 32k+ fb group! She loved the "Save as Defaults" options, but wants more integrations.Key objectives this week:- More onboarding calls- Learn + improve user journey- Improve design (this just looks badhttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😂" title="Face with tears of joy" aria-label="Emoji: Face with tears of joy">)" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>

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