Oops
Well, nothing like starting off your first goals update late. Unfortunately, a herniated disc and an almost manic reaction to Prednisone have delayed this one. While I intend to keep to my schedule, life may happen.
Manager Update
Books
I don't want to consider reading business books an accomplishment, but part of this journey is getting an education in startups. There are two books on the reading list Start Small Stay Small by Rob Walling, and Traction By Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares.
Start Small Stay Small thankfully does not have a lot of fluff. Unfortunately, a lot of the companies and services it specifically references are outdated. This isn't a problem as long as you can find a comparable service. The business guidance is still relevant to small-time SaaS, and really if you listen to Startups for the Rest of Us you can tease some verbal updates to the material. I'm approximately 70% through the book.
The core idea this book is helping me realize is that the success or failure of any small SaaS startup can hinge more on the founder's marketing research and efforts than anything else.
Master Minds
On 01/28/2022 I had my first mastermind session with two friends from Charlotte NC, who are also looking for projects or opportunities. We have a Discord server for async thoughts, but hopefully, we can maintain at least a monthly video call. I took an action item to research five competitors in the no-code/low-code form builder space.
The market for form builders may be a little crowded, but I believe there could be a niche worth pursuing based on my personal experiences working for Kellogg Company. I saw essentially the same application built at least five times in three years. Each time the solution was delivered by overpriced consultants, like Wipro or Accenture. I can't hinge a business strategy on selling to a former employer, but if they had the pain most likely other large organizations do too.
Developer Update
Technical Skills
The only developer update I have is that I completed a short intro course on OpenAPI Schema. This will be useful in prototyping any potential Restful API services for future products.