Paul Jarvis: gaining freedom by building an indie business

Justin catches up with his old internet friend Paul Jarvis. Today, Paul co-founded Fathom Analytics with Jack Ellis: a simple alternative to Google Analytics. Paul is also the author of the book "Company of One," which has influenced a whole generation of indie entrepreneurs (and has been reviewed by Cal Newport, Chris Guillebeau, Ben Chestnut, Tiago Forte, and more). Previously, Justin and Paul did a weekly mastermind, where they supported and encouraged each other around our indie businesses. They decided to do a catch-up call and recorded it so you could listen in. 👍

Highlights:

• (00:10) - Intro
• (02:20) - Being off the internet
• (03:58) - What's a typical day for Paul?
• (06:21) - Looking back at our Mastermind call
• (08:08) - There's no beginning and no end
• (10:36) - Things that are out of your control affect your business
• (13:08) - Does Justin's surfing metaphor make sense to a surfer?
• (16:11) - How would you start an indie business in 2023?
• (22:05) - You've got to get in motion
• (25:08) - Using products in your category for a long time
• (27:53) - Is there still any room in Saas?
• (31:56) - The act of making the bet
• (38:45) - Is freelancing still viable in 2023?
• (42:55) - Company design is lifestyle design
• (45:00) - Worrying about being stagnant
• (47:20) - How do you handle customer feature requests?
• (52:08) - It's ok to be late to a shift in the market
• (58:24) - Caring is an indie advantage
• (01:05:05) - Collaboration is what gets us anywhere

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Links:

• Fathom Analytics (get $10 off)
• Book: Company of One
• Article: How to Start a Mastermind
• Wayback Machine: Mint Analytics
• Article: Why we moved from courses to SaaS
• Self-Publishing Hangout: Paul Jarvis, Nathan Barry, Sacha Greif, Justin Jackson

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