Startup Journal
In about a year I left a stable job, built a startup called SnapFile, launched it, and shut it down. These are the notes I wrote along the way. Newest first.
SEPTEMBER 2, 2025 · LESSONS LEARNED
Closing SnapFile: How I Dissolved Two LLCs and What It Cost
I recently dissolved two LLCs and want to share the steps I took, how much it cost, and why...
APRIL 16, 2025 · LESSONS LEARNED
Show Me The Money: What we made, what we spent, and what we learned for next time
Over a couple of quarters, I bootstrapped my first software business — SnapFile — with a...
APRIL 10, 2025 · AI
How We Built This (With AI): Building SnapFile with AI and a Two-Person Team
When we started out building SnapFile, we were two full-time mid-career adults with some...
APRIL 8, 2025 · LESSONS LEARNED
How Not to Use Google Ads as a Small Business
We had a simple-sounding goal: reach small business owners who needed to file a new government...
APRIL 7, 2025 · LESSONS LEARNED
RIP SnapFile
We Built a Startup. We're Shutting it Down. Here's What Happened.
APRIL 7, 2025 · LESSONS LEARNED
What's harder than making your product? Selling it
When I left my cushy tech job to start a business, I thought the hardest part would be building...
DECEMBER 19, 2024 · LESSONS LEARNED
90% of startups fail. Any guesses where our first one landed?
When we launched SnapFile, we were prepared for the risks. What we weren't prepared for was the...
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OCTOBER 28, 2024 · BUSINESS BUILDING
The spam email that sparked the idea for SnapFile, our little company! Also--our launch announcement.
Like many business owners, my inbox is often a wasteland of emails offering services I may or...
OCTOBER 27, 2024 · LESSONS LEARNED
From Bugs to Beta (Different Bugs): My Experience With Build-Test-Iterate
So you've got a product prototype, you've tested demand, now how do you launch it? We've all...
OCTOBER 7, 2024 · COFOUNDING
Finding a cofounder: thorny topics before you commit
So you've been doing the coffee chats and have a potential cofounder. You've had the "mile...
OCTOBER 6, 2024 · COFOUNDING
Finding a cofounder: like business dating
Similar to personal life, entrepreneurship involves figuring out what your priorities are...
OCTOBER 3, 2024 · AI
Entrepreneur's Guide to Logo Design: Using AI, Figma, or Outsourcing
A professional logo builds credibility and improves brand perception, even in the early stages...
OCTOBER 2, 2024 · AI
How To Use AI to Build Your Business (Or Just Work Smarter)
By now, we've all heard about how AI will change our work lives, but the truth is, for many of...
OCTOBER 1, 2024 · BUSINESS BUILDING
Charting Your Own Course: Key Mile Markers for Considering Funding or Bootstrapping
The classic startup story begins with founders, an idea, and venture capitalists just crazy...
SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 · MARKETING
Interpreting the Tea Leaves of Google Ads Data
After running a Google Ad for a week or two, you'll start gathering data that can help you...
SEPTEMBER 29, 2024 · TOOLS
Surviving Google Ads: A Beginner's Guide to Testing Demand (Without Losing Your Mind)
In the first few posts, we talked about finding problems, who might pay, what the business...
SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 · TOOLS
How to test product demand before you have a product
In the first 3 steps, we found problems, thought through propensity to pay, and have a rough...
SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 · BUSINESS BUILDING
Step 3: Could this be a good business?
Now that you've identified problems (step 1) and figured out who might pay for them (step 2)...
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 · LESSONS LEARNED
Step 2: Validating Your Business Idea—Will People Pay for It?
You've identified some problems in step 1. Great! Now, let's move on to step 2: figuring out if...
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 · LESSONS LEARNED
Step 1: Solve Real Problems
Have you ever heard of companies failing due to lack of product market fit? Yea me too, it's...
SEPTEMBER 22, 2024 · LESSONS LEARNED
From "Success" to Starting Over: Why I Left My Comfortable Tech Job to Try Entrepreneurship
From the outside, my career has been more than I could have hoped for. Growing up as a...