Draft.dev

Carl did not build a website or landing page to start. He created a single page on his personal website called "Carl's Writing" listing recent writing samples, and sent that link directly to his professional network asking if they'd pay him to write. His first 5–10 clients were all people he had met at some point in his career and stayed in touch with via a personal CRM: a spreadsheet of ~50 contacts he reminded himself weekly to reach out to — via lunch, email, or a quick call. He also cold-reached out to people working in "developer relations," a field he discovered while doing those calls, which helped him validate that real demand existed. Within 3 months of this approach he had more work than he could handle solo and began hiring contractors. The business was started part-time while he was still transitioning out of his previous job, which reduced pressure and let him prove viability before going all-in.

Carl had 7+ years of prior startup experience as an early employee at two early-stage tech companies, giving him firsthand exposure to how founders grow and operate businesses. He also had a carefully maintained professional network spreadsheet (~50 contacts) built over years, which directly sourced his first clients. Additionally, COVID timing was favorable — tech companies redirected large in-person conference budgets into content marketing right as Draft.dev launched.

referrals_and_word_of_mouth

Discounting and one-off trial engagements were explicitly avoided as a strategic choice — Carl noted that offering small trials or discounts undermines premium positioning. He also attempted ~10+ prior side projects over 7 years that all failed before Draft.dev worked.