![\"Tweet\"](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/numbers-tweet.avif\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One and a half years into my job there, I left it all behind and I\u2019d do it again in a heartbeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t quit because I hated my job. I quit because there was an opportunity worth pursuing and I had goals I couldn\u2019t achieve at Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier this year, Andrew shared learning lessons for Canny\u2019s first birthday. Yes, we\u2019ve learned a lot about how to build a business. But we\u2019ve also learned a lot about ourselves as individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some lessons and observations behind each of the numbers I shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u23f1 2,688 productive hours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Yes, we still work a lot! However, we\u2019re not killing ourselves by doing 80-hour work weeks. This is about 5 hours of laptop productivity a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The major categories were:
\n28% email + customer support
\n9% design
\n8% team communication
\n7% development<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Screenshot-2018-11-26-23.15.13.avif\")
A lot of productivity happens offline as well. In my 1:1s with Andrew and in my sketchbook. Stepping away from my laptop is usually very helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the rest of our time, we do things that make us happy. Play video games, watch TV, travel, exercise, sing, etc. There\u2019s time for work, and there\u2019s time for play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- As founders, doing customer support helped us understand the problem we were solving and for who.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- People have different working styles. Andrew is a sprinter. I run marathons.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Running a startup doesn\u2019t have to mean everything else falls to the wayside. Make time for other happy things.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffb\u200d\ud83d\udcbb 1,129 commits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Learning to code wasn\u2019t mandatory in design school. I remember spending that first summer building out my first portfolio website. I\u2019m so glad I did that because now, years later, I can proudly contribute to our React codebase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Facebook, I was hired to do product design. Being a founder means constantly learning and adapting. I\u2019ve become a marketer, videographer, recruiter, you name it.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Lots](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/hats.avif\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Being a founder is a great way to try all the things.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- There\u2019s great content out there for pretty much everything. Knowledge is power but you\u2019ll learn the most by going out and trying things yourself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- As a founder, you may have to do things you don\u2019t particularly enjoy. It\u2019s worth asking yourself which of those things are actually critical. I find I do much better work when it\u2019s something I enjoy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udcac 25 investor chats turned down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Since the beginning, Andrew and I were determined to bootstrap Canny. We took some calls early on but soon found they usually weren\u2019t very helpful. So we started turning them down.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Our](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/investor-response.avif\")
Our response to investors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s the investor\u2019s job to start relationships with startups. If you\u2019re not looking to raise money, these relationships are often a distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be clear, this number is across the company. 23 went directly to Andrew. 2 went to me. Coincidence? Probably not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the same reason why people automatically assume Andrew is our CEO. We don\u2019t have labels here so there is no acceptable reason to assume that. I experience this bias in customer meetings and doing customer support. It sucks and @investors, you can do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Some investors are more helpful than others. Make your best judgment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Some things that seem helpful are often just distracting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- To the female founders out there, having a supportive team as we navigate biases helps a lot. They can stand up for you when it counts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u2708\ufe0f 24 cities in 14 countries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A big personal interest of mine was to travel. Leaving Facebook to do my own thing enabled me to pack up and hit the road for over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We started in Europe for half a year, went home for the holidays, and went to Asia for another half. It was so cool to experience cities as they are and not as tourists. We worked in coffee shops with locals and just wandered around a lot. We\u2019ve written a bit about our travels<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Us](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/jiufen-teahouse.avif\")
Casually drinking tea in Taiwan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWhile I hope to do more traveling, Andrew wants to slow it down. His main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Consistency \u2013 Always being in a new city means there\u2019s a period when you don\u2019t know what\u2019s what. This can get exhausting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Friends \u2013 Most of our friends are at home. Meeting people while constantly moving is challenging.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nice things \u2013 Like a blender. Nice things don\u2019t usually make the cut into our single carry-on suitcase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Our plan, as usual, is to be decided! Follow along @carryoncode<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- The \u201cdigital nomad\u201d lifestyle isn\u2019t for everyone. There are physical, mental, and emotional challenges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Customer support is trickier when you\u2019re half a world away.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stay in each city for a least a month to get a good feel for it. Valencia and Seoul were a couple of our favorites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udcb0 6-figure ARR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You often don’t notice how far you’ve come when you’re in the thick of things. This kind of crept up on us. But it\u2019s a big deal! It\u2019s also a pretty graph:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Canny](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/revenue-graph.avif\")
Our journey to 6 figures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThis number is more than just a number. It means we don\u2019t need to rely on raising money to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also means we can hire<\/a>! It feels so good to be able to bring great people onboard with money we\u2019ve made ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWe\u2019re always pushing ourselves to do more and do better. Our job now is to figure out the best way to turn money (profit) into more money (growth). Spend it or else the tax man will take his cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Take time to celebrate the wins. Andrew and I still fist bump for every new paying customer. We\u2019d get a gong, but it wouldn\u2019t fit in the suitcase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Consider the losses but don\u2019t let them ruin your day\/week\/month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- New MRR is great but retention is equally important to building a sustainable business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\ude80 1 startup, Canny<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Canny started out as a side project. We are first-time founders so at first, everything was new to us. Naturally, there were several times along our journey that we questioned what we were doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are we working on the right things?
\nShould we try something else?
\nShould we start over?<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Confused](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/confused-dogs.gif\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some ideas, I even created mockups. Thankfully, we never ended up building anything out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sticking to our path has taught us the value of focus. Starting another project would have meant compromising on Canny. We built Canny to solve a problem and we have hundreds of teams paying us to do that. We still have so many things we want to do. Other projects would distract us from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we build out our team, it\u2019ll be on us to keep everyone focused and motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Building things in-house is always an option. Paying for a great tool that solves your problem is usually a better option.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- As Jeff Besos says, \u201cdisagree and commit.\u201d Avoid getting paralyzed with options and just make a decision.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Identifying quick wins is great but don\u2019t be afraid to try things outside the box too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
![\"Form](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/5705808\/interactive-127905612377.png\")
<\/picture> <\/div>\n\n\n\n\u270a 0 dollars raised<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you raise VC, you\u2019re locked into the path of trying to become a unicorn. If you don\u2019t raise money, people assume you\u2019re building a lifestyle business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Wikipedia: \u201cA lifestyle business is a business set up and run by its founders primarily with the aim of sustaining a particular level of income and no more\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really don\u2019t like that term, \u201clifestyle business\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve heard it several times now during interviews. I feel it implies we\u2019re not taking Canny seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raising money sets you on a path to build a billion-dollar company or fail. There are a lot of great success states in between.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"Unicorn](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/unicorn-zebra.avif\")
A great article<\/a> about the difference between unicorns and zebras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSo we don\u2019t have the \u201cgrowth at all costs\u201d mentality. We\u2019re still here trying to build a very successful, ambitious business. We\u2019re doing that at our own pace, on our own terms and we\u2019re going to keep it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffb\u200d\ud83d\udcbb 1,129 commits<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Learning to code wasn\u2019t mandatory in design school. I remember spending that first summer building out my first portfolio website. I\u2019m so glad I did that because now, years later, I can proudly contribute to our React codebase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Facebook, I was hired to do product design. Being a founder means constantly learning and adapting. I\u2019ve become a marketer, videographer, recruiter, you name it.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Being a founder is a great way to try all the things.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- There\u2019s great content out there for pretty much everything. Knowledge is power but you\u2019ll learn the most by going out and trying things yourself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- As a founder, you may have to do things you don\u2019t particularly enjoy. It\u2019s worth asking yourself which of those things are actually critical. I find I do much better work when it\u2019s something I enjoy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udcac 25 investor chats turned down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Since the beginning, Andrew and I were determined to bootstrap Canny. We took some calls early on but soon found they usually weren\u2019t very helpful. So we started turning them down.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nOur response to investors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nIt\u2019s the investor\u2019s job to start relationships with startups. If you\u2019re not looking to raise money, these relationships are often a distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be clear, this number is across the company. 23 went directly to Andrew. 2 went to me. Coincidence? Probably not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the same reason why people automatically assume Andrew is our CEO. We don\u2019t have labels here so there is no acceptable reason to assume that. I experience this bias in customer meetings and doing customer support. It sucks and @investors, you can do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Some investors are more helpful than others. Make your best judgment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Some things that seem helpful are often just distracting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- To the female founders out there, having a supportive team as we navigate biases helps a lot. They can stand up for you when it counts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u2708\ufe0f 24 cities in 14 countries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A big personal interest of mine was to travel. Leaving Facebook to do my own thing enabled me to pack up and hit the road for over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We started in Europe for half a year, went home for the holidays, and went to Asia for another half. It was so cool to experience cities as they are and not as tourists. We worked in coffee shops with locals and just wandered around a lot. We\u2019ve written a bit about our travels<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCasually drinking tea in Taiwan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWhile I hope to do more traveling, Andrew wants to slow it down. His main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Consistency \u2013 Always being in a new city means there\u2019s a period when you don\u2019t know what\u2019s what. This can get exhausting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Friends \u2013 Most of our friends are at home. Meeting people while constantly moving is challenging.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nice things \u2013 Like a blender. Nice things don\u2019t usually make the cut into our single carry-on suitcase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Our plan, as usual, is to be decided! Follow along @carryoncode<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- The \u201cdigital nomad\u201d lifestyle isn\u2019t for everyone. There are physical, mental, and emotional challenges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Customer support is trickier when you\u2019re half a world away.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stay in each city for a least a month to get a good feel for it. Valencia and Seoul were a couple of our favorites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udcb0 6-figure ARR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You often don’t notice how far you’ve come when you’re in the thick of things. This kind of crept up on us. But it\u2019s a big deal! It\u2019s also a pretty graph:<\/p>\n\n\n
\nOur journey to 6 figures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThis number is more than just a number. It means we don\u2019t need to rely on raising money to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also means we can hire<\/a>! It feels so good to be able to bring great people onboard with money we\u2019ve made ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWe\u2019re always pushing ourselves to do more and do better. Our job now is to figure out the best way to turn money (profit) into more money (growth). Spend it or else the tax man will take his cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Take time to celebrate the wins. Andrew and I still fist bump for every new paying customer. We\u2019d get a gong, but it wouldn\u2019t fit in the suitcase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Consider the losses but don\u2019t let them ruin your day\/week\/month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- New MRR is great but retention is equally important to building a sustainable business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\ude80 1 startup, Canny<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Canny started out as a side project. We are first-time founders so at first, everything was new to us. Naturally, there were several times along our journey that we questioned what we were doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are we working on the right things?
\nShould we try something else?
\nShould we start over?<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some ideas, I even created mockups. Thankfully, we never ended up building anything out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sticking to our path has taught us the value of focus. Starting another project would have meant compromising on Canny. We built Canny to solve a problem and we have hundreds of teams paying us to do that. We still have so many things we want to do. Other projects would distract us from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we build out our team, it\u2019ll be on us to keep everyone focused and motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Building things in-house is always an option. Paying for a great tool that solves your problem is usually a better option.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- As Jeff Besos says, \u201cdisagree and commit.\u201d Avoid getting paralyzed with options and just make a decision.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Identifying quick wins is great but don\u2019t be afraid to try things outside the box too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\u270a 0 dollars raised<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you raise VC, you\u2019re locked into the path of trying to become a unicorn. If you don\u2019t raise money, people assume you\u2019re building a lifestyle business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Wikipedia: \u201cA lifestyle business is a business set up and run by its founders primarily with the aim of sustaining a particular level of income and no more\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really don\u2019t like that term, \u201clifestyle business\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve heard it several times now during interviews. I feel it implies we\u2019re not taking Canny seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raising money sets you on a path to build a billion-dollar company or fail. There are a lot of great success states in between.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nA great article<\/a> about the difference between unicorns and zebras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSo we don\u2019t have the \u201cgrowth at all costs\u201d mentality. We\u2019re still here trying to build a very successful, ambitious business. We\u2019re doing that at our own pace, on our own terms and we\u2019re going to keep it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udcac 25 investor chats turned down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Since the beginning, Andrew and I were determined to bootstrap Canny. We took some calls early on but soon found they usually weren\u2019t very helpful. So we started turning them down.<\/p>\n\n\n
It\u2019s the investor\u2019s job to start relationships with startups. If you\u2019re not looking to raise money, these relationships are often a distraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To be clear, this number is across the company. 23 went directly to Andrew. 2 went to me. Coincidence? Probably not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s the same reason why people automatically assume Andrew is our CEO. We don\u2019t have labels here so there is no acceptable reason to assume that. I experience this bias in customer meetings and doing customer support. It sucks and @investors, you can do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Some investors are more helpful than others. Make your best judgment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Some things that seem helpful are often just distracting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- To the female founders out there, having a supportive team as we navigate biases helps a lot. They can stand up for you when it counts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u2708\ufe0f 24 cities in 14 countries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A big personal interest of mine was to travel. Leaving Facebook to do my own thing enabled me to pack up and hit the road for over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We started in Europe for half a year, went home for the holidays, and went to Asia for another half. It was so cool to experience cities as they are and not as tourists. We worked in coffee shops with locals and just wandered around a lot. We\u2019ve written a bit about our travels<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCasually drinking tea in Taiwan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWhile I hope to do more traveling, Andrew wants to slow it down. His main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Consistency \u2013 Always being in a new city means there\u2019s a period when you don\u2019t know what\u2019s what. This can get exhausting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Friends \u2013 Most of our friends are at home. Meeting people while constantly moving is challenging.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Nice things \u2013 Like a blender. Nice things don\u2019t usually make the cut into our single carry-on suitcase.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Our plan, as usual, is to be decided! Follow along @carryoncode<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- The \u201cdigital nomad\u201d lifestyle isn\u2019t for everyone. There are physical, mental, and emotional challenges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Customer support is trickier when you\u2019re half a world away.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Stay in each city for a least a month to get a good feel for it. Valencia and Seoul were a couple of our favorites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\udcb0 6-figure ARR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You often don’t notice how far you’ve come when you’re in the thick of things. This kind of crept up on us. But it\u2019s a big deal! It\u2019s also a pretty graph:<\/p>\n\n\n
\nOur journey to 6 figures<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThis number is more than just a number. It means we don\u2019t need to rely on raising money to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also means we can hire<\/a>! It feels so good to be able to bring great people onboard with money we\u2019ve made ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWe\u2019re always pushing ourselves to do more and do better. Our job now is to figure out the best way to turn money (profit) into more money (growth). Spend it or else the tax man will take his cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Take time to celebrate the wins. Andrew and I still fist bump for every new paying customer. We\u2019d get a gong, but it wouldn\u2019t fit in the suitcase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Consider the losses but don\u2019t let them ruin your day\/week\/month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- New MRR is great but retention is equally important to building a sustainable business.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\ud83d\ude80 1 startup, Canny<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Canny started out as a side project. We are first-time founders so at first, everything was new to us. Naturally, there were several times along our journey that we questioned what we were doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are we working on the right things?
\nShould we try something else?
\nShould we start over?<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some ideas, I even created mockups. Thankfully, we never ended up building anything out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sticking to our path has taught us the value of focus. Starting another project would have meant compromising on Canny. We built Canny to solve a problem and we have hundreds of teams paying us to do that. We still have so many things we want to do. Other projects would distract us from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we build out our team, it\u2019ll be on us to keep everyone focused and motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Building things in-house is always an option. Paying for a great tool that solves your problem is usually a better option.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- As Jeff Besos says, \u201cdisagree and commit.\u201d Avoid getting paralyzed with options and just make a decision.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Identifying quick wins is great but don\u2019t be afraid to try things outside the box too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\u270a 0 dollars raised<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you raise VC, you\u2019re locked into the path of trying to become a unicorn. If you don\u2019t raise money, people assume you\u2019re building a lifestyle business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Wikipedia: \u201cA lifestyle business is a business set up and run by its founders primarily with the aim of sustaining a particular level of income and no more\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really don\u2019t like that term, \u201clifestyle business\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve heard it several times now during interviews. I feel it implies we\u2019re not taking Canny seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raising money sets you on a path to build a billion-dollar company or fail. There are a lot of great success states in between.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nA great article<\/a> about the difference between unicorns and zebras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nSo we don\u2019t have the \u201cgrowth at all costs\u201d mentality. We\u2019re still here trying to build a very successful, ambitious business. We\u2019re doing that at our own pace, on our own terms and we\u2019re going to keep it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\u2708\ufe0f 24 cities in 14 countries<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A big personal interest of mine was to travel. Leaving Facebook to do my own thing enabled me to pack up and hit the road for over a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We started in Europe for half a year, went home for the holidays, and went to Asia for another half. It was so cool to experience cities as they are and not as tourists. We worked in coffee shops with locals and just wandered around a lot. We\u2019ve written a bit about our travels<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n While I hope to do more traveling, Andrew wants to slow it down. His main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our plan, as usual, is to be decided! Follow along @carryoncode<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You often don’t notice how far you’ve come when you’re in the thick of things. This kind of crept up on us. But it\u2019s a big deal! It\u2019s also a pretty graph:<\/p>\n\n\n This number is more than just a number. It means we don\u2019t need to rely on raising money to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also means we can hire<\/a>! It feels so good to be able to bring great people onboard with money we\u2019ve made ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re always pushing ourselves to do more and do better. Our job now is to figure out the best way to turn money (profit) into more money (growth). Spend it or else the tax man will take his cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canny started out as a side project. We are first-time founders so at first, everything was new to us. Naturally, there were several times along our journey that we questioned what we were doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we working on the right things? <\/p>\n\n\n\n For some ideas, I even created mockups. Thankfully, we never ended up building anything out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sticking to our path has taught us the value of focus. Starting another project would have meant compromising on Canny. We built Canny to solve a problem and we have hundreds of teams paying us to do that. We still have so many things we want to do. Other projects would distract us from that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we build out our team, it\u2019ll be on us to keep everyone focused and motivated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you raise VC, you\u2019re locked into the path of trying to become a unicorn. If you don\u2019t raise money, people assume you\u2019re building a lifestyle business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Wikipedia: \u201cA lifestyle business is a business set up and run by its founders primarily with the aim of sustaining a particular level of income and no more\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I really don\u2019t like that term, \u201clifestyle business\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve heard it several times now during interviews. I feel it implies we\u2019re not taking Canny seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raising money sets you on a path to build a billion-dollar company or fail. There are a lot of great success states in between.<\/p>\n\n\n So we don\u2019t have the \u201cgrowth at all costs\u201d mentality. We\u2019re still here trying to build a very successful, ambitious business. We\u2019re doing that at our own pace, on our own terms and we\u2019re going to keep it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83d\udcb0 6-figure ARR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83d\ude80 1 startup, Canny<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nShould we try something else?
\nShould we start over?<\/p>\n\n\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nLessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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<\/picture> <\/div>\n\n\n\n\u270a 0 dollars raised<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Lessons learned<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"Bedroom](\"https:\/\/canny.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/on-set.avif\")