| Ah, December. The time of year when there are strings of twinkling lights abound, everything is peppermint flavored, and you can wear “ugly sweaters” without judgment. (“Who says pom-poms don't belong on shoulder pads?”) Before we jump headfirst into the final month of 2021, let’s take a moment to look back on what we and our partners were up to in November. |
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Let’s talk shop(ping) There’s no better feeling than giving the perfect gift, and no worse feeling than knowing you missed the mark. (“Wow… wrinkle cream… I, uh, love it?”) That’s why we’ve scoured the web and put together the ultimate 2021 holiday gift guide, so you don’t have to worry about anything but ribbon colors. From mushroom coffee to bestselling books to a fan-favorite game, we’ve got something for everyone. |
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Winner's circle In case you missed it, this Black Friday we gave away over $1M to our partners for listing a product and opting in to our Black Friday sale. And 10 of those lucky partners had a chance to receive $10K to grow their business. Well, this week, Noah hosted a livestream hangout where he announced the lucky winners and even chatted with some of them live. Go check it out! |
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Executive producer Do you snap all your friends’ profile pictures? Do you have an Instagrammable day planner? No matter what you’re good at, we know you’ve got a sellable product within you. Whether you’re looking to start a new business or build a side income, we’ve gathered over 50 of the hottest digital product ideas across a wide range of topics and skills. Then, once you’re ready to launch, we created some tips on how to sell on AppSumo. |
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Squirrl jam Let’s keep the applause going for Squirrly SEO for also receiving the 2021 Best Value award from Capterra, acknowledging their highly-rated product based on verified, positive user reviews. You go, Squirrl! |
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Finders keepers Clearout’s new email finder lets you gather leads and validate emails in record time! Plus, with their JS widget, you can now integrate contact forms without the help of a developer. Clear-ly a total win! |
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Good bee-havior SocialBee now enables users to post to TikTok so you can reach a whole new audience and get in on the latest trends. |
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Stream engine OneStream Live now offers some ex-stream-ly cool new features, including unified live chat, real-time and pre-recorded mobile streaming from their mobile app, and the ability to embed your streams on your website with their player feature. |
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Social good This month, Social Champ’s got tons of new updates and features. From an updated UI to new integrations with Dropbox, Flickr, and more; alt text for images; and link previews; your social game is about to get a whole lot stronger. |
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Site unseen BOWWE rolled out a whole buffet of new features like new templates, management tools, account setting functions, video tutorials, and more. |
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Incoming mail utobo added an awesome new feature where users can send unlimited auto-generated transactional emails and send three times the promotional emails of their learner base each month, for free! |
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Never-ending support Stay safe and secure with Malcolm!’s added support for end user login, Autho, an identity management system that you can use to manage who has access to your hosted hub. |
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| | | | | When you evaluate companies, what do you find the most successful ones have in common? The best startups stand out—and I evaluate thousands per year—with either team or traction. A great team is easy to describe, but hard to find. You want a team with deep experience in their area, who have a “secret” that they know that others don’t. On traction, I want to see numbers to prove that customers love a product. I look at retention curves, growth rates (3x YoY, please!), and engagement metrics to assess the traction more scientifically. But at its core, people have to love it. |
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What is the number one thing a business can do to stand out in its space? The number one thing for any new product is it has to be 10x better in some way, whether it’s the experience, pricing model, or growth strategy. Take Airbnb—a company a16z invested in early on—while Craigslist and VRBO already existed, Airbnb had much more inventory and it was 10x better designed. |
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What advice would you give to someone just starting their entrepreneurial journey? Starting companies is a lifelong journey, and it takes years to develop the skills. If your first idea doesn’t work, it’s likely you’ll try a second, and a third. If that’s true, then how will you get better each time? Your network matters, and it’s how fast you learn that can help determine if you’ll succeed.
Want more wisdom from Andrew? Check out his bestselling book, The Cold Start Problem, which reveals what makes winning networks thrive, why some startups fail to successfully scale, and why products that create and compete using the network effect are vitally important today. |
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| For most of us, trying to guess what will be on trend in a few months is like attempting to predict who will win a season of The Great British Bake Off. Fortunately, the experts at Webflow have taken stock of what’s on the rise and put together "22 inspiring web design trends for 2022" so you can start the new year already ahead of the curve. |
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| Everyone knows the value of a mentor—someone who guides you and cheers you on— but what about an anti-mentor? In this interview, William Irvine explains the benefits of having someone in your life who you don’t want to emulate, so their criticisms and disapprovals let you know you’re on the right path. Talk about turning a negative into a positive! |
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| Remember when you were five and would say things like, “When I grow up, I want to be a unicorn astronaut,” and everyone cheered you on? Then at some point, adults started telling you to “get real”? Well, turns out five-year-old you was actually onto something. As Herbert Lui writes, having unrealistic expectations for yourself is necessary when it comes to achieving your dreams. |
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| We love seeing the unique home offices people all over the world are creating. And right now, there’s one trend in particular that we’re obsessed with: tiny garden office cubes! Check out why people are investing in these little luxuries, but don’t say we didn’t warn you: you’re definitely going to want to build one, too. |
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