Nicholas Thomson’s Post

There’s something magical about building a new product that customers actually pay for. I’ve been an early employee at a pre-launch stage for 2 companies (and pre $1m rev at 4) and have had the pleasure of navigating bringing a product to market… …but never as a founder. Until launching Deal Sheet 6 weeks ago. Bringing a product to market (as a founder), and the one who co-created the product, it just hits WAY DIFFERENT than previously for me as an employee. The dopamine I get from a Stripe notification that someone has purchased our product is amazing. I don't really know exactly how to explain. Clearly for us, and many others there’s years of figuring out a model before there is even a product. Then the idea lands but you still need to figure out how to make every part work for each party involved. Most idea’s fail. I’ve tried a bunch that have failed. It sucks. You take the L and move on to try and build something better. No real point to this post, just sharing what’s on my mind right now. And cheers to the dopamine hit when you get a paid customer notification 🙂

Just because it works, doesn’t mean it’s secure. We’ve witnessed many implementations exposing Stripe secret on the client side — seemingly flawless to non-technical founders. To ensure you’re not dancing on the edge, here is an overview of Stripe's full stack flow.👇 #Stripe #PaymentGateway #Founders

🎉 Exciting Announcement! 🎉 🚀 Prepare to be amazed as we introduce our latest innovation: Stripe! 🚀 We're thrilled to announce that the performance of Stripe is now underway at Stephen Jianhui Steel! 💫 Elevate your projects with this cutting-edge solution designed to bring style and functionality to the next level. ✨ Here's why Stripe is a game-changer: 1️⃣High Marketing Attributes: Stripe offers a unique blend of style and functionality, making it a must-have for modern projects seeking to stand out. 2️⃣ Value for Customers: At Stephen Jianhui Steel, we're committed to delivering value to our customers. Stripe not only enhances the visual appeal of your projects but also provides practical benefits, ensuring long-lasting performance. 3️⃣ Interactive Content: 💬 Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below. 📧 For personalized assistance, reach out to us via email at stephenjianhuisteel@gmail.com. 📲 Stay Connected: Have questions or want more information? WhatsApp us at http://wa.me/8618638217235. Our dedicated team is here to assist you. 💌 Subscribe to Our Newsletter: Stay updated with the latest innovations in GI and GL by subscribing to our newsletter for exclusive insights and updates! Don't miss out on this opportunity to revolutionize your projects with Stripe from Stephen Jianhui Steel. Subscribe now and let's embark on a journey of innovation together! 💪💼 #StephenJianhuiSteel #Stripe #Innovation #CustomerSatisfaction

To $ or not to $... Kondo is currently free. Should it be? Why free: 1. Some embarrassing bugs show up every now and then 🐛 2. Got a few more cool features cooking before it's a V1 we'd be really proud of 3. Value feedback more than anything else. Don't want price to be a barrier to folks trying and telling us how it can be better 4. Haven't built a stripe integration yet 😅 Why $: 1. Product works and does everything it says on the box / landing page. 2. Some have told me unprompted that they'd pay $ for it as-is 😍 3. Got advice from other founders I really respect that I should just charge *something* for it to validate whether the pain is real enough for folks to pay for 4. Aligns the roadmap we're prioritizing to value that users would actually back with their wallets What should I do? (Also, pretty sure I'm just a noob at this and there's some canonical wisdom out there I should just follow on this but am missing. Maybe it's just No. 3 of Why $.)

Just because it works doesn’t mean it’s secure. We’ve seen many Stripe implementations exposing secret on the client side — seemingly flawless to non-technical founders. Ensure you’re not dancing on the edge. An overview of Stripe's full stack flow.👇

🚩The grind of 9-5 and living paycheck to paycheck... Do you really want to stick to outdated paradigms? It's time to flip the script and build something that matters! ↪️ Here are 7 steps to escape the rat race and create your own path: 1. Craft a compelling LinkedIn profile. 2. Share daily insights on one specific problem you solve. 3. Engage and connect with those interested. 4. Offer free consultations to understand needs. 5. Create an easy-to-follow, 60-minute process. 6. Set up a personal website through Carrd. 7. Monetize your expertise via Calendly and Stripe. 🚩Most people are stuck in a cycle of working hard, yet never getting ahead. It's time to change that narrative. Build a service, turn it into a product, and scale your impact. What steps are you taking to break free from the conventional path? Share below.

I've spent the whole night studying Stripe out of pure curiosity. Here's why I believe Stripe is so successful. 22% of the top 100 YC companies are transactional and they generate 29% of the overall value. This is most likely because they are as close to the transaction as possible. Transactional businesses outperform others because they're directly in the flow of funds. This means that they are the platforms through which money flows, making it very easy for them to take their cut. If you're a company like Stripe, which literally processes money for other companies, then you are directly in the flow of funds and it's easy to take your cut. But if you're in an affiliate business, multiple things have to happen that ultimately get you paid, which means that you are far from the transaction, which makes them not as good of a business. Transactional businesses are extremely close to the transaction and they often become critical infrastructure of the company they build on top of. My take is to get as close to the transaction as possible!

After applying to 100's of jobs and mostly getting silence in return. I decided I needed to take control and build my own business. Which is really stressful anyways and in this market feels even harder honestly. But I didn't really have a choice anymore and someone once told me "just take small steps forward". So these are the first small steps I took to move forward: 🌟 Looked at my skills/experience and put together a preliminary offer 🔊 Reached out to who I thought my target customers are and questioned them on their challenges (using the mom test) 📢 Posted on LinkedIn and reached out to a few potential customers stating that I am looking for design partners (to test my offer) 💰 Opened a Stripe account to be able to easily charge money I'm still in the beginning but I will keep posting on how it goes :) The successes, the hardships and the failures. And it's definitely a tough market out there. So if anyone needs any help getting started, or just want to talk things out about what to do next, feel free to DM me.

Are you selling or launching a software product? Then take note of Stripe’s Octane acquisition 👇 Stripe is betting big on usage-based billing as the future with its Octane acquisition - I think they’re right 1️⃣ First, the Usage-based Model (UBM) aligns the interests of the buyer and seller: the seller is only rewarded when the product is adopted and used by the buyer’s team 2️⃣ Second, Usage-based consumption and billing are also general trends across history and industries - you pay for what you consume For example, once factories housed massive generators for electricity in their basements; today, we pay for the exact kilowatt-hours we consume The automobile industry is also transforming. With Transportation as a Service (TaaS), we're moving from owning cars to paying per meter travelled Even food is now billed in proportion to consumption with meal plans offering meal-as-a-service In the software industry, we've transitioned from perpetual licenses to subscription models, and now, to UBM For example, AWS charges you in proportion to resources consumed and Stripe for the amount of payment you have processed ✅ So UBM is not just a trend - it is the long-term convergence point of consumer demands and technological development No more, you can add 20 seats mid-contract but can’t even remove 1 seat mid-contract for B2B SaaS products 😉 Do you see the same trend? Congratulations to the Octane (We've joined Stripe!) Team! 👏

Two killer features from Stripe save me endless hours of debugging when I'm building subscription integration for my personal project! 👉 Advance Time 💯 👉 Event Log 💯 Initially, I was intimidated by the complexity of events, parameters, and status changes. I had many questions: ❓ How do parameters change upon subscription update? ❓ What's the sequence of events? ❓ What happens to the status during delete events? However, with these two features, I could fast-forward to simulate potential events for any subscription, simplifying the understanding of the complex events' sequence and parameters. Testing is much straightforward, as I don't have to second guess what might happen with the event or go through the documentation repeatedly. 💭 Creating user-loved features is hard, it requires continuous user testing, product use, collecting feedback, and acting on it efficiently. I was impressed with Stripe's user-friendly and innovative features. Have you found Stripe as user-friendly and innovative? Share your thoughts! ----- 🔔 I post content about software engineering, follow me on LinkedIn and subscribe my newsletter for more content like this. #payment #softwareengineering #stripe