Michelle Marceline - How to build an unfair advantage from a disadvantage!

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Michelle Marceline is a co-founder at Typedream (W20), a no-code site, blog, and form builder, and a previous cofounder at Cotter. She's been featured on Forbes 30U30 2022, Build In Public with KP, and more!

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Michelle discuss founding Typedream (YC W20) with a co-founding team of 5, immigrant hunger, pivoting their startup repeatedly, and growing Typedream from 0 to N.

Timestamps:

• 00:00: Episode Highlight
• 2:40: Introduction to Michelle, co-founder at Typedream (YC W20)
• 3:46: Michelle's journey from immigrant to Green Card holder
• 7:50: Typedream's founding story: 5 founders, from fintech to no-code builder
• 15:38: Pivoting a company during Y Combinator: The ups and downs
• 19:30: Starting up again as a team post-acquisition
• 20:55: Typedream's Zero -> One Go-To-Market strategy
• 23:08: Product Hunt's impact on growing Typedream
• 27:28: Typedream's Build in Public Strategy
• 30:02: Michelle's day-to-day as a non-technical founder
• 33:14: The toughest part of being a founder
• 34:54: Lessons learned as Typedream grows from One -> N
• 36:43: Typedream's Creator Community and how it helps the company grow
• 37:23: Does Building in Public help One -> N growth?
• 39:02: Battle-tested Go-To-Market lessons
• 42:42: Typedream's soft pivot into a content creator setup
• 47:01: Outreach to Typedream's ideal creators: the how, why, and impacts
• 49:07: Typedream's craziest creation stories
• 50:35: Typedream's darkest hours
• 52:07: Michelle's role models
• 53:21: The importance of immigrant hunger in building
• 56:50: Closing thoughts for founders
• 58:13: Outro

👉🏼 Resources:

• Shaan Puri: https://www.shaanpuri.com/
• Sam Parr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parrsam
• My First Million Podcast: https://www.mfmpod.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Michelle Marceline:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/michwirantono
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-marcelline
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michwirantono/
• Typedream (YC W20): https://typedream.com/

👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
• Website: https://5harath.com/
• Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/