Michelle Marceline - Building a Y Combinator Startup in Public!
đđŒ 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!đđŒ 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.đđŒ 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
đđŒ Resources:
Shaan Puri: https://www.shaanpuri.com/
Sam Parr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parrsam
My First Million Podcast: https://www.mfmpod.com/
đđŒ 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/
đđŒ Where to find Sharath:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/5harath
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@5harath
Website: https://5harath.com/
Newsletter: https://5harath.substack.com/