🪜 4 Wealth Ladders for Founders
Happy Friday friends,
Welcome to Kernal. Your nexus line-up of startup ideas and VIP founder advice. Except we don't ask you to declare how many angel cheques you take home. 😏
April's in full swing, sunglasses are getting dusted off and Twitter's finally working on an edit button. We doubt Musk's 9.2% shopping day had anything to do with it. The space race continues with more upgrades and Serena Williams made a big splash at Bitcoin2022. We've got a fun write-up today, so let's get after it. 👇
Today's Starting Line-Up:
- How to pick the right wealth ladder for your startup
- Startup ideas that'll wow your Saturday brunch date
- Build-in-public updates from community founders
Before you read on, email your 9am meeting. Warn them you may be late after getting lost in today's deep dive.
🪜 Snakes and Ladders: Wealth Edition
You know those things that you just wish were taught in school but never were? Wealth is one of them. Lucky for you, you've won a Willy Wonka ticket by trusting us with your email. 🎟
Since Ms. Wedgewood covered geography in grade 7, we're gonna teach startup wealth 101. It starts with knowing the 4 ladders of wealth. Get your pencil ready. Pop quiz tomorrow.
Our handy-dandy friend, Nathan Barry, wrote this jam-packed blog on the topic. So instead of us writing a mediocre essay, we're gonna pull out the best nuggets from his. Open the moleskin and let's dive in:
Ladder 1: Time for money
This is your hourly job at Starbucks, summer landscaping gig, or the comfy tech role that takes owns your 9-5 slot. You need to show up, be reliable, and learn skills on the job to be paid. But you are an employee and someone else is the owner. So you don't have as much risk. But you only make more money by adding more hours. Got it? Let's tackle the 2nd tier.
Ladder 2: Running a service business
It's a bigger risk but has a larger upside. You do things like find clients, set up a company, and hire staff to grow. Could be a photography business, packaging service, or events consulting for weddings. Bottom line? You get paid for your output hours for clients you serve. It's nicer than a boring 9-5 calendar but can take a lot of up-front work. When you pick the right niche, these can be great cash cows to build your own equity. Now let's hit ladder trois. (3 for those that took Spanish in school).
Ladder 3: Productized services
The first level where you make money without talking to a customer. Until this point, Nathan points out that every dollar you make is connected to your effort output. (# of hours). Ladder 3 takes your service business of no-code consulting @ $100/hr to a new no-code website for $5,000 (done at whatever time you please). This builds better scalability, more predictable income and usually happier clients. Let's hit the last one.
Ladder 4: Selling products
This could be e-comm slippers, a digital video course or even a monthly SaaS tool. It's the making money-while-you sleep stage every podcast raves about. Don't mistake, it takes some serious work. But when you arrive, you can build some powerful momentum with repeat clients and network effects. After a couple of years of good margins and healthy delegation, your kids' college fund will be ready in no time.
So there you have it. Ladders 1 to 4. Print this out and staple it to your desk. B/c if you can master each one, you'll be a happy camper for the rest of your days.
📝 Questions to think on:
- What ladder are you currently in and where do you wanna be in 1 year?
- What ladder would you like your next startup idea to fall into?
- How can I meet founders that are in the ladder I want to be in?
Read below and maybe you can find some answers.
P.S. Another way to create wealth is by spending less. If you want to save on startup tools? Sign up for our perks access on 250+ tools.
Or email us below for instructions.
🤚 Community Asks & Updates:
Check out the video in his recent progress update, where he shows off his product. Want to join his startup? Smash the"Request to team up" button on his startup page
Check out the automation script that saved him 20 mins of navigating EFTPS for his taxes.
Click "Request to team up" on his startup page if you're interested in building a "Fungi inspired Turn-Based Strategy Game"
🔥 Hot tip: Get first dibs on community asks by joining our Kernal discord.
Got a founder update we should add? Email us.
🦈 Now Let's Jump into the Kernal Shark Tank
Judges, get your votes ready. We've got a juicy list of ideas to share. Click the idea below to read the full concept and share your feedback with the founder:
Up-vote, comment or contribute to Rodin's startup idea
Up-vote, comment or contribute to Itay's startup idea
Up-vote, comment or contribute to Willie's startup idea
Up-vote, comment or contribute to Elaine's startup idea
Up-vote, comment or contribute to Friedrich's startup idea
Up-vote, comment or contribute to Pyry's startup idea
Up-vote, comment or contribute to Riz' startup idea
Got an idea of your own? Stop humming and start building:
📰 Founder Favourites
- Having trouble closing your round? Don't sweat it. North American startup investment fell 11% in Q1.
- Twitter's stock jumped 30%+ after Elon made his move. Here's where the app might move next.
- Trying to boost your social media game? Steal this content guide to never run out of social media prompts.
- Web 3 roadmap: read this 24 tweet thread by Misha on wise words to navigate the web world.
- Pop quiz: what's a fashion brand that just snagged a $100B valuation and is worth more than H&M and Zara combined? Shein.
- Low on momentum? I can guarantee Fast has you topped. Last valued at ~$580m, it's closing its doors after pulling in just a 6-figure revenue in 2021.
🐦 Tweet of the Week
Your time will come. Buckle down and be patient.
👀 Today's Homework:
- Share a startup idea if you haven't already
- Post a progress update so we can spotlight your wins
- Email us if you want discounts on startup perks: newsletter@kern.al
8 hours till the weekend. Go finish strong.
💚 Kernal fam
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