Thread by @david_perell

~ Write of Passage update ~

My business started less than one year ago, and I've already taught more than 500 students. The 4th cohort began last night, with ~200 students from more than 20 countries.

My story, with some lessons from running my business.

In 2017, I took a class called Building a Second Brain by @fortelabs.

It's the most impactful career decision I've made. Armed with a note-taking system, I could focus on creating ideas instead of memorizing facts and working with computers instead of competing against them.

In November 2018, I called Tiago and pitched him on an online writing course. I had first-hand experience of the transformative benefits of writing online and wanted to share my philosophy of writing in an online course.

I pitched him for 2 minutes, and he immediately said yes.

But I had a challenge. I didn't have the money to film, edit, and finance the course.

Then, something amazing happened. @TylerCowen gave me an Emergent Ventures grant which funded all the production costs. Without that, none of this would have happened.

perell.com/emergent-ventu…

We filmed the course last February — less than a year ago.

Then, we launched the first cohort in April. It was a huge success. Tiago told his audience about the course, and since I'd been writing online for years, I had an email list of ~5,000 people.

After the second cohort, one of my students named @Will_Mannon called me. He had a list of suggested improvements, and I hired him to implement them.

His ideas transformed the student experience, from onboarding to assignment delivery, to curriculum design.

For the 4th cohort, we raised the price of the course by 50% *and* increased the number of sign-ups. That's a very healthy signal.

That profitability allows us to give scholarships to young students and international citizens on a case-by-case basis.

Some lessons below...

1. Organic marketing works, but it takes time.

I've been writing consistently for 3.5 years. In that time, I've built an email list of ~20,000 people, my most important business asset.

I've never spent a cent on paid marketing or affiliate links, and I own 100% of the business.

2. Obsess over the student experience

For premium products, word-of-mouth is the best advertising there is. I've watched Write of Passage change the lives of my students. I get messages like this every day, which keep the flywheel spinning.

They make me so happy.

3. Build the product you wish existed

I did zero market research for this course. I still do none. Instead, I follow my intuition and build the course I wish somebody else had built for me.

If you want to invent something transformative, ignore data and trust your bold vision.

I'm in this for the long-haul.

The business is already profitable and I have no plans to sell it. Moreover, I'm not going to take investor money because I want my students to be my only boss.

I believe in the benefits of writing online more than ever.

writeofpassage.school

What's next?

I want to teach people to become citizens of the Internet. Writing is the first step. I want to enable life-long friendships, personal growth, and use the Write of Passage ecosystem to help my students build profitable businesses

Writing online is a superpower.

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