Thread by @businessbarista

We live in a Golden Age of Entrepreneurship

It is the best time in history to build a business.

Here are 8 reasons why 🧵

1. Cost of failure has never been lower.

Take @MorningBrew for example.

We started the business in 2015 for <$1,000.

$50 LLC filing fee
$100 website domain
$10/mo for website hosting
$100/mo for Mailchimp

If we started the business in 2000...totally different story.

2. # of capital avenues has never been higher.

There is 100% still an access to capital problem for underrepresented groups.

But, in terms of sheer number of capital channels.

It's never been higher:

1) Venture capital
2) Angels
3) Crowdfunding
4) SBA
5) Accelerators

3. Cost to test has never been lower.

Social media isn't just an unlock for community and audience.

It's a 24/7 focus group at your fingertips.

Have a brilliant business idea?

Tweet about it.

Businesses are being built because of tweets that took off weeks prior.

4. Quantity of communities has never been higher.

The entrepreneurial journey is lonely & isolative.

Community is mission-critical for uncovering blindspots & supporting entrepreneurs during lowpoints.

The internet has accelerated communities by & for entrepreneurs.

Here's a shortlist of communities for entrepreneurs:

- @ProductHunt
- @ycombinator
- @IndieHackers
- @Twitter
- @GetMakerlog
- @GrowthHackers
- @OnlineGeniuses
- @Reddit
- @github

5. Quantity of playbooks has never been higher.

Thanks to serial entrepreneurs & VCs (playbooks created).

And social media (playbooks articulated).

- Planning & goal setting (OKRs / EOS)
- Fundraising (Materials, cadence, metrics)
- Category (B2B SaaS, Consumer Social)

6. Quantity of talent has never been higher.

It's due to a seismic shift in how we think about talent.

We've gone from a scarcity to abundance mindset.

The internet made coordination with a global workforce possible.

And COVID accelerated normalcy of remote work culture.

7. Technical knowledge is no longer a barrier to entry.

As a non-technical founder, I would have been f*cked 10 years ago.

But with the acceleration of No Code, the possibilities of what I can build have exploded.

This is the case for millions of builders.

A shortlist of the best No Code tools:

- @zapier
- @squarespace
- @notion
- @mailchimp
- @shopify
- @memberspace
- @airtable
- @bubble
- @voiceflowhq

8. Willingness to test by consumers has never been higher

Part-psychology: we've grown up in an age where giving our CC # is normal

Part-behavior: tech (like 1-click checkout) has removed friction for purchase

Part-business model: freemium makes impulse buy easier than ever

I'm so pumped about the future of entrepreneurship!

Enjoy this thread?

Follow @businessbarista for more thoughts on startups and building.

Want more thoughts on the future of entrepreneurship?

Listen to my chat with Shopify President @harleyf here: bit.ly/3xXMjpW

Summary: Today is the greatest time in humankind to start a business.

1) Low cost of failure
2) Many avenues of capital
3) Low cost to test
4) Tons of communities
5) Established playbooks
6) Global talent
7) Technical knowledge not required
8) Consumers love testing