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The šÆ Digest
Max Haining
March 17, 2024
āMy tech startup failed because our founding team were all non-technicalā - Max, founder of the 100 School
Welcome to the šÆ Digest: a weekly newsletter that helps non-techies solve problems that matter with tech - through stories, handpicked links, and one mystery opportunity (read till the end š). Brought to you by the 100 School team (#100daysofnocode / #100daysofai)
This weekās šÆ Digest includesā¦
š Be 100: How this tools helps no-code apps scale to millions & more!
š Watch/read/listen: How to build a profitable 1 person business with AI & more!
š» Board meeting: Learn from our mistakes & more!
š¤« Weekly advent calendar: One mystery opportunity!
Be šÆ just likeā¦
Whether it's automating daily nuisances or developing groundbreaking apps, we want to spotlight non-techies leveraging tech to šÆā¦
Read. Watch. Listen. To... š
Sure, weāre all about helping you learn tech skills but if we dig a little deeper, itās really about a committment to showing up and hitting šÆ% of your potential with the tools at your disposable. Some gems to help you get thereā¦
Join our board meeting š
If you want to see under the hood and shape whatās next for the 100 school, this is your stop.
š First some contextā¦
Itās Max here š. If you didnāt know, I run šÆ School. Growing up my tech skills were pretty bad. Thatās until I started asking the ādumbā questions I was always too scared to ask - and ever since, Iāve been turning the answers into free challenges for anyone to learn tech skills (in less scary, more fun ways). Hence #100daysofnocode & #100daysofai.
Iām also a solo-founder. And get told a lotā¦āMax! You should get some extra help calling the shotsā.
Thatās where you come in.
We started as a Twitter hashtag. No curriculum, team or mission. Just me in lockdown trying to learn a new skill. Community was the only thing that kept me going. And I want to continue building this thing with you, the community - because without it, wellā¦it wouldnāt be a thing; only an idea.
Thatās why Iām going to use this little corner of the digest to share 1 x win, lesson and update/question with you every week. Like a board meeting but way more casual š . Thankyou š
šÆ WIN
We onboarded 3 new team members š„³
Last October I made a āwould I regret thisā decision. To pour 80% of business time and money into making our free challenge programs EPIC. Paid communities and bootcamps are good for cashflow but I knew our āchallenge-based learningā held the key to unlocking far greater long term impact and income. Since, the 100DaysOfNoCode and 100DaysOfAI challenges have become our 2nd highest revenue stream and impacted as many students as we had in the previous 2 years combined. To keep our foot on the gas, we celebrated welcoming 3 new folks to the team this week whoāll be helping us grow, streamline and improve our challenges. Take a peep of our welcome doc š and one unsolicited piece of advice from me if youāre bringing people onto your team: onboard with care.
100 School Onboarding Document
š” LESSON
Framing most decisions as experiments helps you move faster.
This time last year I was in a deep existential pit, thanks to AI. I was either asking myself āwhatās the pointā or āwhatās my next moveā. Related to both business and life. On a loop. And it was that second question that paralysed my ability to make decisions because instead of making my ānext moveā, I was trying to play the equivalent of 4D chess in my mind. I was locked in the impossible task of predicting the future. And in doing so, I forgot the here and now. The prelude to all the ifs, buts and maybes that a world of āautomonous agentsā, āpost-labour economiesā and āruling robotsā promises.
Two things helped me get out of this.
Asking myself how can the business add value to peopleās lives right now. Or at least in the short to medium term.
Understanding whether a āmoveā was one or two way, irreversible or reversible - to determine how fast or slow I should act.
Deciding to become the 100 School was slow. Executing on our vision for it can be fast because there are multiple paths to the same destination. One of our first steps on this transition has been shipping a super scrappy v1 landing page with a placeholder brand (using Softr, Airtable & Senja). Momentum is everything.
Tell us what you think š¤!
Your weekly advent calendar š
Every week we share a little mystery opportunity that we think youāll like - it can be everything from a tool discount, merch drop, event, freelance gig, new project or challenge weāre launching - we try to keep you on your toes. A weekly advent calendar but just not in December. Drum roll please š„ā¦.
Chipp is an AI tool that lets you build custom GPTās without code that you can share with your audience or sell it to build your business. Signup with this link and use the code 100DAYS to get 20% of your subscription.
Until next time (drop me a reply if you have any Qās š),
Max š
P.s Want to sponsor the next digest? Find out more here
P.s.s If you want to grow your business with AI checkout this program
P.s.s.s If youāre into Webflow, this is a great event to go to!
