The document reflects on the author's failure to build the company Gumroad into a billion-dollar company. Some key points: - Every month with less than 20% growth should have been seen as a red flag. - The market a company is in will determine most of its growth, more so than amazing products or fast feature development. - By June 2016, revenue had increased to $176,000 per month but operating expenses had been cut dramatically to $32,000, allowing the company to become profitable after previously losing $351,000 per month. - The author now realizes "building a billion-dollar company" was a terrible goal and that "enough is a decision, not

1. Reflecting on My Failure
to Build Gumroad into a
Billion-Dollar Company

2. @shl

3. What is your identity?
How do you want to spend your time?
Who do you align with?

4. @shl

5. @shl

6. @shl

7. @shl

8. @shl

9. @shl

11. Every month of less than 20%
growth should have been a red flag.

12. What worked?
What didn’t work?

19. What worked? Everything.
What didn’t work? Everything.

20. It doesn’t matter how amazing your
product is, or how fast you ship
features.
The market you’re in will determine
most of your growth.

21. • Shut down the business
• Aim for sustainability
• Position the company for an acquihire

22. Control of our own destiny.

23. In June 2015:
Revenue: $89,000 for the month
Gross profit: $17,000
Operating expenses: $364,000
Net profit: -$351,000
In June 2016:
Revenue: $176,000 for the month
Gross profit: $42,000
Operating expenses: $32,000
Net profit: +$10,000

24. @shl

28. I am following up our conversation a
few months ago. KP would like to
sell our ownership back to Gumroad
for $1. Can we discuss this week?
November 27, 2017

29. Sure, but that’s true with all
companies, right? They create some
value and succeed in capturing a
very small percentage of it.
Bill Gates @ KPCB CEO Summit

30. Permission

32. @shl

35. For years, my only metric of
success was building a billion-dollar
company.
That was a terrible goal.

37. Enough is a decision,
not an amount.
Alison Faulkner

38. Thanks for listening!
Any questions?