Foreword:

This newsletter is evolving.

It started with the 50 Days to $1K Challenge — and that journey’s still unfolding.

But from the start, this was never just about making $1,000. It’s about reclaiming time, identity, and most of all, freedom.

So in the coming weeks, I’ll be zooming out of the challenge and writing more openly — mindset shifts, identity tension, systems, and experiments I’m running to build a life that actually fits.

If you resonate with that path, I think this evolution will serve you well.

“The highest leverage thing I’ve done so far is build an audience.”

A few weeks ago, I was building my first SaaS: SwipeIQ.io.

I kept hearing the same advice in the indie hacker space: “Build in Public”. But I didn’t want to be that guy — an influencer who shills a SaaS. I wanted to do it the “right” way: code, landing pages, paid ads, clean execution.

But in the back of my mind this quote I had heard lingered:

Code and media are permissionless leverage. They're the leverage behind the newly rich. You can create software and media that works for you while you sleep.

Naval

“Code *and media*.” So I figured I’d try building in public anyway—hedging my bets. I posted 10 times a day on X for a month. I got 70 followers—is this really worth it?

I DM’d someone further down the path—an ex-Snap engineer with 8 apps on the App Store and 17k followers on X.

I asked: “Did building your personal brand/audience end up helping your SaaS goals directly? How would you distribute your effort between the two?”

Her response: “The highest leverage thing I’ve done so far is build an audience.”

That exchange planted a seed

Six days later, that seed sprouted into the first 50 Days to $1K post and the “I’m Quitting Google” reel.

Gained over 3,000 Threads followers from this single post.

Gained over 10,000 instagram followers from this single reel.

And just like that, the experiment stopped being theoretical.

The power of media:

Last week I made SwipeIQ free.

This week someone who found SwipeIQ through my old reels had somehow found a way to pay for it ($10) due to a bug that led them to the payment page—I refunded him. I somehow made my first sale thanks to passive distribution from content.

This week I’ve gotten connected to creators and entrepreneurs who are further down the path. Reconnected with old friends who saw my stuff and reached out. All just for broadcasting myself through content.

I used to be anti-social media. Now I think that building a personal brand is worth it for basically anyone.

Give it a shot. DM people. Post something online. You think you’re shouting into the void—until you’re not.

You never know what doors might open.

Week 2 Summary - Systems

Total revenue: $10…? (Nope, still $0). Main lever pulled: Systemizing content. Largest outcome: “3 Things I Wish I Knew Before Interviewing” reel: 100k+ views → 1,000+ follower conversions Focus: Scaffolding for content consistency and future offers.

If week 1 was about finding where to dive (content), week 2 was about testing the waters, finding where to go deep.

I thought, “What makes content valuable?”

We’re used to seeing entertainment-style content, where people are performing on camera, pulling off crazy stunts, or spending absurd amounts of money, all with top-tier editing and videography.

I knew I couldn’t compete in that domain. And I didn’t want to. So I tried something else—just share information that others would be interested in knowing. That’s why I put out 3 tech-related talking head reels.

The results? People watched—and I didn’t have to do any crazy edits or perform on camera.

Everyone has their own unique set of knowledge and experience. And you can spread it just by talking to the camera.

So I think I’ve found the direction for next week. No fancy editing, no fancy b-roll. Just me talking about topics I think others would find valuable.

Lessons Learned

1. Content & Code are Force Multipliers

SwipeIQ getting its first payment—even after I hadn’t touched it for a week—opened my eyes to the power of content + SaaS as a combo.

They’re both forms of permissionless leverage: products and media that can be replicated and distributed at no marginal cost, working together passively.

I imagine my endgame being a B2C SaaS targeted at my audience. This week showed me how building that audience is a springboard for any offer or business you have in the future.

2. Things that are obvious to you may not be obvious to others—that’s your domain

This week, I tested a talking head reel about job hunting. It went semi-viral.

When I was job hunting, I went so deep that all the knowledge I learned became baseline. I assumed everyone knew what I knew.

Turns out, they didn’t. And that reel gained me over 1,000 followers in a few days.

Living your life, your only reference is you. You don’t realize how much specific, earned knowledge you have that others want.

You don’t have to be an Andrew Huberman to share information. You’re a few steps ahead of someone in something - that’s who your content is for.

3. The Content ladder: Signal → Scale

I love systemizing, so I created this lightweight flow I’m starting to follow — a signal-based approach to content creation:

1. Threads/X posts – lowest effort, test ideas
2. Short-form videos – expand on what hits
3. Long-form YouTube – build on the proven winners

It’s MVP’s all the way down — text post → short-form → long-form.

Things I Would’ve Done Differently

Stop Overpolishing I spent over an hour editing the “Avoiding a Common Interview Mistake” reel. Meanwhile, the “3 Tips I Wish I Knew” one took 15 minutes and performed 10x better.

Done is better than perfect. Content rewards high volumes of good more than it does low volumes of high polish.

Stop Fearing Monetization

I keep telling myself, “It’s too early to sell. I haven’t earned the right yet.” But that came from fear — not strategy.

I didn’t want to be a “grifter.” I didn’t want to be cringe. I haven’t yet created anything with real stakes.

I realized: you don’t need to “sell” to make money. You just need to be transparent about your offer and test if people are willing to pay.

Even a $5 micro-offer would’ve shown me what resonated. I say I believe in creating stakes — but this week, I didn’t do that.

And the time to hit $1,000 is slipping by.

Tool Highlights

I’m moving the tools I use to a living Google Doc. I’ll only mention tools here if I find new ones or find unique use cases for the ones I’ve been using.

Coming Next Week

• Testing demand for my first free offers to prepare for paid ones.
• More talking head reels, mostly tech-related.
• Marathon + wisdom teeth recovery 💀.

P.S. The “3 Interview Tips I Wish I Knew” reel sparked a lot of DMs this week.

If you want the tracking system I used to land offers from Google, Amazon, Audible, and more — you can get it free here.