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Matt Smithies
Matt Smithies

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On balance, a retrospective.

I've taken a little break over the last month from blogging, I needed it. The goal of this blog is to provide a resource that helps startup teams cope with remote life.

It's been a challenge to find a balance especially between work, life, and product releases.

It's ironic, writing in some form or another since 2017, and in the year 2020 given the recent pandemic, many people have pivoted to become an expert in remote work.

It's kind of intimidating, and I would be lying if I didn't feel inadequate, this resource is new and there are many "bigger" players with already established audiences that can make a larger noise.

It is human to feel that.

Although I'm capable of writing and publishing just under 4000 words in a day it won't be helpful to those that don't have the time or the will to battle through content.

The content here needs to be shorter, and have more impact, to think otherwise is simply counterproductive and ego-centric.

It is a gift to have your attention, your time to read my work.

I'm somewhat inspired by the style Seth Godin's blog, and although my content will ever be that short form, it is refreshing to see how far such a concept can be pushed.

Regardless these are some events and product releases from over the last 4 weeks (April 2020) that I've been a part of.

  • My 2nd blog post with Simple Programmer: "So You’ve Been Laid Off as a Remote Developer", this took a lot out of me to write.
  • DOVU Earth initial release, providing a monthly subscription for offsetting your carbon footprint, it also includes a novel method for Crypto based subscriptions.
  • Coursematch released a new product Virtual Open Days, conceived and delivered in less than 2 weeks. We've already run profitable open days through the service to actual UK universities.
  • Added new killer features to Coursematch B2B SaaS product Connect. To schedule the delivery of our Email, IM, and push notification channels through a campaign builder. Provide automatic reporting for the campaigns for universities to connect and build meaningful relationships with prospective students.
  • I became part of the United Kingdom Freestyle Skateboarding Association (UKFSA) management committee.
  • Safe Stream, a tool to help content consumers make a safe decision before they click play, built, and delivered in less than 10 days.

I'll be writing more about Safe Stream in the coming days, as Building an MVP SaaS in less than 10 days.

Building and releasing personal projects is fundamental in building up a personal brand and getting the outside world to actually know about what you do.

After all what kind of person would I be if I didn't follow my own advice?

Work hard enough to be naturally lucky.

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