Michelle Marceline - How to build an unfair advantage from a disadvantage!
E24

Michelle Marceline - How to build an unfair advantage from a disadvantage!

👉🏼 About the Guest:

Michelle Marceline is a co-founder at Typedream (W20), a no-code site, blog, and form builder, and a previous cofounder at Cotter. She's been featured on Forbes 30U30 2022, Build In Public with KP, and more!

👉🏼 About the Host:

Sharath is a founder, creator, and community builder. He is also a serial maker who built and shipped 15+ projects using no-code tools. His SaaS product Shoutout generates $30k ARR which was sold to a UK-based product studio. Prev, Sharath worked for world-changing startups like Product Hunt and On Deck, where he helped build and nurture communities. He also grew his audience on Twitter from 200 to 20,000 using give-first principles and creating high-value content. Currently, he is the Head of Community at Threado and runs a newsletter called Sharath's CliffNotes alongside hosting this podcast.

👉🏼 Description:

Listen in as Sharath and Michelle discuss founding Typedream (YC W20) with a co-founding team of 5, immigrant hunger, pivoting their startup repeatedly, and growing Typedream from 0 to N.

Timestamps:
  • 00:00: Episode Highlight
  • 2:40: Introduction to Michelle, co-founder at Typedream (YC W20)
  • 3:46: Michelle's journey from immigrant to Green Card holder
  • 7:50: Typedream's founding story: 5 founders, from fintech to no-code builder
  • 15:38: Pivoting a company during Y Combinator: The ups and downs
  • 19:30: Starting up again as a team post-acquisition
  • 20:55: Typedream's Zero -> One Go-To-Market strategy
  • 23:08: Product Hunt's impact on growing Typedream
  • 27:28: Typedream's Build in Public Strategy
  • 30:02: Michelle's day-to-day as a non-technical founder
  • 33:14: The toughest part of being a founder
  • 34:54: Lessons learned as Typedream grows from One -> N
  • 36:43: Typedream's Creator Community and how it helps the company grow
  • 37:23: Does Building in Public help One -> N growth?
  • 39:02: Battle-tested Go-To-Market lessons
  • 42:42: Typedream's soft pivot into a content creator setup
  • 47:01: Outreach to Typedream's ideal creators: the how, why, and impacts
  • 49:07: Typedream's craziest creation stories
  • 50:35: Typedream's darkest hours
  • 52:07: Michelle's role models
  • 53:21: The importance of immigrant hunger in building
  • 56:50: Closing thoughts for founders
  • 58:13: Outro
👉🏼  Resources: 
  • Shaan Puri: https://www.shaanpuri.com/
  • Sam Parr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parrsam
  • My First Million Podcast: https://www.mfmpod.com/
👉🏼 Where to find Michelle Marceline:
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/michwirantono
  • Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-marcelline
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michwirantono/
  • Typedream (YC W20): https://typedream.com/
👉🏼 Where to find Sharath:

Episode Video