Small Efforts - with Sean Sun and Andrew Askins

Dec 06 2024 42 ep. 50 mins 5
Small Efforts - with Sean Sun and Andrew Askins Podcast artwork

Two agency owners and friends talk about cybersecurity, design, and the continuous small efforts it takes to build a business.

  Business  Technology
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Andrew got roasted and Sean built a new website

Dec 06 2024 48 mins  
In this episode, Andrew discusses feedback he received from Alex Hillman on his marketing efforts for MetaMonster, and how he plans to adjust his approach going forward. He's now focusing more on creating content and building anticipation rather than rushing to convert customers. Sean shares his thoughts on personal branding and how he's reworking his online presence. They also tou

Early stage validation and the PMF spectrum

Nov 22 2024 54 mins  
In this episode, Andrew talks about the rapid audience growth he's seeing on Bluesky and the challenges he's running into finding Founding Users for MetaMonster. The guys talk about the idea of product market fit as a spectrum and validation as a way to uncover where you might be on that spectrum, but without ever getting to 100% certainty. Then Sean talks through trying to find hi

How to replace yourself in your agency

Nov 14 2024 57 mins  
In this episode, Sean talks about getting himself out of day-to-day client work at Miscreants, and Andrew provides an update on his slow progress with customer acquisition for MetaMonster. Andrew shares an idea for a side project and they talk about Dharmesh buying the chat.com domain and "flipping" it to OpenAI.Links:Andrew’s Twitter: @AndrewAskinsAndrew's website: https://www.a

Sean launches TWO free tools, and the guys brainstorm marketing ideas

Oct 30 2024 57 mins  
In this episode, Andrew and Sean talk about Halloween plans and Sean's decision to kill Stackwise. Meanwhile, Sean has launched two new free tools in the last week! The guys talk about how he did it and what his goals are for both of them. Then they spend the rest of the episode brainstorming marketing ideas for MetaMonster.Links:Andrew’s Twitter: @AndrewAskinsAndrew's website: h

Sean has new momentum, and Andrew gets feedback on designs

Oct 25 2024 57 mins  
In this episode, Sean discusses the challenges he is facing (and his new momentum) with his project Stackwise, including finding the right developer and getting the project scope defined. He talks about discovering a no-code tool called Subframe that has helped streamline his design process. Andrew shares his progress building the MetaMonster website with Astro and SpinalCMS, and g

How to pick a CMS and the challenges of building part time

Oct 17 2024 66 mins  
In this episode Andrew tries to pick a CMS for the new MetaMonster website and talks about his dream solution. Then the guys talk about their ideal consulting businesses. Meanwhile Sean is feeling frustrated by how slow his projects are moving, and wishes he could focus on them fulltime for a bit. They also touch on the difficulties of balancing attention to design details versus j

Sean's trip got ruined by dev work, and Andrew is getting traction with a new product

Oct 10 2024 65 mins  
Sean just got back from two weeks in Korea and Japan. His trip got derailed when he had to jump in to put out fires and finish some Webflow dev work for a client. He and Andrew talk about the challenges of removing yourself from the day-to-day as an agency owner and how to balance work and time off. Andrew gives an update on the client work he's doing with Miscreants, his decision

Getting called out, finding new data sources, and how to interpret user research

Sep 16 2024 52 mins  
In this episode, Andrew and Sean got hit up by someone clearly using Podscan... again! They talk about it, then Andrew shares details about his recent trip to Mexico City, including highlights like a hot air balloon ride over the pyramids and an exciting Lucha Libre wrestling match.Sean provides an update on Stackwise, discussing the data sources they've uncovered and the challenge

Freemium and new goals

Sep 12 2024 53 mins  
Note: This episode was supposed to come out a couple of weeks ago. But Andrew forgot to attach the audio file when he went to publish, so it's just been sitting in our podcast hosting software. Sorry about that. In this episode, Andrew and Sean dig into Paul Graham's founder mode essay that has gone viral in the past couple of weeks. Spoiler alert: Andrew is not a fan. Sean talks a

How do you know when to quit?

Aug 22 2024 66 mins  
In this episode, Andrew talks about his upcoming trip to Mexico City, which started as a potential plan to live there but has evolved into a working vacation. Sean talks about recent challenges in his agency, including team members getting sick after conferences and some project misfires with smaller clients. Andrew then gives an update on the lukewarm progress he's seeing with Cha