Full Stack Creator
Hey friends, happy Sunday!
Slightly late Filter this week as I've spent the day going deep on an idea I've been thinking about for a while.
That idea is the full stack creator.
Traditionally creators and businesses were separate things. But recently there has been a surge in full stack creators merging the two.
The full stack creator (also known as the founding influencer) is someone who first builds an audience then serves that audience with a product.
Typical businesses build a product then try to acquire an audience through marketing.
But full stack creators build their audiences first (through differentiated content). Then, once they understand their audience, they tailor products exactly to their needs.
This approach to business has a few distinct benefits:
- Learning in public positions you as an expert in the industry.
- Audience-first makes marketing your product practically free.
- You're able to capture more value than the typical creator who is only selling attention.
Becoming a full stack creator requires two very distinct skill sets. In this post, I'm going to break down exactly how I am approaching becoming a full stack creator and how you can too.
This Weeks Finds
I.
Building an online persona: "Be yourself" is incomplete advice at best
(Article)
This post touches on the gap between peoples online persona and who they are as a person. "Just be yourself" is incomplete advice because it's hard to fully understand who you are and even harder to portray that online.
Instead Stew Fortier argues that you should create your branded persona.
"It’s pretty simple: instead of trying to be fully “authentic” online (which itself can be fraught as it’s extremely hard to know who you really are), you instead play up certain aspects of your personality. Don’t be something you’re not, per se, but deliberately lean into certain traits that are already there."
II.
Why I'm unreachable
(Article)
I really resonated with this post from Pieter Levels on why he is unreachable. He talks about how he barely uses email and turns off messages on all platforms.
Becoming hard to reach allows you to claw back your time and better allocate how you spend each 24 hour block. As I lean further into becoming a full stack creator and away from freelancing I want to adopt a similar strategy.
III.
This is Going to Suck
(Video)
I'm currently reading Storyworthy by Mathew Dicks and this story he tells is moving. I'd highly recommend watching this story then grabbing a copy of the book. It's the best book I've read on storytelling by far.
IV.
Fear Setting
(Ted Talk)
Last weekend I felt like there was something holding me back. So I returned to this ted talk and exercise from Tim Ferriss where you essentially define worst case scenarios and how you'd limit the potential downside.
Through getting my thoughts out onto paper it became obvious that the things holding me back were not actually that scary. They just seemed far worse in my head.
If you're procrastinating on something or feeling a little uneasy I'd recommend trying this exercise. First you define what it is your fears, then list the upside of being successful and finally evaluate the cost of inaction.
This Weeks Idea
“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” - Seneca
End Note
If you enjoyed this edition of the Sunday Filter then I’d love it if you could share it with a few friends. You can send them over here to sign up.
Have a great week!
- Stephen