Justin Jackson
Canadian bootstrapper and writer on small software businesses. Co-founder of the podcast hosting company Transistor.fm and author of the book Marketing for Developers.
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What they believe
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Scarcity and difficulty of production, not just usefulness, are what let a seller charge more.
Generally, the economy rewards difficulty and rarity. If something is hard to do or make, you get to charge more.
justinjackson.caSaid 11 Jul 2026This on korrents
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Mass-produced AI-generated podcast shows are not a major threat to podcasting because listeners do not like them.
I don't think mass-produced AI-generated shows are a big threat to podcasting, mostly because I don't think consumers like them.
justinjackson.caSaid 25 Jun 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Feed
As its own page →Hiding
11 October
6 October
11 July
From one piece The value of software in a Fable world 3 beliefs · justinjackson.ca
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korrents.com
As AI makes coding easy for everyone, the ability to code stops being a meaningful edge for entrepreneurs.Their words
Indie entrepreneurs need to stack every advantage they have, and increasingly "coding" won't be the advantage it once was.
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Their words
My guess is that people will still want to buy certain types of software and tools "off-the-shelf."
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korrents.com
Scarcity and difficulty of production, not just usefulness, are what let a seller charge more.Their words
Generally, the economy rewards difficulty and rarity. If something is hard to do or make, you get to charge more.
25 June
From one piece Thoughts from the 2026 London Podcast Show 2 beliefs · justinjackson.ca
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korrents.com
LLMs replacing podcasts as a source of information poses a real disruption to podcasting.Their words
Where I do see some disruption is where consumers start asking ChatGPT and other LLMs for information they would normally get from podcasts.
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korrents.com
Mass-produced AI-generated podcast shows are not a major threat to podcasting because listeners do not like them.Their words
I don't think mass-produced AI-generated shows are a big threat to podcasting, mostly because I don't think consumers like them.
14 June
From one piece We have a communication problem 2 beliefs · justinjackson.ca
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korrents.com
Face-to-face interaction conveys understanding and empathy that text-based communication does not.Their words
In person, it's easier to grok where someone's coming from. It's simpler to see how they're feeling.
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korrents.com
Many of society's problems stem from how people communicate online, not just what they discuss.Their words
I'm convinced that many of society's problems come from how we communicate online.
4 June
From one piece Do the hardest thing 3 beliefs · justinjackson.ca
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korrents.com
Building the hardest feature in a product yields disproportionately greater returns than easier ones.Their words
Choosing to tackle "the hardest feature" generally produces power-law-level returns, as opposed to tackling something less hard.
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korrents.com
The most valuable problem to pursue is the hardest one someone is genuinely positioned to solve.Their words
Doing "the hard thing" means pursuing the highest-value problem you can find that still sits inside your zone of expertise; the hardest problem you're personally in a position to win.
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Their words
Your hardest idea is often your best idea, the one with the most potential.
2 June
From one piece Necessary but not sufficient 3 beliefs · justinjackson.ca
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Their words
If you're bootstrapping, you should probably have another source of revenue to sustain you.
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Their words
You can build "the hard thing" in a good market, with every advantage, and still lose if what you ship doesn't give people enough reason to leave what they're already using.
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Their words
Most business advice is necessary but not sufficient on its own to achieve success.
19 April
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Their words
There will be negative second-order effects of almost every widely distributed technology.
18 April
14 March
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Their words
LLMs make it easy for anyone to add new features to the product. Even before AI, teams were battling feature creep, where the product becomes increasingly complex, bloated, and cluttered.
4 March
11 February
6 February
2 January
17 October 2025
13 September 2025
24 June 2025
9 December 2024
4 June 2024
10 February 2024
25 January 2024
26 September 2023
1 August 2023
20 June 2023
7 June 2023
16 May 2023
9 May 2023
20 April 2023
28 March 2023
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 18 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Scarcity and difficulty of production, not just usefulness, are what let a seller charge more.
Generally, the economy rewards difficulty and rarity. If something is hard to do or make, you get to charge more.
The value of software in a Fable world Said 11 Jul 2026
Even as AI makes building software easy, people will still prefer to buy some software off-the-shelf rather than build their own.
My guess is that people will still want to buy certain types of software and tools "off-the-shelf."
The value of software in a Fable world Said 11 Jul 2026
As AI makes coding easy for everyone, the ability to code stops being a meaningful edge for entrepreneurs.
Indie entrepreneurs need to stack every advantage they have, and increasingly "coding" won't be the advantage it once was.
The value of software in a Fable world Said 11 Jul 2026
Show 15 more
Mass-produced AI-generated podcast shows are not a major threat to podcasting because listeners do not like them.
I don't think mass-produced AI-generated shows are a big threat to podcasting, mostly because I don't think consumers like them.
Thoughts from the 2026 London Podcast Show Said 25 Jun 2026
LLMs replacing podcasts as a source of information poses a real disruption to podcasting.
Where I do see some disruption is where consumers start asking ChatGPT and other LLMs for information they would normally get from podcasts.
Thoughts from the 2026 London Podcast Show Said 25 Jun 2026
Many of society's problems stem from how people communicate online, not just what they discuss.
I'm convinced that many of society's problems come from how we communicate online.
We have a communication problem Said 14 Jun 2026
Face-to-face interaction conveys understanding and empathy that text-based communication does not.
In person, it's easier to grok where someone's coming from. It's simpler to see how they're feeling.
We have a communication problem Said 14 Jun 2026
A person's hardest idea is usually their most valuable one.
Your hardest idea is often your best idea, the one with the most potential.
Do the hardest thing Said 4 Jun 2026
The most valuable problem to pursue is the hardest one someone is genuinely positioned to solve.
Doing "the hard thing" means pursuing the highest-value problem you can find that still sits inside your zone of expertise; the hardest problem you're personally in a position to win.
Do the hardest thing Said 4 Jun 2026
Building the hardest feature in a product yields disproportionately greater returns than easier ones.
Choosing to tackle "the hardest feature" generally produces power-law-level returns, as opposed to tackling something less hard.
Do the hardest thing Said 4 Jun 2026
No single piece of business advice is enough on its own to make a business succeed.
Most business advice is necessary but not sufficient on its own to achieve success.
Necessary but not sufficient Said 2 Jun 2026
A business can have market fit, real advantages, and sustained effort behind a hard product and still fail if it doesn't give customers a strong enough reason to switch from what they already use.
You can build "the hard thing" in a good market, with every advantage, and still lose if what you ship doesn't give people enough reason to leave what they're already using.
Necessary but not sufficient Said 2 Jun 2026
Bootstrapped founders should keep another source of income to sustain themselves while grinding on a long, hard venture.
If you're bootstrapping, you should probably have another source of revenue to sustain you.
Necessary but not sufficient Said 2 Jun 2026
Nearly every widely distributed technology produces negative second-order effects.
There will be negative second-order effects of almost every widely distributed technology.
What has technology done to us? Said 19 Apr 2026
AI makes it easier to add features, which increases the risk of product feature creep.
LLMs make it easy for anyone to add new features to the product. Even before AI, teams were battling feature creep, where the product becomes increasingly complex, bloated, and cluttered.
Three struggles with AI coding agents Said 14 Mar 2026
AI-driven skill compression will be disruptive to software team culture in the short term.
In the short term, this is going to be incredibly disruptive for team culture.
Will Claude Code ruin our team? Said 4 Mar 2026
When a skill becomes widely attainable, people feel pressure to seek a rarer, higher-leverage skill to prove their value.
When rare skills become more attainable, people feel pressure to move "up the stack" to prove their value.
Will Claude Code ruin our team? Said 4 Mar 2026
As more people build software with faster cycle times, they will learn lessons faster that once took colleagues decades to acquire.
As more people build software and cycle time compresses, they'll start to absorb lessons that it took their colleagues decades to learn.
Will Claude Code ruin our team? Said 4 Mar 2026
Beliefs others hold too
Even as AI makes building software easy, people will still prefer to buy some software off-the-shelf rather than build their own. 2 hold this
My guess is that people will still want to buy certain types of software and tools "off-the-shelf."
The value of software in a Fable world Said 11 Jul 2026
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Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 8 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Loved Transistor
Transistor - my podcasts have been one of the biggest ways I've built authority and reputation. Transistor is dead simple, and has great analytics. Plus, it's cheaper than what I was paying Amazon S3 to host them!
justinjackson.ca 22 Dec 2016
their own
Recommends Reedsy
Reedsy - after trying iBooks Author and Pressbooks to write my books, I've finally settled on Reedsy for writing, layout, and publishing of ebooks.
justinjackson.ca 22 Dec 2016
Uses ScreenFlow
ScreenFlow - I believe the future of my business is in video + video courses. I'm in ScreenFlow almost every day. Sometimes I use it to "hijack audio" during interviews. Sometimes I use it to edit video. It's getting a lot of use.
justinjackson.ca 22 Dec 2016
affiliate link
Show 5 more
Uses Podia
Podia - Podia is an all-in-one selling platform for solopreneurs. It's where I sell my digital products: downloads, courses, and books.
justinjackson.ca 22 Dec 2016
affiliate link
Uses ConvertKit
ConvertKit - my newsletter is where I build relationships, and earn trust. This is where I'll share what I'm learning, and ultimately ask people to buy.
justinjackson.ca 22 Dec 2016
affiliate link
Mixed on Heroku
Digital Ocean - all my apps and coding projects are deployed here. I like it way better than Heroku.
justinjackson.ca 22 Dec 2016
Uses WordPress
WPengine and WordPress - at the end of the day, I make money from my words. It's where I've built my reputation.
justinjackson.ca 22 Dec 2016
Uses WP Engine
WPengine and WordPress - at the end of the day, I make money from my words. It's where I've built my reputation.
justinjackson.ca 22 Dec 2016
affiliate link
Where they publish
Site justinjackson.ca His personal site: essays on bootstrapping, marketing and building small software products.
Recent
- You have to really enjoy what you're working on 11 Oct 2026 You have to love what you're working on, because it'll probably take you 6-10 years before you see results. So enjoy the journey!
- Do you want it the most? 6 Oct 2026 Figure out what you actually want. Find a game that's worth winning. Then be honest with yourself: are you going to be the person who wants it the most?
- The value of software in a Fable world 11 Jul 2026 What happens to the price of software when everyone's building software?
Show 17 more
- Thoughts from the 2026 London Podcast Show 25 Jun 2026 Will Apple's HLS video bet work out? Where are all the Gen Z podcasters? Was the worry about AI overstated?
- We have a communication problem 14 Jun 2026 This message thread could have been a meeting.
- Do the hardest thing 4 Jun 2026 Most small business ideas are a hard job attached to an easy idea. Instead, you should do your hardest idea.
- Necessary but not sufficient 2 Jun 2026 Most business advice is necessary but not sufficient on its own to achieve success. For a business to win, you need to check multiple boxes.
- What has technology done to us? 19 Apr 2026 All this technology, in everyone's hands, has just produced so much stuff. It's had so many effects, in every direction.
- Three struggles with AI coding agents 14 Mar 2026 A few observations about struggles folks are having with LLMs / Claude Code.
- Will Claude Code ruin our team? 4 Mar 2026 AI coding is blurring the lines between engineers, PMs, and designers. In the short-term, it's going to cause havoc. What happens long-term?
- Don't kill my pretty RSS feed 11 Feb 2026 XSLT makes RSS feeds readable for normies. Chrome is removing it by 2026. Here's why that matters for podcasters and the open web.
- Claude Code and the new age of software development 6 Feb 2026 I've fallen down a Claude Code rabbit hole.
- 2025 year in review 2 Jan 2026 For the last twelve years, I've been writing a year-in-review post. Here's what happened this past year in my journey.
- Entrepreneurship advice for high school students (what I wish I knew) 17 Oct 2025
- What kills motivation? 13 Sept 2025 Working hard doesn't cause burnout, but losing hope does. Here's how to tell when to persist through difficulty vs. time to pivot.
- Time machine 3 Sept 2025 You invested money, and you got an outcome. But then you took a time machine back in time and decided not to invest. What happens then?
- Effort vs Outcomes 3 Sept 2025 Same effort; better results.
- A good find 13 Aug 2025 So much of what made culture great between the '60s and '90s is that you had to work for it. There was friction. Maybe we need more of that on the internet.
- Reasonably unreasonable 18 Jun 2025 Only 20% of startups survive 5 years. Here's what it takes to be reasonably unreasonable and beat the entrepreneurial odds.
- (Draft) The Podcast Generation Cliff 11 Jun 2025 Why does Apple Podcasts dominate download charts but rank last in listener preference? The answer reveals a demographic crisis threatening the podcast industry's future—and most people in podcasting don't even see it co…
Link verified 4 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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Link verified 4 Sept 2026.
Podcast Build Your SaaS Hosts the Build Your SaaS podcast.
Recent
- What is Transistor's secret weapon? 18 Apr 2026
- An update from Justin and Jon 13 Sept 2025
- "Justin, I built a SaaS!" 24 Jun 2025
Show 17 more
- Giuuunta! Motivating yourself when you're not in startup mode 9 Dec 2024
- Adam Wathan: how small startups hire employees (Tailwind CSS) 4 Jun 2024
- Is ONCE enough? 10 Feb 2024
- How Ben and David bootstrapped the Acquired podcast 25 Jan 2024
- Nashville team retreat: scary birds, country music, and a photo shoot 26 Sept 2023
- Paul Jarvis: gaining freedom by building an indie business 1 Aug 2023
- How Tim worked on side-projects for 10+ years, and finally went full-time (with kids) 20 Jun 2023
- Startup coaching: helping founders and team members realize their full potential 7 Jun 2023
- Michele Hansen update: Section 174 and bootstrapping with kids 16 May 2023
- Should a parent with young kids try to bootstrap a new startup? 9 May 2023
- Why we hired someone new 20 Apr 2023
- Act now before it's too late: Section 174 28 Mar 2023
- This would kill our company immediately 21 Mar 2023
- One pepperoni pizza please 1 Mar 2023
- Super Fun SaaS Sales Tax (Part Deux) 21 Feb 2023
- Nobody wants to talk about this (SaaS sales tax) 10 Feb 2023
- The gang goes to Montréal 18 Oct 2022
Link verified 25 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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