This start-up chose to do the HARD thing first. But, why? | 🎨
Tower Optical Binocular View from Manhattan’s GE Building. Source: Wikipedia.
A close friend — Matt Murphy, General Partner at Montage Ventures — asked me to speak with Create co-founders Dhruv Amin and Marcus Lowe about how they are planning to go to market.
“We’re on the precipice of a revolution in who can build software fast. And creating custom software experiences gives you leverage. We want to empower all companies to be as powerful as the most iconic dev-powered organizations on planet with the tools and community we’re building.” — Dhruv Amin
When I heard about the concept, I was initially a skeptic. How can a start-up from Stanford University change a $4.5 Trillion industry? So, just like Amazon, they decided to tackle the hardest challenge first. Change the way digital solutions are built for highly regulated B2B businesses. It would’ve been easier to go after B2C or start-ups, but they believe… if they solve the hardest challenge, they sky’s the limit.
Oh, if you didn’t know my Amazon reference. Jeff Bezos first sold books online, but his goal was to also sell (drum-roll)… lawn furniture. If Amazon.com could sell chaise lounges, the site could sell anything. đź§
Fast FWD to ’23 → https://www.create.xyz/ will ship #LawnFurniture.
Prioritizing and tackling the hardest tasks first can have several benefits:
Increases productivity: Starting with the most challenging tasks helps you avoid procrastination and ensures that you complete the most important tasks. This can lead to increased productivity as you will have accomplished a significant amount of work by the end of the day.
Reduces stress: When you have completed the hardest tasks, you will feel a sense of accomplishment, which can reduce stress and boost your confidence. This can motivate you to continue working on other tasks and help you feel more in control of your workload.
Provides more time: Completing the hardest tasks first can also free up time later in the day. This extra time can be used to work on other tasks or to take a break and recharge.
Increases creativity: Starting with challenging tasks when your energy and focus levels are high can also stimulate your creativity and problem-solving skills. This can help you approach other tasks with a fresh perspective and generate new ideas.
In summary, tackling the hardest tasks first can help you be more productive, reduce stress, provide more time, and increase creativity.
Create is a new platform that aims to revolutionize the way people collaborate on creative projects. It is currently in beta testing, but it has already generated a lot of interest in the creative community.
The digital solution is targeting, founders, entrepreneurs, and companies building new software products, rather than creatives / artists. They’re pioneering a new way for them to build software vs. hiring their own developers (costly), an agency (slow), or stitching together low code no code tools (not truly custom).
Once off the wait list, companies will onboard to the marketplace with their new product plans / mocks (right now waitlist, but eventually self serve).
The tool then generates and deploys a codebase for them and has an increasing set of code generators for common feature sets and app infrastructure that all companies rebuild.
Product owners will file tasks through Create’s tool and it either:
Generates it and ships to production.
OR
It intelligently routes the task to a community of vetted devs.
Today, Create is already working with a number of venture backed companies building vertical SaaS applications, e-commerce applications, UGC sites, healthcare apps, and ops tools. In terms of who They’re a fit for next:
Entrepreneurs or teams who got started on low code / no code and now realize the need for custom software (custom UI, custom workflows, scalability etc.)
Teams that lack engineers but have great ideas for products they want to build — they can focus on what to build and not how to hire.
People building vertical SaaS apps, tech enabled services, commerce, or even custom internal tools
According to Dhurv, the homepage is just a teaser to show it’s real. When you get off the waitlist and onboard onto the marketplace, you can build whatever you want.
One of the most exciting (eventual) features of Create will be its ability to facilitate near real-time updates to your app. This means users will be able to just describe what they want and see it near instantly updated in production. This can be incredibly useful for fast moving teams.
Another key feature of Create is its emphasis on community. The platform is designed to be a place where freelance developers can work together across projects on Create’s platform to take on requests for custom eng work that can’t yet be generated. This community-driven approach make Create a great place to participate as a developer, as there’s high project variety to learn faster, generation tools that help you move faster, and a vibrant community to help you out if you get stuck.
In addition to its generation and community features, Create also offers a range of tools and resources to help customers bring their ideas to life. These include automated deployment, project management tools, and access to a growing library of features that can be dropped in to their project and customized.
While the start-up’s platform is still in beta testing, it has already generated a lot of excitement amongst people wanting to build custom software fast. Many builders are eager to see how the platform will evolve and how it can help them launch and iterate on new products.
Overall, the startup has the potential to be a game-changer in the world of product creation. Its code generation capabilities, community-driven approach, and range of tools and resources make it an exciting platform to watch as it continues to develop and grow. If you’re looking to build a new product, Create is definitely a platform worth exploring.
