在裁员72小时后创办的通讯录，实现了2.5万美元以上的经常性经常性收入。

shifting to a b2b data library is such a smart play—it basically future-proofs the business against sub churn. as someone who works in growth, i’d love to know what acquisition channel has been doing the heavy lifting since you moved past the initial launch?

love the focus on building a moat with the data library instead of just scaling ads; as a growth guy, i always tell founders that retention and LTV beat vanity metrics every time, and your pricing power really shows that. write less charge more is something i try to preach to everyone, so huge respect for actually walking the talk.

The 72 hour turnaround from getting laid off to launching is wild — most people (myself included) would've spent at least a week just processing that news. That sense of urgency probably kept you from overthinking it into paralysis.

Thinking machines will kill thinking process. Take care of thinking, and grow.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It's reflecting building a business on the top of your passion.

Really interesting journey. Turning a newsletter into a recurring-revenue business and then expanding into a paid data library is a great example of finding new opportunities within an existing audience. The focus on solving a specific niche problem is especially valuable.

The "write less and charge more" section stood out most. Matt's basically saying the instinct to grow through more output was working against him — that burnout from volume cost more than slower, higher-effort content would have. That's a hard lesson to learn without living through it.

Also really respect the honesty around revenue being the metric that matters to him. So much advice treats open rate and subscriber count like the finish line, when they're really just proxies for "will people actually pay for this." The fact that Extra Points Library (the data product) is now outperforming the newsletter itself as the fastest-growing revenue stream says a lot — niching down into something genuinely useful to a specific professional audience seems to beat chasing broad reach every time.

Makes me wonder whether the demand for that kind of structured data was already there from his reporting work, or whether he had to build the audience for it from scratch.

The data library is the smartest part of this model, not the newsletter. A newsletter issue has maybe a day of shelf life, but 15,000 PDFs on coach contracts and athletic budgets keeps earning long after anyone remembers that day's headline. I'd bet the $300 a month library price is nowhere near ceiling if the buyer is an athletic department or a media company, and pushing that number matters more right now than growing subscriber count.

gratuluje , ze to wypalilo w takim stopniu jest nad czym sie zastanowic

I really like the point about focusing on a smaller, more engaged audience instead of chasing vanity metrics. The move from a newsletter into multiple revenue streams also shows how valuable it can be to build products around a specific audience’s needs. The emphasis on solving a problem you genuinely understand is especially relevant for service businesses. Foundry & Brick Residential Management takes a similar focused approach to residential property management, helping owners with leasing, tenant management, maintenance, inspections, and ongoing property needs: https://foundryandbrickrm.net/

I really like the point about focusing on a smaller, more engaged audience instead of chasing vanity metrics. The move from a newsletter into multiple revenue streams also shows how valuable it can be to build products around a specific audience’s needs. The emphasis on solving a problem you genuinely understand is especially relevant for service businesses. Foundry & Brick Residential Management takes a similar focused approach to residential property management, helping owners with leasing, tenant management, maintenance, inspections, and ongoing property needshttps://foundryandbrickrm.net/

Impressive MRR, especially for a newsletter

It's fascinating how you transitioned from a pure Beehiiv newsletter into building a high-ticket data library and a simulator game. As a solo dev, I know jumping from content creation to maintaining a structured software product requires a completely different mental gear. Since you mentioned using Replit for prototyping, what does the actual production stack look like for ADS4000?

I really like the idea that confidence is built through examining old beliefs and patterns rather than simply trying to appear more confident.I find this story a breathe of fresh air. I think the story of alot of us working on something with the hopes it becomes a viable income source is realisitc.

This is inspirational 👏

Honestly James, well done and good on you. You where struggling and had the strength to keep fighting. That's great character

I find this story a breathe of fresh air. I think the story of alot of us working on something with the hopes it becomes a viable income source is realisitc. I've found the difference between founders who got it and founders who dont are the people who see it as a business first and foremost vs those doing it to " get their series A"

Way to go! This is inspirational but also gives some guidance on what others can chase and make a new life for themselves. Thanks for sharing!

It is beautiful to know that you looked into your areas of strength rather than looking outward.

I really like the idea that confidence is built through examining old beliefs and patterns rather than simply trying to appear more confident. That perspective makes the process feel much more practical and sustainable. On a lighter note, even everyday routines and choices can benefit from a little preparation, such as checking the longhorn menu before heading out for a meal.