Hey — It’s Charlie.

Welcome to the latest edition of Great Startups! We’re diving into some killer insights and success stories to fuel your startup journey.

In this issue:

• Free SaaS Playbooks: Get your hands on detailed guides for running a SaaS company.

• Startup Wisdom: Box founder’s top lessons and how to tackle bottlenecks.

• User Sharing Tips: Ensure your product gets shared and avoid common messaging pitfalls.

• Industry News: Reddit’s AI acquisition, Byju’s troubles, and Zuckerberg’s latest thoughts.

Hope you enjoy this roundup of tips and trends!

Resources

• Free, detailed playbooks for running a SaaS company. (LINK)

• Box founder’s 5 lessons for startup founders (LINK)

• The stages of a bottleneck in every business. (LINK)

• How to make sure users actually share your product (LINK)

• Why messaging issues are usually due to positioning (LINK)

ICYMI

• Reddit acquires Memorable AI to boost advertiser performance. (LINK)

• Indian ed-tech giant Byju faces total shutdown. (LINK)

• Mark Zuckerberg on how to shift your thinking. (LINK)

• AI startup Cohere cuts staff after raising $500M. (LINK)

• Judge declares Google as a Monopoly in US antitrust case. (LINK)

Quick Links

• Guillaume Moubeche shares how he grew lemlist from $0 to $22M ARR in 5 years, all without funding.

• Robdawg1 reveals how a video editing software hit 15,000 sign-ups and $1,000 MRR in just 3 months.

• Andrie Devó shares how Typefully grew from a simple idea to $113K MRR in just 4 years.

• Ryan Badger built a complete Shopify alternative. He’s making $990K to $1.9M/mo

• Lane scaled from $12K to $291K/month in just 12 months by teaching backend courses.

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Why a Recession Could Be the Perfect Time to Start

Starting a business during a recession might not seem like the best idea, but it can actually be a brilliant move. When the market isn’t flooded with competition and hype, founders have a unique opportunity to focus on building something truly valuable. In these quieter times, you’re not just another voice in the crowd, which means you can connect more deeply with investors and customers. Plus, without the pressure to scale at lightning speed, you can develop your product thoughtfully and sustainably.

For those who prefer strong foundations over chasing quick growth, launching a startup during economic downturns can be the perfect strategy. The distractions of a booming market are fewer, allowing you to work in peace, refine your ideas, and build something that lasts. If you’ve ever wondered if now is the right time to start something new, this insight might just convince you that a "gloom time" startup is the way to go. Intrigued? This insight is worth a read!

Ok that’s it for this week, We keep refining our newsletter content, just hit reply to let us know what you think about this issue.