Spencer Pauly

Feelings and Competition

Feelings and Competition

Picture yourself and a hundred other souls stranded on a remote island. You wake up and jump right into the daily grind of hunting, fishing, and cooking. It's simply your way of life. But, one day, as you struggle to catch elusive fish, a spark of ingenuity ignites within you.

Today I Start a 15-Day Productivity Challenge

Today I Start a 15-Day Productivity Challenge

Last week I woke up to an email from my friend and fellow bootstrapper, Tyler Dane inviting me to join him and others on a 15-day productivity challenge. The premise is simple: For 15 days, spend 30 minutes a day being productive towards your chosen goal. To make it easier,

Final days in Europe

Final days in Europe

I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop in Copenhagen. It's one of my last bits of travel before returning to the U.S. A victory lap in a sense. And it feels like a victory lap. The past 5 months have been a movie. With highs, lows, and everything in-between.

My first month in Europe

My first month in Europe

Exactly one month ago, I quit my job, sold my things, and booked a flight to Europe. The destination? My dream city of Amsterdam. This was motivated by many things, but ultimately it came down to three main factors: freedom of location, freedom of time, and freedom from things. I

Some tips for founders to destress

Some tips for founders to destress

This week has been extremely stressful for me. I made a tweet last week about moving: Unpopular opinion: I like the process of moving. It’s like the real-life version of code refactoring and I like the simplification I get after doing it. — Spencer (@spencerpauly) July 24, 2022 And... spoiler

Regaining productivity as a bootstrapper

Regaining productivity as a bootstrapper

There's a lot of great advice online to build better software businesses. The common wisdom includes "start marketing before you start building", "build in public", "validate your business idea", and more. And don't get me wrong, this is great advice! But, I'm going to argue these tips aren't beneficial unless

The importance of connections

The importance of connections

🚀Product update: 2 new engine customers this week 🚀😄! yay! I'm fiercely independent. And I'd argue that if you're building a bootstrapped software business you probably are as-well. How do I know that? Well, think about it! You have no funding, no team, and (likely) no co-founder either. If you need

Firsts shouldn’t be so hard

Firsts shouldn’t be so hard

Starting something new shouldn't be hard. But, it is. I think Newton's first law explains why this happens. An object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will remain in motion. Of course Newton is talking about motion, but I think it applies to behavior as-well.