Niklas Stephenson

The Q&A we did recently just went live. Check it out if you want to hear a bit about how we're working at Phone​.inc! Thanks for all the great questions 🙏 www.youtube.com/watch?v=cce...

New episode of Still Early is out and we're finally in person! Listen: stillearly.fm/episodes/th... Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5Z...

Are we starting to have product-market fit? Judging from my recent demos, there's definitely some good signs! Short clip from the latest vlog. Full episode: www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8K...

New episode of Still Early is out! Peter just started full time at Phone​.inc, so we talked about his first two days and hitting our september goal of onboarding 100 companies. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jb...

User feedback is great, but... when you’re super early, it’s easy to let your first users pull you away from the product you’re actually trying to build. Gotta stay focused. Talked about that a bunch in this week’s vlog: www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8K...

That moment when you realize real people out there are actually using your product!

We’re trying a new style for this week’s vlog, more like a mini documentary. A bit more behind the scenes this time, including an office jam session! Would love to know what you think: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj_...

New episode of Still Early is out, including a pro tip for anyone who likes to talk to AI while they drive! www.youtube.com/watch?v=vos...

What is the best video course you have ever bought?

My upcoming product does not have a monthly subscription, but a revenue share instead. I am super excited about the aligned incentives it creates!

My next company will have the most agressive (positive) stock options for employees possible in Denmark. It's a life goal to create a Nordic version of the PayPal Mafia.

What amount revenue marks your company's liftoff?

Who offers API-based white-labeled banking services (bank accounts, physical and virtual credit cards, etc.) in the EU?

Can you build a startup from zero to one with a remote team? I am in doubt, what is your experience?

Whimsical could build the best interface for AI-generated software; their visual tools are a much more human way of expressing ideas and business logic.

SaaS products have lost their spark—dull grey, white, and black. Bring back the feelings and the Zendesk Buddha!

European prosperity by the Stripe founders is a good kick in the balls! Let's fucking fix Europe! Read the last section (or the entire letter) here: assets.stripeassets.com/fzn2n1nzq96...

Anyone use @v0 or @lovable_dev for building products with little dev experience? I’d love to learn from you!

Anyone building a SaaS with v0, lovable, or other pure AI tools? I'd love to chat and get inspired!

Laravel Prism (prism.echolabs.dev/) looks amazing, anything like it for Rails?

Do I know anybody who is starting a SaaS and is at zero MRR? Would love to help!

AI won't kill SaaS. SaaS is a healthy business model, providing solutions for a recurring fee. AI won't eliminate delivering value for money. BUT AI is going to enable more people to start SaaS companies!

Whimsical new Projects are amazing! whimsical.com/projects

First day back from parental leave; back into startup life and stepping into the office post-pandemic. Can't wait!

Is it time to finally do The United States of Europe?

I crosspost most of my Twitter-style posts to LinkedIn, X, and Bluesky, but LinkedIn gets more engagement than the other two combined.

I'm thinking of uninstalling my code editor until I validate my business idea.

What are the best books on testing and evaluating business ideas? The mom test is a classic. What else should I read?

What are your thoughts on .inc domains?

What are your take on some of the new TLDs? .inc, .app etc? Is it better to have brand.app then getbrand.com?

How do you feel about launching a company in an unfamiliar field? When I founded Firmafon, I knew nothing about telcos, but disliked existing products. Researching new markets now is overwhelming, yet I see huge markets where I dislike all options.

If your app doesn't have bark mode, don't launch.

Do you prefer an embedded payment form or a hosted checkout when implementing payments in your SaaS product?

I love drafting without editing! I aim to write 30 minutes daily about founder-led product during my parental leave.

If your startup needs a product leader before 100 employees, your founding team is the real issue.

Did Trump just threaten one of their close allies with war?

When legal or compliance issues block your business, remember many stop there. Push through!

Whenever I start a new Rails app, the first thing I do is deploy it to production. Am I the only one with this habit?