Dominic Monn
@dmonn.com
Founder of MentorCruise.com – I like to build difficult things.
Since reaching DR70, I get ~40 backlink requests in my inbox every day (they go to a special super spam). Many of them inquire about my rates for inserting a backlink.
This would be dumb to do, but if I converted 25% of these for $25 (cheaper end).
20 BL x 30d x $25 = $15k MRR
This would be dumb to do, but if I converted 25% of these for $25 (cheaper end).
20 BL x 30d x $25 = $15k MRR
May 23, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Since reaching DR70, I get ~40 backlink requests in my inbox every day (they go to a special super spam). Many of them inquire about my rates for inserting a backlink.
This would be dumb to do, but if I converted 25% of these for $25 (cheaper end).
20 BL x 30d x $25 = $15k MRR
This would be dumb to do, but if I converted 25% of these for $25 (cheaper end).
20 BL x 30d x $25 = $15k MRR
Good way to find out what *not* to build is taking a quick glance at acquire.com and checking what the majority of low-revenue listings are about.
Used to be – web3 crypto apps, "chat to a PDF", LLM chat UIs. Now: writing assistants, video + image generators, . ..
Used to be – web3 crypto apps, "chat to a PDF", LLM chat UIs. Now: writing assistants, video + image generators, . ..
Buy & Sell Profitable Online Businesses | Acquire.com
Buy or sell a profitable online business in as little as 90 days. 500k+ qualified buyers, 1,000s of vetted listings. M&A advisory, legal help, escrow, & more.
acquire.com
March 3, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Good way to find out what *not* to build is taking a quick glance at acquire.com and checking what the majority of low-revenue listings are about.
Used to be – web3 crypto apps, "chat to a PDF", LLM chat UIs. Now: writing assistants, video + image generators, . ..
Used to be – web3 crypto apps, "chat to a PDF", LLM chat UIs. Now: writing assistants, video + image generators, . ..
A year ago, a founder reached out to recruit me as CTO for their competing app. They had just raised $7M and she had over 250k followers on LinkedIn + lots of HR contacts.
In her words, they were going to "crush me in 18 months" if I didn't join.
Checked their website today 🤭
In her words, they were going to "crush me in 18 months" if I didn't join.
Checked their website today 🤭
February 5, 2025 at 10:23 AM
A year ago, a founder reached out to recruit me as CTO for their competing app. They had just raised $7M and she had over 250k followers on LinkedIn + lots of HR contacts.
In her words, they were going to "crush me in 18 months" if I didn't join.
Checked their website today 🤭
In her words, they were going to "crush me in 18 months" if I didn't join.
Checked their website today 🤭
I'm assuming there must be 1000s of these, but is there an API that lets me make a call to any of the leading AI APIs with the same syntax + pick the model based on a flag / per best availability / cheapest etc?
January 31, 2025 at 4:04 PM
I'm assuming there must be 1000s of these, but is there an API that lets me make a call to any of the leading AI APIs with the same syntax + pick the model based on a flag / per best availability / cheapest etc?
While I love the indie startup scene, I'm not keen on building "easy build, hard grow" startups.
Founders outside of the bubble try their luck at marketplaces, ecommerce and hardware – and stumble on $$$ doing so.
They don't know what is deemed "too hard" so they just try it.
Founders outside of the bubble try their luck at marketplaces, ecommerce and hardware – and stumble on $$$ doing so.
They don't know what is deemed "too hard" so they just try it.
January 31, 2025 at 12:03 PM
While I love the indie startup scene, I'm not keen on building "easy build, hard grow" startups.
Founders outside of the bubble try their luck at marketplaces, ecommerce and hardware – and stumble on $$$ doing so.
They don't know what is deemed "too hard" so they just try it.
Founders outside of the bubble try their luck at marketplaces, ecommerce and hardware – and stumble on $$$ doing so.
They don't know what is deemed "too hard" so they just try it.
What's the easiest way to get a small batch of books printed (or print-on-demand)?
I bring text and images, their tool lays it out well (or lets me lay it out). High-quality binding and paper choice.
I bring text and images, their tool lays it out well (or lets me lay it out). High-quality binding and paper choice.
January 27, 2025 at 9:46 PM
What's the easiest way to get a small batch of books printed (or print-on-demand)?
I bring text and images, their tool lays it out well (or lets me lay it out). High-quality binding and paper choice.
I bring text and images, their tool lays it out well (or lets me lay it out). High-quality binding and paper choice.
Current obsession: Designing in the digital world, and bringing those creations into the physical world.
i.e. 3D printing, working with CNC shops, PCBs etc.
i.e. 3D printing, working with CNC shops, PCBs etc.
January 16, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Current obsession: Designing in the digital world, and bringing those creations into the physical world.
i.e. 3D printing, working with CNC shops, PCBs etc.
i.e. 3D printing, working with CNC shops, PCBs etc.
Imagine not being a generalist in 2025
January 13, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Imagine not being a generalist in 2025
Small tweaks I've been doing at MentorCruise over the past few months to make it better:
- Small core team, with pro consultants (currently 50/50)
- Focus on very few things, but nail them
- I'm the only dev (only project dev hires as needed)
- Delete (almost) every backlog
- Small core team, with pro consultants (currently 50/50)
- Focus on very few things, but nail them
- I'm the only dev (only project dev hires as needed)
- Delete (almost) every backlog
January 13, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Small tweaks I've been doing at MentorCruise over the past few months to make it better:
- Small core team, with pro consultants (currently 50/50)
- Focus on very few things, but nail them
- I'm the only dev (only project dev hires as needed)
- Delete (almost) every backlog
- Small core team, with pro consultants (currently 50/50)
- Focus on very few things, but nail them
- I'm the only dev (only project dev hires as needed)
- Delete (almost) every backlog
Thinking daily of the guy who installed our ceiling lamps.
- Ranks #1 for "install lamps"
- Calendly scheduling
- Stripe pre-payment
- $75 per lamp (all inclusive)
- Only works in a 30km radius
- Solo biz
He told me he does 5-6 of these / day.
5 x ~4 lamps on average x $75 x 20 days = $30k/mo
- Ranks #1 for "install lamps"
- Calendly scheduling
- Stripe pre-payment
- $75 per lamp (all inclusive)
- Only works in a 30km radius
- Solo biz
He told me he does 5-6 of these / day.
5 x ~4 lamps on average x $75 x 20 days = $30k/mo
January 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Thinking daily of the guy who installed our ceiling lamps.
- Ranks #1 for "install lamps"
- Calendly scheduling
- Stripe pre-payment
- $75 per lamp (all inclusive)
- Only works in a 30km radius
- Solo biz
He told me he does 5-6 of these / day.
5 x ~4 lamps on average x $75 x 20 days = $30k/mo
- Ranks #1 for "install lamps"
- Calendly scheduling
- Stripe pre-payment
- $75 per lamp (all inclusive)
- Only works in a 30km radius
- Solo biz
He told me he does 5-6 of these / day.
5 x ~4 lamps on average x $75 x 20 days = $30k/mo
Hey, I'm getting DDOSed 👋
This happens every few days, large influx of requests from China from thousands of different IPs.
They go until the site goes down or I go into Cloudflare's "Under attack mode".
Anyone know the @Cloudflare setting to prevent this automatically?
This happens every few days, large influx of requests from China from thousands of different IPs.
They go until the site goes down or I go into Cloudflare's "Under attack mode".
Anyone know the @Cloudflare setting to prevent this automatically?
January 2, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Hey, I'm getting DDOSed 👋
This happens every few days, large influx of requests from China from thousands of different IPs.
They go until the site goes down or I go into Cloudflare's "Under attack mode".
Anyone know the @Cloudflare setting to prevent this automatically?
This happens every few days, large influx of requests from China from thousands of different IPs.
They go until the site goes down or I go into Cloudflare's "Under attack mode".
Anyone know the @Cloudflare setting to prevent this automatically?
Crucial to find what type of creating suits you: inventing, tinkering, selling, designing, writing, filming.
The easiest path to burning out is being pre-occupied with one type of creating, when another one suits you better. E.g. a tinkerer having to monetize and sell.
The easiest path to burning out is being pre-occupied with one type of creating, when another one suits you better. E.g. a tinkerer having to monetize and sell.
January 1, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Crucial to find what type of creating suits you: inventing, tinkering, selling, designing, writing, filming.
The easiest path to burning out is being pre-occupied with one type of creating, when another one suits you better. E.g. a tinkerer having to monetize and sell.
The easiest path to burning out is being pre-occupied with one type of creating, when another one suits you better. E.g. a tinkerer having to monetize and sell.
Indie startups make for horrible places to work for (no moonshot stocks, HR dept., or promotions & training)
Most tend to attract pretty mediocre talent that burns them.
Even more important as founders to make the offer sweet – great pay, bonuses, time off, flexibility & give responsibility early
Most tend to attract pretty mediocre talent that burns them.
Even more important as founders to make the offer sweet – great pay, bonuses, time off, flexibility & give responsibility early
January 1, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Indie startups make for horrible places to work for (no moonshot stocks, HR dept., or promotions & training)
Most tend to attract pretty mediocre talent that burns them.
Even more important as founders to make the offer sweet – great pay, bonuses, time off, flexibility & give responsibility early
Most tend to attract pretty mediocre talent that burns them.
Even more important as founders to make the offer sweet – great pay, bonuses, time off, flexibility & give responsibility early
PSA – Postmark's click tracking domain has been up and down the past few days. I reported it but got no response for a week (holidays, fair).
Turn off click tracking or your users will see this...
Turn off click tracking or your users will see this...
December 30, 2024 at 10:04 AM
PSA – Postmark's click tracking domain has been up and down the past few days. I reported it but got no response for a week (holidays, fair).
Turn off click tracking or your users will see this...
Turn off click tracking or your users will see this...
Seeing the predatory MoR industry go up in flames when they've had shady business practises and have done more damage to small indie businesses than anyone else 💯
December 20, 2024 at 10:06 AM
Seeing the predatory MoR industry go up in flames when they've had shady business practises and have done more damage to small indie businesses than anyone else 💯
I was in the same boat a couple of years ago. It was when monicalent.com suggested that a small bootstrapped startup can "only afford A players" or will go down in flames.
I totally agree now. Hire the best, or don't hire at all.
I totally agree now. Hire the best, or don't hire at all.
Whenever folks are frustrated about hiring for their startup, I'm looking at their team and they pick the $5/h outsourced freelancer on Upwork every single time.
Folks, an investment in your team is an investment in yourself and your product. Hire THE BEST people you can.
Folks, an investment in your team is an investment in yourself and your product. Hire THE BEST people you can.
December 16, 2024 at 12:14 PM
I was in the same boat a couple of years ago. It was when monicalent.com suggested that a small bootstrapped startup can "only afford A players" or will go down in flames.
I totally agree now. Hire the best, or don't hire at all.
I totally agree now. Hire the best, or don't hire at all.
Whenever folks are frustrated about hiring for their startup, I'm looking at their team and they pick the $5/h outsourced freelancer on Upwork every single time.
Folks, an investment in your team is an investment in yourself and your product. Hire THE BEST people you can.
Folks, an investment in your team is an investment in yourself and your product. Hire THE BEST people you can.
December 16, 2024 at 12:03 PM
Whenever folks are frustrated about hiring for their startup, I'm looking at their team and they pick the $5/h outsourced freelancer on Upwork every single time.
Folks, an investment in your team is an investment in yourself and your product. Hire THE BEST people you can.
Folks, an investment in your team is an investment in yourself and your product. Hire THE BEST people you can.
MentorCruise v1 was built on Django 1.11 and I just completed our 4.2.17 (LTS) upgrade. Fairly painless all around!
Sign of a great ecosystem, imo
Sign of a great ecosystem, imo
December 10, 2024 at 9:44 AM
MentorCruise v1 was built on Django 1.11 and I just completed our 4.2.17 (LTS) upgrade. Fairly painless all around!
Sign of a great ecosystem, imo
Sign of a great ecosystem, imo
Finally fully switched to Cursor after 10yrs of Jetbrains / Pycharm. A lot of unlearning to do but I think I'm finally there.
December 9, 2024 at 10:17 AM
Finally fully switched to Cursor after 10yrs of Jetbrains / Pycharm. A lot of unlearning to do but I think I'm finally there.
Every day I'm praying on this clothing brand's downfall so I can nab their domain.
December 3, 2024 at 9:25 AM
Every day I'm praying on this clothing brand's downfall so I can nab their domain.
Which conferences are you attending in 2025?
December 2, 2024 at 8:57 PM
Which conferences are you attending in 2025?
I have a "best friends" / "met IRL" / "want to meet IRL" list on X that I use to engage religiously, but don't really want in the open.
Seems like no option to do the same (have a private feed / private list) here on Bluesky?
It's the #1 thing that keeps me from engaging more
Seems like no option to do the same (have a private feed / private list) here on Bluesky?
It's the #1 thing that keeps me from engaging more
December 1, 2024 at 7:57 PM
I have a "best friends" / "met IRL" / "want to meet IRL" list on X that I use to engage religiously, but don't really want in the open.
Seems like no option to do the same (have a private feed / private list) here on Bluesky?
It's the #1 thing that keeps me from engaging more
Seems like no option to do the same (have a private feed / private list) here on Bluesky?
It's the #1 thing that keeps me from engaging more
MentorCruise revenue in Nov/Dec:
📉 Revenue -5%
📈 Pre-paid credit purchases +400%
Everyone gearing up and locking in for 2025 I suppose.
📉 Revenue -5%
📈 Pre-paid credit purchases +400%
Everyone gearing up and locking in for 2025 I suppose.
December 1, 2024 at 7:54 PM
MentorCruise revenue in Nov/Dec:
📉 Revenue -5%
📈 Pre-paid credit purchases +400%
Everyone gearing up and locking in for 2025 I suppose.
📉 Revenue -5%
📈 Pre-paid credit purchases +400%
Everyone gearing up and locking in for 2025 I suppose.
December is either the best or worst month for SaaS, entirely depending on the industry you're in.
December 1, 2024 at 3:29 PM
December is either the best or worst month for SaaS, entirely depending on the industry you're in.
The biggest shame in the 𝕏 debacle is that many prolific makers didn't just migrate elsewhere, they switched off social media entirely.
For some, I'm lucky enough to have their phone numbers*. Some, I've totally lost contact with. Some are forgotten.
*the ones I do know about are doing VERY well
For some, I'm lucky enough to have their phone numbers*. Some, I've totally lost contact with. Some are forgotten.
*the ones I do know about are doing VERY well
November 25, 2024 at 9:49 AM
The biggest shame in the 𝕏 debacle is that many prolific makers didn't just migrate elsewhere, they switched off social media entirely.
For some, I'm lucky enough to have their phone numbers*. Some, I've totally lost contact with. Some are forgotten.
*the ones I do know about are doing VERY well
For some, I'm lucky enough to have their phone numbers*. Some, I've totally lost contact with. Some are forgotten.
*the ones I do know about are doing VERY well