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July 12, 2024 • 56min
3 Startup Ideas: Mouse Jigglers, Employee Monitoring Softwares and Photoshop Copycats
My First Million
In this episode of My First Million, Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss several trending topics in technology, business, and media. They explore the phenomenon of "overemployment," developments in employee monitoring software, impressive indie software projects, the rise of self-driving cars, content creation strategies, and the marketing power of reality TV.
3 Startup Ideas: Mouse Jigglers, Employee Monitoring Softwares and Photoshop Copycats
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Key Takeaways
- Overemployment trend: Some remote workers are secretly working multiple full-time jobs simultaneously, using tools like "mouse jigglers" to appear active.
- Employee monitoring software has exploded in popularity, with around 50% of employers now using some form of productivity tracking for remote workers.
- Indie developers are creating free alternatives to expensive software like Photoshop and After Effects, gaining massive popularity.
- Self-driving cars are now a reality in San Francisco, with services like Waymo offering fully autonomous rides.
- Content creators should focus on what fascinates them rather than trying to game the system or be strategic about what's marketable.
- Reality TV can be a powerful marketing tool for businesses, as demonstrated by Ryan Serhant's Netflix show promoting his real estate brokerage.
Introduction
In this episode of My First Million, Sam Parr and Shaan Puri discuss several trending topics in technology, business, and media. They explore the phenomenon of "overemployment," developments in employee monitoring software, impressive indie software projects, the rise of self-driving cars, content creation strategies, and the marketing power of reality TV.
Topics Discussed
The Overemployment Trend and Employee Monitoring (0:00)
Sam introduces a follow-up on a story they discussed two years ago about "overemployment" - people secretly working multiple full-time remote jobs simultaneously. This trend has grown significantly since the pandemic:
- Wells Fargo recently laid off employees for using "mouse jigglers" to appear active while not working
- Employee monitoring software has exploded, with ~50% of employers now using some form
- A company called Hubstaff that makes monitoring software has grown to $22 million in ARR
- There's now a large online community around overemployment, with 60,000+ members in one Discord group
Shaan expresses skepticism about the ethics and strategy of overemployment:
"If you are willing to be clever and hardworking enough to figure this out...just either start your own business or crush it at one job, and you'll make more money and work less than you will having to do this."Impressive Indie Software Projects (27:17)
Sam shares the story of an indie developer who created a free alternative to Adobe After Effects called Pikimov:
- The developer, Clement, built it over about a year as a side project
- It launched on Hacker News and quickly went viral
- It's similar to Photopea, a free Photoshop alternative that now makes $300k/month
They discuss their admiration for these solo developers creating impressive alternatives to expensive software:
"These are like the radioactive indie hackers, like the indie hackers that got bit by the bug and now have superpowers where one man can recreate all of Photoshop."The Rise of Self-Driving Cars (33:10)
Shaan shares his recent experience using Waymo's self-driving car service in San Francisco:
- The experience was seamless and impressive - no driver, fully autonomous
- He was surprised it cost more than Uber but felt it was worth the premium
- He believes this technology will transform transportation and urban planning
Sam agrees on the potential impact:
- Reduced traffic accidents and deaths
- Improved traffic flow
- More productive/relaxing time during commutes
Ryan Serhant's Netflix Show and Content Marketing (40:35)
Shaan discusses the Netflix show "Owning Manhattan" featuring real estate broker Ryan Serhant:
- It follows Serhant building his own brokerage firm in NYC
- The show combines luxury real estate, big deals, and reality TV drama
- Shaan sees it as brilliant content marketing for Serhant's business
They discuss Serhant's intense personality and work ethic:
"He's like a wake up at 5am, work out, eat healthy, at the office by seven...He's intense."Content Creation Strategy (45:28)
Shaan shares a quote from the show that resonated with him about focusing on being great rather than trying to get noticed:
"You spend so much of your time trying to get noticed, instead of spending your time trying to be great. If you spent half the time just trying to be great, you'd be so great that everybody would have to notice you."This ties into a broader discussion on content creation strategy. They reference a blog post by Brian Koppelman advising writers to focus on what fascinates them rather than trying to game the system:
- Write about personal obsessions and interests
- Don't try to be strategic or calculate what will sell
- Genuine passion comes through and engages the audience
Sam and Shaan relate this to their own podcast approach:
"The reason this podcast works is cause we talk about what fascinates us...nobody else has the same weird taste palette that we have."Conclusion
The episode covers a wide range of topics at the intersection of technology, business, and media. Key themes include:
- The unintended consequences of remote work (overemployment, increased monitoring)
- The impressive capabilities of individual developers and creators
- Transformative technologies like self-driving cars
- Content creation and marketing strategies
Sam and Shaan's discussion highlights the rapid pace of change in these areas and the opportunities (and potential pitfalls) they present for entrepreneurs and creators. Their conversation emphasizes the value of genuine passion and focused effort in both content creation and business building.