Ryzal Yusoff

30

2021-07-27T10:22:04+00:00

Not too long ago, somebody told me that “Life starts at 30”. Well if that’s the case, then mine starts today.

Reflecting on my Indie-making Year in 2020

2020-12-31T16:59:00+00:00

What a year 2020 has been. I remember when I was a kid, 2020 was described as this super modern environment in Malaysia where flying car is finally a thing. Malaysia was supposed to be the first-world country by now. I never imagine that in 2020 that I won’t actually be there in Malaysia and be in the UK instead. And I was for sure didn’t imagine that there’s a pandemic affected the whole 6 billion of the world population. If I could sum-up 2020 in a word, it will be “different”. Different from what I was imagining it would have become. Just totally different.

But if there’s one thing that I would be thankful for this year, it would be for my indie making journey has finally started to take off this year.

I’ve started indie-making 10 years ago actually when I first got into university. But there’s no term for it back then. And i didn’t really think that it is possible to make your actually app/startup that really took off. I thought it was either super lucky, or really only certain people can pull it off.

When I got to the UK I still think that way. But i was started to believe that I could do it especially when I joined the accelerator program indirectly etc. But in 2018 that all changed for good. I no longer found that it is impossible. I met all these amazing indiehackers all around the world through and we;ve made amazing connections. Thanks to sites like Twitter ,ProductHunt, Indiehackers.

> The [\#indiemaker](https://twitter.com/hashtag/indiemaker?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) journey can b lonely sometimes, but connecting with all the amazing makers has always keep me motivated & get me back on track. > > Btw, this is wht my work space looks like everyday for the past couple of months. How about your work space? Let’s share them here ✨😊 [pic.twitter.com/LLjrCvUnJ5](https://t.co/LLjrCvUnJ5) > > — Ryzal Yusoff 🇬🇧🇲🇾 (@ryzalyusoff) [December 18, 2018](https://twitter.com/ryzalyusoff/status/1074951970396520449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

The above tweet was me doing my work at Nero cafe in Altrincham, UK – the town where I was living back then in 2018. I went there almost everyday. Hustling from usually 9/10am till they close at 6pm. I made some great connections there, meeting lots of different kind of people. And most of the stuffs there already know me and my favourites.

Reader Mode

Reader Mode has been my baby for the past year. Reader Mode has been my focus and what I spent most of my days on. It was crowed 1st Product of The Day on Product Hunt and was featured on the front page and and top position of Hacker News. It got featured on Mashable, among many other publications. And most importantly, it has earned me enough income to pay for my rent, food etc.

Met amazing indie hackers

I met a lot of amazing people whom mostly are indiehackers from Twitter. My followers at this time of writing has grown from 700+ to now 1600+.

> Had a blast chatting with [@deadly\_onion](https://twitter.com/deadly_onion?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) and [@homsiT](https://twitter.com/homsiT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) about [@ReaderMode](https://twitter.com/ReaderMode?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) and [@readwiseio](https://twitter.com/readwiseio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) ~ Nice to meet you guys! 😁 [pic.twitter.com/IxQlQyg7Vj](https://t.co/IxQlQyg7Vj) > > — Ryzal Yusoff 🇬🇧🇲🇾 (@ryzalyusoff) [October 1, 2020](https://twitter.com/ryzalyusoff/status/1311699309944078349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Moved to my own place!

After had been living with either family/friends/housemates all my life, I now finally live on my own now for the very first time! My new home now is a tiny 150sqft studio apartment. For a minimalist like me, I really really love this studio! It has everything that I need, and it is really cozy.

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Snapseed-2.jpg?fit=768%2C1024&ssl=1)

My workspace inside [my 150sqft micro studio apartment](https://ryzalyusoff.com/my-150-sq-ft-micro-studio-apartment/)

Speaking at Jomlaunch Asia

This year also has seen me speaking at a conference for the very first time ever. I spoke at Jomlaunch Asia conference in November about my journey on how I bootstrapped Reader Mode from just a side project into a profitable micro-startup. It was a fully online conference done via AirMeet platform, given the state of the world right now. But that’s what makes it so unique 🙂

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/photo_2020-11-28-10.49.20.jpg?fit=970%2C747&ssl=1)

My talk session via AirMeet

In conclusion, 2020 has been a blessing for indiemaking journey and my life, eventhough the world in general has been in a really terrible situation because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a way, I feel really lucky to have gone through this year as a person, as this year is really unique in it’s own way. And will surely be remembered as a really strange and worst, but also a good and amazing year for me.

30 Life Lessons I Learned Turning 30

2020-12-17T00:00:29+00:00

In 30 days, I will be turning 30. So in these last few days of my 20s bracket, I decided to share 30 life lessons I’ve learned in the first 30 years of my life.

1. Life is really short

Like seriously short. I didn’t really realised this until after I graduated from university. After 24, life as I know it flies really fast. Possibly because I no longer in the routine of structured education. Anyways, I am sharing these 2 favourite videos of mine below. They are both very good at putting life in perspective, so I really recommend you to watch them.

2. Think small

You don’t have to change the world to make your life meaningful. In fact, only a few people ever got the chance. So think small. If you really wanted to make a change, start by changing one’s world and everyone around you instead. And instead of trying to build a million-dollar or billion-dollar company, try to build a sustainable business.

3. Your present isn’t a binding contract

Whatever thoughts or rules that you have set for yourself, or whatever condition that you’ve settled in right now, you can change them if you are not happy. The present isn’t a binding contract. Change the terms, change the conditions.

4. You don’t have to know everything

When you don’t know something, you can just simply say you don’t know and ask people what are they actually talking about. Share what you know, and keep learning things that you don’t.

5. Create your own luck

No matter how hard you work, you still need luck for everything to fall in place together. And even though you can’t really force luck to be on your side, you can, however, stack as many odds as you can in your favour. So, ship as many projects as you can. Write as many books as you can. Always do more.

6. Don’t be afraid to say no

When you don’t want something or don’t want to do something, don’t be afraid to say no. You only have so much time in a day, don’t waste it on things that don’t fulfil you.

7. Don’t be afraid to say yes

You never know when opportunities will come and knock your door and which series of events will lead you to the thing of your dreams. So say yes to that meeting that you don’t really see the point of going. Say yes to that trip that you think might be a hassle to go to. Say yes to that phone call. Say yes, because you never know what might happen.

8. Build an audience

When you have an audience, you are no longer talking to an empty space. You’ll finally have a say in something and you’ll now have somebody that will listen. So you can easily get opinions, launch a new product, ask for help etc. So start growing your followers/connections on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube or whatever channels suit you the best.

9. Travel more

Save your money, pack your things up and travel more. It will open your mind, changes your perspectives, learn more about other cultures, give you ideas/inspirations and many many more things that you won’t find if you just stay still wherever you are now.

10. Be kind to everybody

Be kind to everybody. People, animals, plants, our planet. Anybody and everybody. Because kindness is free and doesn’t cost you anything.

11. Don’t disagree if you don’t have to

When people tell you how excited they are about something, don’t shut them down because you thought differently about the subject matter. Especially if there’s no point of you doing so and they didn’t even ask you for your opinion. Just remember, if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.

12. Take advice with a grain of salt

People give you advices based on their own experience. They’ll tell you things based on how they worked out in their life. It’s called the survivorship bias. Thus, it is very important that you put your own judgement when you apply them to your own life situation.

13. You don’t have to own a lot of things

You don’t have to own a lot of things to live, to be a human, to be happy. Instead, you can do the exact opposite of that. I found that the lesser things I own, the happier I am. It’s just felt like all the burden have been lifted from myself. I wrote about how I only own 86 things, all of which can be fitted into my backpack here. Also if you are interested, I also did a tour of my minimalist 150sqft studio apartment here.

14. Eat well and live healthy

The older you get, the more you body will start to breaks down. It just how it is. But if you eat and live healthy, you probably won’t get as many problems as you could have gotten. If you want to start living healthy, start with what you eat. Go plant-based. It’s the only diet that is proven to be able to prevent and reverse diseases. I wrote my story about how I became a vegetarian here if you want to give it a read.

15. Read more

Most of the knowledge and experience you have now are based on your own life. Thankfully, books allow us to gain knowledge and experience of other people easily. So read more. They are bridges to wisdom of life that aren’t yours.

16. Do more instead of reading

Read more is good. But there’s also such thing of too much reading. It’s when you read but do nothing with the knowledge you consumed. Sometimes, you could forget about all the books and all the readings and just go do it. Because you will learn more by actually doing and experience something yourself than just reading about them.

17. Rely on yourselves

I’ve learned that we can’t really rely on anyone. Sure it’s good if there are people around that want to help us. We have to learn to handle problems by ourselves first. And consider other people’s helps only as our contingency plan.

18. Never judge other people

Everybody has their own story of why they did the things they did or said the things they said. Stop assuming things. Don’t be judgemental and try to put yourself in their shoes. And maybe then, you will understand them better.

19. Never stop learning

Learning shouldn’t have stopped at school or university. Life is full of interesting things. So get out there and keep learning new things, new languages, new skills etc.

20. Learn to tell a story

Storytelling is one of the most important skills to have. Whether you are telling a story about yourself, your work, your project or your own life, it is really important for you to tell a story in a clear and easy way for other people to understand and follow along. You can improve your storytelling skill by reading books, watching movies, watching stand up comedies etc.

21. Marriage is not for everybody

I used to see marriage as one of life greatest achievements. Indeed when I was in grad school, I remember setting up a target that I will be married by the time I was 24. But that didn’t happen and it was for the better. As my life took a different turn, I realised that if I was married, I might not be where I am today and will not be doing what I am doing now. I realised that marriage isn’t for everybody.

22. It’s ok to be an introvert

Living a life as an introvert has always been hard for me. Everyday mundane task as simple as making a phone call, always giving me anxiety. I thought I will be having a hard time going through life with this. And while it is kind of true still, I have now learnt to embrace it. I no longer feel bad about things that I’m not convenient of doing. I’ve learnt that it’s ok, to be the way I am.

23. Amazing things happen out of your comfort zone

None of the great things in my life especially for the past 6-7 years will happen if i didn’t push myself out of my comfort zone. Those interviews that I’ve taken, those exams that I took, those meetings that I attended, those trips that I went on. All of which were uncomfortable and inconvenient for me at the time, but I’m very glad that did them all as if it weren’t for them, I won’t be where I am today.

24. Save yourself before saving others

Save and help yourself before saving others. If you couldn’t sort yourself out, have a stable life etc, you couldn’t possibly help others in need. Or at least, you couldn’t do it in away that it will give a significant impact. You just need to remind yourself that it is not selfish. You just had to put your mask on first, otherwise, everyone will suffocate.

25. Speciesism is wrong

Speciesism or specism refers to the differing treatment or moral consideration of individuals based on their species membership. Most humans for example, have been practising this on animals by believing that being human is a good enough reason for them to have greater moral rights than animals. Many forget that animals are sentient lifes. They have the capacity to feel, perceive, or experience subjectively. They can feel pain, love and many other emotions that we feel as human. Thus, we should treat them like family, friends and one of ours. Not the food that we eat everyday.

26. Take your chances

Send that cold email you’ve wanted to send. Say hi to that person you’ve crossed path with. Ask someone if they would agree to something. Just do those things, because any chance > no chance at all.

27. YOLO

As long as something is not a crime and not a wrong thing to do, just do it as You Only Live Once. 20, 30 or 50 years from now, you’ll regret and disappointed more of the things that you didn’t do than the things that you did.

28. Be patient with your calling

I feel blessed and lucky that as I’m turning 30 in a few days, my indie startup life has started to take off and I now feel like I’ve found my purpose. But there are bunch of different things that I need figure out now. So it’s ok if you feel that you didn’t have everything figured out yet. In fact, nobody really does. Those that look like they did, were just as clueless as you. Just at a different phase of their life.

29. Choose the road less travelled

When I was 16, I was taught in class about this famous poem: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. It was not until many years later that all those written words started to hit close to home. I wrote this on Instagram 3 years ago when I turned 27:

[

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30. It’s never too late for something

I’ve met and heard people chasing and realizing their dreams in various stages of their life. Someone who started her degree in her 40s, one that founded a successful company in his 60s, or one that became a prime minister in his 90s. What I learned from all of this, is age is just a number. As long as your eyes are still open and your heart is still beating, you can still continue chasing your dreams and make a new ending.

My 150 sq ft micro studio apartment

2020-12-01T12:00:50+00:00

See a tour of my tiny 150 sq ft studio flat in Manchester, UK! What’s my rent? How much I pay for my bills?

Speaking at Jomlaunch Asia 2020

2020-11-29T10:30:23+00:00

Jomlaunch Asia is a conference for bootstrappers, indie hackers, solo founders, solo developers, indie SaaS in Asia founded by Iszuddin Ismail or Dino. I did have a chat session with him talking about Reader Mode and my indie hacking journey back on May this year if you are interested on that.

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_20201007_123305.jpg?fit=788%2C1024&ssl=1)

A free Jomlaunch shirt that I got

Anyways, it is an extended sessions/day of the Jomlaunch conference which was usually held physically in Malaysia. But since the pandemic happened in 2020, they decided to held a virtual conference instead.

I was invited by Dino to give a talk there as one of the speakers and I decided to give a talk about my journey on how I bootstrapped my microstartup Reader Mode to profitability and named my talk as “Bootstrapping with a Chrome Extension”. Not sure whether is the most suitable title but I just went with it. In the talk, I explained the process of how I got the idea, how I built, launch, grow and get the press etc for Reader Mode.

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/photo_2020-11-28-10.49.20.jpeg?fit=970%2C747&ssl=1)

My talk session on Airmeet

The event was held on 28 November this year via Airmeet and I was the fourth speaker that day along side 5 other speakers which are all very talented bootstrapped solo founders and indie hackers. I suppose to give the talk at 3.45pm Malaysian time. And that means around 7.45am UK time. My original plan was to wake up early that day and started my talk, but I ended up not sleeping the whole night throughout the event instead 😂

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jomlaunh-asia-2020.jpg?fit=970%2C711&ssl=1)

Jomlaunch and Jomlaunch Asia 2020 Schedule

Some photos:

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jomlaunch-asia-2020.jpg?fit=970%2C488&ssl=1)

Briefing about the conference, few days before

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/jomlaunch-asia-2020.jpeg?fit=970%2C510&ssl=1)

With [Nina](https://twitter.com/ninagolly), the host for that day

I’m not sure yet wheather to share my whole video of the talk or slides etc. So I will leave this post like this here right now, and will update more soon once I decided and have all the resources ready 🙂

Chat With Iszuddin Ismail from Jomweb

2020-05-17T23:30:39+00:00

Today I got a chance to converse with Iszuddin Ismail from JomWeb (A group focusing on IT, Web, Programming and Tech focusing on Malaysian scenes). He is the founder of that group in Facebook which now has around 26K+ members at the time of this writing. He is also the founder of Jomlaunch and Jomlaunch Asia among many others.

The session was held in the morning of 6am Malaysian Time or around 10pm UK time. And I was online with him talking about my experience of indiehacking and also my experience of building, launching and growing Reader Mode. The whole session lasted around 1 hour and you can find the full recorded version below.

Reader Mode Premium

2020-05-02T08:00:12+00:00

💬 Quick backstory
I started working on Reader Mode in November 2019 last year as a means to pay the bills and survive as an indie maker. Fast-forward 6 months later, it has been used by more than 19,000 people! Following the incredible growth that it’s been having and after months of hard work, I am now introducing a new line of product: Reader Mode Premium.

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-06-at-01.35.10.png?fit=970%2C599&ssl=1)

<https://www.producthunt.com/posts/reader-mode-premium>

✨ Main features
The ultimate key difference between this Premium version vs Free and Pro version is that all saved articles will be stored in the unlimited cloud storage that comes with each Premium account. This move has let Reader Mode as product to unleash a whole new spectrum of features such as:
– Sharable articles in Reader Mode format
– Read-it-later mode
– Research mode
– Full-text search
– Favourites
– Tags for articles
– Sync styles & settings
– Organization folders
– Citation generator

That’s a lot of features! While still being a fully cuztomizable distraction-free reader with accessibility supports and research tools, it is also now the best all-rounded online reading toolkit that is perfect for anyone that is looking to organize their research , work, studies and online content in general.

Cardiff, Wales

2020-01-20T22:30:34+00:00

I spent the last birthday of my 20’s in Cardiff, Wales. I was originally thinking of going to some European countries, but since I was little bit conscious about my savings this time, I decided that I will do that in summer instead. And for now, let’s just save my money and travel inside UK instead. And as usual, whenever I travel, I often choose the place that I never been before. I’ve always wanted to go to Wales, and Cardiff seems the easiest place to travel to in Wales compared to others. So I decided to book a train and just went.

As soon as I arrived, I was greeted with a really heavy rain 😂 And as haven’t brought any umbrella with me, I had to buy one from the shop inside the train station and it was crazy expensive! 😭

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_20200117_125137.jpg?fit=766%2C1024&ssl=1)

The very expensive umbrella that I bought

Even with that, I was positive am really excited to explore the city honestly. Unfortunately, there’s not much to explore 😂

The city kind of dull. There’s a Cardiff Castle at the centre of the city, near the big park. And that’s pretty much the main attraction that the city has to offer ahah. But i did tried to make the most out of it.

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cardiff-castle-edited-1.jpg?fit=819%2C1024&ssl=1)

Cardiff Castle. Built in the late of 11th century by Norman invaders on top of a 3rd-century Roman fort

I took a picture in front of it, and make it as my annual birthday shout out picture:

[

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![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-06-at-21.20.58.png?fit=680%2C1024&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-06-at-21.21.09.png?fit=681%2C1024&ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot-2020-12-06-at-21.21.24.png?fit=679%2C1024&ssl=1)

Tried the famous Welsh Cakes from Fabulous Welsh Cakes :

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/3.jpg?fit=766%2C1024&ssl=1)

Welsh Cake

Had a big vegan celebratory dinner from Greazy Vegan :

![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/4.jpg?fit=766%2C1024&ssl=1)

All vegan! 😋

The day after, I went to Llama field where I got to see and interacted with Alpacas! This is definitely the highlight of my trip.

![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/82945957_114315146586908_3594028528170813643_n.jpg?fit=819%2C1024&ssl=1)

Just look at him. So cute omg 😍

Few more pictures of them:

![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DSC03828.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DSC03839.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DSC03853.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DSC03858.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/DSC03880.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)

Video of my group and I walking with Alpacas!

I book this Alpacas experience from Airbnb. Just £25 per person:

![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Screenshot_2019-12-29-04-33-31-824_com.airbnb.android-2.png?fit=604%2C1024&ssl=1)

Later that night I went to get a Malaysian restaurant to get some Malaysian food! Who knew there’s a Malaysian restaurant here! The restaurant/takeaway is called Wok-Ker Shaker, which is really near to the hotel I’m staying. Like 5-7 minutes.

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_20200118_185902_HDR.jpg?fit=970%2C726&ssl=1)

Vegetarian fried rice with tofus + eggs + Teh Tarik

Got back to the hotel, and had some junk foods while watching the movie 😂 :

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_20200118_200346_HDR.jpg?fit=766%2C1024&ssl=1)

All the junk foods 😂

All in all, it was not really that bad of a trip actually. I’ve always wanted to come here and now I’ve been. Doubt if I ever come back though. But time will tell!

How I got my startup to #1 on Product Hunt and Hacker News

2019-10-01T12:25:23+00:00

In this post, I will share about my experience of building and launching Reader Mode and how I got it to #1 position on Product Hunt and Hackernews.

How it started

During mid of September 2019, I was searching for an idea/project to build after my previously failed project Veggsocial – a social network for vegan and vegetarian. So the project was dying and I just had to sell it for a few quick bucks. My saving was low. And I also just been through a pretty bad breakup myself. I just didn’t know what to focus on my life anymore and it was really a difficult time for me.

So while searching for an idea, I suddenly remembered the tweet that I saw from Guilhermo, posted few months before that. He mentioned in the tweet how he already reached $50,000 in sales with his Chrome extension – Css Scan:

> 🥂 4 months later, [@CssScan](https://twitter.com/CssScan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) just reached $50,000 in sales! > > It took 9 months to get $10k. > And just 4 months to get more $40k. > > Super happy to see this growth. Huge thanks to everybody who supported it and to my love [@LinAmelia8](https://twitter.com/LinAmelia8?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw). Also to [@gumroad](https://twitter.com/gumroad?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw), love them. 💖 <https://t.co/wsxq79Nsm8> [pic.twitter.com/gLaa0DRkva](https://t.co/gLaa0DRkva) > > — Guilherme Rizzo from CSS Scan (@gvrizzo) [August 26, 2019](https://twitter.com/gvrizzo/status/1166006699477499904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

I’ve seen this before and I knew his success with Css Scan pretty well, but not until that moment in October 2019 that I was thinking “huh, how about I too started making a Chrome Extension?” Maybe I can’t make this $50,000 worth of money like he did, but I was thinking at that time, if I could make at least $2K from a Chrome Extension, that – that would just be awesome for me right. They could pay for my bills, my food etc.

So I was thinking about bunch of ideas right for Chrome extension. And um, I was thinking something like CSS Scan but maybe for something else. At that time I didn’t really knew what I was looking for right. Until one night, just before I was going to bed, the idea came. What if I made something to customize reading experience on the internet.

And I was looking for an existing solution of course. And here’s what I found out. All the existing solutions at that time mostly look like this:

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Slide.028.png?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)

They all look very similar to each other and also have very very limited features.

And at that point, in my head I was thinking of the user experience os something more like these:

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Slide.029.png?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)

Either Figma, Sketch or you know Photoshop.

So soon after, Reader Mode was born. I made a proper and better customisation tools. I also included the highlighting and note taking capabilities. As well as the dyslexia guiding ruler (to make people following what they read easily especially for people with dyslexia). And Also the text-to-speech among many other features:

![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Slide.030.png?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)

Idea validation

After finished with the MVP I went to this r/startups discord channel to gather some feedbacks. So they actually from Reddit, but they made the discord group. So I joined and just started asking for the feedbacks basically.

And people there were kind enough to give me some feedbacks on how to improve Reader Mode as well as how to improve my landing page and my copywriting. So it was really helpful to me at that time right, and indeed some of the people there actually happen to be the very very first customers that bought Reader Mode Pro version. So it was great, I already made some money with the vey basic version of Reader Mode, so I feel kind of validated already.

Monetization

To quickly monetise it, I simply use Gumroad. There’s a couple of reasons why I choose it instead of Stripe or any other providers.

The first because it is really easy and fast to setup. All the payments will be handled by them. So if you got like failed payments, fraud etc. it will be handled by them
The second one its because they really active on Twitter. Sahil, the founder and also the Gumroad account itself, really active there. So if you like post something related to them and tag them. The chances are they will see it and will be kind enough to retweet and give you some exposure that way.

Pre-Launch

So my pre-launch was on Twitter. I basically just tweeted this:

> Hi all! 👋 > > For the past month, I’ve been working on this chrome extension 👉<https://t.co/YQMEZDQJCG> > > 🙅‍♀️It removes clutter & ads from articles & let u read in a nice, distraction-free Reader Mode > > 👉 Use twttr20 code for 20% off the PRO version > > Feedback & RTs are appreciated🙏 [pic.twitter.com/VRV60BBea6](https://t.co/VRV60BBea6) > > — Ryzal Yusoff 🇬🇧🇲🇾 (@ryzalyusoff) [November 4, 2019](https://twitter.com/ryzalyusoff/status/1191318939453800448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

As you can see, I made a little video, showcasing what Reader Mode can do and what features it has. Kind of like promo video but a very short version one. And just tweeted it to let people know and gather some feedback that way.

So after I got those feedbacks and some other feedbacks by messaging and asking people personally, I gather all of them together and put them at the bottom of my landing page.

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Slide.041.png?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)

I knew that this is really important because if you have social proof that people are using and loving what you’ve made, it’ll be easier to convince people to buy your product when they see your landing page.

Product Hunt Launch

In early November 2019, I felt that Reader Mode was ready to be launched on Product Hunt. So, I went to Product Hunt and scheduled it to be launched in one week time which was on 16 November 2019.

As soon as Reader Mode was officially launched on 16th of November 2019 at 00:00, I quickly tweeted this:

> Reader Mode is finally LIVE on [@ProductHunt](https://twitter.com/ProductHunt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) 🥳 > > 👉 <https://t.co/5RFYmfNgYA> > > 🙅‍♀️ Say goodbye to clutter and ads. Read articles in a clean, distraction-free “Reader Mode” 😻 > > ❤️ Support & feedback are really appreciated 🙏 > > 🎁 3 random people who RT will get the PRO version for FREE [pic.twitter.com/IDmp73FwTP](https://t.co/IDmp73FwTP) > > — Ryzal Yusoff 🇬🇧🇲🇾 (@ryzalyusoff) [November 16, 2019](https://twitter.com/ryzalyusoff/status/1195613015837687808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

After this Tweet, I quickly told few friends on Telegram, Twitter about the launch. I also posted on group messages on Telegram like Slack and Discord that I’ve joined. Among those groups were RamadanMakers, Getmakerlog and MakersKitchen.

Reader Mode was quickly gaining tractions on Product Hunt and climbed to be the #1 after a few minutes.

To give the tweet and my Product Hunt launch more exposure, I used Reader Mode on one of Ryan Hoover’s articles, and showed what it looks like by mentioning him on Twitter, in which then he responded with this tweet:

> This is really well done. Nice work, [@ryzalyusoff](https://twitter.com/ryzalyusoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw). 👏🏼<https://t.co/Jct6ABlCVq> [pic.twitter.com/waY8ryLI1e](https://t.co/waY8ryLI1e) > > — Ryan Hoover (@rrhoover) [November 16, 2019](https://twitter.com/rrhoover/status/1195752215488499712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

It definitely attracts more attention to the launch and Reader Mode stays at the #1 position on Product Hunt until the end of the day.

My take on how to get to the #1 position on Product Hunt:
– Schedule the launch to be at 00:00 SF Time
– Have friends and community to support your launch
– Launch on Saturday
– Have a video promo
– Discounts
– Giveaway
– Be creative and take your chances (see Ryan Hoover’s tweet above)

Hacker News Launch

I posted about Reader Mode on Hacker News on 16 September 2019 which was the day that I also launched Reader Mode on Product Hunt. Sadly it didn’t get any traction at all.

But after a few days, I decided to try again. With the different title. Again, no traction.

Few days past by, I decided to give it a try one more time. With yet a different title. But at totally random day and time. With luck, it got not only at the front page, but also to the #1 position!

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Slide.007-1.png?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)

Here the traffics that it got me:

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/329-125.png?fit=970%2C502&ssl=1)

Screenshot from Crisp

![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GA-243-users.png?w=970&ssl=1)

Screenshot from Google Analytics

Sadly, a few comments indicated that some people they do not really get the point of Reader Mode and it’s full potential and use cases as they thought Reader Mode is just another clutter-free view feature/extension. And since I’ve got few friends supported me there by posting supportive comments, people they thought it is not fair and kind of spamming or something.

So because of those reasons, it quickly climbed down from the first position and disappeared from the front page after 2-3 hours. I quickly learnt that Hacker News isn’t like Product Hunt or any other platform. You cannot invite your friends or community to support you, share direct link to your post among many other rules. In short, they want people who upvoted or commented on your post, did so because they really found your post interesting. Not because they are friend with you or something.

I wrote about my whole experience here on Indiehackers

Product Hunt vs Hacker News

Product Hunt and Hacker News is two very different platform. They differ based on how to post, the rules, what type of post etc. The results you got from them are also different. While you can get a lot more traffic from Hacker News, you probably got more people buying your product from Product Hunt instead eventhough you got less traffic from Product Hunt.

Conclusion

This is of course just what I experience. And I’m lucky to have got featured and be at the #1 position on both of these platform. I do hope that this post give you some insights and guides so you could prepare your launch and hopefully reaches #1 place on both of these platform too with your startup!

Feel free to connect and reach me on Twitter if you have any question 😊

Amsterdam, Netherlands

2019-05-15T22:30:36+00:00

Summer 2019. I decided to spend this time around to visit Amsterdam, Netherland. I never been here before and quite excited to see this city in which bicycles are more in numbers than people!

I visited the city from 12.1.2019 to 14.1.2019 and stayed there at a boat hotel, called Botel! 😂

![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_20190512_182831_HDR.jpg?fit=970%2C726&ssl=1)

A Botel!

Around the city:

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61835717_2702370736458363_4369701032620457984_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61892575_2702382279790542_8953905767228899328_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61621909_2702390386456398_18044450395652096_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61761765_2702384613123642_3495343539099795456_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/62144232_2702368613125242_5374592164338597888_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61637107_2702353416460095_2669431163554103296_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)

Keukenhof Garden:

![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/60875324_2689478767747560_6076320839035256832_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61107260_2689474951081275_9095853843656212480_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61313088_2689486817746755_2685573248380305408_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61103325_2689479221080848_7006957114396508160_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/60919116_2689474937747943_3983921065729458176_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)
![](https://i0.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/61038014_2689479584414145_6310731383727718400_o.jpg?fit=970%2C546&ssl=1)

Best pancake I ever had! :

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_20190513_194356_HDR-1.jpg?fit=766%2C1024&ssl=1)
![](https://i1.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_20190513_194133_HDR.jpg?fit=766%2C1024&ssl=1)

![](https://i2.wp.com/ryzalyusoff.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IMG_20190512_154436_HDR.jpg?fit=766%2C1024&ssl=1)

A lot of bicycles!

A really creative and interesting clock at Amsterdam airport