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Hey there,

After a relaxing break from work and some extra family time, I got back to it last week with a million ideas and goals. Outside of my 9-5 job with The Graide Network, I've got four big goals I'm working on this year:
  • Build a content base for PortableCTO 📖 - I'm putting together a total of 5 long guides and 15 short blog posts to kick off the year.
  • Get down to 1 black coffee per day ☕️ - I've been drinking too much caffeine. It raises my blood pressure and I don't like being checmically dependent on a substance for my happiness.
  • Finish another half marathon 🏃‍♂️ - I've done about a dozen half marathons in my life, but it's been over a year and last time I broke my foot. My goal this year is to get back into it.
  • Save enough for a downpayment on a house 🏚 - The wife and I have been doing this for a couple years now, but I think we'll finally hit our goal this year.

So that's what I'm working on. How about you? If you've got a side project or goal or blog post summing up your 2018, I'd love to read it. Just hit reply!
Recommended Reading*
Rather than focusing on the way that new technology allows companies to make better products, Christensen postulates that new technology allows a product formerly reserved for high margin markets to become available to lower margin markets. This unique proposition has gotten me thinking a lot lately, so I'd class it a must-read for innovators and founders.

Around the Web
There's a lot of good stuff here, including this: "While there are a lot of different channels to try out (organic, paid, etc), I have found that a product-led marketing strategy is one of the most effective ways to grow."

"It’s way easier to eat lousy food than it is to exercise it off. Your effort is undermined by your inputs. And the same thing is true for corporate culture."

"All a company needs to declare themselves an Open Startup is to share their metrics such as revenue, users, and traffic. This is usually done on a dedicated page with lots of numbers and charts hopefully showcasing growth."

"I'd been building little computers for a long time for a hobby. So, the ability to build little computers, and the realization that the lack of little computers was a problem, it came together, and Raspberry Pi was an intersection of those two things."

"Despite the popularity of debit- and credit-card transactions, plenty of people do still pay for things with actual money. Cash represented 30% of all transactions and 55% of those under $10"

Sponsor*
I had my first paperwhite for five years before it finally stopped working. I was happy to upgrade to the latest version, which comes with a brighter screen, more storage, and it's waterproof. If you read a lot like I do, there's nothing better than having thousands of books ready for you at a moment's notice.

Tools
I just submitted CFP Land on Product Hunt. Feedback is welcome and always appreciated!

Whenever you think it's safe to rely on a software product supported by a massive company, look at this page.

Shopify is one of the tools I recommend over and over to entrepreneurs trying to validate an eCommerce idea. The tools they offer have continued to get better and you can even plug in your own custom code when you outgrow their basic platform.

It's probably just a rough estimate, but maybe this will help keep you motivated on your side project's journey.

I love Google Fonts, but don't have a great logo editor. Picas makes it easy to get a simple wordmark started.

Frontend, backend, email, and more provided by Google services. Works great for small scale web apps.

Try out SaaS integrations locally without actual integration on your website. Integrately supports Live Chat widgets, Analytics code, Tracking pixels, Marketing Automation scripts etc.

Make sure the username you want isn't taken already. This open source project runs in Python in the command line.

Thanks for reading,

Karl Hughes, Portable CTO