Hi folks – welcome to the Monthly Town Hall blog post, where I discuss everything Makerlog related and recap everything that has happened last month! I really am going to do these monthly now, rather than the previous format of a yearly State of the Log. We have a lot to share and I really want to keep the community posted!
So, without further ado, this is what we've done this August.
EnterPRize
In March, we entered a business competition for startups in Puerto Rico called EnterPRize 2020. The competition focuses on innovative and original projects with the potential to scale to a global market. During this time, we've taken a series of seminars to truly have the skills it takes to make Makerlog (see what I did there?) a successful company.
It's been going pretty well, and I hope to come back with more results by EoY. So far, we've received a $2k grant and we're hoping to raise more by the end of the competition. (Equity-free FTW!)
Incorporating

Well, to put it bluntly – incorporating has been a real struggle, particularly because I incorporated in Puerto Rico. Bureaucracy and the huge amount of permits required have been an issue.
But, quite frankly, I'm willing to swallow the bureaucracy and BS – incorporating here is our commitment to PR (which desperately needs our help to overcome a fiscal crisis). We love our little island, and there's nowhere else we'd rather go.
Pushing the local economy forward through tech has been a huge dream of mine, and I'm not giving up on that – no amount of paperwork will stop me.
Also... serious tax benefits for young entrepreneurs. (we're tax exempt!)
Marketing & Community

In terms of marketing and community, we've been thinking & experimenting a lot with our strategy.
I'm working on solidifying our bases there:
- Clarifying our message. We're hella advocates for #MakeInPublic and that's going to be our main message. I think it's clearer to be at the forefront of the movement and to have one core value we can always come back to.
- Amplifying voices. There's a lot of people in the maker community making amazing things. And our job is to amplify those voices. Make them get heard – showcasing maker's work and pushing the movement forward.
- Other things I'm probably forgetting. I don't joke, I wrote a huge Notion document on this and our strategy. I can't resume it. It's like 20 pages long.
Engineering

In terms of engineering, I've been working on making the next version of Makerlog extremely stable – and mobile responsive.
I'm really happy because Makerlog 2021 will have the following attributes, which I think are killer:
- Extremely fast. Loads quickly. Little bloat. All interactions are optimistic – so they're basically instant.
- Mobile first. The new Makerlog is mobile-first, so it is fully featured on all screens – beautifully, too.
- Simple. Less clutter. More clarity.
- More stuff I can't remember. Hey, cut me some slack. ;)
I'm journaling this effort on my WordPress journal + my log – It's not necessarily something I'm working on daily, but it's important.
What's next?
- Community. The remainder of the quarter we're going to work on solidifying our community strategy and experimenting with our growth funnel. I really think we can continue pushing the movement forward. Making in public is the best a maker can do. ♥️
- Ads. We're going to continue working on solidifying ads – they sold rather well last month, and I'm seriously betting on them as a non-intrusive way to generate sustainable revenue.
- Gold. Gold has a long way to go, but it's getting there. I'm adding complimentary ad slots + other great features very soon. We need your support to keep the maker community running!
Conclusion
Two years ago I started a little side project called Makerlog. This August, we finally incorporated. And I'm incredibly proud of what we're building.
I'll keep you posted on updates.
Now I want to hear from you – how do you feel about Makerlog's direction, and what can we do better? Feel free to tell us in discussions.
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S