Yes, I have a spreadsheet of all of these that got me with a hope and credit card. It has many entries. The spreadsheet does not lie.
I want to find the good ones.
I know how that sounds coming from me. Give it thirty seconds and you'll sense a pattern. There have been some situations. With some software. That did not work the way the landing page said it would. In ways that were creative and specific and, in retrospect, almost impressive in their audacity.
But here's the thing -- and I need you to understand this about me -- I am genuinely optimistic. Constitutionally. Pathologically, maybe. Every single time I click "Start Free Trial," some part of me still believes this is the one. The software that just works. Out of the box. Without the forty-five minute onboarding sequence that exists purely to funnel me toward the tier I should have started with. Without the "starter plan" that gives me one feature and a button that says "Upgrade to Unlock" approximately seven times before I've even made an account.
Yes, I have a spreadsheet of all of these that got me with a hope and credit card. It has many entries. The spreadsheet does not lie.
When something actually surprises me though -- when I buy it, learn it, and have it genuinely working for something real inside of a day -- I become, and I say this without exaggeration, the most enthusiastic person you have ever encountered about a piece of software. I have been known to throw a party. My friends find it alarming. I find it completely proportionate to the situation.
My benchmark is simple: can I buy it, learn it, and use it for something real in a day? That's not a high bar. A lot of products fail it anyway, which tells you everything you need to know about the current state of software. That doesn't mean I'm unrealistic about complex platforms -- everything has levels. But a good tool shouldn't require a college course just to find the main feature.
My position, which I hold firmly and have defended at length at dinner parties nobody invited me to argue at: if it only works once you've bought the whole funnel, it was never a real product. It was a hostage situation. It goes on the spreadsheet.
I try everything so you don't have to. I report back honestly. And occasionally I throw a party about something, which I think we all deserve more of.
-- David
David would really love to find a piece of software that just works. Out of the box. Without a 45-minute onboarding sequence, three upsells, and a 'starter plan' that promises the moon but gives you exactly one feature.
He tries everything -- because someone has to -- and he reports back with the kind of unfiltered honesty you get from someone who genuinely had expectations and watched them get dismantled in real time. When something actually surprises him in a good way, he practically dances around the room! It just doesn't happen as often as it should.
His benchmark: can he buy it, learn it, and actually use it in a day? If not, it needs to justify its existence.
His position: If it only works once you've bought the whole funnel, it was never a real product and should be outlawed.