For over four years, On Deck has been a safe space for talented people to explore “what’s next” among a highly curated community of peers.
But starting something new doesn’t always have to mean starting a company. It could also be a non-profit, or a venture firm, or a blog or newsletter.
Indeed: No matter what you want to build, a great way to start is by building an audience. I did this to start On Deck, and @rrhoover did this to start Product Hunt: https://medium.com/@rrhoover/bui...
As Ryan details in his piece, building an audience helps you recruit your first users, first hires, and first investors.
We’re seeing more audience first businesses emerge, like Glossier for example.
But writing isn’t merely a wedge into another business. It can be its own business. Substack is proving that what used to seem limited to the Ben Thompsons of the world can actually be much more widespread. More people can make a living off of their writing than we previously imagined.
But writing isn’t only helpful for building an audience or building a business, it’s also an end of itself, helping you learn more about a topic or just more about yourself.
In all cases, the biggest bottleneck to doing it is the belief that you can do it and the infrastructure to keep you accountable. That’s where the On Deck Writers Fellowship comes in.
ODW is an eight-week program inspired by the success of the On Deck Fellowship.
We’ll help groups of 150 writers find their way towards having a successful writing practice, and connect them with a lifelong community of other writers and peers.
We’ll help with accountability, editing, and distribution—everything writers need to grow their audience and improve their craft.
This is perfect for anyone looking to start or grow their audience and improve their craft.
Learn more on our website and we'd love to see you apply! Let us know if you have any questions. :)
Was humbled to participate in On Deck's fellowship program (ODF4), and was blown away by the authentic and service-minded community that On Deck has built.
I've no doubt that the Writer Fellowship will offer the same elements that make ODF special: genuine camaraderie, intimate sessions with those at the top of their craft, and lots of events to force serendipity and collisions (of both ideas and people).
Love it!
I'm starting ODF5 in a few days, but I also write Seedtable – a newsletter on European tech that goes out every Friday to 11,000 readers.
I know how hard it is to start writing (from nothing), and how confusing it is to find a niche, start monetizing, and leveraging your audience to advance in your careers.
Seeing the On Deck team work on this so quickly has been fantastic. The market really needs it, so congrats on the launch.
Was also part of ODF #4 and it's clear ODF is all about people helping each other in one challenging, yet rewarding, phase of their lives. At ODF that phase was building a company and exploring ideas. At the writers fellowship this phase is about building your audience.
Extremely curious to see what comes out of this and how the OD team keeps on tackling other aspects of venture building!
Just got done with ODW1, and I cannot recommend this highly enough.
The folks running On Deck are great, and the ODW community is even better. The best part? You'll have access to both for life.
If that isn't worth $1990, you're doing the math wrong.
Just finished ODW1. Working on my newsletter (https://considered.substack.com/), the peer groups and accountability helped me with the hard part of establishing a routine and sticking with it!
Replies
Backchannel
On Deck
ConstitutionDAO (📜,📜)
Minerva
Minerva
Product Hunt
AudioPen
The Week in Bitcoin