Tyler Kennedy is a self-taught developer and entrepreneur based in Union, Kentucky. For the last 7 years, Tyler has been developing and building software. He is constantly learning in order to expand his skills and technical expertise while growing his portfolio of projects. Currently, he attends the University of Kentucky studying Computer Science with a track in cybersecurity. His interest in cybersecurity has led him to work on building products to help people stay private and secure on the internet.
Recently he founded Dont Text an iOS app for blocking spam texts. Dont Text helps stop spam text messages and defend users’ phones from scams and phishing texts. Tyler is passionate and excited to be building a profitable business that makes life easier and more secure for the average person.
What is Dont Text all about?
Dont Text is an iOS app for blocking spam texts. I built Dont Text because I wanted to make a simple app to solve the problem of spam texts. Dont Text takes only seconds to set up and after that, you can never see another spam text again.
When I was building Dont Text, I wanted to make it easy for anyone to use. Sometimes, complex problems require simple solutions. That’s really the core philosophy behind the app. Spam is really frustrating and can be hard to get rid of, so why not make a simple app to let you choose how to filter your text messages? The goal of Dont Text was to boil down this problem and make an intuitive and simple app so that anyone can block spam texts.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
I taught myself how to code in middle school. I have been coding and building software for the last 6 years of my life and trying to make money from my own creations. However, I was not able to do that until recently. I started Dont Text while in college after about my third attempt at a startup. All my previous attempts at building software businesses had failed.
I have always had a big interest in security and privacy. There is so much that goes into security that makes it really hard for the average internet user to keep up. I knew that I wanted to build something that would help people stay safer using their phones. Spam, phishing, and scams victimize so many people that could be easily prevented. I built Dont Text as a simple solution to help prevent people from being taken advantage of by scams and protecting them from unsafe texts.
What was the biggest problem you encountered with your business and how did you overcome it?
The biggest issue that I’ve encountered so far has been spreading awareness about my app. The internet today is all about eyeballs, when everybody is fighting for attention, it’s hard to stand out. In my past startup failures, I struggled to get my product in front of people. Dont Text has been different. I’ve been very active in online communities like Reddit and IndieHackers sharing my app and getting feedback from others.
On Reddit, I make posts with links to my blog or share tips about spam texts. This gives me a way to start conversations so I can then share my app.
On IndieHackers I post about my journey building the app. These posts are often informational for other founders but just sharing about the process of building my app puts it in front of other people and potential customers.
Every day I share my app with others to grow the amount of exposure. I’ve been finding unique ways to share my product and gain exposure. I’m on a shoestring budget so paid advertising is not an option at the moment, so I’m constantly looking for creative ways to market Dont Text.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business and what did you learn from it?
Before I started Dont Text, I had attempted to start three software businesses and they all failed. In my previous experiences, I spent way too much time building something no one wanted. I spent months coding and building a product that I never validated. I would launch my website or product and get no traffic confused why no one wanted to use this awesome product I built. It took me a while to figure out I needed to first make sure that there was a market for the products I wanted to build before I built them.
When I got the idea for Dont Text, I thought I was solving a real problem. Everyone I know gets spam texts at some point. I wanted to get it to market right away and validate it as a real problem (this wasn’t something I had done in the past and it led to my failures). I built an MVP as fast as possible and published it on the App Store in a few weeks. I shared my app everywhere I could and quickly started getting downloads.
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
I spend a lot of time being active in communities with other like-minded entrepreneurs that are in the same stage of building their businesses. I interact with other people who are just starting out and trying to build their tiny side-projects into a full-scale business that they can do full-time. These are awesome people to learn from because they are experiencing all the same things that other young entrepreneurs go through when they are just starting out.
There are lots of books, interviews, blogs, and videos out there from multi-millionaires and billionaires talking about the things they do or did to make it where they are now. I’m sure there is lots of valuable advice in there, but for me, that’s not going to help me right now. I’m not trying to become an overnight sensation or ‘the next big thing’. I’m bootstrapping an app I built in between work and school and I’m trying to grow it little by little. I want to hear from people who are doing the same thing. What have they done in the last few months that worked? What didn’t work? What are they trying this week?
There is a lot to learn from people who are going through the same things as you. Especially the people who are maybe just a few steps ahead of you instead of miles ahead.
What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
The most effective marketing strategy so far has been sharing Dont Text online. I’ve talked a lot about posting online in Reddit and IndieHackers and that’s because this has been what’s worked best. With zero dollars for advertising, I have to do a lot of the sharing by just posting and spreading the word myself.
If you only had 1000 dollars to start a new startup, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
If I had 1000 dollars I would invest in getting quality branding for Dont Text. I tend to try to do everything myself to save money. If I have the option to pay for a service that saves me a little time but it’s something I know I can build myself, I almost always build it myself. One thing I can’t do very well myself is design. With $1000 I would hire someone to create a quality logo and improve the website design, and create an identity for the brand.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
If there was one thing I could tell new entrepreneurs, specifically those in tech, it is SHIP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I made the mistake in the past of spending months trying to build the perfect product with a ton of features, only to find out that no one wanted it. You have to get your product or service to the market as fast as possible, even if it is not perfect. Build out the barebones features that you need to sell this thing, then launch. After launch, you can work on adding all the bells and whistles. Ship it ASAP and work out the kinks later. This lets you start figuring out if it’s worth your time to keep working on this and if people are willing to pay for it.
Besides the obvious social media tools available, what are the top 3 most useful tools or resources you’re currently using to grow your company?
- IndieHackers, if you’re working on a tech/software business and you’re not on there, you need to be. There are thousands of other like-minded entrepreneurs and a huge audience of new customers.
- Second is Ahrefs, they provide lots of tools to help you optimize your website to gain search traffic. This can get you, new customers, organically through Google searches.
- Finally, through App Store optimization. There are a lot of different factors that can help your app rank on the App Store, spending a few hours learning how to get your page to rank higher can make a huge difference.
How is running a tech company different than what you thought it would be?
I thought I would be spending a lot more time coding and building software. Since launching my product, I spend a lot of my time writing blogs, making posts online, sharing on social media, and other marketing-related activities. Being a solo founder means that I have to do it all, I guess I just didn’t think about how much of it I would be doing.
One thing I learned for sure is that “build it and they will come” is a lie. Every day I am promoting and trying to get people to download my app. I post links to Dont Text anywhere I can and tell everyone I know to download it. I learned from my past startup attempts that building a great product alone is not enough. You have to find a way to tell people about it and make it worth their time to use it.
How can readers get in touch with you?
The easiest way to get in touch with me is on social media. Follow me on Twitter @_tkennedy. You can send me a DM and I’ll reply as quickly as I can. Also, check out the Dont Text website and blog.
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