A Thing Worth Buying: How Passion Built My First 1,000 Customers

Sounds simple, but there are so many things available right now that just aren’t worth buying.

Two years before I started a company—before I knew anything about e-commerce—I was building a tool that solved my own problem.

For context: I built software that makes old, slow trucks go faster and run smoother.

This wasn’t a business idea. I just wanted my own truck to run better. But every solution I bought created more problems. So, I built my own.

And because I get excited and never shut up about things I’m passionate about… I talked about it. A lot.

In the first 12–18 months of learning how to build this software, my constant enthusiasm attracted people who had the same problem.

A few of them were crazy enough to let me test my ideas on their trucks.

Put simply, I unintentionally built something other people wanted by focusing on making something I wanted.

👉 Ingredient #1: I spent years building something worth having before I tried to sell it.

Like I said, I couldn’t stop talking about what I was building.

That enthusiasm didn’t just attract the right people it repelled the wrong ones.

But the people who liked my kind of weird? - They wanted to be part of it.

Here’s an example:

When we shipped packages, we’d take a selfie at the store and send it to the customer to let them know their order was on the way.

It was a small, unnecessary thing. But it made people feel like they were part of something real.

This kind of care, enthusiasm, and weirdness makes people want to support you.

It even attracted employees that way. People who weren’t just looking for a paycheck but wanted to be part of what we were building.

👉 Ingredient #2: We shared a wild passion for what we did, and it made people want to be part of it.

People don’t just buy products. They buy enthusiasm, confidence, and energy.

And that? That’s something worth buying.