Blogger: 9 scrappy lessons on how a farm boy turned an almost sure-to-fail business into multiple millions

Scan time: 3-4 min / Read time: 5-7 min

Hey rebel solopreneurs 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

Feeling like a fraud when you price your digital course or template?

That imposter voice gets louder every time you see established experts charging 10x more for similar content.

College dropout Evan Williams felt exactly the same way before accidentally building Blogger and selling it to Google for $30 million.

But how do you survive when everyone abandons you and you're left running a growing platform all by yourself?

🍹 The humble beginnings...

Evan Williams was born on March 31, 1972, and grew up on a farm in Clarks, Nebraska.

He spent his childhood helping his dad with farming work, learning the value of hard work early on.

Even as a kid, Evan showed entrepreneurial spirit and always dreamed of starting his own business.

He went to college but dropped out because he was determined never to work for anyone else.

Growing up in rural Nebraska meant he had zero connections to the tech world happening in California.

But he knew that's where the internet revolution was taking place, so he packed up and moved west.

Without any industry contacts or insider knowledge, he took whatever work he could find.

He landed a contractor job at O'Reilly during the 1998 tech boom, where he taught himself web development.

After gaining some experience, he worked as a contractor for various companies like Intel and HP.

By January 1999, he felt ready to start his own company and founded Pyra Labs.

His plan was to build a web-based project management tool to help teams organize their work.

Then something unexpected happened while building their main product...

🤯 The accidental discovery

While building Pyra Labs with his co-founder Meg, they created an internal blog called "Stuff" to share information between team members.

Paul, their programmer, tweaked their internal blog so certain posts automatically appeared on their external company website.

They realized this simple publishing tool was way more useful than their main product.

Then came the moment that would change everything - but first they had to overcome a paralyzing fear...

😰 The focus dilemma

Evan had already failed with 30 unfinished projects in his previous company.

He was terrified that building Blogger would distract him from Pyra and cause another failure.

The team agreed Blogger felt "too simple and too trivial" to be their main product.

They spent months debating whether to pursue this side project while trying to pay bills with consulting work.

Finally, in August 1999, Evan and Paul built and launched Blogger in one week while Meg was on vacation.

Meg was furious when she returned, but that was nothing compared to the impossible choice they'd soon face...

🎯 The brutal pivot choice

Blogger was gaining users while their "real" product Pyra struggled to find traction.

Evan was torn between his original vision and what people actually wanted.

Meg and Paul voted for Blogger, but Evan couldn't let go of Pyra - his "baby" with all his big ideas.

For months, they tried to build both products while doing consulting work to survive.

By late 1999, Evan finally admitted Blogger was the future and decided to focus completely on it.

The timing couldn't have been better, because disaster was about to strike the entire tech world...

💰 The money problem

Blogger started gaining traction among tech geeks, but Evan couldn't see how to make money from it.

This was during the dot-com boom when companies focused on "eyeballs" instead of revenue.

Evan wanted a sustainable business, not just venture capital funding.

They raised $500,000 right before the dot-com crash in 2000, but the money was running out fast.

They tried enterprise sales and merger talks, but Evan hated selling to corporations.

When the crash hit, most startups died - but Evan had one advantage...

📉 The crash advantage

While other startups burned through millions chasing growth, Blogger had stayed lean.

The dot-com crash killed their fundraising hopes, but it also eliminated most competitors.

Companies that spent fortunes on Super Bowl ads suddenly disappeared overnight.

Evan realized their small size and low expenses were actually advantages in the new environment.

They doubled down on serving their existing users instead of chasing venture capital.

But even with advantages, the money eventually ran out completely...

😱 The nuclear option

In January 2001, Evan called everyone into the office and said, "Everyone is laid off as of today, including me."

His co-founder Meg left the company after disagreeing about the direction.

All his friends and employees abandoned him, feeling betrayed about missed paychecks.

Even his girlfriend broke up with him the same night.

Evan was left alone with a growing platform and no resources to maintain it.

With everyone gone and bills piling up, Evan tried something no startup had ever attempted...

🙏 The radical fundraiser

Evan posted an honest message on Blogger's website: "We know Blogger is slow. We need hardware but don't have money. Give us money and we'll make it faster."

He suggested $10-20 donations through PayPal.

Several thousand users contributed, with some giving $100 or more.

A magazine company bought them a $4,000 server outright.

They raised $17,000 total - enough to keep the lights on and improve performance.

The money helped, but Evan was about to face his darkest period yet...

🔥 The survival phase

Evan had to teach himself Linux system administration and Java to keep Blogger running.

He was fixing bugs on the live site while dealing with legal threats from former employees.

His hosting bills were the only expense after going from $50,000 monthly payroll to just him.

He worked alone for months, sleeping at his desk and surviving on licensing deals worth $35,000-40,000 each.

Former friends bad-mouthed him in the community, forcing him to go underground socially.

Just when things couldn't get worse, his site got hacked on Christmas...

🚀 The comeback

Picture this: fixing a security breach from a Kinko's with dial-up internet on Christmas Day.

After that nightmare, Evan hired contractor Jason Shellen.

They launched Blogger Pro in 2002 - a paid version that finally generated real revenue.

By removing ads for $12/year, they proved people would pay for digital products.

The blogging phenomenon exploded, establishing Blogger as a major player in a growing market.

Tim O'Reilly introduced Evan to Google, who initially wanted to discuss partnerships.

Within five minutes of the Google meeting, everything changed forever...

💰 The epic win

Google's corporate development team cut straight to the point: "Why don't you just come here and do all that stuff?"

After four years of struggle, Evan had to decide whether to sell the company he'd nearly died building.

He had an unsigned $1 million investment term sheet on the table but chose Google instead.

In 2003, Google acquired Blogger for a rumored $30 million, validating Evan's belief in simple, powerful tools.

🥂 Your turn to light it up!

That's it, my fellow rebels!

Evan's transformation proves that being new to the game with simple ideas beats having years in the game with complex plans.

Your lack of track record isn't holding you back - it's giving you fresh eyes to spot opportunities others miss.

I'm pretty sure you're gonna catch everyone off guard.

Keep zoooming! 🚀🍹

Yours 'anti-hustle' vijay peduru 🦸‍♂️