I have been struggling to figure out what Angel User means. I've defined it as a concept but I haven't fully shaped what the actual "product" is.
Unfortunately, I also tied Angel User into my identity—it became my "personal channel" on Farcaster and the name of this Paragraph publication. This unintentionally created pressure to turn it into a fully developed pursuit. (I had been publishing screenshot essays to Farcaster instead of full posts here because the posts didn't fit the "Angel User" brand!)
An organic approach ("How")
My first Farcaster project, Concept Testing, also bit off way more than I could chew.* So I learned some lessons when, a few months ago, I started my next project.
Although I originally had grand plans for First Draft Club, I was able to talk myself down into a small experiment: a 4-week commitment from 8 people to write something each week.
Over time, FDC has slowly grown and evolved. But I have made changes deliberately, adding new wrinkles only when I feel they are necessary.
It's been helpful to think of it as just a project – a mere subset of my identity. First Draft Club isn't a startup or a full-time pursuit.
This insight frames how I'm thinking about Angel User now. Instead of forcing myself to make it work, I'm letting myself build something organically.
Identifying the atomic unit ("What")
The "MVP" for First Draft Club was relatively straightforward: I needed accountability to write consistently, so I recruited some friends and added a financial incentive.
What does that mean for Angel User?
Well, the first step of being an angel user is using and sharing helpful feedback on products. It's something I truly enjoy doing and also think I'm good at.
Over the past year I have explored various ways of soliciting products to give feedback on – including cold outreach, pop-up services, and even a few livestreams.
The livestreams were the most rewarding. After sharing the recordings with the respective founders, I got strong positive feedback on the video format. Since then, I've embraced the practice of sending short (<5min) video recordings to founders after using their products.
Feedback videos are easy for me to do, and they provide concrete direction to builders about parts of their product that are confusing, buggy, or lacking.
The customers ("Who")
Again, I think it makes sense to stick with an organic approach. Instead of requesting people to request feedback, I'll just naturally send videos to people whose products I've tried and enjoyed.
If those people value the feedback, they might ask for more, and from there, a working relationship could naturally develop.
It's similar to what Tom Critchlow did when he articulated his "dream clients" in a blog post. I don't know what my work will look like yet with Angel User, but it makes sense to build relationships with the builders whose work resonates with me.
"Next steps"
It may not seem like much externally, but stripping down this internal expectation for myself is freeing. Angel User is now just a project, not an identity of unfilled potential.
Rather than trying to figure out how to pay the rent with Angel User, I’m going to be focusing on making genuine connections and contributing valuable feedback. The rest will follow in time.
*Technically Concept Testing is still alive – we're still waiting on the devs to finish Cozycast. But we probably won't launch another Concept unless we radically simplify the structure of the project.
