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Gil Hildebrand
Building in public
Gil Hildebrand is the founder of Subscribr, a company focused on solving YouTube scriptwriting challenges.1 He is a serial entrepreneur with a strong technical background and over two decades of experience leading software development teams.4
Professional Background
Gil describes himself as a self-taught nerd with a passion for learning who thrives in adversity.2 He is currently building at the intersection of YouTube and AI3, with Subscribr being his latest venture aimed at addressing the difficulties of YouTube scriptwriting.1
Entrepreneurial Journey
Hildebrand is a three-time founder, currently on a mission to reach $1 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) with AI as his copilot.6 His experience spans various projects, as evidenced by his personal website where he showcases his work.3
Subscribr
Subscribr, Gil's current focus, is a platform designed to assist content creators with YouTube scriptwriting. The company aims to alleviate the stress associated with tight deadlines in content creation.1 Gil recently created the first script using Subscribr, demonstrating the platform's capability to generate content from minimal input.7
Online Presence
Gil maintains an active online presence:
- LinkedIn: His profile can be found under the username "gilhildebrand".2
- Twitter: He uses the handles @giltotherescue and @gilhildebrand.56
- Personal Website: He regularly posts updates and insights at gilhildebrand.com.3
Gil Hildebrand appears to be a tech-savvy entrepreneur with a strong focus on leveraging AI in content creation, particularly in the YouTube space.
Highlights
The room felt like it was caving in. A lump formed in my throat.
This was clearly a terrible decision. Why oh why did I have to publicly post the subscribers targets for my public launch?
A tidal wave of anxiety crashed over me almost immediately after hitting send on the video sharing my launch goals. In the video, I talked over and over about how I was creating a realistic plan. What if I didn’t hit it? Would that just make me a wantrepreneur?
“Maybe no one saw the video yet. I bet they’ll never notice if I delete it now.“ My mind raced as I contemplated my next move. “Look, you committed to this thing, there’s no turning back now. If you really mean it, you’ll find a way to make it happen,” I told myself, faking as much confidence as I could muster.
Truthfully, I didn’t see a way out. I had committed to this thing, broadcasted it to thousands of people. If I really was all-in, there was no turning back. “Looks like you burned the boats,” one of my friends commented on Facebook. “Yep,” I replied.
Three days in, I entered the Valley of Despair. I was only 25% of the way to my goal. But there was an even bigger problem—I had already reached out to basically everyone I knew. There wasn’t going to be another big rush from my personal contacts. Or so I thought.
The biggest lesson I learned from my first outreach was that there were too many calls to action (CTAs). I shared the news of my Building in Public campaign, and then asked my community three things:
- Join the newsletter
- Subscribe on YouTube
- Share with others
And that was where I went wrong. While it would have been great if my audience did all three, I wasn’t doing them any favors. Too many CTAs created decision paralysis. It was easier to just move on than to figure out which of those 3 to perform. A classic marketing mistake — one I’ve made before and should have avoided this time.
Fortunately, I did have one ace in the hole. On Day 5 I posted a new video sharing the story of what happened after selling my company. This was my most ambitious video yet, taking several days to produce.
I was determined not to let the effort go to waste. I hit up my social feed again to share the new video, but this time with a very clear message: if you like this video, subscribe to my YouTube channel. No confusion with multiple CTAs. Just a very clear ask.
And…it actually worked! By the end of Day 7, I was at 133 subscribers on YouTube, 33% higher than my target of 100 subscribers. Friends and colleagues were sharing it far and wide, and I watched as the video engagement rocketed higher. And the channel continues to grow. Amazing progress. And a big thank you to all of you.
Stacking up wins is so important to staying motivated as an entrepreneur. I tried to set ambitious but achievable target so that I could feel good about the progress. By picking my goal in advance though, I was forced to fully commit, stay insanely focused, and work hard to get there.
#entrepreneurship #buildinpublic
Why would any entrepreneur be crazy enough to build in public?
Exposing trade secrets, going on the hook publicly about specific revenue targets...isn't that just a recipe for failure?
Just the opposite. For those bold enough, it's a strategic move that has catapulted the growth of many entrepreneurs and their ventures. Let's dive into some phenomenal examples:
1️⃣ Sahil Lavingia - Gumroad: Reached millions in revenue and crowdfunded over $5M, thanks to his transparent journey. 2️⃣ Pieter Levels - Nomad List, Remote OK: Six-figure revenue and exponential organic growth due to his live coding sessions and shared metrics. 3️⃣ Bryce Roberts - Indie.vc: Set himself apart in the crowded VC world through transparent operations, gaining significant investments. 4️⃣ DHH & Jason Fried - Basecamp: Tens of millions in revenue, built on the principles they publicly advocated for. 5️⃣ Ryan Hoover - Product Hunt: Acquired by AngelList, attributing part of the success to building in public. 6️⃣ Courtland Allen - Indie Hackers: Acquired by Stripe within a year due to a strong, engaged community. 7️⃣ Joel Gascoigne - Buffer: Over $20M in revenue, with 70,000+ paying customers, all while disclosing everything from salaries to revenue. 8️⃣ Rand Fishkin - Moz, SparkToro: Established credibility in SEO and marketing, turning Moz into a multimillion-dollar company. 9️⃣ Justin Jackson - Transistor.fm: Quickly profitable due to transparent sharing of the SaaS journey. 🔟 Danielle Morrill - Mattermark: Raised $17M and sold the assets, in part due to her transparent sharing of the business journey.
I'm excited to join these crazy entrepreneurs by building my next software company in public...
Want a front-row seat to the highs, lows, and decision points? Subscribe to follow my journey—link in the first comment. 👇
#entrepreneurship #entrepreneurs #business #buildinginpublic #buildinpublic #startups
