The concept of the ‘Zero Inbox’ is one that entrepreneurs often refer to. Ensuring, wherever possible and of course with some exceptions, that my inbox shows zero unread messages, is something I’ve practiced and a mindset that I have worked by since before I founded PushFar. So, I thought I’d write a bit about it, my recommendations if you are looking to achieve a ‘zero inbox’ approach to emails and how you can get started. In my case, zero inbox actually means no emails in my inbox whatsoever.

The concept of “digital detoxing” has gained momentum and popularity in recent years and for me it is something I see myself weirdly aligned to. As someone running a tech start-up, and with an interest in web development and technology, this may seem a bit of a surprise but actually the more people who I speak to who spend their days in front of a computer, who work in the tech sector and who appreciate technology, the more of us I discover there are. A couple of weeks ago I spoke to a social media consultant and specialist who advises companies about brand reach and yet she doesn’t have any personal social media channels. For her, technology and social media are work. She wants to escape a screen whenever she can.

The “5am Club” is supposedly one of the secrets to success for a number of entrepreneurs and business minds. It is often talked about by the likes of Tim Cook and Michelle Obama. Does it work, though? Well, for five years, I, admittedly quietly, embraced this club (it’s not actually a club – obviously). In the early days of PushFar, from inception to growth, I would set the alarm at 4.30am or 5am and aim to be on the laptop by 5.30am, at the latest. I would now class myself as a “part-time” member of this club. I’ve realised that the social side of my life and the work-life balance simply mean I cannot always be in bed at 9pm and give myself the 8-hours sleep that I know my body needs. However, I would say I average about 2-3 early nights and 5am starts a week. In this article, I wanted to shine a light on my experiences with this approach to work, the benefits of it, as well as a few words of caution and consideration.

“You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” I often think about this quote. I think about how we are a product of our surroundings. I think about how the people whose energy we feed off can have a large impact on our own success, failure, outcomes and general approach to life. As children, particularly young children, we don’t have any control over this. Whether it be our parents or parental figures, siblings and wider family members, we learn so much from these people. Yet, as we grow up, I have a feeling that society thinks less consciously about who we become. Often thinking that because we’re in our teens, or have reached adulthood, that we have formed and we are the person we always will be, regardless of those we surround ourselves with. Childhood friendships remain and new friendships formed are perhaps less conscious decisions and sometimes that can be a good thing, other times that can be a hindrance.

Product-market fit is often spoken about as a crucial part of the start-up business journey. The reality though, for a lot of entrepreneurs who, like me, focused on building a business, rather than learning the terms and technical acronyms that are rife in the start-up ecosystem, is that I didn’t really know what that word meant when I started PushFar or the Omyx Club and I probably didn’t spend enough time actually thinking about it. In fact, I only really stopped to think more about it after PushFar was already profitable and had, undoubtedly, reached a product-market fit.

Making your first sales, generating your first revenue, signing your first contracts, securing your first paying clients, registering your first paid subscription. Whatever you refer to it as, we all know that revenue generation (which leads to profitability) is now seen as a rather vital first step to startup success. It’s, I’m certain, easier done with a marketing budget and part of the reason why so many startups look to raise investment. Marketing and development are probably the two biggest cost drivers to people seeking a funding round. Development, sure, I get – in some cases. Marketing – not so much. At PushFar, we secured our first contracts with zero marketing spend. Here’s how we did it.

Perhaps it’s because I had previously burnt through all the cash we had. Perhaps the realisation that we spent £100,000 and ended up with a business that was barely able to survive and perhaps that experience ensured that when we started and then fundraised for PushFar, we did so with a clear focus on strong, stable growth and a huge emphasis on spending as little as we could. The first business I co-founded, in which we raised investment, was a business called the Omyx Club. We raised just shy of £100,000 and in the lead-up to the investment we had had, what I thought, was a clear business plan, a strong market proposition and, with the investment, more than ample cash in the bank. When I look back, I realise that we did. All of this was true. The trouble was, as with a lot of startups and young founders, any amount of money can be burnt extremely quickly – and it was! I was 23 at the time and whilst I had experience in digital marketing, web development and online business growth, I didn’t know how to manage a start-up bank balance or plan for the future. We “invested” in a PR agency for our launch, we spent money on consultancy advice and event managers, in-person events and quickly became distracted from the main purpose of a business. It was all rather a disaster. Within three months from our launch, we’d burnt through most of the cash, hadn’t looked at what people wanted closely enough, pivoted and pivoted again but too late and in the wrong directions and began to fail fast.