MS

Hello, I’m Michael Sliwinski, founder of Nozbe - to-do app for business owners and their teams. I write essays, books, work on projects and I podcast for you using #iPadOnly in #NoOffice as I believe that work is not a place you go to, it’s a thing you do.

💼 Business

I run a productivity app for small business owners like me. Here I share my thoughts on capitalism, running an online business, building startups, managing money and my struggles as an Internet entrepreneur. No, I don’t really own a briefcase.

✅ 💼 🎬 Set up Nozbe in 5 minutes or less! You can change your company’s habits so quickly!

Wednesday, August 7, 2024 /nozbe-5min/

My app Nozbe is kind-of in productivity space, but now as we serve SMART business owners we are more in habit-changing space. Especially as entrepreneurs realize their companies are becoming successful and need to get organized, they need Nozbe but they tell me they have no time to set it up. That’s why I recorded this short video explaining that you CAN set up yourself and 2 of your closest co-workers in 5 minutes or less, from start to finish:


💼 🍎 180 degrees opinion change by Steve Jobs

Wednesday, July 3, 2024 /180/

Over the last weekend I’ve been reading a book compiled by the wife of late Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, Laurene Powell Jobs: Make Something Wonderful (get it for free on Books) and one of the stories there was about Steve not being afraid to change his mind: “I have changed my position 180 degrees.” and I believe us leaders can learn a lot from it:

180 degrees opinion change by Steve Jobs


💌 💼 ✅ Free trials are a waste of everyone’s time

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 /trial/

Today I’m offering a very controversial take on trials. Industry standard is to offer them… but at Nozbe we just stopped doing that 🛑. We’ve found out that trials are ineffective so so let’s do something different:

Free trials are a waste of everyone’s time


🍎 💼 For Developers to win Apple doesn’t have to lose - why Tim Cook should listen to Steve Jobs

Wednesday, March 13, 2024 /good-job/

I am an Apple fanboy and happy user of their products: iPad, iPhone, Watch and iCloud and everything in between. However, as a developer of Nozbe which is available on both of Apple’s platforms: iOS and macOS I have very mixed feelings about the company. Actually, I’m disappointed in them and the way they guard the App Store “Services” revenue and exercise their position, making fun of anti-steering provisions or EU’s DMA laws. Instead of making their platforms better, they are doing everything in their power to keep the status quo. That’s why I think it’s time for Tim Cook and all Apple executives to listen to the late Steve Jobs from his keynote at MacWorld Boston in 1997:

For Developers to win Apple doesn’t have to lose - why Tim Cook should listen to Steve Jobs


💼 ✅ 🎥 🎬 Two Michaels walk into an office… and argue if virtual meetings are real!

Wednesday, March 6, 2024 /michaels/

I’m a huge fan of videos where there are two talking heads and both are the same person. Especially I’m a fan of Pitch Meetings by Ryan George. That’s why as I started my new @MichaelTeam YouTube Channel I wanted to try it out myself and finally yesterday as I had my favorite “Design Fight” meeting with my Nozbe team I decided to take this opportunity and try it out:

Two Michaels walk into an office… and argue if virtual meetings are real!


✅ 💼 ✏️ ⭐️ Nozbe - app for SMART business owners and teams - turns 17!

Tuesday, February 6, 2024 /nozbe17/

Last week, on February 1, Nozbe turned 17 years old and as I reflect over these last years I’d like to dig deeper into who is Nozbe really for? While working with Seth Godin’s marketing book I was thinking how to really convey to our current and future customers what we as Nozbe believe in. What’s our why? Because people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Not only our core values but also how we work, how we’re remote first, we don’t use email to collaborate, or have very few meetings. How to create this tension and play with status. How to say that people like us do things like this. Being a productivity nerd and loving the SMART acronym for goal setting, I decided to piggy-back on it and create my own way.

Nozbe - app for SMART business owners and teams - turns 17!


💼 🎬 ⭐️ Jeff Bezos and Day 1 thinking and truth seeking

Thursday, December 21, 2023 /day1/

Recently I’ve listened to Lex Friedman interviewing Jeff Bezos and I have a few notes that stuck with me, specifically about his Day 1 mentality.

Jeff Bezos and Day 1 thinking and truth seeking


💼 ✅ ⭐️ How we work on features and deploy Nozbe app weekly… while eating dog food?

Monday, September 11, 2023 /dogfooding/

Last week I did a guest webinar (in Polish) on how we ship Nozbe app and I gave all the details… In a nutshell, we break lots of “industry standards”, and we eat dog 🐶 food…

How we work on features and deploy Nozbe app weekly… while eating dog food?


💼 ✅ ⭐️ Evernote - why I love(d) it, how it almost acquired Nozbe and what’s next for your “external brain”?

Tuesday, July 4, 2023 /evernote/

Last month new Nozbe finally got Evernote integration (v.2013.19), similar to the one we’ve had for years for Nozbe Personal. While we were working on this, Evernote was aqcuired which to me was kind of an end of an era. You see, I used to be a great Evernote fan and supporter, I have a long history with them - from integrating in 2009, through a failed acquisition in 2011 and later usage until I dropped it altogether. Today I decided to write this blog post where I’m sharing my history with them and where I see them headed:

Evernote - why I love(d) it, how it almost acquired Nozbe and what’s next for your “external brain”?


💼 ✅ ⭐️ Pay-less upgrade - how to make plan changes for your SaaS customers completely effortless

Monday, June 26, 2023 /payless/

When designing new pricing for Nozbe customers I outlined 5 rules and values that guided me throughout the process. The last, 5th one, was the concept of pay-less account change. Actually, this idea is not new to this particular pricing change. We’ve had it since the beginning of new Nozbe and now after a few years of having it, we’re doubling down on it as we believe it’s the most effortless way for SaaS (Software as a Service) customers to change their subscription. Here’s why and how it works in practice (with examples!):

Pay-less upgrade - how to make plan changes for your SaaS customers completely effortless


💼 ✅ ⭐️ 5 principles for designing a pricing scheme for SaaS companies - how to charge per user with savings and fairness in mind

Monday, June 19, 2023 /pricing-how/

💼 ✅ 3 compliments my customers gave me this past week: worth, investment and understanding

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 /compliments/

💼 ✅ Nozbe pricing changes - how to raise prices, reward long-time customers and bet on the future

Monday, June 12, 2023 /pricing-new/

💼 ✅ ⭐️ Why choose Nozbe? Who is Nozbe for? What really is Nozbe?

Monday, June 5, 2023 /nozbe-why/

✅ 💼 ⭐️ 16 years of Nozbe

Wednesday, February 1, 2023 /nozbe16/

💼 ✅ Nozbe is now a Limited Liability Company: Nozbe sp. z o.o.

Thursday, December 15, 2022 /llc/

🗯 💼 What’s a broken keycard moment in your business?

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 /keycard/

💼 🎬 Trust is better than control and… performance!

Friday, December 9, 2022 /trust-sinek/

💼 ✅ Aulery - how I won my first startup award

Wednesday, December 7, 2022 /aulery/

💼 ✔️ ✏️ How to check if you’re working on the right thing - intersection of joy, skill and what your company needs

Friday, November 18, 2022 /work/

💼 🙁 How Elon Musk decimated twitter in less than a month!

Thursday, November 17, 2022 /elon/

🗯 💼 STOP working on day-to-day stuff on a Friday. Make it a Mighty Friday!

Friday, November 4, 2022 /friday/

🗯 💼 🙁 Elon Musk owns Twitter - what’s with escorting executives using security?

Friday, October 28, 2022 /escorting/

🗯 💼 🏝 Meeting by walking around is the healthiest way to do meetings!

Thursday, October 6, 2022 /walk/

💼 🙁 Businesses is business - which companies have no moral compass and still actively operate in Russia

Wednesday, May 18, 2022 /norussia/

💼 ✅ 🎬 Clarity - why our new message that Nozbe Teams becomes the new Nozbe resonates with people

Thursday, February 3, 2022 /clarity/

💼 The fundamental difference between how I run Nozbe and how they run Basecamp - the owner doesn’t need to call all the shots!

Monday, May 10, 2021 /owner/

💼 I’m sad, because people I looked up to - Basecamp leaders JF and DHH - lost their way. In a big way.

Tuesday, May 4, 2021 /basecamp/

💼 🎥 🎬 The big “why” of pricing a product or service - Team Productivity Show #11

Thursday, March 4, 2021 /pricing/

💼 ✅ How an idea is born… and what happens with it next?

Thursday, December 10, 2020 /idea/

💼 ✅ 17 commandments of work - my VISION for Nozbe team and Nozbe Teams product.

Thursday, September 17, 2020 /17c/

✅ 💼 RIP Wunderlist - an app that changed the course of Nozbe for the better

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 /wunderlist/

💼 Nozbe will not take any outside investment… nor will we build an office…

Friday, August 23, 2019 /investors/

💼 ✏️ Emotions in business are too often getting in the way of rational thinking… so keep giving yourself time to cool off… and read between the lines!

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 /emotions/

💼 How to get rid of Zoom server from your Mac and why we need a non-SV video conferencing alternative

Tuesday, July 9, 2019 /zoom/

✈️ ✅ 🕹️ 💼 MindBlower - un-official Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference symbol I’m giving away for free at the event

Monday, June 3, 2019 /mindblower/

✔️ 💼 How I learned JavaScript by studying source code of Basecamp… and how I keep learning programming by studying code written by others…

Monday, February 4, 2019 /source/

😎 💼 Nobody’s perfect from the beginning

Monday, January 21, 2019 /perfect/

💼 ✅ Having Nozbe featured as “App of the day” on the Apple App Store is great!

Friday, January 4, 2019 /appoftheday/

🍎 💼 Stock market doesn’t make any sense to me as Microsoft is more valuable than Apple…

Tuesday, December 11, 2018 /stock-market/

💼 Why I find joy in programming even though I don’t get to code much these days

Thursday, November 29, 2018 /code/

✔️ 💼 Would you pay 20 cents per day for increased productivity?

Tuesday, November 27, 2018 /20cents/

💼 Fake exhaust pipes in cars… or how brands undermine their stories…

Friday, July 27, 2018 /audi/

✅ 💼 👨🏼‍💻 Ten years feels like one day – Nozbe’s 10th birthday

Monday, February 13, 2017 /nozbe10/

😎 💼 Optimism pays. Why optimistic people are successful and get more done

Monday, July 18, 2016 /optimism/

💼 😎 Wow, you’re so successful! What’s next for you?

Monday, January 25, 2016 /next/

🌎 ✅ 💼 Why Black Friday sale is perfect timing for Nozbe users… [on: Nozbe blog]

Monday, November 30, 2015 /blackfriday/

💼 Finding my social media mix with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Medium…

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 /social-media-mix/

✅ 💼 Why it’s so great to be in a “good” business and what it means to me, my team and you

Thursday, October 15, 2015 /good-business/

💼 🎾 It takes a team to win. How Poland got to Euro 2016 finals

Monday, October 12, 2015 /team11/

💼 ✔️ It’s all your fault! Even when it isn’t!

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 /blame-yourself/

💼 My main competitor: non-consumption. That’s why I want to teach productivity rather than just sell Nozbe

Thursday, September 17, 2015 /teaching/

💼 Nozbe’s BACKTOWORK promo - why are we doing promotions anyway? (Hint: to motivate!)

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 /promo/

💼 How to build a DIY teleprompter in 5 minutes + tips on using it when recording videos

Friday, August 28, 2015 /teleprompter/

💼 How to recognize the difference between “hate” and “constructive feedback”

Thursday, August 13, 2015 /feedback/

💼 Begin again: why starting my second company (Remag) is scary, exciting and humbling…

Friday, March 20, 2015 /begin-again/

🚀 💼 Why I’m starting Remag? To reinvent digital mobile publishing!

Thursday, February 12, 2015 /why-remag/

✅ 💼 ✏️ Nozbe celebrates 8 years in business! Going stronger than ever!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 /8nozbe/

✅ 💼 ⌨️ Why my Nozbe team has the highest priority… and how I want to serve you better with this site

Friday, October 24, 2014 /site/

🎾 💼 Rolling the dice while winning volleyball world championships

Monday, September 22, 2014 /volleyball/

✅ 💼 👨🏼‍💻 How to design a productivity app? Our Nozbe 2.0 design process

Monday, June 2, 2014 /design/

✈️ 💼 ✅ Back in Japan! Why it’s Nozbe’s second home.

Thursday, March 27, 2014 /big-in-japan/

📙 💼 ✏️ Productive! Magazine going regular, global and local

Tuesday, February 25, 2014 /productiveglobal/

✅ 💼 ✏️ 7 years running Nozbe… and just getting started!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014 /7nozbe/

💼 ✏️ 5 things I love about my work and why it gets me excited every day

Monday, January 27, 2014 /5-loves/

💼 ✏️ I’m officially a decade-long entrepreneur and loving it!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014 /biz/

📲 💼 ✏️ I, NO robot. Android or iPhone or iPad? It’s beyond specs, let’s talk privacy.

Friday, November 22, 2013 /no-android/

💼 ✏️ Luck is what ultimately matters… but you can help it!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013 /luck/

💼 ✏️ Control is good but trust is better

Friday, September 27, 2013 /trust/

💼 ✏️ Why I hate email and what I’m planning to do about it

Tuesday, September 24, 2013 /email/

💼 ✏️ Growing the team and creating our very first V2MOM documents

Wednesday, August 21, 2013 /v2mom/

💼 ✏️ Why peer support is critical to your success

Monday, April 8, 2013 /peers/

💼 🎬 GoPro story - a decade-long “overnight” success

Monday, April 8, 2013 /gopro/

🌎 💼 Totally agree: Why Every Company Needs A ‘No Bozos’ Policy

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 /bozos/

✅ 💼 ✔️ ✏️ A definitive interview with me - Michael Sliwinski’s story - it’s all about passion!

Thursday, February 7, 2013 /interview/

✔️ 💼 ✏️ Can you “give” productivity? Or is productivity a feature of character?

Monday, January 28, 2013 /give-productivity/

📱 💼 ✏️ Who can do their day job effectively on the iPad?

Friday, January 11, 2013 /ipadonly-jobs/

💼 ✏️ Real praise, long haul and delivering customer happiness

Monday, November 26, 2012 /real-praise-long-haul-and-delivering-customer/

💼 ✏️ Why after almost 6 years I’m more excited about Nozbe than ever

Monday, November 5, 2012 /why-after-almost-6-years-im-more-excited-abou/

💼 ✏️ Build a passionate startup!… or 7 types of passion

Monday, August 13, 2012 /build-a-passionate-startup-or-7-types-of-pass/

💼 ✏️ How to handle a crisis situation in a startup?

Tuesday, August 7, 2012 /how-to-handle-a-crisis-situation-in-a-startup/

💼 ✏️ Wearing many hats while running a business

Friday, June 29, 2012 /wearing-many-hats-while-running-a-business/

💼 ✏️ Your biggest competitor? You!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 /your-biggest-competitor-you/

💼 🙁 That which does not kill us makes us stronger

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 /that-which-does-not-kill-us-makes-us-stronger/

💼 Giving benefit of a doubt to everyone!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012 /giving-benefit-of-a-doubt-to-everyone/

✅ 💼 5 years helping folks get things done

Tuesday, February 14, 2012 /5nozbe/

💼 Being mentored while mentoring

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 /being-mentored-while-mentoring/

💼 My 3 Words for 2012: Build, Ship, Disrupt

Monday, January 2, 2012 /my-3-words-for-2012-build-ship-disrupt/

💼 Leading a startup should be like driving a modern car

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 /leading-a-startup-should-be-like-driving-a-mo/

💼 Subscribification

Monday, November 21, 2011 /subscribification/

💼 Why a fallback option is your best bet

Monday, November 14, 2011 /why-a-fallback-option-is-your-best-bet/

✈️ 💼 Enjoying business of software

Wednesday, October 26, 2011 /enjoying-business-of-software/

💼 Bootstrapped - My European Pirate Summit Talk

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 /bootstrapped-my-european-pirate-summit-talk/

😎 💼 Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should

Monday, September 26, 2011 /just-because-you-can-doesnt-mean-you-should/

💼 😎 Feed your curiosity. Try things out. Learn. Grow

Thursday, September 22, 2011 /feed-your-curiosity-try-things-out-learn-grow/

💼 Unfollowing everyone and starting fresh

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 /unfollowing-everyone-and-starting-fresh/

🍎 💼 How Steve Jobs inspired me as an entrepreneur

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 /how-steve-jobs-inspired-me-as-an-entrepreneur/

💼 Manual gearboxes - why one-upping doesn’t work

Friday, August 19, 2011 /manual-gearboxes-why-one-upping-doesnt-work/

✈️ 💼 Actively talk to people when traveling… and socializing

Friday, July 29, 2011 /actively-talk-to-people-when-traveling-and-so/

💼 Leaders need to push people more

Monday, July 11, 2011 /leaders-need-to-push-people-more/

✈️ 💼 Passion attracts Passion

Monday, July 4, 2011 /passion-attracts-passion/

💼 Google Plus - I ain’t bothered

Thursday, June 30, 2011 /google-plus-i-aint-bothered/

✈️ 💼 Usabilidade = destroy silos - notes from UXLX Conference in Lisbon

Monday, May 16, 2011 /usabilidade-destroy-silos-notes-from-uxlx-con/

✈️ 💼 My visit to 37signals Masterclass in Chicago

Friday, May 6, 2011 /my-visit-to-37signals-masterclass-in-chicago/

✈️ 💼 Up-in-the-air style business trip packing

Monday, March 28, 2011 /up-in-the-air-style-business-trip-packing/

🍎 💼 Your New Affiliate Partner is Apple thanks to Subscriptions

Thursday, February 17, 2011 /your-new-affiliate-partner-is-apple-thanks-to/

💼 Playing where the puck is going to be

Monday, February 7, 2011 /playing-where-the-puck-is-going-to-be/

💼 😎 Why college education is still very relevant

Monday, January 24, 2011 /why-college-education-is-still-very-relevant/

✅ 💼 Forget Crunchies. Let people vote with money.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 /forget-crunchies-let-people-vote-with-money/

💼 Eliminate negativity pro-actively

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 /eliminate-negativity-pro-actively/

🍎 💼 3 lessons learned from Steve Jobs coming back to Apple

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 /3-lessons-learned-from-steve-jobs-coming-back/

💼 You can lose your face only once… so don’t!

Thursday, October 7, 2010 /you-can-lose-your-face-only-once-so-dont/

😎 💼 Get a Degree and Change the World!

Thursday, September 30, 2010 /get-a-degree-and-change-the-world/

💼 Product Guys succeed and inspire

Friday, September 17, 2010 /product-guys-succeed-and-inspire/

💼 Pecha-Kucha Style Presentations Rock!

Saturday, August 21, 2010 /pecha-kucha-style-presentations-rock/

💼 ✈️ 😎 Enjoying Lifestyle Business

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 /enjoying-lifestyle-business/

🎾 💼 To keep on winning, you need to keep on pushing it. In business, life… and football (soccer)

Wednesday, June 16, 2010 /to-keep-on-winning-you-need-to-keep-on-pushin/

🍎 📲 💼 Thoughts on iPhone 4 - Apple simply ships

Wednesday, June 9, 2010 /thoughts-on-iphone-4-apple-simply-ships/

🌎 💼 🎬 Friday Readership: Seth Godin says we should ship now, ship often

Friday, June 4, 2010 /friday-readership-seth-godin-says-we-should-s/

✅ 💼 5 Tips on Creating Subscription Plans in a Startup - Nozbe case

Monday, May 10, 2010 /5-tips-on-creating-subscription-plans-in-a-st/

💼 Zen Home-Working Environment - a cool business idea

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 /zen-home-working-environment-a-cool-business/

🙁 📖 💼 Digital content - people don’t want to steal. Unless you want them to.

Thursday, April 15, 2010 /digital-content-people-dont-want-to-steal-unl/

💼 TEDx event - passion is all around us… and so the feeling grows

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 /tedx-event-passion-is-all-around-us-and-so-th/

✅ 💼 ✔️ CEO of a small company needs to eat his dogfood. It’s yummy!

Thursday, February 25, 2010 /ceo-of-a-small-company-needs-to-eat-his-dogfo/

💼 Why are so many smart people re-inventing the wheel?

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 /why-are-so-many-smart-people-re-inventing-the/

💼 Serious Corporations use “serious business language”. They don’t speak English

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 /serious-corporations-use-serious-business-lan/

💼 URL shortening services just in time for short-cial media

Tuesday, December 15, 2009 /url-shortening-services-just-in-time-for-shor/

💼 Y-Combinator vs Seedcamp - Paul Graham nailed it?

Monday, December 14, 2009 /y-combinator-vs-seedcamp-paul-graham-nailed-i/

🌎 💼 Friday Readership - Business Motivational Quotes, eBook readers and Meetings

Saturday, December 12, 2009 /friday-readership-business-motivational-quote/

💼 Open ID is for geeks… Facebook and Twitter are not… and win!

Thursday, December 10, 2009 /open-id-is-for-geeks-facebook-and-twitter-are/

💼 LeWeb discussions - where are multimillionaire startup owners in Europe?

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 /leweb-discussions-where-are-multimillionaire/

💼 Money back guarantee - risk free shopping is good for you

Monday, November 30, 2009 /money-back-guarantee-risk-free-shopping-is-go/

💼 Ikea is good enough - power of instant furniture and relatively few choices

Tuesday, November 24, 2009 /ikea-is-good-enough-power-of-instant-furnitur/

💼 There is no such thing as customer support department

Monday, November 16, 2009 /there-is-no-such-thing-as-customer-support-de/

🌎 💼 How I work series on Inc. - how my guru CEO’s love their work

Monday, November 9, 2009 /how-i-work-series-on-inc-how-my-guru-ceos-lov/

🌎 💼 This week’s stories - be prepared when speaking, make sure you can handle trolls and go for a rapid growth

Saturday, November 7, 2009 /this-weeks-stories-be-prepared-when-speaking/

💼 Steady profits of a startup are not sexy, zillions of users are.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009 /steady-profits-of-a-startup-are-not-sexy-zill/

🎾 💼 F1 Pit Lane - Iterate Quickly and Focus on the Essential

Monday, November 2, 2009 /f1-pit-lane-iterate-quickly-and-focus-on-the/

✈️ 💼 Meet the Editor and Nozbe 2.0 at the GTD Summit in San Francisco

Thursday, March 5, 2009 /meet-the-editor-and-nozbe-20-at-the-gtd-summit-in-san-francisco/

💼 Celebrating 5 years of online entrepreneurship

Tuesday, December 16, 2008 /celebrating-5-years-of-online-entrepreneurshi/

🌎 💼 🎬 Harmony, Cubism of Picasso and Nike of Samothrace

Monday, July 7, 2008 /harmony-cubism-of-picasso-and-nike-of-samothr/