Kajabi vs. Teachable vs. Thinkific vs. Podia vs. Circle vs. self-hosted WordPress. This decision has stopped more courses from launching than imposter syndrome and pricing anxiety combined. Therapists spend weeks researching platforms instead of recording Module 1.

After the 30th hour of research, the choice still doesn’t matter. All platforms host videos. All platforms take payments. The differences become relevant at scale. Right now, you need to ship.

Launching your first course doesn’t require a studio, a team, or a dozen complicated apps. In fact, you only need two types of tools:

That’s it. Nothing else is essential to get your course live and earning.

For a beta course with fewer than 10 students, the cheapest options are often the smartest options. You’re not trying to optimize your tech stack for thousands of users you’re trying to ship your course, gather feedback, and validate your offer.

The goal isn’t to have a shiny, perfect system. It’s to get students in the door fast, start collecting data, and iterate from there. Once you’ve tested your course, proven that students are completing it and seeing results, you can upgrade tools to scale. Until then, simplicity is your friend less setup, less friction, and more time for creating content that actually matters.

“I recorded my entire first course on my MacBook at my kitchen table. 214 students have completed it. Nobody asked about the production quality.”

— Daniel, LMFT

Next week: Writing a Sales Page that Doesn’t Feel Like a Sales Page - a - 7 section formula for converting the right students without feeling pushy.