• Episode 706.1 | MicroConf US Tickets Will Sell Out Soon!
    Mar 28 2024

    MicroConf US in Atlanta is here in just a couple weeks, and this is your last call to buy tickets. We've sold more than 90% of the tickets, and we will sell this event out as we have for many years. The event is April 21st through the 23rd in Atlanta, Georgia at the amazing Starling Atlanta.

    There are going to be 200-ish of your closest bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped founder friends who are showing up to hear talks from folks like Rand Fishkin of SparkToro, Asia Orangio of DemandMaven. I'm giving a talk as well, and Dr. Sherry Walling will be talking about staying motivated as an entrepreneur. We have a special guest MC, Lianna Patch, and we'll have a very special guest who has never appeared on the MicroConf stage before- Ben Chestnut, the co-founder of MailChimp.

    Get all the details and secure your ticket before they run out at microconf.com/americas.

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    3 mins
  • Episode 706 | 2/20/200 Validation, Prior Art, and Designing by Committee (A Rob Solo Adventure)
    Mar 26 2024

    In episode 706, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where he discusses a variety of topics. He starts with why it’s important to both consider and credit “prior art” in business. Rob outlines his 2/20/200 idea validation framework used to repeatedly evaluate ideas. He also covers why, though there are some advantages, designing by committee has some significant downsides.

    Episode Sponsor:

    Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball?

    Maybe you’ve worked with a team that just couldn't grasp your vision and needed constant oversight because they weren’t thinking strategically. Or maybe you ended up wasting hours micromanaging, often needing to jump on late-night calls across massive time zone differences to get alignment. And in the end, they delivered a sluggish app with a frustrating UI that didn’t come close to the solution you had envisioned. If any of that sounds familiar, you need to reach out to our sponsor - DevSquad.

    DevSquad provides an entire development team packed with top talent from Latin America.

    Your elite squad will include between 2 to 6 Full Stack Developers, a technical product manager, plus experts in product strategy, UI/UX design, DevOps, and QA - all working together to make your SaaS Product a success.

    You can ramp up an entire product team fast, in your timezone, and at rates 75% cheaper than a comparable US-based team. And with DevSquad, you pay month to month with no long-term contracts.

    Get the committed, responsive development team that your business deserves.

    Visit DevSquad.com/startups and get 10% off the first three months of your engagement.

    Topics we cover:
    • 2:37 – Learning from, and crediting, prior art
    • 10:27 – The 2/20/200 Idea Validation Framework
    • 16:03 – Be wary when designing by committee
    • 21:09 – When to crowdsource feedback
    Links from the Show:
    • Register for MicroConf US in Atlanta, April 2024
    • Do Things That Don’t Scale by Paul Graham
    • David Sacks (@DavidSacks) | X
    • Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham
    • Episode 705 | From Bootstrapped to Mostly Bootstrapped
    • Episode 628 | The 5 P.M. Idea Validation Framework
    • Use This PROVEN Formula to Validate Your Next Startup Idea
    • Validate Your SaaS Idea FAST (Step-by-Step SaaS Validation Process)✅
    • Start Small Stay Small by Rob Walling
    • Metallica: Some Kind of Monster

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you! Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify | Google

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    26 mins
  • Episode 705 | From Bootstrapped to Mostly Bootstrapped to Venture Backed
    Mar 19 2024

    In episode 705, Rob Walling interviews Braden Dennis, co-founder and CEO of FinChat. They discuss Braden’s journey going from fully bootstrapped, all the way to taking venture capital as FinChat scaled. Braden shares his experience in initially launching to an audience, how they successfully launched a second product, and how FinChat operates well with multiple co-founders.

    Episode Sponsor:

    Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups

    The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fierce. Lemon.io helps you cut through the noise and find great talent through its network of engineers in Europe and Latin America.

    They take care of the vetting, interviewing, and testing of candidates to make sure that you are working with someone who can hit the ground running.

    When it comes to hiring, the time it takes to write your job description, list the position, review resumes, schedule interviews, and make an offer can take weeks, if not months. With Lemon.io, you can cut down on a lot of that time by tapping into their wide network of developers who can get started in as early as a week.

    And for subscribers of Startups For the Rest of Us, you can get 15% off your first 4 week contract with a developer by visiting lemon.io/startups

    Topics we cover:
    • 2:55 – What does FinChat look like today?
    • 4:00 – Starting with an audience and building a SaaS
    • 6:40 – Formulating the product and moving upmarket
    • 8:35 – Launching a second product
    • 12:25 – The common pitfall of launching a second product
    • 16:25 – How FinChat found explosive growth
    • 19:27 – Deciding to take venture funding
    • 26:13 – Making hard decisions with incomplete information
    • 30:31 – Working with multiple co-founders
    Links from the Show:
    • Register for MicroConf US in Atlanta, April 2024
    • Apply for Director of Marketing and Operations for MicroConf
    • MicroConf YouTube Channel
    • TinySeed
    • Braden Dennis (@BradoCapital) | X
    • FinChat (@finchat_io) | X
    • FinChat
    • Episode 681 | Why Launching a Second Product is Usually a Bad Idea

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review:

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    36 mins
  • Episode 704 | Landing Pages, Buying a SaaS, the Right Tech Stack, and More Listener Questions
    Mar 12 2024

    In episode 704, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He weighs in on buying a SaaS, how to validate ideas using landing pages, and what tech stack to choose. Rob also provides guidance for those considering leaving their comfortable day jobs in favor of being a founder.

    Episode Sponsor:

    Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball?

    Maybe you’ve worked with a team that just couldn't grasp your vision and needed constant oversight because they weren’t thinking strategically. Or maybe you ended up wasting hours micromanaging, often needing to jump on late-night calls across massive time zone differences to get alignment. And in the end, they delivered a sluggish app with a frustrating UI that didn’t come close to the solution you had envisioned. If any of that sounds familiar, you need to reach out to our sponsor - DevSquad.

    DevSquad provides an entire development team packed with top talent from Latin America.

    Your elite squad will include between 2 to 6 Full Stack Developers, a technical product manager, plus experts in product strategy, UI/UX design, DevOps, and QA - all working together to make your SaaS Product a success.

    You can ramp up an entire product team fast, in your timezone, and at rates 75% cheaper than a comparable US-based team. And with DevSquad, you pay month to month with no long-term contracts.

    Get the committed, responsive development team that your business deserves.

    Visit DevSquad.com/startups and get 10% off the first three months of your engagement.

    Topics we cover:
    • 4:00 – Comparing your business to successful outliers
    • 9:50 – Exploring business outside of a comfortable day job
    • 15:45 – Early access landing pages prior to development
    • 20:00 – How do you vet SaaS businesses that you are trying to acquire?
    • 27:16 – Evaluating a seller’s intentions
    • 29:50 – Choosing a tech stack for your SaaS
    Links from the Show:
    • MicroConf Remote – Early Stage Saas Strategies
    • Register for MicroConf US in Atlanta, April 2024
    • Apply for Director of Marketing and Operations for MicroConf
    • MicroConf Connect
    • Startups For The Rest of Us – Ask a question
    • 37signals
    • 7 Proven Ways to Create Profitable SaaS Ideas EVERY Time
    • The SaaS Playbook
    • Quiet Light
    • Acquire.com
    • The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping

    If you have questions about sta

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    38 mins
  • Episode 703 | The Accidental SaaS Entrepreneur
    Mar 5 2024

    In episode 703, Rob Walling interviews Jordan Hansen, founder of Cobalt Intelligence. They dive into Jordan's unexpected journey into SaaS and the growth of his company, which specializes in business verification through API. Jordan reflects on quitting his job to pursue his startup and the benefits of community and mentorship he has received from TinySeed.

    Episode Sponsor:

    Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups

    The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fierce. Lemon.io helps you cut through the noise and find great talent through its network of engineers in Europe and Latin America.

    They take care of the vetting, interviewing, and testing of candidates to make sure that you are working with someone who can hit the ground running.

    When it comes to hiring, the time it takes to write your job description, list the position, review resumes, schedule interviews, and make an offer can take weeks, if not months. With Lemon.io, you can cut down on a lot of that time by tapping into their wide network of developers who can get started in as early as a week.

    And for subscribers of Startups For the Rest of Us, you can get 15% off your first 4 week contract with a developer by visiting lemon.io/startups

    Topics we cover:
    • 2:30 – What does Cobalt Intelligence offer?
    • 5:45 – Team scale, market, and business origins
    • 9:55 – Starting YouTube and finding motivation to continually publish
    • 13:27 – Working with a savings runway and applying to TinySeed
    • 23:50 – Finding product-market fit
    • 26:58 – Unlisting content to align with business goals
    • 31:50 – “Accidental” SaaS founder
    Links from the Show:
    • Register for MicroConf US in Atlanta, April 2024
    • TinySeed
    • The SaaS Playbook
    • Jordan Hansen (@JordBHansen) | X
    • Cobalt Intelligence (@CobaltIntell) | X
    • Cobalt Intelligence
    • Lianna Patch (@punchlinecopy) | X
    • The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping
    • Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual by John Sonmez
    • Episode 698 | How to Launch a Million Dollar Business (With Noah Kagan)
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    34 mins
  • Episode 702 | Revenue vs. Profit Multiples, When to Lower Prices, and More Listener Questions
    Feb 27 2024

    In episode 702, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He answers how to introduce friends to bootstrapping, when to lower your prices, and addresses the difference in revenue and profit multiple valuations. Rob also offers advice when weighing a career move versus building side projects and scaling your MVP.

    Episode Sponsor:

    Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball?

    Maybe you’ve worked with a team that just couldn't grasp your vision and needed constant oversight because they weren’t thinking strategically. Or maybe you ended up wasting hours micromanaging, often needing to jump on late-night calls across massive time zone differences to get alignment. And in the end, they delivered a sluggish app with a frustrating UI that didn’t come close to the solution you had envisioned. If any of that sounds familiar, you need to reach out to our sponsor - DevSquad.

    DevSquad provides an entire development team packed with top talent from Latin America.

    Your elite squad will include between 2 to 6 Full Stack Developers, a technical product manager, plus experts in product strategy, UI/UX design, DevOps, and QA - all working together to make your SaaS Product a success.

    You can ramp up an entire product team fast, in your timezone, and at rates 75% cheaper than a comparable US-based team. And with DevSquad, you pay month to month with no long-term contracts.

    Get the committed, responsive development team that your business deserves.

    Visit DevSquad.com/startups and get 10% off the first three months of your engagement.

    Topics we cover:
    • 3:15 – How to introduce friends to entrepreneurship and bootstrapping
    • 6:00 – When to focus on profit vs. top-line revenue
    • 10:40 – Considerations for building, scaling, and differentiating an MVP
    • 15:45 – Rare circumstances where you should lower prices
    • 20:25 – Pursuing career moves vs. building on the side
    • 23:43 – Managing cap tables and equity vesting
    Links from the Show:
    • MicroConf Remote – Early Stage Saas Strategies
    • TinySeed
    • The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping
    • Start Small, Stay Small
    • The SaaS Playbook
    • MicroConf YouTube Channel: Building Your First SaaS: The Ultimate Crash Course
    • SFTROU Greatest Hits
    • Episode 222 | The Stair Step Approach to Launching Products
    • What is a SAFE?

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for u

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    32 mins
  • Episode 701 | The Long Journey to Product-Market Fit
    Feb 20 2024

    In episode 701, Rob Walling interviews Matt Wensing, founder of Summit, a SaaS platform for lead scoring and qualification. Matt shares insights on finding product-market fit, the importance of following customer workflows to get there, and the challenges of marketing and positioning. Rob asks about his choice to raise venture capital, and how keeping a lean team maximizes that opportunity.

    Episode Sponsor:

    Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups

    The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fierce. Lemon.io helps you cut through the noise and find great talent through its network of engineers in Europe and Latin America.

    They take care of the vetting, interviewing, and testing of candidates to make sure that you are working with someone who can hit the ground running.

    When it comes to hiring, the time it takes to write your job description, list the position, review resumes, schedule interviews, and make an offer can take weeks, if not months. With Lemon.io, you can cut down on a lot of that time by tapping into their wide network of developers who can get started in as early as a week.

    And for subscribers of Startups For the Rest of Us, you can get 15% off your first 4 week contract with a developer by visiting lemon.io/startups

    Topics we cover: 
    • 2:27 – “Traveling many H1’s”, refining a target market 
    • 5:44 – Moving back to a self-serve model
    • 10:52 – Niching down to achieve stronger product-market fit
    • 12:53 – Tactics that Matt used to achieve traction
    • 16:54 – Lead scoring by behavior and persona-fit 
    • 19:20 – Scoring as a whole product vs. as only a feature
    • 23:31 – Pursuing VC with a lean team
    • 29:09 – Who is your ideal customer profile?
    Links from the Show: 
    • Apply for Tinyseed Feb 12th through Feb 25th
    • MicroConf Remote – Early Stage Saas Strategies
    • Matt Wensing (@mattwensing) | X
    • Summit
    • Episode 696 | The Truth about Product-Market Fit + Doing Sales as an Introvert (With Ruben Gamez)
    • Out of Beta
    • Episode 633 | Building SaaS Plus a Two-Sided Marketplace
    • The SaaS Playbook
    • "How I Sold My SaaS in An 8-Figure Exit" with Matt Wensing

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please

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    33 mins
  • Episode 700 | Playing the Long Game
    Feb 13 2024

    In episode 700, Rob goes solo to celebrate another milestone of Startups For the Rest of Us. He reflects on playing the long game and doing so publicly enough to create larger luck surface area. He also emphasizes building skills in the process, and highlights several founders who have done this well.

    Episode Sponsor:

    Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball?

    Maybe you’ve worked with a team that just couldn't grasp your vision and needed constant oversight because they weren’t thinking strategically. Or maybe you ended up wasting hours micromanaging, often needing to jump on late-night calls across massive time zone differences to get alignment. And in the end, they delivered a sluggish app with a frustrating UI that didn’t come close to the solution you had envisioned. If any of that sounds familiar, you need to reach out to our sponsor - DevSquad.

    DevSquad provides an entire development team packed with top talent from Latin America. 

    Your elite squad will include between 2 to 6 Full Stack Developers, a technical product manager, plus experts in product strategy, UI/UX design, DevOps, and QA - all working together to make your SaaS Product a success.

    You can ramp up an entire product team fast, in your timezone, and at rates 75% cheaper than a comparable US-based team. And with DevSquad, you pay month to month with no long-term contracts. 

    Get the committed, responsive development team that your business deserves.  

    Visit DevSquad.com/startups and get 10% off the first three months of your engagement.

    Topics we cover: 
    • 2:41 – Balancing short vs. long term thinking and decision making
    • 7:30 – Examples of founders leaning into the long game
    • 12:18 – Putting in the time, and doing it publicly (enough)
    • 16:42 – Lucky or smart?
    • 21:22 – How do I know if I’m playing the correct long game?
    • 23:54 – Acquiring skills as you play the long game
    • 27:13 – Cheers to 700!
    Links from the Show: 
    • Apply for TinySeed Spring 2024
    • MicroConf
    • TinySeed
    • Start Small, Stay Small by Rob Walling
    • Gather
    • TinySeed Tales S2E1 | Introducing Gather
    • Lucky or Smart? by Bo Peabody

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify |

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    31 mins