Startups For the Rest of Us
485 episodes - English - Latest episode: 27 days ago - ★★★★★ - 675 ratingsThe original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.
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Episodes
Episode 719 | How to Test Pricing, Lifetime Deals, and Building Something for Everyone (A Rob Solo Adventure)
June 25, 2024 10:00 - 26 minutes - 24.9 MBIn episode 719, join Rob Walling as he embarks on another solo adventure, tackling listener questions. He discusses how to test pricing, addresses the pitfalls of one-time payments vs. SaaS, and he reflects on “building something for everyone.” He wraps up with advice on making better recommendations. Episode Sponsor: We have been partnering with Lemon.io for several years, and they’ve proven to be a great choice when it comes to hiring for a highly skilled developer to work on your projec...
Episode 718 | When to Give Up, Open Source Competition, Painful Features, and More (with Derrick Reimer)
June 18, 2024 10:00 - 43 minutes - 40 MBIn episode 718, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer tackle listener questions about giving up on ideas, competing in crowded markets, and developing painful features. They also chat about SavvyCal’s recent design refresh, finding founder-market fit, and whether Derrick has retired from podcasting. 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 thinkin...
Episode 717 | Bootstrapping to $1.3M ARR and 300,000 Free Users
June 11, 2024 10:00 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBIn episode 717, Rob Walling interviews Marie Martin, co-founder of Tally. They discuss the company’s journey to $1.3M ARR and the unusual pricing strategy that got them there. Marie details how they keep their support volume low, how they differentiate Tally from other form builders, and how they grew to over 300,000 free users. Episode Sponsor: We have been partnering with Lemon.io for several years, and they’ve proven to be a great choice when it comes to hiring for a highly skilled deve...
Episode 716 | Positioning Against Incumbents, Changing Your H1, How Tech Stack Affects Valuation, and More Listener Questions
June 04, 2024 10:00 - 31 minutes - 29 MBIn episode 716, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He shares how he would position against incumbents, when to change an H1, and how choosing a tech stack affects your business valuation. Rob also weighs whether to skip a “Step 1” or “Step 2” business and start directly with a standalone SaaS in the Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping. Episode Sponsor: Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball? Maybe you’ve worked with a team that j...
Episode 715 | Best Uses of the Internet, a Book about Selling Your Company, and a Circus Show
May 28, 2024 10:00 - 35 minutes - 33.2 MBIn episode 715, Rob Walling is joined by Dr. Sherry Walling to discuss a variety of topics. They chat about two recent and meaningful interactions made possible by the Internet, the motivations behind organizing and performing a circus show, and they chat about upcoming launches on the horizon – new books and courses for SaaS founders. Episode Sponsor: We have been partnering with Lemon.io for several years, and they’ve proven to be a great choice when it comes to hiring for a highly skill...
Episode 714 | TRM not TAM, Acquiring a Competitor, and Finding a Developer Co-founder (A Rob Solo Adventure)
May 21, 2024 10:00 - 31 minutes - 29.2 MBIn episode 714, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He talks about what to expect when acquiring a competitor and how he might integrate their business. Rob also covers navigating HIPAA compliance as a bootstrapper, how to find a developer co-founder, and he explores the concept of Total Reachable Market (TRM). Episode Sponsor: Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball? Maybe you’ve worked with a team that just couldn't grasp your v...
Episode 713 | Our Top 5 Takeaways from MicroConf US 2024 (with Arvid Kahl)
May 14, 2024 10:00 - 34 minutes - 32 MBIn episode 713, Rob Walling is joined by Arvid Kahl to share their experience from MicroConf US 2024 in Atlanta. They each discuss their top 5 moments, ranging from Dr. Sherry Walling’s talk on motivation to Ben Chestnut’s chat with Rob onstage. They agree that there’s nothing quite like being in the room with everyone and soaking in all the interactions outside of the official talks. If you missed the event and had some MicroConf FOMO, make sure to sign up for our email list to be notifie...
Episode 712 | Revisiting Burnout + Updates on My Progress in 2024 (A Rob Solo Adventure)
May 07, 2024 10:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBIn episode 712, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure. He starts by revisiting past predictions and provides an update on how he successfully staved off full burnout. Rob then gives updates on this podcast, the progress of TinySeed and MicroConf, and teases two new books that he’s working on. 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 t...
Episode 711 | Finding Early Customers, Horizontal vs. Vertical, Prosumer SaaS, and More Listener Questions (with Ruben Gamez)
April 30, 2024 10:00 - 51 minutes - 47.6 MBIn episode 711, join Rob Walling and Ruben Gamez as they answer listener questions. They chat about finding early customers without an audience, how to approach horizontal vs. vertical product spinoffs, and some considerations for No Code development. They also discuss the challenges of serving prosumer SaaS, the importance of understanding customer segments for pricing strategies, and the dual funnel approach for catering to different customer tiers. Episode Sponsor: We have been partneri...
Episode 710 | Is Coding Dead?, The "Right" Tech Stack, Funded Competition, and More Listener Questions
April 23, 2024 10:00 - 34 minutes - 31.8 MBIn episode 710, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He answers whether you need a burning passion to be successful in entrepreneurship, and how that relates to developing a product alongside a day job. Rob also discusses competing against VC-backed companies, learning to code in the age of AI, and how much risk lies in IP theft when building your SaaS. Episode Sponsor: Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball? Maybe you’ve worked w...
Episode 709 | The 7 Greatest Investments of My Life
April 16, 2024 10:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBIn episode 709, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure as he shares his story of growing his personal wealth over the past few decades. Selling companies was the major driver of wealth, but he also explores the role of cryptocurrency, running profitable companies, and angel investing. Rob emphasizes the power of entrepreneurship in achieving financial freedom, while acknowledging there are ways to do so while keeping risk relatively low. Episode Sponsor: We have been partnering with Lemon.i...
Episode 708 | Outsourcing Marketing, Competitive Markets, and More Listener Questions (with Derrick Reimer)
April 09, 2024 10:00 - 47 minutes - 44.3 MBIn episode 708, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer tackle listener questions about building development skills vs. business skills and strategies for entering competitive markets. They also chat about building on top of AI services, addressing the risks of platform dependency and the importance of managing infrastructure costs. 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 overs...
Episode 707 | Once.com, Open Source to FT Income, and More (Hot Take Tuesday)
April 02, 2024 10:00 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBIn episode 707, Rob Walling, alongside guests Tracy Osborn and Einar Vollset, give their hot takes on some recent news in the world of SaaS. They discuss Once.com’s launch, liquidation preference nuances in startup buyouts, with moving from open source to full time income and more. 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...
Episode 706.5 | Rethinking My Most Common Advice
April 01, 2024 10:00 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBIn episode 706.5, join Rob Walling as he reconsiders some of his most common advice. He explores why lowering prices might make sense and discusses the benefits of a B2C business model. Rob also walks back his prior advice on bootstrapping two-sided marketplaces and launching multiple products to see what sticks. Topics we cover: 1:04 – What would happen if you lowered prices? 3:56 – Benefits of a B2C approach 7:05 – Two-sided marketplaces allow to reach two audiences 8:47 – Launch a ...
Episode 706.1 | MicroConf US Tickets Will Sell Out Soon!
March 28, 2024 10:00 - 2 minutes - 2.94 MBMicroConf 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 DemandMave...
Episode 706 | 2/20/200 Validation, Prior Art, and Designing by Committee (A Rob Solo Adventure)
March 26, 2024 10:00 - 25 minutes - 23.9 MBIn 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 c...
Episode 705 | From Bootstrapped to Mostly Bootstrapped to Venture Backed
March 19, 2024 10:00 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBIn 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...
Episode 704 | Landing Pages, Buying a SaaS, the Right Tech Stack, and More Listener Questions
March 12, 2024 10:00 - 37 minutes - 34.8 MBIn 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...
Episode 703 | The Accidental SaaS Entrepreneur
March 05, 2024 10:00 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBIn 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 ...
Episode 702 | Revenue vs. Profit Multiples, When to Lower Prices, and More Listener Questions
February 27, 2024 10:00 - 31 minutes - 29.7 MBIn 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...
Episode 701 | The Long Journey to Product-Market Fit
February 20, 2024 10:00 - 33 minutes - 31 MBIn 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 inc...
Episode 700 | Playing the Long Game
February 13, 2024 10:00 - 30 minutes - 28.7 MBIn 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’...
Episode 699 | How to Build Elegant, Scalable Software Products with Derrick Reimer
February 06, 2024 10:00 - 47 minutes - 44.1 MBIn episode 699, Rob Walling chats with fan favorite Derrick Reimer, the founder of SavvyCal, about scaling products tastefully. Derrick offers his perspective on maintaining a tidy UX and deciding which features to implement. They also cover best practices for maintaining knowledge bases, changelogs, and documentation. As a bonus, Rob and Derrick offer podcasting advice to their past selves. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups The competition for in...
Episode 698 | How to Launch a Million Dollar Business (With Noah Kagan)
January 30, 2024 10:00 - 44 minutes - 41.4 MBIn episode 698, Rob Walling interviews Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo. They discuss the importance of eliminating distractions, cover strategies that led to growth in Noah’s businesses, and share insights from growing YouTube channels. Noah also shares why he decided to write his new book, Million Dollar Weekend. 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 the...
Episode 697 | 7 Predictions for SaaS Bootstrappers in 2024
January 23, 2024 10:00 - 31 minutes - 29.6 MBIn episode 697, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where he makes predictions for SaaS in 2024. His predictions focus on Vertical SaaS, emerging markets, the professionalization of No-Code, subscription fatigue, AI and more. At the end of the episode, he evaluates predictions he made over the past 10 years to see if they held up. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fierc...
Episode 696 | The Truth about Product-Market Fit + Doing Sales as an Introvert (With Ruben Gamez)
January 16, 2024 10:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBIn episode 696, Rob Walling and Ruben Gamez cover a variety of topics. They discuss how product market fit is achieved across customer segments and use cases, not simply broadly. Ruben shares how he approaches effective decision making and sales as an introvert. They wrap up by sharing how they evaluate candidates when hiring to build their teams. Topics we cover: 4:47 – Product market fit, increasing average revenue per customer 7:58 – When did you know you had product market fit? 11:0...
Episode 695 | Ideal Customers, Moving from B2C to B2B, and More Listener Questions (with Asia Orangio)
January 09, 2024 10:00 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBIn episode 695, Rob Walling and Asia Orangio answer listener questions. They take questions about ideal target customers, moving from B2C to B2B, and how to advertise for a product in a new space. They wrap up discussing the challenges of making freemium work while bootstrapping. 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 gr...
Episode 694 | 2023 In Review: Amazing Growth & Fighting Burnout
January 02, 2024 10:00 - 19 minutes - 18.7 MBIn episode 694, join Rob Walling as he recaps 2023. He reflects on growing TinySeed, MicroConf, the YouTube channel and this podcast. Rob also addresses his struggle with "arrival fallacy" and the continuous journey of success. Alongside the growth, he describes seeing burnout on the horizon, emphasizes the importances of addressing that early, and what it means for him and his team in 2024. Episode Sponsor: Going from an idea sketched on the back of a napkin to a robust, stable product re...
Episode 693 | Building a Mid-Six-Figure SaaS in Less Than 3 Years
December 26, 2023 10:00 - 28 minutes - 26.7 MBIn episode 693, Rob Walling interviews Grant McConnaughey, founder of Postpone, a social media scheduling tool. They discuss the app's growth from inception to mid six figures, early growth tactics, a successful price increase, and platform risks with Reddit and Twitter. Grant also shares his experience going all-in on one idea, joining TinySeed, and reveals what he can still improve upon. Topics we cover: 2:04 – Postpone starts off as part of a New Year’s resolution 4:13 – Validating an...
Episode 692 | Learn the Rules Like a Pro So You Can Break Them Like an Artist (A Rob Solo Adventure)
December 19, 2023 10:00 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBIn episode 692, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where he addresses a variety of topics. He stresses revisiting your onboarding to evaluate your product’s “minimum path to awesome” and warns of conducting “mirror research” instead of market research. Rob also tackles why being the cheapest option is not always the best positioning. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fi...
Episode 691 | Freemium, High-touch vs. Low-touch, Selling as an Introvert, and More Listener Questions
December 12, 2023 10:00 - 23 minutes - 21.6 MBIn episode 691, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He evaluates freemium as it relates to paying by the “honor system”, competing against big incumbents, and whether to sell using high-touch vs. low-touch strategies. Rob also recommends books for introverts looking for sales advice. 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. ...
Episode 690 | When Opt-in Email Could Be Spam, Collecting Customer Feedback, and More Listener Questions
December 05, 2023 10:00 - 33 minutes - 31 MBIn episode 690, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He advises on the ethical considerations of email marketing and answers how he would value a business when buying out a partner. He also addresses the best ways to collect customer feedback and the value of high-fidelity customer calls. Episode Sponsor: Going from an idea sketched on the back of a napkin to a robust, stable product requires a wide range of skills. You can spend ages looking for...
Episode 689 | How to Keep Your Remote Team Motivated and Engaged
November 28, 2023 10:00 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBIn episode 689, Rob Walling interviews Robert Cserti, co-founder of SessionLab. Robert and his team provide tools and resources for designing workshops and SessionLab operates fully remote. Rob and Robert discuss strategies for motivating remote teams, fostering team culture and communication, and being intentional about synchronous meetings and team bonding. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups The competition for incredible engineers and developers...
Episode 688 | Growing Boot.dev From $6k to $110k in Monthly Revenue in 15 Months
November 21, 2023 10:00 - 32 minutes - 29.9 MBIn episode 688, Rob Walling interviews Lane Wagner, founder of Boot.dev. Boot.dev is a learning platform gamified to teach backend development. They discuss the journey of bootstrapping Boot.dev, its explosive growth, and its unique business model. Lane also shares challenges of running a B2C business, why he took some funding, and the significance of customer lifetime value over MRR in his business. Topics we cover: 2:38 – Boot.dev seeing incredible growth 3:35 – Growing on YouTube with...
Episode 687 | An 8th Thing You Should Never Do, Things That Don't Scale, and More Rob Solo Topics
November 14, 2023 10:00 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBIn episode 687, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where discusses a variety of topics. He revisits a recent episode to add one more item to the list of things founders should never do. Rob also offers a hot take on Meta’s new subscription plans and weighs in on a Hacker News post about doing things that don’t scale. 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 he...
Episode 686 | How Much is Enough?, Outsourcing Marketing, and More Listener Questions
November 07, 2023 10:00 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBIn episode 686, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He answers how to evaluate monetary success, combat hedonic adaptation, and how to evaluate the capabilities of technical co-founders. Rob also discusses whether outsourcing sales and marketing is possible and considers some alternative no-code approaches. Topics we cover: 4:20 – Success after stair-stepping, confronting hedonic adaptation 15:35 – Sales funnels, friction before demos, and co...
Episode 685 | 7 Things You Should Never Do (A Rob Solo Adventure)
October 31, 2023 10:00 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBIn episode 685, Rob Walling goes solo to share his insights on 7 common mistakes that SaaS founders make. Be sure to listen to the end to hear Rob’s spicy take on launching a portfolio of products to see what sticks. Episode Sponsor: As a founder your plate is full. So when you have to hire devs, there’s no time to search for that perfect culture-fit, get-things-done developer. Lemon.io’s new product, Lemon Hire saves founders time by connecting them with a pipeline of 80K+ senior engineer...
Episode 684 | Key Takeaways from MicroConf Europe 2023
October 24, 2023 10:00 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBIn episode 684, Rob Walling is joined by Dr. Sherry Walling to share their experience from MicroConf Europe 2023 in Lisbon. They discuss a continued shift in MicroConf’s focus towards fostering founder connections and networking, and the value of face-to-face interactions. Rob and Sherry reflect on their own talks and highlight others by fellow founders and attendees. Topics we cover: 1:28 – Reflecting on MicroConf locations 6:28 – Continuous event improvements, focus on community 9:41...
Episode 683 | Bringing on a Partner, Attending Trade Shows, Pre-launch Discounts, and More Listener Questions
October 17, 2023 10:00 - 28 minutes - 26.9 MBIn episode 683, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He addresses gathering feedback from customers that are reluctant to give it to you, whether to bring on a partner, and the value of going to in-person events. Rob also covers topics such as equity for advisors, pricing strategies, & productized services. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups The competition for incredible engineers and developers has neve...
Episode 682 | The Pros and Cons of Large vs. Small Startup Events
October 10, 2023 10:00 - 27 minutes - 26 MBIn episode 682, Rob Walling interviews Alex Theuma, the founder of SaaStock, a conference for SaaS founders. They discuss the challenges of bootstrapping an event and the pros and cons of large startup events versus small startup events. Alex also shares his experience of building credibility and authority in the industry, the importance of maintaining a positive attendee experience, and ensuring financial sustainability. Episode Sponsor: Tired of searching endlessly for highly skilled sof...
Episode 681 | Why Launching a Second Product is Usually a Bad Idea
October 03, 2023 10:00 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBIn episode 681, Rob Walling and Ruben Gamez go deep on the drawbacks of launching a second product. They both generally advise against doing so, as it can distract from the existing product. However they do share some successful attempts, strategic insights, how to approach feedback on second ideas, and the benefits for founders that beat the odds. Topics we cover: 1:31 – When you should launch a second product 5:32 – Ruben’s experience growing Bidsketch and SignWell 9:45 – Responding t...
Episode 680 | Problems vs. Solutions, Doing What it Takes, and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure)
September 26, 2023 10:00 - 23 minutes - 22.2 MBIn episode 680, Rob Walling goes solo again, covering a wide variety of topics including listening to customers, but not necessarily their solutions. He also cautions against making decisions based on one customer's feedback, but listening to the crowd. Finally, Rob highlights the importance of doing whatever it takes to succeed as a founder. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been m...
Episode 679.5 | The Future of MicroConf (7 Announcements!)
September 21, 2023 10:00 - 7 minutes - 7.08 MBIn episode 679.5, Rob shares seven announcements about the future of MicroConf in the upcoming year. Whether you're a long-time supporter or a new member of our crew of misfits, you know we're all about empowering bootstrapped SaaS entrepreneurs. For nearly a decade, we've been fueling the permissionless entrepreneurship movement that's gripped founders worldwide - and we're nowhere close to finished. Our next big leap is coming, and you won't want to miss it. If you want to get the ins...
Episode 679 | Mock Features, A Failed Launch, Becoming a Freelancer, and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure)
September 19, 2023 10:00 - 26 minutes - 25.2 MBIn episode 679, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He discusses how “mock features” can be implemented to close deals with certain buying dynamics, how to recover from a failed launch, and the benefits of phased launches to minimize those. Rob also gives advice on creating organic content for a SaaS and suggests alternative marketing strategies to content creation. Finally, he covers what an engineer might encounter during an acquisition in a sma...
Episode 678 | Selling a Half-Finished Product, Phased Launches, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo Adventure)
September 12, 2023 10:00 - 26 minutes - 24.9 MBIn episode 678, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He answers how he might find buyers for a half-done SaaS product, addresses platform risk that accompanies no-code development, and shares insights on bookkeeping for SaaS startups. Rob also details what frameworks new marketers should be looking into and gives advice on launching a new SaaS tool to an email list. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups The ...
Episode 677 | Design Faster and More Effectively With Wireframing
September 05, 2023 10:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBIn episode 677, Tracy Osborn interviews Leon Barnard from Balsamiq about wireframing and design. They discuss the book "Wireframing for Everyone" written by Leon and his co-authors from Balsamiq and they emphasize the value of low-fidelity wireframes for founders. They also cover how wireframing can improve ideation and communication processes among teams. To wrap up, they recommend resources for non-designers interested in learning more about wireframing and design. Episode Sponsor: Life ...
Episode 676 | Exit Valuations, Choosing Between Ideas, and More Listener Questions
August 29, 2023 10:00 - 33 minutes - 31.4 MBIn episode 676, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where he answers more listener questions. He answers questions around the inflated valuations in the B2B SaaS market, choosing between ideas, and validating a SaaS idea before building. Rob wraps up evaluating the effectiveness of building a podcast or YouTube following prior to launch. Topics we cover: 0:56 – TinySeed applications for fall 2023 batch 1:42 – The Future of MicroConf announcement event 2:13 – Why are B2B SaaS valuation...
Episode 675 | Storytelling as a Sales Superpower (Book Recommendation)
August 22, 2023 10:00 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBIn episode 675, Rob Walling interviews Stephen Steers, author of "Superpower Storytelling." They discuss Stephen’s experience in selling and teaching startups how to sell better. They cover Stephen’s storytelling “AREA” framework and the concept of the problem stack. They also talk about when founders should consider delegating sales, the importance of documenting successful sales processes, and using humor in the sales process. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lem...
Episode 674 | SparkToro Pays Back Investors, When to Raise Funding, and X.com (Hot Take Tuesday)
August 15, 2023 10:00 - 43 minutes - 40.6 MBIn episode 674, join Rob Walling, Einar Vollset, and Tracy Osborn for Hot Take Tuesday, where they analyze and discuss some of the latest news. They talk about Elon rebranding Twitter to X and the emergence of Instagram's Threads. They also cover the pros and cons of taking VC and SparkToro's unique funding model and paying back investors. Topics we cover: 2:49 – Twitter is now X 5:53 – Does the rebranding make sense? 12:15 – Instagram launches Threads 19:18 – SparkToro pays back inv...
Episode 673 | Lifetime Plans vs Subscriptions, Testing an Idea With a Landing Page, and More Listener Questions
August 08, 2023 10:00 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBIn episode 673, Rob Walling chats with Ruben Gamez, the founder of SignWell, as they answer listener questions. They cover topics related to pricing models for SaaS products, marketing strategies for new products, the concept of copycat apps, and the challenges of balancing customer requests with product development. Additionally, they address a question about choosing between working at a startup or a big tech company. Episode Sponsor: Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/sta...