Startups For the Rest of Us

Latest Episodes:

Episode 706.5 | Rethinking My Most Common Advice Apr 01, 2024

Show notes

In 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 bunch of products to see what sticks
10:52 – This episode was released April 1, 2024

Links from the Show:

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!

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

Show notes

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.

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

Show notes

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:

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

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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:

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

Episode 705 | From Bootstrapped to Mostly Bootstrapped to Venture Backed Mar 19, 2024

Show notes

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:

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

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

Show notes

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?

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

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:

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

Episode 703 | The Accidental SaaS Entrepreneur Mar 05, 2024

Show notes

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

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.

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:

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

Episode 702 | Revenue vs. Profit Multiples, When to Lower Prices, and More Listener Questions Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

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?

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

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:

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

Episode 701 | The Long Journey to Product-Market Fit Feb 20, 2024

Show notes

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

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.

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:

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

Episode 700 | Playing the Long Game Feb 13, 2024

Show notes

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?

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

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 | Google

Episode 699 | How to Build Elegant, Scalable Software Products with Derrick Reimer Feb 06, 2024

Show notes

In 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

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.

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:

2:35 – Establish design systems and language as you scale your product
8:36 – Building out a front-end directory to maintain consistency
10:17 – Truly understand how customers are moving through your product
16:28 – Naming convention dilemmas, industry norms vs. accuracy
19:22 – Hiding product features with feature flags
23:04 – Scaling new products that serve different verticals
31:12 – Best practices for maintaining a product knowledge base
37:11 – Bonus: What advice would you give to your prior self starting a podcast?

Links from the Show:

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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