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Startups For the Rest of Us
Startups For the Rest of Us

Startups For the Rest of Us

The 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.

Available Episodes 10

In 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:

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Topics we cover: 

  • 1:29 – Sign the National Association of Manufacturers Letter, Section 174
  • 3:52 – Compiling a list of things founders shouldn’t do
  • 6:49 – B2C applications, “the worst of all the worlds”
  • 9:42 – Don’t build a second product if your first has stopped growing
  • 10:40 – Defining a new category of software is usually a bad idea 
  • 19:59 – Avoid multi-language support
  • 24:13 – Dig deep to find root causes beyond the symptoms
  • 27:41 – The portfolio approach

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

In 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 – Michelle Hanson’s talk “Frameworks For Making Product and Strategic Company Decisions”
  • 10:38 – Rob’s talk about the five stages of customer awareness
  • 13:21 – Einar Vollset’s talk on applying AI iteratively to solve problems
  • 15:07 – QuietLight’s live business valuation
  • 16:39 – Attendee talks from Sophie, Johannes Akhison, and more
  • 19:25 – Dr. Sherry Walling discusses motivational archetypes
  • 22:46 – Steven Craven’s founder story

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

In 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:

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Topics we cover: 

  • 2:44 – How Alex bootstrapped SaaStock in the early stages
  • 4:32 – Laying the groundwork and building credibility
  • 6:59 – Figuring out sponsor subsidies
  • 8:53 – Reflecting on the first event, growing afterwards
  • 12:59 – Event sizing and event types
  • 19:44 – Setting up event programming
  • 23:00 – Swapping crazy event stories

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

In 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 to market pull, avoid the sunk cost fallacy
  • 12:26 – Dividing attention between multiple products
  • 16:40 – Choosing when to split focus
  • 21:13 – Why a second product worked for Ruben and others
  • 28:54 – Gauging your product intuition and getting outside feedback
  • 32:50 – Avoiding bias when receiving feedback on your ideas
  • 38:21 – Strategies and goals for adding a second product
  • 42:50 – Cross selling multiple products

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

In 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 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: 

  • 1:52 – Paying attention to customer problems, not customer solutions
  • 6:52 – Don’t listen to a customer, always listen to your customers
  • 9:42 – Finding product market fit with limited information
  • 13:01 – Identifying the appropriate time to grind out the work
  • 19:18 – Don’t be above “taking out the trash”

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

In 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 inside scoop, and to keep up to date as we roll out all of these offerings, head over to https://www.futureofmicroconf.com/.

Topics we cover: 

  • 2:03 – MicroConf Connect has leveled up, and is accepting new signups
  • 2:41 – The return of The State of Independent SaaS Report
  • 3:21 – Community voting for MicroConf Local 2024 cities
  • 3:50 – New course launch, “Starting Up From Idea to Traction”
  • 4:21 – MicroConf co-founder matching coming soon
  • 4:58 – Host your team retreat with MicroConf’s Team Sync
  • 5:28 – MicroConf Platinum Events for an exclusive and intimate experience

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

In 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 small startup and how to dive into consulting and contracting.

Topics we cover: 

  • 3:43 – Mock features for B2B SaaS
  • 6:20 – Recovering from a failed launch
  • 10:37 – Advice for a consumer-facing “vitamin” product
  • 12:53 – Creating content to market SaaS tools
  • 17:13 – Acquisitions for startups with small engineering teams
  • 20:24 – Consulting for junior and mid-level engineers

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

In 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 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: 

  • 3:10 – Where can I sell partially developed SaaS apps?
  • 7:42 – Evaluating higher platform risk inherent in no-code apps
  • 11:44 – Approaches to bookkeeping early on in your SaaS business 
  • 14:47 – Setting up a marketing engine for those with little experience
  • 20:43 – Launching a new product to an email list with a phased approach

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

In 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 as a founder can put a strain on even the strongest relationships, but spending dedicated quality time with your better half can help you recharge and refocus. If you’re ready to unwind from the daily startup grind, head over to cratedwithlove.com to level up your next date night. And for listeners of this podcast, you can use code STARTUPS during checkout for an exclusive 15% off your first order. 

Topics we cover: 

  • 3:29 – TinySeed applications for Fall 2023 are open
  • 5:00 – Leon’s passion for wireframing 
  • 8:32 – Designing in low fidelity wireframes
  • 11:03 – Wireframing, ideation, and iteration
  • 16:21 – Communicating design with wireframing
  • 21:22 – Using wireframing to iterate on already existing, high fidelity content
  • 24:35 – Writing about wireframing within the broader context of general design principles
  • 28:16 – Additional resources for non-designers to gain confidence in design
  • 32:36 – Asking questions informs good design

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