Podcast
Startups For the Rest of Us
Hosted by Startups For the Rest of Us · EN
The longest running (and most popular) 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.
10episodes
Episodes
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Episode 663 | 5 Insights SaaS Founders Should Know About A.I. (Ignore at Your Peril)
May 30, 202300:36:02Tap to summarizeIn episode 663, Rob Walling and Einar Vollset share five insights SaaS founders should know about the state of AI. They offer a unique perspective by sharing a mental model around the four categories of AI and how to use this to think about the impact on your business. Topics we cover: 2:08 - Einar’s thoughts on the state of AI 7:11 - Why you shouldn’t ignore AI 9:33 - The 4 categories of AI 18:36 - AI is not a product differentiator 22:01- Should bootstrapped companies try to build their own LLMs? 24:41- Using AI internally in your company 30:03 - Is my business model a ticking time bomb? Links from the Show: Einar Vollset (@einarvollset) I Twitter MicroConf Europe MicroConf Youtube Channel 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 | Stitcher Transcript: Rob Walling: Welcome back. To start off, for the rest of us, this is the show where we focus on bootstrapping and mostly bootstrapping SaaS companies. Today, I sit down with my TinySeed co-founder, Einar Vollset, and we talk through five insights SaaS founders should know about AI, about OpenAI, ChatGPT, LOMs. All the things you're probably kind of tired of hearing about. But here's the different tact that we took that I'm not hearing other podcasts and other pundits make on this topic. I tried to put a mental framework around AI that SaaS founders would understand. It's how I would be thinking about this if I were a startup founder, and frankly, it's how I'm advising my almost 150 investments to be thinking about this. So I kick it off by going through four categories of AI. So we had some taxonomy to think about and I talk about generative categorization, summarization, and predictive. And then we walk through five things that I think you as a founder should be thinking about. If you're putting your head in the sand and thinking AI's not going to change everything, that's a problem because it's going to change quite a few things. But before we dive into that, tickets f...
Transcribe →Episode 662 | Selling for Five Years of Runway, Profit vs. Revenue Multiples, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)
May 23, 202300:33:18Tap to summarizeIn episode 662, join Rob Walling for a solo listening adventure where he talks through the key factors to consider in an acquisition, whether to sell a business for five years of runway and knowing when to move on from a SaaS app you built. Topics we cover: 1:15 - Switching jobs while bootstrapping 7:36 - Key factors to consider for an acquisition 18:57 - Taking a job as a founding engineer vs. starting a lifestyle business? 23:49 - Selling a business for five years of runway 27:47- Knowing when it is time to move on from a SaaS app you’ve built Links from the Show: The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks For Exiting on Top Deploy Empathy: A Practical Guide to Interviewing Customers The Mom Test: How to Talk to Customers & Learn If Your Business is a Good Idea When Everyone Is Lying To You Episode 628 I The 5 P.M. Idea Validation Framework MicroConf Europe MicroConf Youtube Channel 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 | Stitcher Transcript: Rob Walling: The big question is can I find people to talk to? If no one will talk to you, this is such a good lesson. I've said this on the podcast before, but I think it deserves to be...
Transcribe →Episode 661 | Millions in Revenue As a One-Person Software Company
May 16, 202300:27:57Tap to summarizeIn episode 661, Rob Walling chats with Mike Perham, the founder of Sidekiq, who is a solo founder doing millions in revenue as a one-person business. If this isn’t unique enough, Sidekiq originally started as an open-source project before he later monetized it by selling features that aren't available in the core product. You'll also hear how it took him ten years to become "an overnight success" because of all the things Mike tried before launching Sidekiq. 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: 2:51 - Sidekiq’s unique business model 5:24 - Running a multimillion-dollar software company with no employees 6:41 - How did Mike get here? 8:23 - Mike’s approach to monetizing Sidekiq 12:58- The 10-year overnight success story 14:13 - Did Mike ever have any doubts about this not working? 16:54- Mike’s thoughts around building on top of the Ruby ecosystem 19:26 - Why doesn't Mike hire any employees? 23:31- Mike’s approach to competitors 26:08 - Mike’s response to open-source purists on Hacker News Links from the Show: Mike Perham (@getajobmike) I Twitter Sidekiq Code Code Ship: Mike Perham Hacker News Discussion about Sidekiq ...
Transcribe →Episode 660 | Make Ever-Increasing and Manageably-Sized Mistakes (A Rob Solo Adventure)
May 9, 202300:23:16Tap to summarizeIn episode 660, join Rob Walling for another solo listening adventure where he talks about the tradeoffs of hiring a team vs. contractors, when to raise funding as a bootstrapper, and the importance of knowing what you are bad at. 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: 1:57 - Hiring full-time employees vs. contractors 6:12 - The danger of thinking your customers are just like you 11:19 - Buying souvenirs 14:34 - Raising funding if you are a bootstrapper 18:18- On career progression 21:51 - The importance of knowing what you are bad at Links from the Show: Comic Lab MicroConf Mastermind Matching MicroConf Youtube Channel 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 | <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/startups-for-the-rest-of-us" target="_bla...
Transcribe →Episode 659 | Indie Hackers’ Newfound Independence + The SaaS Playbook with Courtland and Channing
May 2, 202301:20:38Tap to summarizeIn episode 659, Rob Walling speaks with Courtland Allen and Channing Allen, the co-founders of Indie Hackers, to talk about their newfound independence since they are no longer owned by Stripe. For the first half of the episode, they turn the tables and interview Rob about his new book, The SaaS Playbook. They also share a bunch of theories about entrepreneurship and investing. Topics we cover: 4:46 - About Rob’s new book - The SaaS Playbook 6:47 - Why did Rob hire a writing coach? 12:35 - Rob’s decision to launch a Kickstarter for his book 20:39- Rob’s thought process for what to include in his book 28:31 - Startup positioning 31:07 - Founder mindset 35:51 - Is it possible to find a business idea that both makes money and aligns with the things you enjoy doing? 42:38 - What motivates Rob these days? 48:18 - Courtland and Channing’s approach to going indie again with Indie Hackers 53:46 - Did Courtland and Channing have hesitations about going independent again? 57:44 - What does Rob want to see Courtland and Channing do next? 1:01:07 - Indie hackers investing in other indie hackers Links from the Show: Courtland Allen (@csallen) I Twitter Channing Allen (@channingallen) I Twitter Indie Hackers The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business The War of Art Lifting the Veil: The Data Behind Successful Product Launches - Ryan Delk - MicroConf 2014 MicroConf Upcoming Events MicroConf Mastermind Matching MicroConf Youtube Channel If you have qu...
Transcribe →Episode 658 | As a SaaS Founder, When Should You Care About Sales Tax?
Apr 25, 202300:30:01Tap to summarizeIn episode 658, Rob Walling speaks with Geoff Roberts, co-founder of Outseta, about global sales tax compliance for SaaS founders. Geoff wrote a 4,400 article on the topic about when SaaS founders should care about sales tax not only within their own country but globally, along with the pros and cons of various solutions. We also dive into a bit of Geoff’s own story as the cofounder of Outseta. Topics we cover: 3:01 - Why should SaaS founders care about sales tax? 4:20 - At what revenue level does sales tax become important? 6:28 - Country-specific sales tax obligations 7:50 - The added tax complexities of running a membership platform 9:07 - What is a merchant of record? 14:28 - Why did Geoff write this 4,000-word post on sales tax compliance? 16:05 - The pros and cons of using a third-party merchant of record 17:39 - Alternative solutions where you are your own merchant of record 20:38 - How does a foreign government enforce tax requirements for an American small business? 21:48 - Mitigating sales tax risks if you take on funding or sell the company 23:34 - About Outseta 24:27 - The impact of the pandemic on Outseta 25:20 - The challenge of speaking to two very different audiences Links from the Show: Geoff Roberts @GeoffTRoberts I Twitter Outseta Global Sales Tax Compliance and Remittance MicroConf Mastermind Matching MicroConf Youtube Channel 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 | Stitcher Transcript: Rob Walling: Welcome back to another episode of Startups For the Rest of Us, I'm Rob Walling. Today I sit down with Geoff Roberts, co-founder of Outseta. He wrote a 4,400 word article on global sales tax remittance, and I joke with him in...
Transcribe →Episode 657 | Concierge Onboarding, Building a Great Brand, and More Listener Questions
Apr 18, 202300:27:42Tap to summarizeIn episode 657, join Rob Walling as he answers more listener questions. Topics range from concierge onboarding to getting higher engagement rates on cold emails. He also covers how to think about balancing product improvements vs. marketing. Topics we cover: 1:00 - Concierge onboarding 7:34 - Branding tips for a new business 14:42 - Getting higher engagement rates on cold outreach emails 21:29 - Prioritizing product improvements vs. funnel-building 14:42 - Getting higher engagement rates on cold outreach emails 21:29 - Prioritizing product improvements vs. funnel-building Links from the Show: Fascinate, Revised and Updated: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist TinySeed MicroConf Youtube Channel 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 | Stitcher Transcript Rob Walling: And so that's where it makes sense to invest time into something, and I just mean labor, human hours into something that can build that flywheel. That's what SaaS is, right? It's building a flywheel slowly over time, and if you have high churn, it's hard to do that. If you have low churn, then it's how do we throw everything we can afford at it in order to be able to onboard more people? Welcome back to another episode of The Startups For the Rest of Us. I'm Rob Walling, and today I'm answering listener questions. We have a great funnel of listener questions coming into the show. Our first four questions are going to be audio or video, and then if we have time, I will dive into a text question or two to try to get through the backlog. Thanks as always for sending your questions. You can email them questions at startupsfortherestofus.com or head to startu...
Transcribe →Episode 656 | Taste vs. Shipping + Being First vs. Being the Best (A Rob Solo Adventure)
Apr 11, 202300:25:23Tap to summarizeIn episode 656, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure, where he revisits a few topics from earlier episodes. These topics range from balancing having taste while shipping consistently to the only two keys to being remembered for something. Topics we cover: 1:39 - What founders need to know about the Section 174 tax change 5:03 - Balancing developing taste with shipping 10:47 - If you want to be remembered for something, you either have to be the first or the best. 17:13 - Lifestyle bootstrapper vs. ambitious bootstrapper vs. the billion-dollar entrepreneur and why you need to get clear on the path you aspire to take. Links from the Show: Small Software Business Coalition Letter To Congress Episode 652 I Mixing No-code with Code, Developer Superpowers, $5k Angel Check, and More Listener Questions Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It The SaaS Playbook TinySeed MicroConf Youtube Channel 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 | Stitcher Transcript: Rob Walling: But at a certain point, no matter your taste, no matter how high your taste is, you do have to balance that with shipping things into the world. And this is a really tough balance I think for a lot of people. What I think it comes down to is knowing yourself. If you are the type of person that sits and works on something for way, way, way too long, you need to ship ...
Transcribe →Episode 655 | Seat-Based Pricing, Can Churn Be Too Low? and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure)
Apr 4, 202300:38:58Tap to summarizeIn episode 655, Rob Walling answers listener questions on enterprise pricing frameworks, validating a business idea, and if it is possible for your churn rate to be too low. Topics we cover: 2:17 - How to avoid login abuse on individual plans 8:12 - How to validate a business idea before committing to it 15:26 - Enterprise pricing frameworks 19:34 - What Rob learned in the early days as a consultant and building early products pre-Drip 26:22 - Finding role fit in a SaaS 32:21 - Is it possible to have a churn rate that is too low? 33:41 - How much should you pay yourself vs. investing back into the business? Links from the Show: The SaaS Playbook Validate Your SaaS Idea Fast State of Independent SaaS Report The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping Episode 628 I The 5 P.M. Idea Validation Framework MicroConf Youtube Channel 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 | Stitcher Transcript: Rob Walling: I will admit that taught me a lot about how to interview, how to get jobs, how to present myself, and also how to work with a lot of different people and oh, this is a good one actually, a lot of different code bases. And this might be one of the reasons I was never scared to acquire companies or SaaS apps in essence, because I knew that no matter the code base, I could get in there and figure it out because so much of my career had been going into existing code bases and either refactoring or improving or adding on, and so I would've to learn the code base quickly. Sometimes I would've to learn the language, and so I knew that ...
Transcribe →Episode 654 | Shipping Every Day for 10 Years with Tom Merritt
Mar 28, 202300:46:57Tap to summarizeIn episode 654, Rob Walling chats with Tom Merritt, who is the host of multiple shows, including Daily Tech News, Know A Little More, Sword & Laser, Cordkillers, and more. Tom has more podcasts than anyone I know, and this episode will be a little different since Tom isn’t a SaaS founder or someone who wrote a book for founders. Instead, you’ll learn about the systems, processes, and discipline that Tom has set up so that he can be such a prolific creator. You’ll also learn more about his innate ability to summarize complex situations and then talk about both sides in a fair and balanced way. Topics we cover: 3:13 - Tom’s decision to go into business for himself in 2013 7:10 - Being an early adopter of Patreon 9:29 - Dealing with the emotional aspect in the early days 10:40 - The hardest parts of launching a daily show in the early days 13:01 - Tom’s approach to dealing with public criticism 19:07 - Tom’s process for shipping new content every day for 10 years 24:00 - Has Tom missed a day for recording The Daily Tech News Show in 10 years? 25:01 - Tom’s ability to see and communicate both sides of a story 28:22 - Is Tom using AI in his workflow? 34:10 - The Secret Hidden Track Links from the Show: Tom Merritt I Twitter Tommerritt.com Daily Tech News Show ElevenLabs MicroConf Youtube Channel 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 | Stitcher Transcript: Rob Walling: Welcome back to Startups For the Rest of Us. I'm Rob Walling. Today, you get to hear me have a conversation with Tom Merritt, the host of Daily Tech News Show, Cordkillers, Current Geek, It's A Thing, Sword and Laser, Know A Little More. He has more podcasts than any five people I know, and this episode is a little different. Tom Me...
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