Startups For the Rest of Us – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In episode 728, Rob Walling interviews Eran Galperin, founder of Gymdesk, about his incredible exit. Eran shares his journey of transforming Gymdesk from "Martial Arts on Rails" into a successful gym management software company. He discusses how they succeeded in a competitive market, the role of TinySeed in their growth, and how feelings of burnout eventually led to a majority buyout for the company.

• 2:02 – Gymdesk Announces a $32.5 Million Strategic Growth Investment
• 5:13 – How the investment will be used
• 6:38 – Eran’s projects before Gymdesk
• 9:21 – Sticking with one idea long enough to see success
• 12:45 – Entering a competitive market
• 16:37 – Rapid growth as a marketing leader
• 20:54 – Dealing with burnout and entertaining an acquisition
• 26:45 – Handling a stressful sales process
• 32:19 – The future of Gymdesk

• Apply for TinySeed
• Gymdesk Announces a $32.5 Million Strategic Growth Investment from Five Elms Capital
• Episode 727 | Gymdesk Sells for More than $32.5 million, Hiring Gets Easier, and More Hot Take Tuesday Topics
• Gymdesk.com
• Eran Galperin (@erangalperin) | X
• Eran Galperin | LinkedIn
• Eran’s Website
• Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) Explained: How It Works
• Discretion Capital

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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In episode 727, Rob Walling is joined by Tracy Osborn and Einar Vollset to give their hot takes on some recent news. First they celebrate Gymdesk’s recent funding and evaluate what that means for TinySeed companies. Then, they weigh in on bootstrapper hiring, grappling with new challenges as MRR grows, and how to really move the needle in your business.

Hiring senior developers can really move the needle in your business, but if you bring on the wrong person, you can quickly burn through your runway. If you need help finding a vetted, senior, results-oriented developer, you should reach out to today’s sponsor, Lemon.io. 

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Chaz said he’d definitely use Lemon.io again when he’s looking for a senior level engineer. 

To learn more and get a 15% discount on your first four weeks of working with a developer at lemon.io/startups. 

• 2:19 – Gymdesk Announces a $32.5 Million Strategic Growth Investment
• 9:06 – Is it getting easier for bootstrappers to hire?
• 12:22 – Facing different challenges as MRR grows   
• 19:37 – Identifying what really moves the needle
• 23:56 – Listen to those who have built businesses before you

• Subscribe to the Startups For the Rest of Us Email List
• TinySeed
• The SaaS Playbook
• Discretion Capital
• Tracy Osborn (@tracymakes) | X
• Einar Vollset (@einarvollset) | X
• TinySeed (@tinyseedfund) | X
• Gymdesk Announces a $32.5 Million Strategic Growth Investment from Five Elms Capital
• Eran Galperin (@erangalperin) | X
• Episode 697 | 7 Predictions for SaaS Bootstrappers in 2024
• State of Independent SaaS Report
• The Elephant in the room: The myth of exponential hypergrowth

In 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.

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.

• 3:59 – Which feature felt harder and took longer than imagined?
• 9:14 – When is time to give up on a SaaS idea and move on?
• 17:51 – Finding customers in crowded markets with large incumbents
• 23:32 – Has Derrick officially retired from podcasting?
• 25:57 – Handling competitors that are copying differentiating product features
• 28:48 – Evaluating SavvyCal’s refreshed design
• 31:10 – Considering vertical vs. horizontal SaaS for SavvyCal
• 34:05 – Why did Derrick decide to pursue the idea for SavvyCal?
• 40:19 – Finding “founder-fit”

• The SaaS Playbook by Rob Walling
• TinySeed
• Derrick Remier (​​@derrickreimer) | X
• SavvyCal
• Group scheduling mode
• The Build In Public Podcast
• The Art of Product Podcast
• 8 B2B Marketing Strategies That Got My Startup to $10 Million (and 1 that FAILED)
• Finding My Next Bootstrapped Business Idea

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

In episode 635, Rob Walling catches up with Tony Chan, the co-founder of CloudForecast, an AWS cost monitoring tool. Tony shared his victories, challenges, and failures in TinySeed Tales Season 3. It has been over eight months since we recorded the final episode.

In this episode, we reflect and catch up on what’s been happening with Tony and CloudForecast.

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

• 3:03 - Losing one of CloudForecast’s engineers
• 5:35 - Tony’s approach to hiring engineers
• 8:31 - Did Tony end up hiring someone to help with content marketing?
• 17:32 - What is Tony struggling with right now?
• 21:07 - Managing your founder psychology
• 25:08 - Tony’s recent conundrum

• Tony Chan (@toeknee123) I Twitter
• CloudForecast
• TinySeed Tales Season 3
• MicroConf Local: Austin

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

In episode 634, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions on topics ranging from naming your startup to initial aha moments and how to know if you have tapped out a specific niche.

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

• 2:38 - Naming your startup
• 6:02 - How to know if you tapped out a specific niche?
• 13:21 - Did you have an initial aha moment when you felt that this was the winning idea to start up?
• 22:25 - How would you value your time if you have a client that is gonna be competing in the same space?

• MicroConf Europe 

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

In episode 633, Rob Walling chats with Matt Wensing, the founder of Summit. Matt is no stranger on the podcast. And we talk about Matt's decision to change Summit's brand positioning and the far-reaching impact on his business.

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

• 2:24 - Matt’s decision to change Summit’s positioning
• 15:22 - Redesigning Summit’s website
• 22:39 - The dangers of scaling up before you have product-market fit
• 24:43 - The response to Summit’s relaunch
• 29:33 - How Summit is evolving into a 2-sided marketplace

• Matt Wensing (@MattWensing) I Twitter
• Summit 
• MicroConf Remote 

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

In episode 632, join Rob Walling and Einar Vollset for Hot Take Tuesday, where they analyze and discuss some of the latest news. Some topics covered include the Figma exit, side project distractions, no-code apps, and more.

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

• 2:35 - Adobe acquires Figma
• 8:20 - Growing one product to $20k MRR vs. launching a bunch of side projects
• 18:43 - Apple’s anti-ad tracking crackdown
• 25:58 - Building no-code apps
• 31:12 - Watching movies at 1.5x speed

• Einar Vollset (@einarvollset) I Twitter 
• MicroConf Remote 
• Adobe snaps up Figma for $20 billion 
• Pierre de Wulf’s tweet 
• Apple’s ad business set to boom on the back of its own anti-tracking crackdown 
• Hana’s tweet 
• Ruben’s tweet 

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

In episode 631, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure as he answers listener questions on topics ranging from when to rewrite your codebase to founder salaries and balancing your founder vs. developer mindset.

Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io

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

• 2:32 - Is there any validity that rewriting our code and changing our tech stack will get us to a higher multiple at a future exit?
• 8:08 - Founder salaries
• 12:16 - Using the stair step approach to create a course
• 15:20 - Can you sell a Zapier-type connection between several products as an early MVP for your target market?
• 20:06 - Founder mindset vs. developer mindset

• Episode 622 I Making Hard Product Decisions & Growth vs. Profitability with Derrick Reimer 
• The Stair Step Approach to Bootstrapping 

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

In episode 630, Rob Walling chats with Jonathan Weinberg, who is the founder of Builder Prime, a CRM software for home improvement contractors. We chat about how he came up with the idea for Builder Prime, getting early traction, and finding product-market fit.

• 2:46 - Getting Builder Prime to almost $1M ARR
• 3:32 - Deciding who to hire next
• 4:40 - How did Jonathan come up with the idea for Builder Prime?
• 8:29 - Jonathan's decision to quit his day job and work on Builder Prime before it made any money
• 10:55 - The unique steps that Jonathan took to get early traction
• 17:05 - When did Jonathan realize he had product-market fit?
• 24:04 - Jonathan’s hockey stick growth moment
• 28:31 - What’s next for Jonathan?

• Jonathan Weinberg @Jonathan_codes) I Twitter
• Builder Prime 
• TinySeed 

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

In the final episode of TinySeed Tales Season 3, Rob Walling checks in with Tony Chan of CloudForecast. They reflect on some of the most prominent challenges and milestones that the business has faced over the last year.

• 1:31 - Tony reflects on attending his first MicroConf Growth in Minneapolis
• 3:30 - An update on how CloudForecast’s content marketing efforts are going
• 7:59 - Getting an article featured at the top of Reddit
• 11:16 - An update on how their new senior engineer is doing
• 16:18 - Why Tony prefers to hire full-time employees
• 18:26 - An update on CloudForecast’s sales pipeline
• 20:50 - Tony reflects on the challenges of figuring out where to invest time and capital
• 24:30 - The importance of getting low-level tasks off your plate
• 28:36 - What is Tony least looking forward to in the next year?
• 30:38 - What is Tony most looking forward to in the next year?

• Tony Chan (@toeknee123) I Twitter
• CloudForecast
• Cost of living the cloud life: Fossil fuel consumption as a service

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