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Explore every episode of the podcast Build Your SaaS

Dive into the complete episode list for Build Your SaaS. Each episode is cataloged with detailed descriptions, making it easy to find and explore specific topics. Keep track of all episodes from your favorite podcast and never miss a moment of insightful content.

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1–50 of 163

TitlePub. DateDuration
What is Transistor's secret weapon?18 avr. 202600:41:26

Justin sits down with Helen Ryles and Michael Green, the two people behind almost every chat, email, and demo call that comes into Transistor, to talk about the company's secret weapon: the thing that converts 75% of trials to paid and keeps people around for years.

Chapters:

  • (02:13) - What did Helen do before she joined Transistor?
  • (03:00) - What did Michael do before joining Transistor?
  • (05:05) - How does Transistor do customer support different?
  • (08:04) - What have we learned by doing demo calls with customers?
  • (12:32) - What are some of the emotions of starting a podcast?
  • (16:15) - What can startups learn from being a customer led company?
  • (18:44) - How do we approach AI in customer support?
  • (22:50) - How does customer support translate into sales?
  • (25:49) - What else does a customer support role do at a Saas?
  • (33:41) - How do future generations learn how to be on a team?

Quotes:

From Helen:"The bar with customer support is really quite low across the industry... If companies are setting the standard of getting back to people in three to five business days, we don't have to necessarily adopt that. We can set our own standards."

From Michael:

"There is an emotional side to podcasting, to using a product, to creation, and we help on that side as well. People are often excited or nervous or panicking or something feels urgent, and we can help alleviate all of that emotional side. It's not just about questions and answers."

Have feedback on this episode?

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
An update from Justin and Jon13 sept. 202500:53:38

Justin and Jon reconnect after a two-year podcasting hiatus. What's happened since their last episode? Lots! They talk about big changes in their personal lives, and then move on to how they're thinking about Transistor as a business. These discuss burnout and motivation, the evolution of the podcasting industry, the pressure of being a leader, and the possibility of taking a sabbatical. The Transistor team is off to Banff for their annual retreat!

Quote:

"Working hard does not lead to burnout, but the lack of hope leads to burnout. So if you're working really really hard for something that you don't believe will pay off, it's super easy to lose motivation. And that has happened to me in the past! But! If you believe that the thing you're working on will have a payoff, the amount of work almost doesn’t matter." – Aaron Francis


Links:

Have feedback on this episode?

Timestamps:

  • (00:00) - Who remembers how to do this anyway?
  • (00:30) - Where has Jon been for the last 2 years?
  • (08:56) - What's Justin been up to?
  • (11:36) - Maybe there's more to burnout than we think
  • (24:40) - Should we build something else as a backup?
  • (27:31) - What need to be true for you to be happier?
  • (33:38) - Remote work kind of sucks
  • (39:06) - Brainstorming more ideas around connecting better
  • (42:32) - What about sabbaticals?
  • (51:03) - Thank you to our Patreon supporters
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
"Justin, I built a SaaS!"24 juin 202501:30:43

Harris Kenny was a long-time listener of the podcast, and dreamed about building his own software product. After multiple attempts, over 5 years, he finally did it. How? He shares his experiences transitioning from a corporate job to entrepreneurship. He also discusses the challenges of user engagement, the exploration of various SaaS ideas, and the importance of foundational work in entrepreneurship.

Links:

Have feedback on this episode?

Timestamps:

  • (00:09) - I did it! I build my saas!
  • (02:59) - Why did Harris quit his job?
  • (11:03) - When you don't have a boss, do you have the drive to go get work?
  • (15:45) - How did you hear about saas businesses?
  • (27:02) - Recognizing a need and building something for it
  • (34:44) - So many opportunities in inventory software
  • (41:03) - The difficulty of getting people to just log in
  • (49:18) - The saas that worked
  • (01:01:01) - Where are you getting new customers from?
  • (01:06:47) - Using Tinyseed as a bridge
  • (01:11:02) - Going over the top on support is a key
  • (01:24:04) - Showing results helps agencies show value
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Giuuunta! Motivating yourself when you're not in startup mode09 déc. 202401:11:56

Bootstrapping a business is like getting a plane to lift off the ground. But what do you do once the plane is in the air?

Dave Giunta and Justin Jackson recorded a recent phone call about maintaining motivation after the initial startup phase. How does founder energy shift once you've achieved your early goals? Dave prods Justin to find new sources of motivation – whether through mentoring junior team members, connecting with customers in fresh ways, or knowing when it's time to explore new horizons.

They also discuss why Dave left Home Chef (after 8 years) and what he's doing next.

Links:

Have feedback on this episode?

Timestamps:

  • 00:00:17 - Giuuuuuunta
  • 00:01:15 - Chatting in Guatemala: maintaining motivation, remote work, career transitions
  • 00:02:12 - Motivation in early vs late stage startups
  • 00:06:00 - Challenges with maintaining motivation once the business is established
  • 00:15:35 - Working with different team member motivations
  • 00:26:42 - Importance of understanding individual team members
  • 00:29:20 - Remote work advantages and challenges
  • 00:35:35 - Working with junior team members and mentorship
  • 00:54:00 - Why Dave left Home Chef after 8+ years
  • 00:57:00 - Discussion of career transitions and giving yourself space to explore
  • 01:02:20 - Future plans and exploration after leaving long-term role

Thanks to our monthly supporters

  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Adam Wathan: how small startups hire employees (Tailwind CSS)04 juin 202401:34:42

How do founders of small bootstrapped companies hire new employees?

Adam Wathan got over 1600 people who applied for two new roles at Tailwind Labs (a small team of six people). They ended up hiring two people, but neither of them actually applied. This wasn't how Adam expected (or hoped) this process would go. There were lots of surprising takeaways and lessons learned from the whole experience.

"If you figure we spend 5 minutes on every single application, that was like 133 hours straight reading applications. Processing these job applications was basically my full time job for 2 months." – Adam Wathan

Links:

Have feedback on this episode?

Timestamps:

  • (03:40) - What's the size of Transistor and when did you last hire?
  • (05:24) - How did you meet or find your employees?
  • (07:12) - Adam's process for hiring
  • (12:44) - The energy required to process applications
  • (17:32) - What got people in to the 100 list?
  • (21:03) - Did Adam get any videos in applications?
  • (24:49) - Previous employment was a good indicator
  • (30:16) - Painting a picture of what the position looks like
  • (32:02) - The kinds of people who applied
  • (34:52) - How did the application process work out?
  • (38:52) - The kinds of questions we asked applicants
  • (42:25) - Does a great conversation impact a hiring decision or not?
  • (49:24) - Does having the position open in public help?
  • (51:36) - How Adam was connected to the people they hired
  • (59:31) - The importance of conference conversations
  • (01:02:20) - Finding ways to share your work in public
  • (01:06:11) - The process does work... just not this time
  • (01:12:30) - Could I ever get comfortable with a 70% success rate?
  • (01:20:53) - Bringing in someone you knew vs a fan
  • (01:26:45) - Keeping a tab in different areas to pull from

Thanks to our monthly supporters

  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Is ONCE enough?10 févr. 202401:10:58

A panel discussion on 37signals' first ONCE product, the launch of Campfire ("pay for it once, install it, and run it on your own server"). Ian Landsman, Tyler Tringas, and Justin Jackson share what they expected to happen before the launch, what did happen, and what it means for indie hackers and bootstrappers who want to launch SaaS companies. Is this the end of SaaS?

Links:

I want to hear your thoughts:

If you listen to the episode, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts:

  • Can you think of a low-price, pay-once, on-prem software product that's succeeded? (The only one I could think of was ​Statamic CMS​)
  • Do you think a different Once product might have made more sales? What kinds of products do you think might work?
  • Did you buy Campfire? What did you buy it for? Are you using it as a chat tool for your company?
  • Other thoughts on our discussion.

👉 ​Leave a voicemail here​

🐦 Reply on Twitter


Timestamps:

  • (00:00:00) - "I appreciate that 37signals exists."
  • (00:01:58) - 37signals' influence in the bootstrapped startup space
  • (00:03:58) - What did we expect from the Campfire/Once launch?
  • (00:06:23) - DHH's tweet on Campfire sales – is that what we expected?
  • (00:09:49) - The Once model, philosophy, and Campfire's history
  • (00:17:21) - Misconceptions about what IT Managers want
  • (00:19:49) - How Campfire was marketed and positioned
  • (00:26:01) - Basecamp's PR, virality, and audience 
  • (00:28:29) - Can you do customer research to validate demand?
  • (00:32:01) - The volume of sales as a success metric
  • (00:33:33) - The Potential for Campfire's expansion
  • (00:37:37) - Distribution opportunities with hosting providers
  • 00:39:31) - The intuition behind HEY Email's success
  • (00:43:42) - The Value of an Audience and Customer Overlap
  • (00:45:12) - The Compounding Advantage of Longevity
  • (00:49:54) - Scorecard

Thanks to our monthly supporters

  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
How Ben and David bootstrapped the Acquired podcast25 janv. 202401:07:50

Fast Company called Acquired "the #1 tech podcast sensation." I've been a huge fan of the show for years. So, I was surprised when they contacted me and wanted to switch to Transistor for podcast hosting!

Since switching, they've had a breakout year. Their clips started showing up everywhere on my social media feed; they had chart-topping episodes on Nintendo, Nike, and Costco, and they interviewed the CEOs of NVIDIA, Uber, and Charlie Munger. 

And this was the year that Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal (the co-hosts) both went full-time on the podcast. Podcasting is now their job.

With all of that activity, I thought Build your SaaS listeners would be interested in hearing my interview with David about their entire story:

  • How they got started, how they built momentum over time,
  • how they were able to double their audience every single year since 2015, 
  • And how that momentum ended up Attracting an incredibly valuable audience that they've now monetized through sponsorships. 

This interview has so much that podcasters, creators, and indie entrepreneurs will find super helpful and inspirational.

🔥 Key moments:

  • (0:00:00) – A breakout year for Acquired
  • (0:01:45) – What is the Acquired podcast about?
  • (0:02:40) – How the Acquired podcast got started (origin story)
  • (0:07:23) – How Ben and David's co-hosting relationship works
  • (0:09:00) – The 3 big goals that made them want to start Acquired
  • (0:11:38) – How did listeners respond to the first episodes?
  • (0:14:55) – The best reason to start a podcast
  • (0:15:30) – The secret to how Acquired attracts new listeners
  • (0:18:13) – How they got featured in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and Spotify
  • (0:24:18) – How they got their first podcast sponsors (and why it wasn't about making money)
  • (0:27:58) – Why they give their sponsors a white glove, 11-star experience
  • (0:34:13) – How to get more word-of-mouth referrals for your podcast
  • (0:37:00) – Acquired's unconventional approach to podcast ads
  • (0:41:54) – How the Acquired podcast's growth machine works
  • (0:48:05) – Why their NVIDIA podcast episode went viral
  • (0:50:48) – Why they switched from Libsyn to Transistor for podcast hosting
  • (0:57:18) – The rise of the "independent, boutique podcaster."
  • (1:02:27) – "The future of podcasting doesn't belong to Gimlet, NYT, NPR..."
  • (1:06:22) – David Rosenthal's advice to aspiring podcasters

Thanks to our monthly supporters

  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Nashville team retreat: scary birds, country music, and a photo shoot26 sept. 202300:44:35

The whole team is on the show! Jon, Helen, Jason, Josh, and Justin are on the mics to discuss our recent team retreat to Nashville, Tennessee. If you're wondering what a retreat looks like for a remote team, you'll get a lot out of this episode. We also reveal some of our exploits in Music City:

"Going to a Tiki Bar is usually a mistake."

Highlights

  • (00:10) - Welcome
  • (01:10) - Highlights of our retreat in Nashville
  • (12:55) - It's not easy to get everyone together
  • (20:26) - Our schedule for the retreat
  • (26:24) - Electrolytes are a good idea
  • (31:49) - Things to improve or tips for other teams
"For 51 weeks, our small team works efficiently. Our team retreat week is a culmination of celebrations, milestones, birthdays, and holidays we might have missed. It's special to condense these moments into one week and see everyone in person to celebrate our achievements from the previous year." – Helen

Links:

Takeaways:

  • The city you choose for your retreat will significantly influence the team's productivity and leisure activities.
  • Be intentional and set aside time for planning and product discussions.
  • A retreat is a great time for a remote team to celebrate milestones and achievements.
  • Have a balance between work activities and fun activities.
  • Simple activities like games or cards can be as fulfilling as fancy events.
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Paul Jarvis: gaining freedom by building an indie business01 août 202301:10:40

Justin catches up with his old internet friend Paul Jarvis. Today, Paul co-founded Fathom Analytics with Jack Ellis: a simple alternative to Google Analytics. Paul is also the author of the book "Company of One," which has influenced a whole generation of indie entrepreneurs (and has been reviewed by Cal Newport, Chris Guillebeau, Ben Chestnut, Tiago Forte, and more). Previously, Justin and Paul did a weekly mastermind, where they supported and encouraged each other around our indie businesses. They decided to do a catch-up call and recorded it so you could listen in. 👍

Highlights:

  • (00:10) - Intro
  • (02:15) - Being off the internet
  • (03:53) - What's a typical day for Paul?
  • (06:16) - Looking back at our Mastermind call
  • (08:03) - There's no beginning and no end
  • (10:31) - Things that are out of your control affect your business
  • (13:03) - Does Justin's surfing metaphor make sense to a surfer?
  • (16:06) - How would you start an indie business in 2023?
  • (22:00) - You've got to get in motion
  • (25:03) - Using products in your category for a long time
  • (27:48) - Is there still any room in Saas?
  • (31:51) - The act of making the bet
  • (38:40) - Is freelancing still viable in 2023?
  • (42:50) - Company design is lifestyle design
  • (44:55) - Worrying about being stagnant
  • (47:15) - How do you handle customer feature requests?
  • (52:03) - It's ok to be late to a shift in the market
  • (58:19) - Caring is an indie advantage
  • (01:05:00) - Collaboration is what gets us anywhere

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!


Links:


Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
How Tim worked on side-projects for 10+ years, and finally went full-time (with kids)20 juin 202300:54:14

Tim reached out after the Aaron Francis episode: "I wanted to pitch you on the idea of coming on the podcast and sharing my journey of building side projects for the last decade while raising a family. I can also share the guardrails I put in place before finally going full-time on T.LY."

Highlights:

  • (00:12) - Welcome
  • (01:13) - Who is Tim Leland?
  • (03:20) - What guardrails did you put in place?
  • (06:24) - What's the sales funnel?
  • (08:13) - Family as a motivator
  • (16:21) - How would you describe your effort during this process?
  • (20:06) - What about family boundaries?
  • (23:25) - How do you manage your thoughts?
  • (31:15) - How have you been able to manage the effort level?
  • (34:44) - The pressure of cutting the cord from your job
  • (38:16) - What's it been like being full time on t.ly?
  • (39:59) - What's your SEO magic touch?

Links:


Thanks to our monthly supporters

  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Startup coaching: helping founders and team members realize their full potential07 juin 202300:56:02

This week Jon and Justin are joined by Marcella Chamorro. Previously, she worked in startup marketing but has recently transitioned to coaching founders and teams. We discussed how startup founders and their team members can realize their full potential.

Here are some highlights:

  • (00:24) - Introducing Marcella
  • (03:03) - How do you define your coaching?
  • (05:10) - What do you see with rising stars?
  • (09:37) - Do you navigate team dynamics or individual work?
  • (14:40) - Any advice for founder's stress
  • (23:22) - Personal lives do come to work
  • (32:44) - The ability to have difficult conversations
  • (47:05) - A lot of value in speaking to someone who's not you
  • (50:26) - How can people reach out Marcella?

Quote:"I think people who choose to do coaching want to be really good at what they do and they want to have a really good life. They are looking to optimize their time on planet Earth."  – Marcella


Links:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Michele Hansen update: Section 174 and bootstrapping with kids16 mai 202301:00:53

In this podcast episode, Michele Hansen (Geocodio) gives us an update on Section 174 and provides her take on "bootstrapping with kids."

Michele explains you can be a part of the Small Software Business Alliance, and fight Section 174. If you're in the USA, please contact Congress!

In the second half of the episode, Justin and Michele talk about the challenges of balancing starting a business while you have young kids. For more on this topic, check out the last episode with Aaron Francis.

For more context on Section 174, check out our previous episode with Michele.

  • (00:12) - Welcome
  • (01:39) - Quick refresher on section 174
  • (05:37) - Updates since last episode
  • (09:04) - You can still help raise awareness
  • (13:58) - What's happening next?
  • (17:30) - How does this work on the accounting side?
  • (20:19) - Anything else people can do?
  • (22:36) - What advice do you give to people with families wanting to start a business?
  • (26:25) - Did you try a few things on the side?
  • (28:46) - Definition of success at the start
  • (31:01) - Developing a business while raising a baby
  • (34:54) - Survivorship bias in stories from new parents
  • (37:34) - What should you consider when starting a business?
  • (45:21) - Avoid magical thinking
  • (51:25) - Some things are hard to think about until you experience them

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Should a parent with young kids try to bootstrap a new startup?09 mai 202301:04:41

In this episode, Justin speaks with Aaron Francis about being a new parent and trying to bootstrap a startup. Aaron argued the other side of Justin's tweet thread: "Wait until your kids are older to start a company." Aaron is well-positioned to talk about this because he has twins and is also bootstrapping Hammerstone with his co-founder Colleen. The whole conversation is a nuanced take on the topic and full of important insights, especially on:

  • the risks involved (especially if you're not working a full-time job)
  • the kind of foundation (mentally, financially, emotionally, relationally) you need to be able to take the risk

Highlights from this episode:

  • (00:12) - Welcome Aaron
  • (01:05) - Topic introduction
  • (02:17) - What's Aaron's story?
  • (05:23) - What is a maximum effort era?
  • (10:51) - What are you willing to sacrifice?
  • (15:12) - What's your daily routine like?
  • (17:25) - Context matters in all of this
  • (27:56) - Are you sacrificing social connections?
  • (30:48) - Blind spots can affect you on your journey
  • (33:18) - Pain vs risk
  • (37:38) - Being on the same page as your partner
  • (41:42) - Going to therapy sooner
  • (43:46) - Building a good foundation
  • (48:46) - Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
  • (53:49) - Sometimes it's easier to try getting a better job
  • (01:02:37) - Where can people reach Aaron?

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Why we hired someone new20 avr. 202300:45:26

Jon and Justin welcome Joshua Anderton to the Transistor team! Josh is an amazingly talented full-stack web developer (Laravel, Rails, Tailwind CSS, Alpine, and more!) He's been helping us as a part-time contractor since Oct 2022, and we're excited to have him on board full-time! In this episode, we discuss why we hired another person and how we think about hiring at Transistor.

  • (00:28) - 150!
  • (01:27) - Trials into paid customers
  • (09:17) - Hiring philosophy
  • (27:40) - Hiring Josh
  • (31:34) - Hiring people you know
  • (40:30) - Product updates
  • (43:49) - Patreon supporter thanks

Links: Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Act now before it's too late: Section 17428 mars 202300:33:10

Michele Hansen (co-founder of Geocodio) is raising the alarm about Section 174. This legislation could dramatically increase your tax bill this year if you're a small software company in the USA. Michele is organizing a response through the Small Software Business Alliance.

👉 ACT NOW:

  1. Sign up for Michele's list
  2. US citizens: tweet and call your Senators today. They need to know that this is a small business issue and that small businesses in their state are hurt by Section 174.
  3. Share the ssballiance.org URL with your founder friends.

In this episode:

  • (01:37) - What is section 174?
  • (04:37) - What's the benefit to the government for this change?
  • (08:58) - Section 174 is bad for every company that builds software
  • (11:23) - Disclaimer: We're not tax accountants
  • (12:16) - What is the SSB Alliance?
  • (14:00) - Small businesses are the cute puppies of the policy world
  • (22:00) - A practical example
  • (25:25) - This is going to impact small software businesses
  • (28:31) - What can we do?
Thanks to our monthly supporters
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  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
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This would kill our company immediately21 mars 202300:38:31

Jon's back from his first real vacation in years. In this episode, we discuss how we've been removing inactive accounts on Transistor, SVB, Section 174, Revin is shutting down their Merchant of Record service, SaaS sales tax compliance:

  • (00:37) - Jon in vacation mode
  • (02:30) - Kicking off inactive accounts
  • (04:30) - Silicon Valley Bank
  • (06:06) - What is Mercury bank?
  • (13:16) - Section 174 in the USA
  • (19:05) - Sales tax compliance update
  • (25:56) - What could we do?
  • (32:13) - Patreon integration update
  • (34:57) - MyPodStudios
  • (36:33) - Patreon Thanks

Links:


From the Revin email:

“The most relevant reason [we are closing] is that the Merchant of Record model is too risky for both sellers and the MOR operator. Sellers bear the risk of platform shutdown (as seen in the example of Flurly & Stripe), and the MOR operator could potentially become involved in illicit or illegal activities quickly, which could lead to all sorts of problems.

Furthermore, it became increasingly clear that the Merchant of Record model primarily appeals to small-scale sellers or businesses with questionable and high-risk business models. This presents a significant challenge as we strive to move up the market.

The recent change in Stripe's risk behavior has caused us to experience issues with keeping Stripe accounts live.”

Thanks to our monthly supporters
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  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
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  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
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One pepperoni pizza please01 mars 202300:02:06

"I don't get it: if that money is for the government, how come the pizza place put it in their cash register?!?"

(Jon is on vacation - our next real episode is coming soon!)

Listen to our past episodes on the headache that is SaaS sales tax compliance:

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  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Super Fun SaaS Sales Tax (Part Deux)21 févr. 202300:46:13

Last week's episode hit a nerve! "The idea that every small software company in the world will be able to be in perfect compliance will every foreign federal, provincial, state, and municipal government that imposes a sales tax is ridiculous. It's an impossible task.

  • (00:11) - Follow up to previous episode
  • (02:32) - Responses we got about sales tax
  • (06:20) - A brief history of sales tax
  • (08:56) - Many vendors aren't collecting sales tax
  • (10:41) - What about Stripe Tax?
  • (12:35) - It's new to North America
  • (16:12) - How it affects subscription based businesses
  • (19:30) - It's not clear who's liable
  • (24:28) - Make it easier and gov't make more money
  • (27:58) - What about Merchants of Record?
  • (30:28) - Where is Stripe going?
  • (35:17) - What are going to do now?
  • (44:45) - Patreon supporters

Broadly, there were a few different camps with the responses we received: 
  1. North American SaaS companies who have been using Stripe:  "Yes! Sales tax compliance for SaaS is brutal."
  2. European SaaS companies that have had to deal with VAT for a long time (many of whom use a Merchant of Record).
  3. Smaller North American solopreneurs and companies who had no idea they needed to collect and remit sales tax internationally.
  4. North American companies who have one-time sales and use Merchant of Record services.

Responses from indie hackers:

  • European: “Once again, I notice that the indie hacking community has a somewhat naïve approach to what running a business actually entails. As a European, not having a plan for sales tax is... mindboggling.”
  • Cooper: “I think it might be a European perspective; we are dealing with VAT from day 1, so it's just one of the parts of running a business from the start, it can't really be neglected.”
  • Edwin Saraccini: “To clarify, [for Canadians] this is absolutely new territory (Debated in parliament for years) and recently put to legislation in 2021.”
  • Daniel Vassallo: “It's impossible to be compliant everywhere. The Kingdom of Tonga could tomorrow come up with an internet tax and require you to remit 25% of your sales to the tax office in person in their local currency. And they won't tell you about it. It's just a cost/benefit analysis.”
  • Derrick Grigg: “How can they enforce tax collection on a business they have no jurisdiction over? Governments are shaking businesses down. I’m all for collecting and paying properly where you physically operate but collecting and remitting outside your province never mind nation is a stretch.”
  • Derrick Reimer: “Dear Stripe: We SaaS founders are desperate for a full-stack global tax compliance solution without having to leave you for a merchant-of-record. Are you planning to solve this?”

Did you know...

"There are actually several different types of sales tax systems in use throughout the United States. The biggest difference is whether the seller or the purchaser is the main taxpayer. In some states, the tax is imposed on sellers, who then have the option of passing the tax along to their purchasers. In other states, the tax is imposed on the purchaser, with the seller being responsible for collecting the tax and remitting it to the state. And then there are other states where the liability for the tax is shared by sellers and purchasers." 


(Source)


New thoughts on Sales tax compliance

  • I still haven’t heard from anyone who has successfully migrated a “mature” SaaS from Stripe to Paddle or LemonSqueezy. These are no-gos:
    • Can’t cause more churn.
    • Can’t require customers to re-enter information.
    • Can’t change our checkout experience.
  • We might consider Paddle / LemonSqueezy if:
    • Their fees were more affordable (compared to our existing fees it would be ~$63K year more, $5,250 per month more)
    • Their dev experience had a better rating from the folks we know.
    • I had heard from anybody who was at our stage and had actually migrated successfully.
  • A few folks suggested Revin, which promises “simple global sales tax compliance for Stripe for only $499/month,”  but:
    • They have to “create a new Stripe account for your brand.”
    • Do they own your Stripe account?
    • You’ll lose your historical stats and revenue analytics
  • The current solution we’re considering is Stripe Tax + TaxJar (and start with US and Canadian tax remittance)

Thanks to our monthly supporters

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Nobody wants to talk about this (SaaS sales tax)10 févr. 202300:49:07

Sales tax compliance: nobody in SaaS wants to talk about it. Jon and Justin tried to do something about it and it turned into a nightmare. According to Stripe Tax, there are about 90 different regions that software companies may have to register in, and then calculate, collect, and remit sales tax on their behalf. But in North America, many SaaS companies don't seem to care: many that we looked at weren't collecting sales tax at all, while a few had just started collecting in the US states.

  • (00:13) - Welcome
  • (01:49) - Benefits of podcasting for a small business
  • (03:39) - New Year's update
  • (05:54) - Patreon integration feature
  • (10:18) - Dear listener... a request!
  • (10:45) - Exciting! Sales Tax! Discussion!
  • (28:56) - What have we tried
  • (40:07) - A new issue that we can't make progress on
  • (46:55) - Thanks to our Patreon supporters

If you've been wondering about how sales tax applies to SaaS, listen to this episode.

Thanks to our monthly supporters

  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
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The gang goes to Montréal18 oct. 202200:44:56

The whole Transistor team got together for a retreat in Montréal. Jon, Justin, Helen, and Jason chat about the experience. 

What should we talk about next? 

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  1. Jason Charnes
  2. Mitchell Davis from RecruitKit.com.au
  3. Marcel Fahle, ​​wearebold.af
  4. Alex Payne
  5. Bill Condo
  6. Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  7. Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  8. Oleg Kulyk
  9. Ethan Gunderson
  10. Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  11. Russell Brown, Photivo.com
  12. Noah Prail
  13. Colin Gray
  14. Austin Loveless
  15. Michael Sitver
  16. Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, Fathom
  17. Dan Buda
  18. Darby Frey
  19. Adam DuVander
  20. Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  21. Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
  22. Check out Simon and Volkan’s new bootstrappers podcast: https://shipsaasfaster.com/ 

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
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  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
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  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

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Jon & Justin reveal everything (part 2)16 août 202200:35:30

It's the fourth anniversary of Transistor's public launch! This is part 2 of "Jon and Justin answer your questions."

  • (00:37) - When did you start paying yourself how much you wanted to make?
  • (01:34) - Any broad advice for startups?
  • (11:38) - How did you decide on your tech stack?
  • (14:16) - How did you prioritize features?
  • (15:49) - Were you embarrased by the first version you shipped?
  • (17:48) - How did you decide on pricing?
  • (21:07) - How would you have found employees without your network?
  • (27:25) - Do you have more or less freedom or stress in your lives?

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  1. Jason Charnes
  2. Mitchell Davis from RecruitKit.com.au
  3. Marcel Fahle, ​​wearebold.af
  4. Alex Payne
  5. Bill Condo
  6. Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  7. Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  8. Oleg Kulyk
  9. Ethan Gunderson
  10. Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  11. Russell Brown, Photivo.com
  12. Noah Prail
  13. Colin Gray
  14. Austin Loveless
  15. Michael Sitver
  16. Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, Fathom
  17. Dan Buda
  18. Darby Frey
  19. Adam DuVander
  20. Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  21. Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

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★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Jon & Justin reveal everything (part 1)10 août 202200:59:14

It's the fourth anniversary of Transistor's public launch! In this two-part series, Jon and Justin answer your questions.

  • 01:22 - Our history
  • 14:51 - What is the secret to running Transistor as a company? See our values here.
  • 21:19 - What was the most challenging aspect of the past 4 years?
  • 22:14 - Where do you see Transistor at 5 or 10 year?
  • 26:19 - Do you ever feel like you're not doing enough? Book: Running the Dream.
  • 32:09 - Have we reached peak podcast?
  • 34:36 - What's something you've gotten better at over the past 4 years?
  • 38:23 - What was the lowest point in Transistor's history?
  • 40:09 - What have you learned about partnership?
  • 43:17 - What has been the most fun memory of your journey?
  • 47:04 - What is the definition of enough for Transistor?
  • 50:49 - What are your thoughts on open startups vs private?
  • 52:25 - What are the most impactful decisions you've made?
  • 56:34 - How has your job changed year to year?

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters

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  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
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  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Bootstrapping in France (Baptiste Jamin from Crisp)12 juil. 202201:06:47

Baptiste Jamin co-founded Crisp with a friend he met in high school.

Highlights (go straight to 🔥 for the best stuff):

  • 1:42 – Crisp competes with massive companies: Zendesk, HelpScout, Intercom
  • 2:52 – How did Crisp get started? (they started young!)
  • 4:40 – The key insight that lead them to start Crisp 🔥
  • 7:03 – "Being young and in France, how much did you know about the startup ecosystem?"
  • 9:39 – How they bootstrapped Crisp in their twenties 🔥
  • 12:52 – Market insights and how they found their first customers 🔥
  • 16:02 – How they got a surge of new customers 🔥
  • 22:39 – Why Crisp charges LESS than their competitors 🔥
  • 30:14 – What it's like to have a customer base that is comprised of many niches 🔥
  • 32:30 – How does a small team ship such high-quality software? 🔥
  • 35:06 – Marketing strategy and tactics for small SaaS companies 🔥
  • 40:36 – Key insight on Crisp's "job to be done." 🔥
  • 45:52 – Crisp's simple sales trick for closing more deals 🔥
  • 50:58 – Why some EU countries have an advantage in product differentiation 🔥
  • 1:01:54 – Emerging global SaaS markets you might not have heard about

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  1. Jason Charnes
  2. Mitchell Davis from RecruitKit.com.au
  3. Marcel Fahle, ​​wearebold.af
  4. Alex Payne
  5. Bill Condo
  6. Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  7. Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  8. Oleg Kulyk
  9. Ethan Gunderson
  10. Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  11. Russell Brown, Photivo.com
  12. Noah Prail
  13. Colin Gray
  14. Austin Loveless
  15. Michael Sitver
  16. Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, Fathom
  17. Dan Buda
  18. Darby Frey
  19. Adam DuVander
  20. Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  21. Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
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★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What's it like getting acquired by Spotify? (Dave Zohrob from Chartable)14 juin 202200:55:49

Dave Zohrob is the co-founder of Chartable (a podcast analytics startup), talks about selling his company to Spotify in February 2022.

Highlights (go straight to 🔥 for the best stuff):

  • 1:00 – What's the Spotify office in New York like?
  • 5:24 – Dave's first startup: he started an indie record label (Tellall Records)
  • 7:12 – Founding in Chartable in 2017
  • 8:00 – Behind the scenes: talking to Chris Enns (our editor at Lemon Productions)
  • 9:50 – Dave's first business as a kid: publishing programming tutorials on the internet (Qbasic.com)
  • 12:25 – What made you want to make money on the internet?
  • 14:25 – Do all geeks have the intuition to start a business? (Justin's tweet) 🔥
  • 19:23 – What's your real motivation for building a startup? 🔥
  • 24:28 – Side-projects vs Bootstrapping vs Venture Funding (VC) 🔥
  • 30:12 – Once you choose the VC-funded path, what's it like? 🔥
  • 32:00 – The huge risk/cost for founders with families 🔥
  • 34:30 – Public health insurance is the best way to boost entrepreneurship
  • 36:30 – Bootstrappers and VC-funded founders have this same anxiety 🔥
  • 40:00 – What it's like joining a massive company as a small 11-person company? 🔥
  • 48:10 – What's next in podcast ad tech, analytics, and attribution 🔥

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  1. Jason Charnes
  2. Mitchell Davis from RecruitKit.com.au
  3. Marcel Fahle, ​​wearebold.af
  4. Alex Payne
  5. Bill Condo
  6. Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  7. Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  8. Oleg Kulyk
  9. Ethan Gunderson
  10. Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  11. Russell Brown, Photivo.com
  12. Noah Prail
  13. Colin Gray
  14. Austin Loveless
  15. Michael Sitver
  16. Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, Fathom
  17. Dan Buda
  18. Darby Frey
  19. Adam DuVander
  20. Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  21. Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Patrick Campbell: why ProfitWell sold to Paddle for $200M31 mai 202201:08:49

Patrick Campbell just sold his startup, ProfitWell, to Paddle for $200 million.

Highlights (go straight to 🔥 for the best stuff):

  • 0:00 – "My problem is I'm always curious if other people are living a better dream than me."
  • 1:30 – The major downside to bootstrapping is the lack of network
  • 2:20 – Selling ProfitWell to Paddle, and integrating the two teams.
  • 4:15 – How ProfitWell got started (2012)
  • 6:00 – Initially three co-founders (Crunchbase)
  • 7:20 – Patrick's background (what he did before ProfitWell)
  • 10:10 – What did bootstrapping ProfitWell look like? (How much did each founder invest?)
  • 14:15 – Do you want to be a lifestyle company or a "big ass company?" 🔥
  • 15:55 – What salary did Patrick pay himself? (Tweet) 🔥
  • 18:25 – Differences between Patrick (ProfitWell) and Josh Pigford (Baremetrics) 🔥
  • 21:45 – Should bootstrapped companies go freemium and try to "win the market?" 🔥
  • 26:40 – The characteristics of your market determine most of your outcomes 🔥🔥
  • 29:24 – "Don't underestimate the velocity and size of your market." 🔥
  • 34:35 – What doe the average SaaS company spend on sales and marketing? 🔥
  • 37:39 – Pricing your SaaS discussion 🔥
  • 42:45 – Why competitors entering a new market can be better for your company. 🔥
  • 47:10 – Should bootstrapped companies try to "own the market?" 🔥
  • 52:10 – "We're in the second phase of SaaS: here's what's coming next." 🔥
  • 61:53 – Did ProfitWell employees have equity?

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters
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  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

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★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Going from $0 to $2 million in ARR in 7 years (the Missive story)26 avr. 202201:00:03

Philippe Lehoux and his two co-founders started working on Missive around 2015, and just passed $2 million in annual recurring revenue.

  • 0:00 – Getting to know Philippe, and what it's like living in Quebec
  • 3:09 – How Missive got started: "how can we quickly collaborate on an email as a team?"
  • 8:15 – How they get most of their customers
  • 10:30 – How their first product (Conference Badge), funded the development of Missive
  • 13:55 – How the market dictates most of your success
  • 16:30 – How they deal with competitors
  • 28:00 – Another example: Crisp is competing head-to-head with Intercom
  • 30:25 – Why indie startups should compete on price

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  1. Jason Charnes
  2. Mitchell Davis from RecruitKit.com.au
  3. Marcel Fahle, ​​wearebold.af
  4. Alex Payne
  5. Bill Condo
  6. Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  7. Mitch
  8. Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  9. Oleg Kulyk
  10. Ethan Gunderson
  11. Chris Willow
  12. Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  13. Russell Brown, Photivo.com
  14. Noah Prail
  15. Colin Gray
  16. Austin Loveless
  17. Michael Sitver
  18. Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, Fathom
  19. Dan Buda
  20. Darby Frey
  21. Brad from Canada
  22. Adam DuVander
  23. Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  24. Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Taylor Otwell: the business of Laravel in 202205 avr. 202200:51:31

Taylor Otwell, is the founder of Laravel, a programming framework for PHP. But he's also one of the most successful indie SaaS operators I know. In this episode we discuss:

  • 0:30 – Taylor is changing how he hires and manages people at Laravel
  • 6:01 – How Taylor is finding new employees to work on Forge, Vapor, and his other products
  • 7:34 – The Laravel ecosystem has incubated incredible talent: Miguel Piedrafita, Caleb Porzio, Adam Wathan, Aaron Francis, Jack Ellis...
  • 10:03 – More and more indie SaaS apps are being built in Laravel
  • 10:48 – When is the next Laracon conference?
  • 13:11 – Taylor Otwell has the classic bootstrap success story
  • 14:28 – Laravel has been running too lean
  • 17:00 – What's it like to work as a developer at Laravel? (pair programming)
  • 18:33 – How Taylor does product development
  • 22:08 – "I haven't told anyone this yet, but I actually considered selling Laravel this past year." Here's why Taylor decided not to sell.
  • 26:30 – How do you deal with internet fame, and being a "known person?" 
  • 28:59 – Dealing with haters on Twitter
  • 31:50 – What is the future of web development, and the full-stack developer? What is the future of Ruby on Rails and Laravel?
  • 35:53 – Building excitement around PHP and Laravel with young people.
  • 42:13 – What inspires kids to get into programming? When it's fun, easy, accessible. This is why so many people started with Hypercard, Microsoft Access, PHP, Adobe Flash...

What should we talk about next?

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  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
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★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Why Customer Support = Startup Success22 mars 202200:48:16

Helen and Justin talk about the importance of customer support for indie SaaS companies.

  • 1:08 The hardest part about podcasting is doing it every week
  • 1:38 We just launched the new podcast website themes feature.
  • 2:24 Getting feedback, or seeing people use your product, is fuel for indie makers
  • 6:08 Helen's experience doing Customer Success for other companies: education, ConvertKit, MakerPad.
  • 8:53 Justin's tweet: "Customer Support is the most under-appreciated role in SaaS."
  • 10:00 The different forms of customer support: pre-sales, in-depth bug fixing, answering questions.
  • 12:45 How does the Transistor team differ when we do support?
  • 14:39 What Justin's learned from Helen in terms of giving better customer service
  • 17:25 People expect us to be bots
  • 17:45 The number of tickets we get each week: it's about ~100 conversations per week:
    • 60-70% of those are new conversations,
    • 30-40% is us responding to existing threads.
  • 18:55 How we manage live chat so we can answer people fairly quickly
  • 29:10 More tips for indie hackers who are doing customer support

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  1. Mitchell Davis from RecruitKit.com.au
  2. Marcel Fahle, ​​wearebold.af
  3. Alex Payne
  4. Bill Condo
  5. Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  6. Mitch
  7. Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  8. Oleg Kulyk
  9. Ethan Gunderson
  10. Chris Willow
  11. Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  12. Russell Brown, Photivo.com
  13. Noah Prail
  14. Colin Gray
  15. Austin Loveless
  16. Michael Sitver
  17. Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, Fathom
  18. Dan Buda
  19. Darby Frey
  20. Brad from Canada
  21. Adam DuVander
  22. Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  23. Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What's it really like to work at Transistor?15 mars 202200:43:14

We got the whole band together: Helen and Jason join Jon and Justin to talk about what it's really like to work at Transistor

Helen, Jason, Jon, Justin, all squeezed into the podcasting closet to make an episode

  • 0:55 Jason's first podcast ever
  • 1:12 Helen's been on other podcasts: Startups for the Rest of Us, Indie Bites, Indie Worldwide
  • 3:06 Should we invest in the "auto publish to YouTube" feature?
  • 13:32 The best features the ones that feel like "magic" when a customer uses them
  • 18:46 The "wait and see" product development philosophy
  • 20:15 A new podcast website builder CMS and website designs
  • 23:34 Writing a new templating language in Liquid (Shopify)
  • 26:23 Our new CLI tool: receiver (built with Go)
  • 31:30 Making a few new podcast website themes
  • 31:57 Adding language localization for podcast websites (English, French, Spanish)
  • 34:30 How we run our weekly team meetings
  • 35:44 New podcast website themes are out! (YouTube demo)
  • 40:39 For next week: what questions do you have for @jsonpearl and @helenryles?
  • 42:16 Patreon shout outs

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Founders' retreat18 janv. 202200:18:52

Jon and Justin recorded this episode sitting on the same couch!

  • Photo of the Coeur de Boeuf
  • The last time we were together in person: April 30, 2019 [Photo]
  • 2022 roadmap planning. We're exploring what we'd like to accomplish this year. 
    • Update and improve the podcast website builder
    • Build new podcast website templates based on Liquid
    • Add tools that help podcasters promote their show
    • Continue to improve our Dynamic Audio Insertion features
    • Create new features that help podcasters monetize their show
  • Sales/marketing planning:
    • Reaching out to major affiliates to see how we can better partner with them
    • Looking at ways of rewarding our customers for referring through Rewardful
    • Freemium?
  • Employees/company stuff 
    • Options: Carta
    • Benefits
    • Possible hiring
  • Future:
    • Long-term, we’re looking at an acquisition: what do we need to do to build up to that?

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  1. Marcel Fahle, ​​wearebold.af
  2. Alex Payne
  3. Bill Condo
  4. Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  5. Mitch
  6. Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  7. Oleg Kulyk
  8. Ethan Gunderson
  9. Chris Willow
  10. Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  11. Russell Brown, Photivo.com
  12. Noah Prail
  13. Colin Gray
  14. Austin Loveless
  15. Michael Sitver
  16. Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, Fathom
  17. Dan Buda
  18. Darby Frey
  19. Brad from Canada
  20. Adam DuVander
  21. Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  22. Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Reflecting on 202124 déc. 202100:57:54

Jon and Justin reflect on 2021 and get excited about 2022:

What happened in 2021?

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Marcel Fahle, ​​wearebold.af
  • Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  • Mitch
  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Take It EV podcast
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Brian Casel, of Bootstrapped Web, chats about his new app07 déc. 202101:26:02

In this guest episode, Justin chats with Brian Casel.

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  • Mitch
  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Take It EV podcast
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What does my daughter think of the podcast industry?26 nov. 202100:28:24

In this bonus episode, Justin interviews his 18-year-old daughter, Sadie, about:

  • A Gen Z perspective on podcasting
  • Why women are the future of podcasting: Edison Research
    • "Now, look at the rookies – 47% are men, but the majority, 53% are women."
    • "Most women get their podcast recommendations from Spotify, social media, or their friends."
  • We talk a lot about podcast advertising, podcast ads, and how the adtech industry should think differently about how they target women.
    • "Most podcast ads are just men talking to men."

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  • Mitch
  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Take It EV podcast
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
A few questions12 oct. 202100:51:05

This week Jon and Justin discussed:

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  • Mitch
  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Take It EV podcast
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Why should we care about our customers' feelings?07 sept. 202101:07:30

This week Justin chats with Michele Hansen, founder of Geocodio. I got fired up about interviewing customers! 

  • Get Michele's new book! Deploy Empathy
  • Listen to Michele's podcast: Software Social
  • "Empathy is a skill you can learn."
  • Get Michele's newsletter
  • "There's so much shame in the tech community."
  • What are the boundaries for deploying empathy? When, and how, do we deliver critiques?
  • Podcast: a respectful interview with a flat-earther 
  • "This book isn't just about deploying empathy to customers, it's also about learning to be more empathetic to your family, friends, coworkers."
  • 31:30 – we start discussing customer interviews
  • "It was easier for me to learn how to have empathy for customers than it was to have empathy for myself."
  • 42:27 – "how does empathy help businesses attract new customers, build better products?"
  • 46:53 - "Why don't you bring Jon in on those interviews?"

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.com
  • Mitch
  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Take It EV podcast
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler, Memberspace
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
This is a big step for us17 août 202100:50:37

This week Jon and Justin discussed:

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Mitch
  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Take It EV podcast
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Is venture capital bad?03 août 202101:03:20

This week Spencer Fry, founder of Podia.com, joins Justin Jackson to talk about venture capital and bootstrapping.

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Mitch
  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Basecamp | Hiring | How to have a calm company04 mai 202100:48:11

This week Jon and Justin discussed:

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Mitch
  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Take It EV podcast
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
A good business will change your life (for real)06 avr. 202100:49:04

This we, we chatted about:

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

  • Harris Kenny, Intro CRM podcast
  • Oleg Kulyk
  • Violette Du Geneville
  • Take It EV podcast
  • Ethan Gunderson
  • Diogo
  • Chris Willow
  • Borja Soler
  • Ward Sandler
  • Eric Lima
  • James Sowers (like Flowers)
  • Travis Fischer
  • Matt Buckley
  • Russell Brown
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Pradyumna Shembekar (PD)
  • Noah Prail
  • Colin Gray
  • Josh Smith
  • Ivan Curkovic
  • Shane Smith
  • Austin Loveless
  • Simon Bennett
  • Michael Sitver
  • Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis, 
  • Dan Buda 
  • Darby Frey
  • Samori Augusto
  • Dave Young
  • Brad from Canada
  • Sammy Schuckert
  • Mike Walker
  • Adam DuVander
  • Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
  • Kyle Fox GetRewardful.com
Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
We're doing this and it's weird26 janv. 202100:37:47

Real humans making a business together:

  • Taking the leap
  • Why is Justin jealous of Ben?
  • Pros and cons of building a remote company in 2021
  • Limited exposure to your co-founder
  • What would take to get Jon to move to Canada?
  • Story: confronting a burglar with a crowbar
  • The algorithm rewards you for being early
  • Spending a lot of time on Clubhouse
  • How are we going to scale our SaaS?
  • How does investing $500,000 in the podcast ecosystem change the ecosystem?
  • Justin's talk with Jason Calacanis

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Podcast companies losing money?19 janv. 202100:44:07

Jon's back! He and Justin share their feelings/thoughts about the new year:

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Jason Fried – you can't control the market29 déc. 202000:53:38

This week, Justin and Jason discuss the dynamics of market demand.

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:


Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What happened after Simon went full time on his SaaS?15 déc. 202000:52:51

This week, Justin catches up with Simon Bennett of Snapshooter:

  • Every once in a while, we highlight one of our listeners who are building their own SaaS.
  • This week: Simon Bennett, comes back to tell us what's happened since he left his full-time job 7 months ago.
  • Looking for automatic backups for Digital Ocean, AWS, WordPress, or Laravel? Check out https://snapshooter.io.
  • Simon had just put his kids to bed (he's in the UK) and sat down in his office to have a chat with Justin.

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Landsman on software17 nov. 202000:46:46

Justin is joined by everybody's favorite Twitter Uncle: Ian Landsman (founder of HelpSpot).

  • Ian's encounter with his internet hero Joel Spolsky
  • Do you get worried that this all going to go away?
  • How scared should we be of the competition?
  • How do you hedge your bets?
  • We prognosticate about what our bootstrapper friends' blind spots are. 🤣
  • We both ask for investors live, on air.
  • How founders should manage their personal finances.
  • How our past experience can make us blind to opportunities.
  • How can devs connect with marketers?
  • Which startups would we invest in.

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
How fragile is the prosumer SaaS market?10 nov. 202000:29:36

We're back! 

  • Justin's voice sounds terrible (sorry!)
  • When is the next wave of economic despair going to happen?
  • The maker/creator market is on 🔥 right now. How long will it last?
  • How "soft" is the prosumer market? How fragile is it?
  • A BUNCH OF NEW TRANSISTOR FEATURES:
  • How do you work on your startup when you're feeling down?
    • "There were weeks when I got almost nothing done because I was stressed out about the state of the world."
    • "It's hard to force yourself to do creative work if you're not feeling good emotionally."

What should we talk about next?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What it takes to launch a SaaS22 sept. 202001:08:57

We have a bonus episode for you this week!

Want to reply to something we said?

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
THE FEAR15 sept. 202000:40:02

Jon and Justin talk about "optionality" in bootstrapping. (Justin is concerned, Jon thinks we should just enjoy the moment).

  • DHH: "Part of what gave us the confidence to turn down the whole world of venture capital was a small sale of equity to Jeff Bezos. That gave our personal bank accounts just enough ballast that the big numbers touted by VCs and acquisition hunters lost their lure."
  • Are we at peak podcasting? Things are good right now - will they be good for 10 years? 20 years? 
  • Fred Wilson: "Taking money off the table."
  • How much did the founders of Buffer, Robinhood, etc. take off the table? Article.
  • Des Traynor: "A founder is spending 60 months of their best years in their startup (instead of their career). That is a substantial upfront investment; it's like a seed round, but instead of money, it's your life."
  • How much richer than us is Jeff Bezos?

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Do you really need to build an audience?08 sept. 202001:21:25

Late-summer update! This week on the program, we bring you a super spicy interview that Justin did on the TechZing podcast.

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Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
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  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Break out04 août 202000:45:52

Mid-summer update! This week on the program, Justin and Jon talk about:

  • If you're bootstrapping SaaS, how many monthly trials do you need?
  • Tweet: "You probably need more trials than you think."
  • Breaking out of your own way of thinking
  • "All it took was someone talking to me to have a different way of thinking about it."

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Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
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  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Talking about an acquisition30 juin 202000:51:51

This week on the program, Justin and Jon talk about:

  • Updates on Transistor: new API is almost done, static site generator, growth slowed in June?
  • Questioning whether we should slow down for the summer
  • Talking about the Simplecast acquisition
    • What would sell for? Mike: “Anything that’s a life-changing amount.”

Want to reply to something we said?

★ Bootstrapper shout-out of the week:

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

Thanks to our monthly supporters
  • Rewardful.com
  • Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Dave Giunta

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
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