329 episodes

The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.

Startups For the Rest of Us Rob Walling

    • Business
    • 4.9 • 671 Ratings

The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.

    Episode 706.1 | MicroConf US Tickets Will Sell Out Soon!

    Episode 706.1 | MicroConf US Tickets Will Sell Out Soon!

    MicroConf US in Atlanta is here in just a couple weeks, and this is your last call to buy tickets. We've sold more than 90% of the tickets, and we will sell this event out as we have for many years. The event is April 21st through the 23rd in Atlanta, Georgia at the amazing Starling Atlanta.



    There are going to be 200-ish of your closest bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped founder friends who are showing up to hear talks from folks like Rand Fishkin of SparkToro, Asia Orangio of DemandMaven. I'm giving a talk as well, and Dr. Sherry Walling will be talking about staying motivated as an entrepreneur.

    We have a special guest MC, Lianna Patch, and we'll have a very special guest who has never appeared on the MicroConf stage before- Ben Chestnut, the co-founder of MailChimp.



    Get all the details and secure your ticket before they run out at microconf.com/americas.

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

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

    In episode 706, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where he discusses a variety of topics. He starts with why it’s important to both consider and credit “prior art” in business. Rob outlines his 2/20/200 idea validation framework used to repeatedly evaluate ideas. He also covers why, though there are some advantages, designing by committee has some significant downsides. 



    Episode Sponsor:





    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.



    Topics we cover: 




    2:37 – Learning from, and crediting, prior art



    10:27 – The 2/20/200 Idea Validation Framework



    16:03 – Be wary when designing by committee



    21:09 – When to crowdsource feedback




    Links from the Show: 




    Register for MicroConf US in Atlanta, April 2024



    Do Things That Don’t Scale by Paul Graham



    David Sacks (@DavidSacks) | X



    Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham



    Episode 705 | From Bootstrapped to Mostly Bootstrapped



    Episode 628 | The 5 P.M. Idea Validation Framework



    Use This PROVEN Formula to Validate Your Next Startup Idea



    Validate Your SaaS Idea FAST (Step-by-Step SaaS Validation Process)✅



    Start Small Stay Small by Rob Walling



    Metallica: Some Kind of Monster




    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!
    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify | Google

    • 25 min
    Episode 705 | From Bootstrapped to Mostly Bootstrapped to Venture Backed

    Episode 705 | From Bootstrapped to Mostly Bootstrapped to Venture Backed

    In episode 705, Rob Walling interviews Braden Dennis, co-founder and CEO of FinChat. They discuss Braden’s journey going from fully bootstrapped, all the way to taking venture capital as FinChat scaled. Braden shares his experience in initially launching to an audience, how they successfully launched a second product, and how FinChat operates well with multiple co-founders.



    Episode Sponsor:





    Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups



    The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fierce. Lemon.io helps you cut through the noise and find great talent through its network of engineers in Europe and Latin America.



    They take care of the vetting, interviewing, and testing of candidates to make sure that you are working with someone who can hit the ground running.



    When it comes to hiring, the time it takes to write your job description, list the position, review resumes, schedule interviews, and make an offer can take weeks, if not months. With Lemon.io, you can cut down on a lot of that time by tapping into their wide network of developers who can get started in as early as a week.



    And for subscribers of Startups For the Rest of Us, you can get 15% off your first 4 week contract with a developer by visiting lemon.io/startups



    Topics we cover: 




    2:55 – What does FinChat look like today?



    4:00 – Starting with an audience and building a SaaS



    6:40 – Formulating the product and moving upmarket



    8:35 – Launching a second product



    12:25 – The common pitfall of launching a second product



    16:25 – How FinChat found explosive growth



    19:27 – Deciding to take venture funding 



    26:13 – Making hard decisions with incomplete information



    30:31 – Working with multiple co-founders




    Links from the Show: 




    Register for MicroConf US in Atlanta, April 2024



    Apply for Director of Marketing and Operations for MicroConf



    MicroConf YouTube Channel



    TinySeed



    Braden Dennis (@BradoCapital) | X



    FinChat (@finchat_io) | X



    FinChat



    Episode 681 | Why Launching a Second Product is Usually a Bad Idea




    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:

    • 36 min
    Episode 704 | Landing Pages, Buying a SaaS, the Right Tech Stack, and More Listener Questions

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

    In episode 704, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He weighs in on buying a SaaS, how to validate ideas using landing pages, and what tech stack to choose. Rob also provides guidance for those considering leaving their comfortable day jobs in favor of being a founder.



    Episode Sponsor:





    Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball?



    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.



    Topics we cover: 




    4:00 – Comparing your business to successful outliers



    9:50 – Exploring business outside of a comfortable day job



    15:45 – Early access landing pages prior to development



    20:00 – How do you vet SaaS businesses that you are trying to acquire? 



    27:16 – Evaluating a seller’s intentions



    29:50 – Choosing a tech stack for your SaaS




    Links from the Show: 




    MicroConf Remote – Early Stage Saas Strategies



    Register for MicroConf US in Atlanta, April 2024



    Apply for Director of Marketing and Operations for MicroConf



    MicroConf Connect



    Startups For The Rest of Us – Ask a question



    37signals



    7 Proven Ways to Create Profitable SaaS Ideas EVERY Time



    The SaaS Playbook



    Quiet Light



    Acquire.com



    The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping




    If you have questions about sta

    • 37 min
    Episode 703 | The Accidental SaaS Entrepreneur

    Episode 703 | The Accidental SaaS Entrepreneur

    In episode 703, Rob Walling interviews Jordan Hansen, founder of Cobalt Intelligence. They dive into Jordan's unexpected journey into SaaS and the growth of his company, which specializes in business verification through API. Jordan reflects on quitting his job to pursue his startup and the benefits of community and mentorship he has received from TinySeed. 



    Episode Sponsor:





    Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups



    The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fierce. Lemon.io helps you cut through the noise and find great talent through its network of engineers in Europe and Latin America.



    They take care of the vetting, interviewing, and testing of candidates to make sure that you are working with someone who can hit the ground running.



    When it comes to hiring, the time it takes to write your job description, list the position, review resumes, schedule interviews, and make an offer can take weeks, if not months. With Lemon.io, you can cut down on a lot of that time by tapping into their wide network of developers who can get started in as early as a week.



    And for subscribers of Startups For the Rest of Us, you can get 15% off your first 4 week contract with a developer by visiting lemon.io/startups



    Topics we cover: 




    2:30 – What does Cobalt Intelligence offer?



    5:45 – Team scale, market, and business origins 



    9:55 – Starting YouTube and finding motivation to continually publish



    13:27 – Working with a savings runway and applying to TinySeed



    23:50 – Finding product-market fit



    26:58 – Unlisting content to align with business goals



    31:50 – “Accidental” SaaS founder




    Links from the Show: 




    Register for MicroConf US in Atlanta, April 2024



    TinySeed



    The SaaS Playbook



    Jordan Hansen (@JordBHansen) | X



    Cobalt Intelligence (@CobaltIntell) | X



    Cobalt Intelligence 



    Lianna Patch (@punchlinecopy) | X



    The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping



    Soft Skills: The software developer's life manual by John Sonmez 



    Episode 698 | How to Launch a Million Dollar Business (With Noah Kagan)

    • 34 min
    Episode 702 | Revenue vs. Profit Multiples, When to Lower Prices, and More Listener Questions

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

    In episode 702, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He answers how to introduce friends to bootstrapping, when to lower your prices, and addresses the difference in revenue and profit multiple valuations. Rob also offers advice when weighing a career move versus building side projects and scaling your MVP.



    Episode Sponsor:





    Is your outsourced development team dropping the ball?



    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.



    Topics we cover: 




    3:15 – How to introduce friends to entrepreneurship and bootstrapping 



    6:00 – When to focus on profit vs. top-line revenue



    10:40 – Considerations for building, scaling, and differentiating an MVP



    15:45 – Rare circumstances where you should lower prices



    20:25 – Pursuing career moves vs. building on the side



    23:43 – Managing cap tables and equity vesting




    Links from the Show: 




    MicroConf Remote – Early Stage Saas Strategies



    TinySeed



    The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping



    Start Small, Stay Small



    The SaaS Playbook



    MicroConf YouTube Channel: Building Your First SaaS: The Ultimate Crash Course



    SFTROU Greatest Hits



    Episode 222 | The Stair Step Approach to Launching Products



    What is a SAFE?




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

    • 31 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
671 Ratings

671 Ratings

yuritomi ,

Honest, tactical, real stories and advice for bootstrappers

This is my go-to podcast for inspiration from other bootstrapped entrepreneurs! I so appreciate Rob’s candidness about his personal journey and the tactical business advice and honest opinions he shares based on his experience investing and advising tons of startup founders. Thank you for this wonderful podcast, Rob!!

pedro.assumpcao ,

The best startup podcast by far

Thanks Rob for all the invaluable information you provide around startup, SaaS, and bootstrapping businesses. Your podcast became my top source of info that came right on time for my professional career. Just continue with the great content 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

geol9 ,

The podcast I look forward to every Tuesday!

Thanks Rob, especially enjoy the listener questions episodes.

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