Build Your SaaS
Interested in building your own SaaS company? Follow the journey of Transistor.fm as they bootstrap a podcast hosting startup.
Episodes
What is Transistor's secret weapon?
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?
(
An update from Justin and Jon
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.
"Justin, I built a SaaS!"
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 entr
Giuuunta! Motivating yourself when you're not in startup mode
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
Adam Wathan: how small startups hire employees (Tailwind CSS)
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 exp
Is ONCE enough?
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:Once landing
How Ben and David bootstrapped the Acquired podcast
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 in
Nashville team retreat: scary birds, country music, and a photo shoot
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
Paul Jarvis: gaining freedom by building an indie business
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 a
How Tim worked on side-projects for 10+ years, and finally went full-time (with kids)
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 pla
Startup coaching: helping founders and team members realize their full potential
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
Michele Hansen update: Section 174 and bootstrapping with kids
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 busin
Should a parent with young kids try to bootstrap a new startup?
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 o
Why we hired someone new
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) -
Act now before it's too late: Section 174
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:Sign up for Michele's listUS citizens: tweet and call your Senators today. They need to know that this is a
This would kill our company immediately
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
One pepperoni pizza please
"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:Part 1Part 2
Thanks to our monthly supporters
Rewardful.com
Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co
Bill Condo (@mavrck)
Ward from MemberSpa
Super Fun SaaS Sales Tax (Part Deux)
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
(0
Nobody wants to talk about this (SaaS sales tax)
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
The gang goes to Montréal
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? Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbuda, @jsonpearl, and @helenrylesLeave a review/comment on Podchaser; it's like Reddit, but for podcasts.Email us: support@transistor.fmThanks to our monthly supporters:Jason CharnesMitchell Davis
Jon & Justin reveal everything (part 2)
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:
Jon & Justin reveal everything (part 1)
It's the fourth anniversary of Transistor's public launch! In this two-part series, Jon and Justin answer your questions.01:22 - Our history14:51 - 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 enou
Bootstrapping in France (Baptiste Jamin from Crisp)
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, Intercom2:52 – 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
What's it like getting acquired by Spotify? (Dave Zohrob from Chartable)
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 20178:00 – Behind the scenes: talking to Chris
Patrick Campbell: why ProfitWell sold to Paddle for $200M
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 network2:20 – Selling ProfitWell to Paddle, and integrating the two teams.4:15 – How ProfitWell got started (2012
Going from $0 to $2 million in ARR in 7 years (the Missive story)
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 Quebec3:09 – How Missive got started: "how can we quickly collaborate on an email as a team?"8:15 – How they get most of their customers10:30 – How their first product (Conference Badge), funded
Taylor Otwell: the business of Laravel in 2022
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 Laravel6:01 – How Taylor is finding new employees to work on Forge, Vapor, and his other products7:34 – The Laravel ecosystem has incubated incredible talent:
Why Customer Support = Startup Success
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 week1:38 We just launched the new podcast website themes feature.2:24 Getting feedback, or seeing people use your product, is fuel for indie makers6:08 Helen's experience doing Customer Success for other companies: education, ConvertKit, MakerPad
What's it really like to work at Transistor?
We got the whole band together: Helen and Jason join Jon and Justin to talk about what it's really like to work at TransistorHelen, Jason, Jon, Justin, all squeezed into the podcasting closet to make an episode0:55 Jason's first podcast ever1:12 Helen's been on other podcasts: Startups for the Rest of Us, Indie Bites, Indie Worldwide3:06 Should we invest in the "auto publish to YouTube" f
Founders' retreat
Jon and Justin recorded this episode sitting on the same couch!Photo of the Coeur de BoeufThe 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 builderBuild new podcast website templates based on LiquidAdd tools that help podcasters promote their showContinue to
Reflecting on 2021
Jon and Justin reflect on 2021 and get excited about 2022:Rework podcast episode: the word "startup"Should we rename the show "Maintain your SaaS"? ;)Biggest highlights: hiring Helen and JasonGiving employees generous bonusesJustin's list of non-alcoholic drinksCaptivate (one of our competitors) was just acquiredDifferent types of founder stressShould we sell our company? Our friends at R
Brian Casel, of Bootstrapped Web, chats about his new app
In this guest episode, Justin chats with Brian Casel.Bootstrapped Web podcastZipMessageBrian's other projectsWhat should we talk about next?Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbudaLeave a review/comment on Podchaser; it's like Reddit, but for podcasts.Email us: mail@transistor.fmThanks to our monthly supporters:Anton Zorin from ProdCamp.comMitchHarris Kenny, Intro CRM podcastOleg Kuly
What does my daughter think of the podcast industry?
In this bonus episode, Justin interviews his 18-year-old daughter, Sadie, about:A Gen Z perspective on podcastingWhy 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
A few questions
This week Jon and Justin discussed:Tweet: what should we talk about?Justin's daughter wrote an article for the Transistor blog: https://transistor.fm/gen-z/ Customer case studiesDynamic audio insertionIntegration with DescriptBook: Range by David EpsteinWhat should we talk about next?Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbudaLeave a review/comment on Podchaser; it's like Reddit, but for
Why should we care about our customers' feelings?
This week Justin chats with Michele Hansen, founder of Geocodio. I got fired up about interviewing customers! Get Michele's new book! Deploy EmpathyListen 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:
This is a big step for us
This week Jon and Justin discussed:Our values determine how we make decisionsHiring FT: we hired Jason Pearl!Summer SaaS slowdownTweet: worst month everConvertKit’s public numbersWhat should we talk about next?Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbudaLeave a comment on PodHunt; it's like Reddit, but for podcasts.Email us: mail@transistor.fmThanks to our monthly supporters:MitchHarris K
Is venture capital bad?
This week Spencer Fry, founder of Podia.com, joins Justin Jackson to talk about venture capital and bootstrapping.Spencer's tweet: "The hostility that the bootstrapper community has towards the VC community continues to perplex me."Justin's interview with Jason Calacanis (2013)VC bragsRoy Bahat on Big Technology Podcast: Why VCs are mad06:30 "Capital changes lots of dynamics in society. I
Basecamp | Hiring | How to have a calm company
This week Jon and Justin discussed:BasecampNote: we recorded this before Casey Newton's second article on Basecamp came out.Also: this article is a really thoughtful take on the whole situation.Ruby/Rails open source world.https://discuss.rubyonrails.org/t/effect-of-the-last-week-on-ruby-on-rails/77702 SO EXCITED: HELEN IS ON THE TEAM! 🎉https://transistor.fm/helen/ Cost/benefit analysisIt
A good business will change your life (for real)
This we, we chatted about:Evil Crypto TeletubbiesVoltswagonFathom has acquired GoogleJon is trying out a new private office, in a coworking space (Deskpass)Justin had a quick chat with Derrick Reimer, SavvyCalTweet: Two years ago (March 2019), Justin posted a screenshot of our revenue numbers and we were just about to hit $10k in MRR.Jason Fried: Your company history is a mythJustin went
We're doing this and it's weird
Real humans making a business together:Taking the leapWhy is Justin jealous of Ben?Pros and cons of building a remote company in 2021Limited exposure to your co-founderWhat would take to get Jon to move to Canada?Story: confronting a burglar with a crowbarThe algorithm rewards you for being earlySpending a lot of time on ClubhouseApple Podcasts going into subscription podcasts roundtable“
Podcast companies losing money?
Jon's back! He and Justin share their feelings/thoughts about the new year:Closing the door on the pastExciting revenue milestonePodcast companies losing moneyhttps://podnews.net/update/pocket-casts-for-salehttps://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/15/spotifys-big-bet-on-podcasts-is-failing-citi-says.html https://www.macrumors.com/2021/01/15/apple-podcast-subscription-service/Twitter's Trump banhttps:
Jason Fried – you can't control the market
This week, Justin and Jason discuss the dynamics of market demand.Justin's original tweetJason's responseWhat should we talk about next?Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbuda, @jasonfriedLeave a comment on PodHunt; it's like Reddit, but for podcasts.Email us: mail@transistor.fmThanks to our monthly supporters:Take It EV podcastEthan GundersonAnton ZorinBill CondoChris WillowMason He
What happened after Simon went full time on his SaaS?
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 h
Landsman on software
Justin is joined by everybody's favorite Twitter Uncle: Ian Landsman (founder of HelpSpot).Ian's encounter with his internet hero Joel SpolskyDo 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 shoul
How fragile is the prosumer SaaS market?
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:Zapier integrationPodcast:lockedEasily submit your podcast to the major podcast directories.Podcast distribution checklistHow do
What it takes to launch a SaaS
We have a bonus episode for you this week!Justin was on the Framework podcast.Check out the other Spec.fm showsSubscribe to Framework in OvercastWant to reply to something we said?Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbuda, @tomcreighton, @therobhayesLeave a comment on PodHunt; it's like Reddit, but for podcasts.Email us: mail@transistor.fmThanks to our monthly supporters:Take It EV pod
THE FEAR
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."Ar
Do you really need to build an audience?
Late-summer update! This week on the program, we bring you a super spicy interview that Justin did on the TechZing podcast.Do you really need to build an audience before you build your product?Justin's tweetThere's this idea that you need to grow an audience, talk to an audience, and then build something they want. Is that really necessary?IndieHackers interview with Vincent Woojustinjack
Break out
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."Want to reply to something we said?Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jon
Talking about an acquisition
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 summerTalking about the Simplecast acquisitionWhat would sell for? Mike: “Anything that’s a life-changing amount.”Want to reply to something we said?Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbudaLeave
It's just too much
This week on the program, Justin and Jon talk about:A friend, whose SaaS has grown 300% since the beginning of the quarantine. They just hit $6k in MRR.At that stage, he's in the "almost but not yet."You're either:Brainstorming how to make money fasterBrainstorming how to work lessDifferent stages:Pre-launch stage: you're working on your product on the side. It's fun! There's nothing stea
Waking up
Structural racism affects every part of the economic system. It affects bootstrappers too! It defines:Who we hireWho we invest inWho we promoteWho we chat withWho sees our numbersWho we invite to speakWho gets access to our platform"It's not just about being oppressed or being an oppressor, it's about resisting oppression and resisting being an oppressor; being an ally, being an advocate
Why there's no episode today
👋 Justin here. This episode is to let you know why there's no episode today. (I've had a few DMs from folks that were worried!)We're good; we had some server trouble this morning that took all our time and attention today. We're hoping to be back next Tuesday with a full episode.Thanks everyone; we appreciate your support! ✌️Special thanks to Dean Layton James, from CloudPeriscope and Ben
Building software for 2030
This week on the program, Justin and Jon talk about:The new Transistor UI, and how folks are responding to it."Damn the torpedoes!" – seeing if our update worked in IE11 after we deployed.Tobias Lütke, Shopify: “All the trends have been accelerated. The pandemic has moved everything forward 10 years. So now we need to build 2030 level software in 2020.”Restaurant trends:https://www.explor
Simon is going full-time
This week on the program:As requested, we're going to start highlighting our listeners who are building their own SaaS.This week: Simon Bennett, a long-time Patreon supporter and a friend of the show.He just went full time on his project https://snapshooter.io, which does automatic backups for Digital Ocean. Simon had just put his kids to bed (he's in the UK) and sat down in his office to
They stole our idea!
What do you do when a competitor steals your idea? (plus: Justin and Jon have the giggles).People in tech get bent out of shape about who owns certain ideas, UI patterns, and business models.“They ripped off my idea”"They copied us!"This blog post by Justin Mitchell:https://medium.com/@itsthisjustin/no-idea-is-unique-but-this-is-insane-a247ec80f6a7Good Stackexchange thread:“In the history
Starting over again on our SaaS
Justin and Justin talk about where they're at.Podcasts like the Project Journey show, are at the beginning of their journey.Marie Poulin is a good example of an entrepreneur who's experienced a breakthrough this year; we should celebrate those!Justin's tweet: "What are we doing this for? Is the purpose of life to "Start business. Make most money. Die." We want to engage with an audience t
What should we build next?
This week on the show:Jon baked bread. Got some sunshine. Avoiding social media, the other diseaseJustin WAS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. Read this Andreesen post that everyone’s talking about: https://a16z.com/2020/04/18/its-time-to-build/That conversation lead to this tweet: https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1251946371050954752What does the future hold?Dan Price tweet: "After the most recent 15 d
How coronavirus is impacting revenue
This week, Justin called up Josh Pigford, founder of Baremetrics:Baremetrics does analytics for SaaS companiesI called him up just to get a sense of how this pandemic (and looming recession) has already started to affect different SaaS companiesHe's already noticing some trends: "A lot of SaaS companies are seeing the biggest loss they've seen in the past 4 weeks. I've heard from some com
Giuuuuuuuunta
Today, we are joined by a very special guest: Dave Giunta! What does Daft Punk look like without their helmets? HomeChef How has demand for meal kits and food delivery increased since coronavirus?You can reply to this podcast here:Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbuda, @dgiuntaLeave a comment on PodHunt; it's like Reddit, but for podcasts.Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app
Pants-driven development
Jon and Justin, still making sense of life (and business) in a pandemic:Jon put on pants today.Justin is mad at Amazon.You can reply to this podcast here:Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbudaLeave a comment on PodHunt; it's like Reddit, but for podcasts.Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for iPhone.Interact on WhatPods.Email us: mail@transistor.fmThanks to our monthly supp
How are founders handling the pandemic?
Jon and Justin are hunkered down, and reeling from COVID-19:This is moving fast, so this podcast might already be out-of-date.Difference between the restrictions in Chicago and Vernon."It's hard to focus on Transistor and write any code.""There are all these people out there suffering, it's hard to know what to do.""You see these effects rippling through society, and then rippling towards
Marie Poulin: Maybe you shouldn't start a software company
This week, Justin is joined by Marie Poulin, co-founder of Oki Doki. They discuss:Chatting with Marie Poulin, Oki Doki3:40 – "I used to be in the 'Ra Ra! Everyone should build a web app' crowd."4:18 – "Now there's this feeling that maybe everyone shouldn't start a SaaS?"9:30 – When you're starting a business, there are so many dynamics you need to get right.13:40 – Why so many people fail
All that he wants
This week, Jon and Justin celebrate 100 episodes:Jon was on the Cody Story podcast awhile back.Justin, on the other hand, loves writing testimonials:Jack McDade's new courseTailwind UIFathom Analytics"We are in our mid-life crisis of SaaS building. I think, for me, the problem is not quite knowing what's next."Is this the time we hire a business coach? Where does your personal motivation
Should you start a startup with your spouse?
This week, Justin is joined by Michele Hansen (co-founder of Geocodio). We explore a bunch of questions:What it's like to bootstrap with your spouse6:30 – where Michele and Mathias found the idea for their company7:00 – when you have kids you need diapers at 1amWhy people start companies7:55 – how getting pregnant motivated them to build a product10:15 – Matthias initially built a really
What's driving you now?
This week, Justin is joined by Ward Sandler from MemberSpace (launched in 2015). We explore a bunch of questions:How do you find a cofounder?Ward explains to Justin (a Canadian) what a fraternity is.What it's like doing enterprise sales.How two sales guys ended up learning design and programming."Everybody needs to build a website for Uncle Larry"Justin and Ward go through a sample sales
Clearing the air
This week, Jon and Justin discuss:Justin's office is under construction 🛠️.How to talk about things that are hard.A review exercise from the book: The Great CEO Within (as recommended by Ben on Art of Product).It gives each founder the ability to say: "This bugs me."We've hired Helen (NamesAce) as a part-time contractor.Switching out our UI framework: Jon is rebuilding the Transistor app
Anxiety about what might happen with the business
This week, Jon and Justin discuss:What makes a good podcast for product people?New American Dream: building, owning, selling a SaaS (Tyler Tringas)What do you worry about when you own your own software company?How would we handle an economic downturn?Why do software founders not sleep well at night?You can reply to this podcast here:Twitter: @buildyoursaas, @mijustin, @jonbudaLeave a comm
A cloudy feeling of dread
This week, Jon and Justin discuss:Repeating calendar item: "Jan 5th, GTFO."How are you doing with the winter blue?The Transistor Volkswagen bus, surfboards, and snowboards.Monolithic vs mico-serviceshttps://twitter.com/dhh/status/1222966700913479681https://changelog.com/posts/monoliths-are-the-futurePushing ahead with our “switch from Semantic UI to Tailwind CSS" cycle."Retargeting is lik
Who gets paid, and who doesn't?
Jon is back! This week, we discuss:This book, The Timeless Way of Building, that Justin is reading.When you work for yourself, there can be sense of not being grounded. What do you do?What's better than meditating?Why co-founders should have a weekly phone call.How the environment we're in influences our actions.Jon's been rebuilding our dashboard using Tailwind CSS + Alpine JS.Tutorial:
What's your sustainable competitive advantage?
Justin is interviewed by Nathan Baschez to talk about business strategy:"Every strategy is really just a theory: “We bet if we do x, then y will happen. In business, the 'y' that people are usually aiming for is some sort of sustainable competitive advantage." – Nathan BaschezThis is a long episode, but it's a good one!What made Jon and Justin feel like they had an advantage in podcasting
The challenges of being in (the wrong) business
Justin is joined by podcast producer Chris Enns to talk about:How do you get Alexis Ohanian (cofounder of Reddit, married to Serena Williams) as a client?Getting out of the wrong business, into something better.Why you should get out of your comfort zone (and your town!)"We're all running the same race; how come that person is so far ahead of me?"Links:Hire Chris to edit your podcast: www
What happens tomorrow?
Justin does a solo New Year's Eve episode where he shares:Then (Jan 1, 2019) vs now (Jan 1, 2020)Justin's tweet: "Going all-in on Transistor in 2019!"Advice for new founders: "What products get bought every day?"Every day, millions of people wake up and buy a cup of coffee.Every day, there are people who wake up and sign up for web hosting.Will there be people lining up tomorrow morning t
A Christmas Eve SEO scare
Justin and Jon talk about:What's happened this year."You shouldn't be worried about that, but you should be worried about THIS."The SaaS gold rush: “Building, Owning (& possibly Selling) a profitable remote SaaS business is the new American Dream.” – Tyler TringasIt’s harder to get the American Dream these days. “Productivity has increased by 80 per cent, but median compensation (that
Should you build an audience first?
Justin is interviewed by Noah and Ben from the Product Journey podcast:Should you build an audience first?Why finding the right market is the first filter you should use on your idea.Justin also shares some stuff he's changed his mind about this past year.★ Thanks to our sponsors:Postmark. Postmark delivers your transactional email to customers on time, every time. You'll love their light
How did we do on last year's predictions?
Jon and Justin talk about:The new corporate condo in the french alps,Crazy to think about where we were last year when we recorded this episode.Spotify's growing market shareWhat happened to our dynamic content feature?A big rant about Apple Podcasts★ Thanks to our sponsors:Postmark. Postmark delivers your transactional email to customers on time, every time. You'll love their lightning-f
What should we do in 2020?
Jon and Justin talk about:American ThanksgivingIs it better for a product to be simple?The benefits of having a "smaller menu."Why we started a private podcast for our advisors and trusted friends"My opinion is you need to grow fast and become THE platform for managing your podcast. Consider raising venture money."But, if we add investment money and a bunch of employees, and then our comp
Why we stopped sharing our revenue numbers
Jon and Justin talk about:New albums from DJ Shadow and BeckWhy we aren't sharing our revenue metrics publicly anymore"Sometimes, you can worry more about your public image, more than actually focusing on the problem in a safe place."Why did Buffer stop sharing their revenue numbers?Three questions we ask:Who is this for?What is it for?How will we evaluate success?New podcast analytics fe
Throwing computers off a tall building
Jon and Justin talk about:A stressful Rails 6 upgrade (and how it broke the app).We often use data to make decisions, but we don't often examine the underlying data we're using to make decisions.How do we know if our marketing efforts are effective?"What's happened to your data since last quarter?""If a billion people are listening, but not reacting, does it matter?"★ Thanks to our sponso
Why did this take so long?
Jon and Justin talk about:The launch of the new marketing site: transistor.fmBuilt using Statamic CMS and with Tailwind CSSGot tons of help from Jack McDade, Adam Wathan, Ben Furfie"Tailwind is really nice. I have to hand it to Adam."Why working in tandem is better than working independently.DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME. NO.What's the next thing we're going to focus on?★ Thanks to our sponsors:N
Recommended
2819 Church
Markus Schulz presents Global DJ Broadcast
The Daily
The Joe Rogan Experience
The Church of What's Happening Now: The New Testament
This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von
The Bread and Banter Podcast
Solved Murders - True Crime Stories
紐約鳥｜New York Aperture
Stand In The Circle
Doctor Zhivago Slow Read
The Swerve Podcast: Obscure Topics | Conspiracy Theories
