Startups For the Rest of Us

Rob Walling
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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.

  1. 1 H LALU

    Episode 833 | Success Patterns of Nobel Laureates, Developing Expertise, and From Zero to $10k (A Rob Solo Adventure)

    What do Nobel Prize winners and successful bootstrappers have in common?  In this solo episode, Rob Walling shares the story of how a TinySeed company went from near-zero revenue to $10,000-$20,000 a month almost overnight, breaks down Claude Shannon's research on the habits that separated Nobel laureates from forgotten scientists, and explores why deep expertise looks like magic from the outside. Episode Sponsor: You're about to close a massive deal, and then your customer's legal team asks what happens if you get hacked.  That's the nightmare YSecurity solves. They're 40 security engineers who've worked at Apple, Uber, Microsoft, Robinhood, Brex, and more. You don't hire them, you rent them by the hour, no massive salary, no expensive consultants. Just real experts helping you get SOC 2, ISO, and more. Set a monthly cap, know exactly what you're spending, and close the deal.  Head to ysecurity.io/startups to book your free strategy call. Your first 8 hours are completely free. Topics we cover: (2:46) – BlinkMetrics: from no product-market fit to $10-20K/month (8:31) – 104 coffee chats, 24 sales calls  (10:25) – AI changes custom dashboard economics  (12:53) – What separates Nobel winners from the forgotten  (14:40) – Knowledge compounds like interest  (18:28) – Taking bigger swings vs. staying in your comfort zone (19:36) – Going deep on one idea for years  (21:21) – Expertise that looks like magic  Links from the show: MicroConf Europe ┃Reykjavik, Iceland · Sept 21–23, 2026 MicroConf Connect BlinkMetrics Claude Shannon Bell Labs lecture Why most indie hackers aren't succeeding┃Baretto (tiiny.com)  Stephen Curry got that sixth sense when it comes to the rim The SaaS Playbook by Rob Walling TinySeed SaaS Accelerator Rob Walling on YouTube Rob Walling (@robwalling)┃X 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

    29 mnt

  2. 12 MEI

    Episode 832 | Going Full-time, When to Pivot, Building With Young Kids, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)

    How do you leave a $400K salary to go all in on your business? In this solo episode, Rob Walling cranks through a backlog of listener questions on reducing risk with your startup to go full-time, when to register as a business, how to price a SaaS with seat ambiguity, when to pivot, and how to keep building when you have four kids under eight.  Want to get your question answered? Drop it here. Episode Sponsor: Your AI-generated code got you to V1. Now it's holding you back. Vibe coding is incredible for speed. But the codebase it leaves behind? Hidden security gaps, duct-tape architecture, features that break every time you ship. At a certain point you need professional engineering discipline, not more prompting. That’s where Designli's Engineering Intensive comes in. In two weeks, senior engineers audit your code, stress-test your infrastructure, surface vulnerabilities, and deliver a prioritized roadmap to get scale-ready. Total clarity on your product's health, with a money-back guarantee. Schedule your Engineering Intensive at designli.co/fortherestofus. Podcast listeners can also redeem a free Designli Impact Week. Topics we cover: (2:15) – Leaving a $400K salary to go full-time (7:43) – When to officially register your business (10:51) – Seat-based pricing with shared branding (12:40) – When to get a design audit (15:05) – How to calculate TAM for a Shopify app (18:29) – Can a step one app break free of its marketplace? (20:22) – How to know when it's time to pivot (22:31) – Building a startup with four young kids (25:30) – How to find ICP conversations without a network Links from the show: MicroConf Connect Join by May 20th to attend a Live AMA with Rob Walling The SaaS Playbook Start Small, Stay Small  Reddit Thread: $30K to $440K in 7 Years (AMA) Stripe Atlas  I Grew This SaaS by 13% Every Month for 13 Months  Episode 589 | Finding a SaaS Idea Through 70 Cold Calls Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X 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

    34 mnt

  3. 5 MEI

    Episode 831 | Written vs. Verbal Ad Copy, Selling Into a Low-Awareness Market, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)

    Should your first customer pay you, or get your product for free?  In this episode, Rob Walling answers listener questions on charging customer zero, what metrics to track for a seasonal transaction fee-based SaaS, what it really means to sell into a low-awareness market, and when freelancers help vs. hurt your bootstrapped business. He also calls in Producer Ron to break down exactly how he thinks about writing copy for a podcast ads. Want to get your question answered? Drop it here. Topics we cover: (2:42) – Six years to overnight success (4:55) – Should customer zero pay or get it free? (8:42) – Writing ad copy for podcast ads (15:14) – Metrics for a transaction fee-based SaaS (18:40) – Moving from GMV-only to subscription plus fees (20:38) – Selling into a low-awareness market (23:53) – When bootstrappers struggle without problem awareness (27:09) – Podcast music history editor Josh (31:44) – How to find and work with freelancers Links from the show: SaaS Launchpad TinySeed SaaS Accelerator MicroConf The SaaS Playbook Zell Wave by Josh Young - SoundCloud Dynamite Jobs New Rob’s VideoAsk  Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X 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

    44 mnt

  4. 28 APR

    Episode 830 | Breaking Through Plateaus, Zero-Click Marketing, and More from MicroConf 2026 (with Derrick Reimer)

    What were the highlights and takeaways from MicroConf?  In this episode, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer recap MicroConf US 2026 in Portland, Oregon. They break down the best talks from the event, including Jason Cohen on breaking through growth plateaus, Amanda Natividad on Zero-Click Marketing and broken attribution, Rob's framework for six ways to implement AI in SaaS, and Craig Hewitt's all-in take on AI adoption. Plus, they cover excursions, the hallway track, and why the MicroConf community keeps pulling founders up. Episode Sponsor: You're about to close a massive deal, and then your customer's legal team asks what happens if you get hacked.  That's the nightmare YSecurity solves. They're 40 security engineers who've worked at Apple, Uber, Microsoft, Robinhood, Brex, and more. You don't hire them, you rent them by the hour, no massive salary, no expensive consultants. Just real experts helping you get SOC 2, ISO, and more. Set a monthly cap, know exactly what you're spending, and close the deal.  Head to ysecurity.io/startups to book your free strategy call. Your first 8 hours are completely free. Topics we cover: (2:14) – MicroConf 2026 attendee caliber and mix (5:07) – Rebuilding MicroConf post-COVID (8:51) – Jason Cohen on breaking growth ceilings (12:48) – Amanda Natividad on Zero-Click Marketing (19:30) – Excursions, arcades, and the hallway track (22:01) – Rob's six ways to implement AI in SaaS (27:27) – Gia Laudi on Jobs To Be Done as your GTM moat (29:00) – Craig Hewitt's "AI Doomer" talk (33:41) – MicroConf Europe in Iceland Links from the show: MicroConf Europe┃Reykjavik, Iceland · Sept 21–23, 2026 MicroConf Connect TinySeed SaaS Institute Jason Cohen's "Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business with Jason Cohen"  Amanda Natividad | LinkedIn SparkToro Gia (Georgiana) Laudi | LinkedIn Formspree  Rob Walling on YouTube Craig Hewitt | LinkedIn SavvyCal (Derrick Reimer) Derrick Reimer | LinkedIn 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

    36 mnt

  5. 21 APR

    Episode 829 | AI is Bad at Product, Top 5 Startup Success Factors, and the Beastie Boys (A Rob Solo Adventure)

    Can AI really handle product decisions for your SaaS? In this solo adventure, Rob Walling revisits the core four SaaS skills and breaks down what AI can and cannot do across Development, Sales, Marketing, and Product. He also reframes Bill Gross's top five startup success factors for bootstrappers, walks through a hilariously bad UX decision by a local parking app, and closes with a surprisingly insightful Beastie Boys anecdote about shipping creative work into the world. Episode Sponsor: This episode is brought to you by Mercury Mercury is the banking solution I use across all of my businesses, from my personal single-member LLC to MicroConf and TinySeed. Traditional banking is broken, slow wires, clunky interfaces, tools that feel like they were built in 2005.  Mercury is what banking should feel like in 2026. Everything just works. Whether it's daily bill pay or wiring large sums to the dozens of companies we invest in each year, Mercury handles it. Simple when I need simple, robust when I need approvals and controls. Over 300,000 entrepreneurs have made the switch. When founders ask me where to set up their account, I send them to mercury.com.  Free to get started, no in-person visits, no minimum balance. Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. Topics we cover: (5:48) – AI and the Core Four SaaS skills (7:03) – Why AI falls short with sales and marketing (8:45) – The editorial eye AI still lacks (10:14) – Why AI is worst at product (13:41) – Bill Gross's top five startup success factors (19:48) – A parking app's terrible UX decisions (24:24) – The Beastie Boys and lessons on shipping Links from the show: TinySeed | SaaS Institute  Ep. 817 | Bootstrapping in the Age of AI with Jason Cohen Rob Walling YouTube Rob Walling Newsletter Bill Gross’s Ted Talk on Startup Success Factors The Beastie Boys on Conan O’Brian’s Podcast 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

    31 mnt

  6. 14 APR

    Episode 828 | Am I Building a SaaS?, Serving Both B2C and B2B, Pricing, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)

    Is your product actually a SaaS? In this episode, Rob Walling tackles listener questions about what really qualifies as SaaS (and where he disagrees with ChatGPT), how to serve both solopreneurs and enterprise customers with a dual funnel strategy, layering a B2B offering on top of a B2C product, pricing a mission-driven app without gatekeeping access, and the impact of healthcare costs on startup runway. Want to get your question answered? Drop it here. Episode Sponsor: Your payroll tool doesn't talk to your bank. Your bank doesn't talk to your bookkeeper. And you're the one stuck in the middle playing admin instead of building your company. Every is the back office platform built for startups. Incorporation, banking, international and domestic payroll, bookkeeping, and tax prep, one login, one platform. You get a dedicated Slack channel with actual humans, up to $3 million in FDIC insurance, corporate cards, and automated accounting. Setup takes under 30 minutes. Most founders are fully transitioned within a week.  Check them out at every.io.  And if you're at MicroConf in Portland, make sure to swing by and chat with the team. Topics we cover: (3:09) – What qualifies as a SaaS business? (5:15) – Why Netflix and Spotify are not SaaS (8:11) – Where Rob disagrees with ChatGPT on SaaS (12:21) – Serving solopreneurs and enterprise simultaneously (15:13) – The power of the dual funnel strategy (17:02) – Navigating the enterprise sales process (22:20) – Layering B2B features onto a B2C product (28:52) – Pricing a mission-driven job search app (35:57) – Healthcare costs and startup runway in the US Links from the show: MicroConf Masterminds – Applications close April 17th MicroConf’s Masterminds Guide Newscatcher  HelpSpot  TinySeed Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X 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 Listen to Episode 828

    41 mnt

  7. 7 APR

    Episode 827 | The Founder's Guide to Selling Your SaaS for What It's Actually Worth

    What would it mean for you to leave 60 or 70% of your company's value on the table when you sell? In this episode, Rob sits down with Einar Vollset, co-founder of TinySeed and founder of Discretion Capital, to talk about his new book, The Definitive Guide to M&A for B2B SaaS between $2 and $20 million ARR. They dig into why private equity now dominates the buyer landscape, why growth and churn are the top two valuation drivers, and how the myth that "startups are bought, not sold" could cost you millions. Einar also explains the danger of running your business past its peak growth rate before selling, why ARR multiples matter more than profit, and how the right M&A advisor can add 30 to 300% to an initial offer. Episode Sponsors: This episode is brought to you by Mercury Mercury is the banking solution I use across all of my businesses, from my personal single-member LLC to MicroConf and TinySeed. Traditional banking is broken, slow wires, clunky interfaces, tools that feel like they were built in 2005.  Mercury is what banking should feel like in 2026. Everything just works. Whether it's daily bill pay or wiring large sums to the dozens of companies we invest in each year, Mercury handles it. Simple when I need simple, robust when I need approvals and controls. Over 300,000 entrepreneurs have made the switch. When founders ask me where to set up their account, I send them to mercury.com.  Free to get started, no in-person visits, no minimum balance. Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC. Everyone's talking about AI in marketing. But AI without strategy just means generating more bad marketing, faster. The founders who win aren't the ones using the most tools, they're the ones with a real system behind their growth. Positioning, persuasion, conversion. That's what moves the needle. That's what Conversion Factory does. They're a SaaS marketing and design agency that has worked with over 100 startups, including several TinySeed companies. Book a call at https://conversionfactory.co/ and mention this podcast for $1,000 off your first month. And if you're at MicroConf US in Portland, grab Corey Haines in the hallway track to see how they can help you. Topics we cover: (3:34) – Why Einar wrote an M&A guide for SaaS founders (5:26) – How founders leave value on the table when selling (8:22) – How private equity moved down market (11:24) – Choosing the right broker or banker (12:55) – Platform acquisitions vs. tuck-ins explained (19:24) – Why "startups are bought, not sold" is wrong (25:48) – Growth and churn as top valuation drivers (30:02) – Why ARR multiples matter more than profit (34:34) – The danger of running past peak growth Links from the show: The Definitive Guide to M&A for B2B SaaS between $2–20M ARR Discretion Capital MicroConf US (Portland) - April 12-14, 2026 MicroConf Mastermind Matching MicroConf Mastermind Playbook TinySeed Exit Strategy...

    40 mnt

  8. 31 MAR

    Episode 826 | How to Find, Hire, and Work with Owner-Level Thinkers

    How do you find someone who thinks like an owner, not just a task-doer? In this episode, Rob digs into a batch of listener questions about task level, project level, and owner level thinkers. He covers how to identify them, what they cost, where to find them, and why building a team of exceptional people creates a virtuous cycle that lifts everyone up. Topics we cover: (4:13) – Defining task, project, and owner level thinkers (7:32) – Are owner level thinkers born or built? (10:16) – Compensation ranges for owner level thinkers (11:53) – W2 vs. contractor for senior hires (15:53) – Do you actually need owner level thinkers? (17:36) – Where to find project and owner level thinkers (20:16) – How long to integrate them into your company (24:40) – How to identify them in job interviews (29:38) – Why you won't always get hires right Links from the show: Rob Walling's Essays Rob Walling’s Newsletter Rob Walling YouTube The SaaS Playbook Remote First Recruiting  MicroConf TinySeed  SaaS Institute Discretion Capital If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you! Subscribe & Review: iTunes |Spotify

    32 mnt
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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.

Informasi

  • Kreator
    Rob Walling
  • Tahun Aktif
    2010 - 2026
  • Episode
    329
  • Penilaian
    Bersih
  • Hak Cipta
    © 2025 Startups For the Rest of Us
  • Situs Web Acara
    Startups For the Rest of Us

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