The Tech Founder Podcast with Fexingo: First-Time Software Entrepreneurs and Their Journeys

Fexingo

The Tech Founder Podcast with Fexingo charts the messy, uneven journey of first-time software entrepreneurs from idea to first paying customer. Each episode, Lucas and Luna trace a single founder's trajectory: the moment they decided to build, the first line of code they wrote, the week they almost quit, and the number that made it real. Lucas brings the journalist's instinct for deadlines, demographics, and unit economics — how many users did you need to break even, what was your burn rate the month before launch, when did you know the product was working. Luna pushes into the emotional ledger: the loneliness of debugging at 3 a.m., the conversation with a co-founder that changed everything, the customer who finally said yes. Together, they reconstruct each story from publicly available data, founder interviews, and financial filings — no hype, no hero worship, just the actual math and psychology of a software company being born. The show is for the person who has an idea they can't shake, who wants to see what the grind actually looks like before they start. What does it really cost to build a SaaS product in 2024? How do you find your first ten users without a network? And what do you do when the first version of your product is terrible — because it will be? #SoftwareStartups #FirstTimeFounders #SaaS #TechFounder #StartupJourney #ProductMarketFit #Bootstrapping #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #FounderStories #CodingLife #MVP #StartupAdvice #Business #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Technology #StartupLife Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  1. 23h ago

    How a Solo Founder Built SaaS Selling to Car Washes

    In this episode, we break down how a solo software engineer turned a side project into a profitable SaaS for car wash operators. The founder noticed that most small and medium-sized car washes still use paper logs or basic POS systems that can't handle membership plans, dynamic pricing, or fleet accounts. Over 18 months, he built a lightweight platform — now used by 47 car washes — that handles unlimited monthly washes, peak/off-peak pricing, and commercial fleet billing. We walk through how he got his first three customers (all by walking into local washes), why he chose a flat monthly fee over per-wash transaction fees, and the one feature that reduced churn by 30%: automatic license-plate recognition via an inexpensive USB camera. Perfect for any founder considering a niche SaaS play. This is episode 132 of The Tech Founder Podcast with Fexingo. #CarWashSaaS #SoloFounder #SaaS #NicheSoftware #LicensePlateRecognition #MembershipPricing #FleetBilling #DynamicPricing #CustomerAcquisition #Bootstrapping #SideProject #SubscriptionModel #ChurnReduction #Automation #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  2. 1d ago

    How a Solo Founder Built SaaS Selling to Bookstores

    In this episode of The Tech Founder Podcast, Lucas and Luna dive into the story of a solo developer who created a SaaS platform for independent bookstores. Facing competition from Amazon and the rise of e-books, indie bookstores need tools for inventory management, event scheduling, and customer loyalty. The founder built a simple, affordable solution that now serves over 300 stores. We discuss the niche, the challenges of selling to a low-margin industry, and why bookstores are surprisingly loyal customers. Plus, a look at the founder's pricing strategy and how he acquired his first 10 clients without any marketing budget. #SoloFounder #SaaS #Bookstore #IndieBookstores #InventoryManagement #EventScheduling #CustomerLoyalty #NicheMarket #Bootstrapping #NoMarketingBudget #PricingStrategy #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #TechFounder #Entrepreneur #StartupJourney Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  3. 1d ago

    How a Solo Founder Built SaaS Selling to Craft Breweries

    In this episode of The Tech Founder Podcast, Lucas and Luna explore the story of a solo founder who built a SaaS platform for craft breweries. They break down how the founder identified a niche in inventory and batch tracking, grew from one small brewery to over 200 clients, and hit $1.2 million in annual recurring revenue without outside funding. The hosts discuss the founder's key decisions, including a pivot from a generic inventory tool to brewery-specific features like ABV calculation and hop lot tracking, and how word-of-mouth spread through industry forums. They also touch on the economics of bootstrapped SaaS and the importance of deep customer empathy. This episode offers concrete takeaways for anyone building B2B software for a vertical market. #SaaS #SoloFounder #Bootstrapping #CraftBrewery #B2B #VerticalSaaS #InventoryManagement #BreweryTech #ARRAnalysis #CustomerEmpathy #Pivot #NicheMarket #WordOfMouth #IndieHacker #TechFounder #Business #BusinessPodcast #FexingoBusiness Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  4. 2d ago

    How a Solo Founder Built SaaS Selling to Dance Studios

    This episode of The Tech Founder Podcast with Fexingo dives into the story of Sarah Chen, a former professional dancer who built a scheduling and payments SaaS called Pirouette for dance studios. Lucas and Luna break down how she identified the niche, why dance studios have unique needs that generic booking software doesn't address, and how she acquired her first 50 customers through cold outreach at regional competitions. They discuss the economics of a micro-SaaS targeting a vertical with 60,000+ potential customers in the US, the importance of integrations with parent communication tools like ClassDojo, and the competitive moat she's building with embedded video lesson hosting. Plus, a look at the subscription tiers she uses to convert studios from paper-based booking. A concrete case study in niche-first B2B SaaS strategy. #SaaS #DanceStudios #SarahChen #Pirouette #MicroSaaS #VerticalSaaS #SoloFounder #Bootstrapping #CustomerAcquisition #ColdOutreach #SchedulingSoftware #PaymentProcessing #NicheMarketing #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #TechFounder Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  5. 2d ago

    How a Solo Founder Built SaaS Selling to Nonprofit Thrift Stores

    Episode 128 of The Tech Founder Podcast dives into the niche of selling SaaS to nonprofit thrift stores. Lucas and Luna unpack the story of a solo founder who built a scheduling and inventory platform for stores run by organizations like Goodwill and Salvation Army. They discuss the unique sales cycle—longer because decisions involve volunteers and boards—and the founder's 'pilot parish' strategy: landing one store in a regional chain, proving ROI, then expanding. Specific numbers: the founder closed 12 stores in 18 months at $200/month per location, with a 90% retention rate. The hosts also examine why mission-driven buyers are more price-sensitive but less likely to churn, and how the founder used a 'donate a subscription' model to get early traction. A concrete look at B2B SaaS in the social enterprise space. #SaaS #Nonprofit #ThriftStores #SoloFounder #B2B #InventoryManagement #SocialEnterprise #Goodwill #SalvationArmy #MissionDriven #PilotStrategy #Retention #SalesCycle #Volunteers #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  6. 3d ago

    How a Solo Founder Built SaaS Selling to Dentists

    Episode 127 of The Tech Founder Podcast dives into the vertical SaaS play for dental practices. Lucas and Luna break down why dentists are an ideal niche: high recurring revenue, low churn, and regulatory tailwinds. They walk through a real founder's journey — building a scheduling and insurance verification tool from scratch, hitting $30k MRR in 18 months with zero outside funding. Expect concrete numbers: 13,000 solo dental practices in the US, average spend of $400 per month on software, and a 40% net dollar retention rate that makes dental SaaS stickier than verticals like bakeries or dog daycares. The conversation covers the key 'aha' moment — switching from a general booking platform to a HIPAA-compliant workflow that integrates directly with dental practice management software. No fluff. Just the tactical decisions that turned a side project into a real business. #DentalSaaS #SoloFounder #VerticalSaaS #DentistSoftware #HIPAACompliance #SaaSJourney #FounderStories #TechFounder #Business #Technology #Bootstrapped #MRR #RecurringRevenue #PracticeManagement #InsuranceVerification #DentalIndustry #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  7. 3d ago

    How a Solo Founder Built SaaS Selling to Bakeries

    Episode 126 drills into a niche that looks tiny on paper but works beautifully for a first-time founder: bakeries and pastry shops. We break down how one solo developer built a simple scheduling and wholesale-order SaaS for small-batch bakers, landing 140 paying customers within 18 months — while working from a shared kitchen table. We walk through his discovery process (spending three weekends behind a bakery counter), his pricing experiment (tiered by oven size, not number of users), and the single feature that drove 80% of referrals: automated invoice reminders. We also talk about why bakeries are actually a better first market than restaurants, and why this founder deliberately avoided building a mobile app. If you are a solo developer thinking about vertical SaaS, this one will shift how you evaluate a market. #SoloFounder #SaaS #Bakeries #VerticalSaaS #FirstTimeFounder #NicheMarket #WholesaleOrdering #SchedulingSoftware #PricingTierByOven #AutomatedInvoices #ReferralDriven #NoMobileApp #KitchenTableStartup #Bootstrapped #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

  8. 4d ago

    Why Your First SaaS Should Target Gyms and Fitness Studios

    Episode 125 of The Tech Founder Podcast dives into a micro-SaaS success story: a solo founder who built a scheduling and billing platform for boutique fitness studios — think yoga, Pilates, CrossFit boxes, and cycle studios. Lucas and Luna break down how the founder identified the niche by observing that most fitness studio owners were instructors first, not business operators, and that existing enterprise software was overkill. The episode covers the specific numbers: $49/month average revenue per account, 180 studios onboarded in 18 months, and a net dollar retention rate above 110 percent. It also explores the key distribution strategy — literally walking into studios after class and offering to set up the software for free during off-peak hours. Listeners will learn one concrete tactic for finding underserved verticals and why 'boring' businesses often make the best first SaaS products. #MicroSaaS #SoloFounder #FitnessTech #SaaS #BoutiqueFitness #YogaStudio #Pilates #CrossFit #ScheduleSoftware #BillingSoftware #IndieHacker #VerticalSaaS #StartupJourney #Business #Technology #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #TechFounder Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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About

The Tech Founder Podcast with Fexingo charts the messy, uneven journey of first-time software entrepreneurs from idea to first paying customer. Each episode, Lucas and Luna trace a single founder's trajectory: the moment they decided to build, the first line of code they wrote, the week they almost quit, and the number that made it real. Lucas brings the journalist's instinct for deadlines, demographics, and unit economics — how many users did you need to break even, what was your burn rate the month before launch, when did you know the product was working. Luna pushes into the emotional ledger: the loneliness of debugging at 3 a.m., the conversation with a co-founder that changed everything, the customer who finally said yes. Together, they reconstruct each story from publicly available data, founder interviews, and financial filings — no hype, no hero worship, just the actual math and psychology of a software company being born. The show is for the person who has an idea they can't shake, who wants to see what the grind actually looks like before they start. What does it really cost to build a SaaS product in 2024? How do you find your first ten users without a network? And what do you do when the first version of your product is terrible — because it will be? #SoftwareStartups #FirstTimeFounders #SaaS #TechFounder #StartupJourney #ProductMarketFit #Bootstrapping #VentureCapital #Entrepreneurship #FounderStories #CodingLife #MVP #StartupAdvice #Business #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Technology #StartupLife Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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