Startups For the Rest of Us Rob Walling

In episode 716, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He shares how he would position against incumbents, when to change an H1, and how choosing a tech stack affects your business valuation. Rob also weighs whether to skip a “Step 1” or “Step 2” business and start directly with a standalone SaaS in the Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping.



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: 




4:07 – How directly should I position my product against incumbents?



8:25 – Making and testing changes to your H1



12:22 – Identifying and qualifying niches based on traffic



18:07 – Should I skip a “Step 1” or “Step 2” business to start a SaaS?



20:16 – How a tech stack affects valuations



27:29 – Differentiating between B2B and B2C




Links from the Show: 




Apply for MicroConf Masterminds before June 12th 2024



Ask a Question on SFTROU



Episode 673 | Lifetime Plans vs Subscriptions, Testing an Idea With a Landing Page, and More Listener Questions



Start Small Stay Small by Rob Walling



The SaaS Playbook by Rob Walling



The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping



Similarweb



Vertical SaaS vs Horizontal SaaS - Which is More Profitable?




If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please

In episode 715, Rob Walling is joined by Dr. Sherry Walling to discuss a variety of topics. They chat about two recent and meaningful interactions made possible by the Internet, the motivations behind organizing and performing a circus show, and they chat about upcoming launches on the horizon – new books and courses for SaaS founders.



Episode Sponsor:





We have been partnering with Lemon.io for several years, and they’ve proven to be a great choice when it comes to hiring for a highly skilled developer to work on your project.



Here are five reasons why you should consider working with Lemon.io.




The time from your request to getting a candidate is just 48 hours.



Developers have previously worked with tech giants such as Apple, Google, Netflix, Airbnb, Intel, and LEGO. 



They only provide senior devs, with an average of 7 years' experience.



Their talent pool covers more than 300 dev languages & frameworks.



Your hire comes with a zero-risk, replacement guarantee.




Customers of Lemon.io typically stick around for at least a year, proving they know how to gain your trust by delivering consistent results.



Quit wasting time searching for a solid developer at a great price. Get in touch with Lemon.io.



As a bonus for our podcast listeners, you’ll get a 15% discount on your first four weeks of working with a developer at lemon.io/startups. That’s lemon.io/startups



Topics we cover: 




4:00 – Examples of thoughtful, nuanced Internet interactions



8:12 – Impacting people you otherwise couldn’t online



15:12 – Dr. Sherry Walling’s circus show motivation



21:53 – The psychology of business exits



25:27 – Commonalities across founders considering exits



31:11 – Speaking to the whole lifecycle of a SaaS business




Links from the Show: 




Apply for MicroConf Masterminds before June 12th 2024



Sherry Walling (@sherrywalling) | X



Sherry Walling (@dr.sherrywalling) | Instagram



TinySeed



Discretion Capital



Before The Exit by Dan Andrews



Episode 532 | The Art of Selling Your Business with John Warrillow



The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together by Sherry Walling, PhD and Rob Walling



Enter your email at Robwalling.com



Sign up for the Zen Founder newsletter




If y

In episode 714, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He talks about what to expect when acquiring a competitor and how he might integrate their business. Rob also covers navigating HIPAA compliance as a bootstrapper, how to find a developer co-founder, and he explores the concept of Total Reachable Market (TRM).



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: 




3:45 – How to navigate acquiring a competitor



6:34 – How to transition the newly acquired customers into your product



9:58 – HIPAA compliance for a bootstrapped MVP



13:07 – Total Addressable Market (TAM) vs. Total Reachable Market (TRM)



19:01 – How do I find a developer co-founder?



28:03 – Can I find data on SaaS app store spending?




Links from the Show: 




MicroConf Mastermind Program



TinySeed



MicroConf Connect



The SaaS Playbook by Rob Walling



Start Small Stay Small by Rob Walling




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

In episode 713, Rob Walling is joined by Arvid Kahl to share their experience from MicroConf US 2024 in Atlanta. They each discuss their top 5 moments, ranging from Dr. Sherry Walling’s talk on motivation to Ben Chestnut’s chat with Rob onstage. They agree that there’s nothing quite like being in the room with everyone and soaking in all the interactions outside of the official talks. 



If you missed the event and had some MicroConf FOMO, make sure to sign up for our email list to be notified when the tickets for our next event go on sale.! 



Click here to watch Rob’s Fireside Chat with Ben Chestnut!



Episode Sponsor:





We have been partnering with Lemon.io for several years, and they’ve proven to be a great choice when it comes to hiring for a highly skilled developer to work on your project.



Here are five reasons why you should consider working with Lemon.io.




The time from your request to getting a candidate is just 48 hours.



Developers have previously worked with tech giants such as Apple, Google, Netflix, Airbnb, Intel, and LEGO. 



They only provide senior devs, with an average of 7 years' experience.



Their talent pool covers more than 300 dev languages & frameworks.



Your hire comes with a zero-risk, replacement guarantee.




Customers of Lemon.io typically stick around for at least a year, proving they know how to gain your trust by delivering consistent results.



Quit wasting time searching for a solid developer at a great price. Get in touch with Lemon.io.



As a bonus for our podcast listeners, you’ll get a 15% discount on your first four weeks of working with a developer at lemon.io/startups. That’s lemon.io/startups



Topics we cover: 




1:05 – Key takeaways from MicroConf 2024



3:45 – Dr. Sherry Walling’s talk on motivation



7:02 – Stephen Steer’s sales scripts talk



9:25 – Live valuation of a business by Quiet Light Brokerage



12:23 – Micro excursions that allow founders to connect with one another



14:09 – The hallway track outside of the venue



15:53 – ”Nothing beats being in a room”



19:22 – Lack of hierarchy among founders



22:38 – Lianna Patch’s copywriting swipe file



23:50 – Ben Chestnut is just like one of us



29:50 – Don’t get stuck with MicroConf FOMO




Links from the Show: 




MicroConf Europe | Dubrovnik  - October 6 - 8, 2024



MicroConf US 2025 Waiting List



Arvid Kahl (@arvidkahl) | X



The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together by Sherry Walling, PhD and Rob Walling



Sherry Walling (@sherrywalling) | X

In episode 712, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure. He starts by revisiting past predictions and provides an update on how he successfully staved off full burnout. Rob then gives updates on this podcast, the progress of TinySeed and MicroConf, and teases two new books that he’s working on.



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: 




1:21 – Revisiting past predictions and reporting back on burnout



2:45 – Revisiting predictions for SaaS bootstrappers in 2024



5:29 – Twitter changes hands in 2024?



6:29 – Reducing travel to quell burnout on the horizon



11:45 – State of Startups For the Rest of Us 



14:40 – TinySeed invested in over 170+ companies



17:54 – First annual TinyFest



18:42 – TinySeed Tales Season 5



19:50 – The SaaS Playbook and my next two books




Links from the Show: 




MicroConf Connect



TinySeed



The SaaS Playbook by Rob Walling



Start Small Stay Small by Rob Walling



Episode 697 | 7 Predictions for SaaS Bootstrappers in 2024



Vertical SaaS vs Horizontal SaaS - Which is More Profitable?



State of Independent SaaS



MicroConf Mastermind Program



TinyFest Unwrapped: Inside Our First-Ever Founder Conference and Retreat in Cancun

In episode 711, join Rob Walling and Ruben Gamez as they answer listener questions. They chat about finding early customers without an audience, how to approach horizontal vs. vertical product spinoffs, and some considerations for No Code development. They also discuss the challenges of serving prosumer SaaS, the importance of understanding customer segments for pricing strategies, and the dual funnel approach for catering to different customer tiers.



Episode Sponsor:





We have been partnering with Lemon.io for several years, and they’ve proven to be a great choice when it comes to hiring for a highly skilled developer to work on your project.



Here are five reasons why you should consider working with Lemon.io.




The time from your request to getting a candidate is just 48 hours.



Developers have previously worked with tech giants such as Apple, Google, Netflix, Airbnb, Intel, and LEGO. 



They only provide senior devs, with an average of 7 years' experience.



Their talent pool covers more than 300 dev languages & frameworks.



Your hire comes with a zero-risk, replacement guarantee.




Customers of Lemon.io typically stick around for at least a year, proving they know how to gain your trust by delivering consistent results.



Quit wasting time searching for a solid developer at a great price. Get in touch with Lemon.io.



As a bonus for our podcast listeners, you’ll get a 15% discount on your first four weeks of working with a developer at lemon.io/startups. That’s lemon.io/startups



Topics we cover: 




2:00 – Strategies for finding your first users when you don’t have an audience



10:42 – Positioning yourself to compete well against others



12:25 – Jumping into SEO before having a product



18:42 – Exporting No Code projects



24:15 – Choosing between a vertical or horizontal product spinoff



33:55 – Building a B2P, “business to prosumer” product



42:53 – How to make lower pricing tiers work outside of B2B




Links from the Show: 




MicroConf Connect



Ruben Gamez (@@earthlingworks) | X



SignWell



TinySeed



Bubble



MicroConf YouTube channel



State of Independent SaaS



Episode 216 | How a Single Founder Launched a 7-Figure SaaS App (with Nate Grahek)



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