Episode 723 | How to Be a Supercommunicator (and Why it Matters as a Bootstrapper) with Charles Duhigg

In episode 723, Rob Walling interviews Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author, about the significance of effective communication for founders. They discuss practical advice on recognizing different types of conversations, techniques for underst … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 3 days ago

Episode 722 | Bootstrapping a Vertical SaaS to 7-Figures in 18 Months

In episode 722, Rob Walling interviews James Mooring, co-founder of Astalty, a SaaS serving Australia's NDIS market. James reveals how they bootstrapped from zero to seven figures in just 18 months and then they explore the strategic decisions, clever pricing, and deep industry k … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 10 days ago

Episode 721 | 7 Key Takeaways from the 2024 State of Independent SaaS Report

In episode 721, Rob Walling and Asia Orangio analyze the results of MicroConf’s 2024 State of Independent SaaS Report. They share their key takeaways including the impact of business models on growth, requiring credit cards for free trials, and how the number of founders affects … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 17 days ago

Episode 720 | How to Prioritize Your Focus (In Both Your Startup and Personal Life)

In episode 720, Rob Walling is joined by Craig Hewitt to discuss the intricacies of prioritization in both business and in life. In addition to running Castos, Craig has started coaching founders in sales and marketing, and describes how he strives to focus on the right things. T … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 24 days ago

Episode 719 | How to Test Pricing, Lifetime Deals, and Building Something for Everyone (A Rob Solo Adventure)

n episode 719, join Rob Walling as he embarks on another solo adventure, tackling listener questions. He discusses how to test pricing, addresses the pitfalls of one-time payments vs. SaaS, and he reflects on “building something for everyone.” He wraps up with advice on making be … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 1 month ago

Episode 718 | When to Give Up, Open Source Competition, Painful Features, and More (with Derrick Reimer)

In episode 718, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer tackle listener questions about giving up on ideas, competing in crowded markets, and developing painful features. They also chat about SavvyCal’s recent design refresh, finding founder-market fit, and whether Derrick has retired fro … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 1 month ago

Episode 717 | Bootstrapping to $1.3M ARR and 300,000 Free Users

In episode 717, Rob Walling interviews Marie Martin, co-founder of Tally. They discuss the company’s journey to $1.3M ARR and the unusual pricing strategy that got them there. Marie details how they keep their support volume low, how they differentiate Tally from other form build … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 1 month ago

Episode 716 | Positioning Against Incumbents, Changing Your H1, How Tech Stack Affects Valuation, and More Listener Questions

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 … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 1 month ago

Episode 715 | Best Uses of the Internet, a Book about Selling Your Company, and a Circus Show

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 … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 1 month ago

Episode 714 | TRM not TAM, Acquiring a Competitor, and Finding a Developer Co-founder (A Rob Solo Adventure)

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 devel … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 2 months ago

Episode 713 | Our Top 5 Takeaways from MicroConf US 2024 (with Arvid Kahl)

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 qu … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 2 months ago

Episode 712 | Revisiting Burnout + Updates on My Progress in 2024 (A Rob Solo Adventure)

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 th … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 2 months ago

Episode 711 | Finding Early Customers, Horizontal vs. Vertical, Prosumer SaaS, and More Listener Questions (with Ruben Gamez)

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 challe … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 2 months ago

Episode 710 | Is Coding Dead?, The "Right" Tech Stack, Funded Competition, and More Listener Questions

In episode 710, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He answers whether you need a burning passion to be successful in entrepreneurship, and how that relates to developing a product alongside a day job. Rob also discusses competing agai … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 3 months ago

Episode 709 | The 7 Greatest Investments of My Life

In episode 709, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure as he shares his story of growing his personal wealth over the past few decades. Selling companies was the major driver of wealth, but he also explores the role of cryptocurrency, running profitable companies, and angel invest … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 3 months ago

Episode 708 | Outsourcing Marketing, Competitive Markets, and More Listener Questions (with Derrick Reimer)

In episode 708, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer tackle listener questions about building development skills vs. business skills and strategies for entering competitive markets. They also chat about building on top of AI services, addressing the risks of platform dependency and the … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 3 months ago

Episode 707 | Once.com, Open Source to FT Income, and More (Hot Take Tuesday)

In episode 707, Rob Walling, alongside guests Tracy Osborn and Einar Vollset, give their hot takes on some recent news in the world of SaaS. They discuss Once.com’s launch, liquidation preference nuances in startup buyouts, with moving from open source to full time income and mor … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 3 months ago

Episode 706.5 | Rethinking My Most Common Advice

In episode 706.5, join Rob Walling as he reconsiders some of his most common advice. He explores why lowering prices might make sense and discusses the benefits of a B2C business model. Rob also walks back his prior advice on bootstrapping two-sided marketplaces and launching mul … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 3 months ago

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 Starl … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 4 months ago

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 cove … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 4 months ago

Episode 705 | From Bootstrapped to Mostly Bootstrapped

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 … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 4 months ago

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 … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 4 months ago

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 star … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 4 months ago

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 we … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 5 months ago

Episode 701 | The Long Journey to Product-Market Fit

In episode 701, Rob Walling interviews Matt Wensing, founder of Summit, a SaaS platform for lead scoring and qualification. Matt shares insights on finding product-market fit, the importance of following customer workflows to get there, and the challenges of marketing and positio … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 5 months ago

Episode 700 | Playing the Long Game

In episode 700, Rob goes solo to celebrate another milestone of Startups For the Rest of Us. He reflects on playing the long game and doing so publicly enough to create larger luck surface area. He also emphasizes building skills in the process, and highlights several founders wh … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 5 months ago

Episode 699 | How to Build Elegant, Scalable Software Products with Derrick Reimer

In episode 699, Rob Walling chats with fan favorite Derrick Reimer, the founder of SavvyCal, about scaling products tastefully. Derrick offers his perspective on maintaining a tidy UX and deciding which features to implement. They also cover best practices for maintaining knowled … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 5 months ago

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

In episode 698, Rob Walling interviews Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo. They discuss the importance of eliminating distractions, cover strategies that led to growth in Noah’s businesses, and share insights from growing YouTube channels. Noah also shares why he decided to write his new … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 5 months ago

Episode 697 | 7 Predictions for SaaS Bootstrappers in 2024

In episode 697, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where he makes predictions for SaaS in 2024. His predictions focus on Vertical SaaS, emerging markets, the professionalization of No-Code, subscription fatigue,  AI and more. At the end of the episode, he evaluates predictions … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 6 months ago

Episode 696 | The Truth about Product-Market Fit + Doing Sales as an Introvert (With Ruben Gamez)

In episode 696, Rob Walling and Ruben Gamez cover a variety of topics. They discuss how product market fit is achieved across customer segments and use cases, not simply broadly. Ruben shares how he approaches effective decision making and sales as an introvert. They wrap up by s … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 6 months ago

Episode 695 | Ideal Customers, Moving from B2C to B2B, and More Listener Questions (with Asia Orangio)

In episode 695, Rob Walling and Asia Orangio answer listener questions. They take questions about ideal target customers, moving from B2C to B2B, and how to advertise for a product in a new space. They wrap up discussing the challenges of making freemium work while bootstrapping. … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 6 months ago

Episode 694 | 2023 In Review: Amazing Growth & Fighting Burnout

In episode 694, join Rob Walling as he recaps 2023. He reflects on growing TinySeed, MicroConf, the YouTube channel and this podcast. Rob also addresses his struggle with "arrival fallacy" and the continuous journey of success. Alongside the growth, he describes seeing burnout on … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 6 months ago

Episode 693 | Building a Mid-Six-Figure SaaS in Less Than 3 Years

In episode 693, Rob Walling interviews Grant McConnaughey, founder of Postpone, a social media scheduling tool. They discuss the app's growth from inception to mid six figures, early growth tactics, a successful price increase, and platform risks with Reddit and Twitter. Grant al … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 7 months ago

Episode 692 | Learn the Rules Like a Pro So You Can Break Them Like an Artist (A Rob Solo Adventure)

In episode 692, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where he addresses a variety of topics. He stresses revisiting your onboarding to evaluate your product’s “minimum path to awesome” and warns of conducting “mirror research” instead of market research. Rob also tackles why bei … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 7 months ago

Episode 691 | Freemium, High-touch vs. Low-touch, Selling as an Introvert, and More Listener Questions

In episode 691, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He evaluates freemium as it relates to paying by the “honor system”, competing  against big incumbents, and whether to sell using high-touch vs. low-touch strategies. Rob also recomme … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 7 months ago

Episode 690 | When Opt-in Email Could Be Spam, Collecting Customer Feedback, and More Listener Questions

In episode 690, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He advises on the ethical considerations of email marketing and answers how he would value a business when buying out a partner. He also addresses the best ways to collect customer fe … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 7 months ago

Episode 689 | How to Keep Your Remote Team Motivated and Engaged

In episode 689, Rob Walling interviews Robert Cserti, co-founder of SessionLab. Robert and his team provide tools and resources for designing workshops and SessionLab operates fully remote. Rob and Robert discuss strategies for motivating remote teams, fostering team culture and … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 8 months ago

Episode 688 | Growing Boot.dev From $6k to $110k in Monthly Revenue in 15 Months

In episode 688, Rob Walling interviews Lane Wagner, founder of Boot.dev. Boot.dev is a learning platform gamified to teach backend development. They discuss the journey of bootstrapping Boot.dev, its explosive growth, and its unique business model. Lane also shares challenges of … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 8 months ago

Episode 687 | An 8th Thing You Should Never Do, Things That Don't Scale, and More Rob Solo Topics

In episode 687, join Rob Walling for a solo adventure where discusses a variety of topics. He revisits a recent episode to add one more item to the list of things founders should never do. Rob also offers a hot take on Meta’s new subscription plans and weighs in on a Hacker News … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 8 months ago

Episode 686 | How Much is Enough?, Outsourcing Marketing, and More Listener Questions

In episode 686, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He answers how to evaluate monetary success, combat hedonic adaptation, and how to evaluate the capabilities of technical co-founders. Rob also discusses whether outsourcing sales and … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 8 months ago

Episode 685 | 7 Things You Should Never Do (A Rob Solo Adventure)

In episode 685, Rob Walling goes solo to share his insights on 7 common mistakes that SaaS founders make. Be sure to listen to the end to hear Rob’s spicy take on launching a portfolio of products to see what sticks. Episode Sponsor: As a founder your plate is full. So when yo … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 8 months ago

Episode 684 | Key Takeaways from MicroConf Europe 2023

In episode 684, Rob Walling is joined by Dr. Sherry Walling to share their experience from MicroConf Europe 2023 in Lisbon. They discuss a continued shift in MicroConf’s focus towards fostering founder connections and networking, and the value of face-to-face interactions. Rob an … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 9 months ago

Episode 683 | Bringing on a Partner, Attending Trade Shows, Pre-launch Discounts, and More Listener Questions

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@startupsfortherestofus.com | 9 months ago

Episode 682 | The Pros and Cons of Large vs. Small Startup Events

In episode 682, Rob Walling interviews Alex Theuma, the founder of SaaStock, a conference for SaaS founders. They discuss the challenges of bootstrapping an event and the pros and cons of large startup events versus small startup events. Alex also shares his experience of buildin … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 9 months ago

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

In episode 681, Rob Walling and Ruben Gamez go deep on the drawbacks of launching a second product. They both generally advise against doing so, as it can distract from the existing product. However they do share some successful attempts, strategic insights, how to approach feedb … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 9 months ago

Episode 680 | Problems vs. Solutions, Doing What it Takes, and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure)

In episode 680, Rob Walling goes solo again, covering a wide variety of topics including listening to customers, but not necessarily their solutions. He also cautions against making decisions based on one customer's feedback, but listening to the crowd. Finally, Rob highlights th … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 10 months ago

Episode 679.5 | The Future of MicroConf (7 Announcements!)

In episode 679.5, Rob shares seven announcements about the future of MicroConf in the upcoming year.  Whether you're a long-time supporter or a new member of our crew of misfits, you know we're all about empowering bootstrapped SaaS entrepreneurs. For nearly a decade, we've bee … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 10 months ago

Episode 679 | Mock Features, A Failed Launch, Becoming a Freelancer, and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure)

In episode 679, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He discusses how “mock features” can be implemented to close deals with certain buying dynamics, how to recover from a failed launch, and the benefits of phased launches to minimize t … | Continue reading


@startupsfortherestofus.com | 10 months ago