Build Your SaaS
Interested in building your own SaaS company? Follow the journey of Transistor.fm as they bootstrap a podcast hosting startup.
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What is Transistor's secret weapon?
<p>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.</p><p>Chapters:<br></p>(02:13) - What did Helen do before she joined Transistor? (03:00) - What did Michael do before joining Transistor? (05:05) - How does Transistor do customer support different? (08:04) - What have we learned by doing demo calls with customers? (12:32) - What are some of the emotions of starting a podcast? (16:15) - What...
An update from Justin and Jon
<p>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. The Transistor team is off to Banff for their annual retreat!</p><p>Quote:</p>"Working hard does not lead to burnout, but the lack of hope leads to burnout. So if you're working really really hard...
"Justin, I built a SaaS!"
<p>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 entrepreneurship.</p><p>Links:</p>Harris Kenny on LinkedinOutboundSync - Integrate outbound campaigns in HubSpot and SalesforceIntroCRM (Archived) - Access BlockedHow Loom Found PULL - Growth Strategy Case StudyFollow Justin on Bluesky<p>Have feedback on this episode?</p>👉 Leave a voi...
Giuuunta! Motivating yourself when you're not in startup mode
<p>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?</p><p>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 junior team members, connecting with customers in fresh ways, or knowing when it's time to explore new horizons.</p><p>They also discuss why Dave left Home Chef (after 8 years) and wh...
Adam Wathan: how small startups hire employees (Tailwind CSS)
<p>How do founders of small bootstrapped companies hire new employees? </p><p>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 experience.</p>"If you figure we spend 5 minutes on every single application, that was like 133 hours straight reading applications. Processing these job applications was basically my full time job for 2 months." – Adam Wa...
Is ONCE enough?
<p>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?</p><p>Links:</p>Once landing pageCampfire sales pageDHH's tweet: "ONCE/Campfire hasn't even been for sale for a week, but we've already sold more than quarter of a million dollars."Tyler Tringas's video<...
How Ben and David bootstrapped the Acquired podcast
<p>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!</p><p>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 interviewed the CEOs of NVIDIA, Uber, and Charlie Munger. </p><p>And this was the year that Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal (the co-hosts) both went full-time on the podcast. Podcasting is now t...
Nashville team retreat: scary birds, country music, and a photo shoot
<p>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:</p>"Going to a Tiki Bar is usually a mistake."<p>Highlights<br></p>(00:10) - Welcome (01:10) - Highlights of our retreat in Nashville (12:55) - It's not easy to get everyone together (20:26) - Our schedule for the retreat (26:24) - Electrolytes are a good idea (31:49...
Paul Jarvis: gaining freedom by building an indie business
<p>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 and Paul did a weekly mastermind, where they supported and encouraged each other around our indie businesses. They decided to do a catch-up call and recorded it so you could listen in. 👍</p><p>Highlights:<br></p>(00:10) - Int...
How Tim worked on side-projects for 10+ years, and finally went full-time (with kids)
<p>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."</p><p>Highlights:<br></p>(00:12) - Welcome (01:13) - Who is Tim Leland? (03:20) - What guardrails did you put in place? (06:24) - What's the sales funnel? (08:13) - Family as a motivator (16:21) - How would you describe your effort during this process? (20:06) - What about family boundaries? (23:25...
