Startups For the Rest of Us

This is a big milestone episode for Startups for the Rest of Us. Episode 500. Since the very first episode nearly a decade ago we've had more than 10 million downloads, answered more than 1,500 listener questions, and shared more than 292 hours of startup content. Over the years, this podcast has developed a particular lens through which we view building and growing startups. We've focused on: Maintaining freedom, purpose, and relationships throughout the journey Diving deep into topics relating to building and growing startups, using an ambitious yet sane approach. Thinking in years, not months Not talking about the typical Silicon Valley startups (where fundraising is a goal in and of itself) Building real companies with real customers who pay us real money Not sacrificing our health or our relationships As we look to 1,000 episodes and beyond, we decided to highlight the stories from the community as they share how the past 500 episodes have made an impact on their path to starting and growing successful

This interview was recorded several months ago, but is still relevant despite the pandemic. Colin Nederkoorn, the co-founder of customer.io has taken a unique approach to building their company. Customer.io does marketing automation for the entire customer lifecycle. They have raised funding, but not traditional venture money, and they've run it more like a self-funded SaaS. Colin and his cofounder John left their jobs with no savings, and they set out to build an analytics tool. Their story is powerful because of their unconventional approach and ability to persevere through hard times. The finer points of the episode: 4:05 - The customer.io founder journey 5:23 - Their approach to selecting investors 7:01 - Reflecting on how Colin and John bootstrapped a SaaS app after leaving their jobs with no savings 8:02 - Why they pivoted from an analytics company to selling marketing solutions 13:15 - Finding the balance between innovation vs following the best practices 18:37 - How customer.io b

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob along with Tracy Osborn , answer a number of listener questions on topics including founder hotseats, forgotten subscriptions, two-sided market places and more. Items mentioned in this episode: State of Indie SaaS Report Metcalfe's Law Stack Overflow GrowthHackers Tracy Osborn

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob reflects back on his goals of 2019 and shares some lessons that are broadly applicable to founders/entrepreneurs. He also shares how he “unplugged” from the internet/devices while on a recent vacation with his family and the benefits he experienced. Items mentioned in this episode: MicroConf TinySeed The State of Independent SaaS Report

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob and Brian Casel of Audience Ops, answer a number of listener questions on topics including assessing product market fit, finding a mastermind and more. Items mentioned in this episode: Bootstrapped Web Podcast The TMBA Podcast Dynamite Circle Productize Course MastermindJam

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob talks with Jordan Gal of CartHook about his big move to stop his free trials, move to demos, and increase his prices. Items mentioned in this episode: CartHook Bootstrapped Web Podcast CartHook Pricing Change Blog Post Lincoln Murphy blog post about Qualification

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob checks in with Mike Taber on his continued progress with Bluetick.  The final conclusion to the Google audit is revealed, and they check in with the .Net component problem, the podcast tour, and more. Items mentioned in this episode: Bluetick

Show Notes In this half episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob makes the biggest announcement in MicroConf history and talks about the future of the conference. Items mentioned in this episode: MicroConf

Show Notes On this final episode following Craig Hewitt of Castos, Rob checks in to get the results of the “no credit trial” decision, and to see whether or not the move increased conversions.

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob talks with Brian Casel of Audience Ops, about recovering from a 40% decline in MRR.  They start the story back in 2016 and work through the decline, audience ops rebound, the start of Ops Calendar, and Brian's decision to learn how to code. Items mentioned in this episode: Bootstrapped Web MicroConf ProcessKit Codementor.io

Show Notes This week Craig Hewitt of Castos, feels the pains of a growing team and talks about how his role as a founder must evolve as the team continues to grow.

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Laura Roeder joins the podcast to answer a number of listener questions on topics including managing annual subscriptions, being a non-developer founder, and more. Items mentioned in this episode: MeetEdgar MicroConf Stripe

Show Notes In this week’s episode Craig Hewitt “turns the business on it’s head” by implementing a no credit card trial.

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob talks with Shai Schechter of RightMessage, about his amazing launch and then finding himself near bankruptcy and how he was able to right the ship. Items mentioned in this episode: RightMessage RightMessage.baremetrics Shai.io MicroConf Europe

Show Notes Rob is back with Craig Hewitt of Castos. They talk about learning to delegate more of his responsibilities as a new growth marketer joins the team.

In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob talks with Jane Portman of Userlist. They discuss the struggles of growing slowly, gaining traction in the crowded space, and some of the lessons learned from her first SaaS app. Items mentioned in this episode: Userlist UI Breakfast Podcast User Onboarding: The Ultimate Guide for SaaS Founders

Show Notes Rob does another follow up with Crag Hewitt of Castos, they talk about his new hire (growth marketer) and news of a major break-through.

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob checks in with Mike Taber on his progress with Bluetick. They talk about the finale of the Google audit, a new integration. and trying to find differentiation in the market. Items mentioned in this episode: TinySeed Zapier

Show Notes Rob follows up with Craig Hewitt of Castos, as he shares some big news on the podcast

Show Notes In this episode of Startups For The Rest Of Us, Rob and Mike walk you through some of the talks and key takeways from MicroConf Europe 2019. Items mentioned in this episode: MicroConf MicroConf Europe Balsamiq HubSpot picture of an evening reception at MicroConf Europe 2019 at Vala Beach