PodcastsEmpreendedorismoStartups For the Rest of Us

Startups For the Rest of Us

Rob Walling
Startups For the Rest of Us
Último episódio

383 episódios

  • Startups For the Rest of Us

    Episode 830 | Breaking Through Plateaus, Zero-Click Marketing, and More from MicroConf 2026 (with Derrick Reimer)

    28/04/2026 | 35min
    What were the highlights and takeaways from MicroConf? 

    In this episode, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer recap MicroConf US 2026 in Portland, Oregon. They break down the best talks from the event, including Jason Cohen on breaking through growth plateaus, Amanda Natividad on Zero-Click Marketing and broken attribution, Rob's framework for six ways to implement AI in SaaS, and Craig Hewitt's all-in take on AI adoption. Plus, they cover excursions, the hallway track, and why the MicroConf community keeps pulling founders up.

    Episode Sponsor:

    You're about to close a massive deal, and then your customer's legal team asks what happens if you get hacked. 

    That's the nightmare YSecurity solves. They're 40 security engineers who've worked at Apple, Uber, Microsoft, Robinhood, Brex, and more. You don't hire them, you rent them by the hour, no massive salary, no expensive consultants. Just real experts helping you get SOC 2, ISO, and more.

    Set a monthly cap, know exactly what you're spending, and close the deal. 

    Head to ysecurity.io/startups to book your free strategy call. Your first 8 hours are completely free.

    Topics we cover:

    (2:14) – MicroConf 2026 attendee caliber and mix

    (5:07) – Rebuilding MicroConf post-COVID

    (8:51) – Jason Cohen on breaking growth ceilings

    (12:48) – Amanda Natividad on Zero-Click Marketing

    (19:30) – Excursions, arcades, and the hallway track

    (22:01) – Rob's six ways to implement AI in SaaS

    (27:27) – Gia Laudi on Jobs To Be Done as your GTM moat

    (29:00) – Craig Hewitt's "AI Doomer" talk

    (33:41) – MicroConf Europe in Iceland

    Links from the show:

    MicroConf Europe┃Reykjavik, Iceland · Sept 21–23, 2026

    MicroConf Connect

    TinySeed SaaS Institute

    Jason Cohen's "Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business with Jason Cohen" 

    Amanda Natividad | LinkedIn

    SparkToro

    Gia (Georgiana) Laudi | LinkedIn

    Formspree 

    Rob Walling on YouTube

    Craig Hewitt | LinkedIn

    SavvyCal (Derrick Reimer)

    Derrick Reimer | LinkedIn

    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
  • Startups For the Rest of Us

    Episode 829 | AI is Bad at Product, Top 5 Startup Success Factors, and the Beastie Boys (A Rob Solo Adventure)

    21/04/2026 | 30min
    Can AI really handle product decisions for your SaaS?

    In this solo adventure, Rob Walling revisits the core four SaaS skills and breaks down what AI can and cannot do across Development, Sales, Marketing, and Product. He also reframes Bill Gross's top five startup success factors for bootstrappers, walks through a hilariously bad UX decision by a local parking app, and closes with a surprisingly insightful Beastie Boys anecdote about shipping creative work into the world.

    Episode Sponsor:

    This episode is brought to you by Mercury

    Mercury is the banking solution I use across all of my businesses, from my personal single-member LLC to MicroConf and TinySeed.

    Traditional banking is broken, slow wires, clunky interfaces, tools that feel like they were built in 2005. 

    Mercury is what banking should feel like in 2026. Everything just works.

    Whether it's daily bill pay or wiring large sums to the dozens of companies we invest in each year, Mercury handles it. Simple when I need simple, robust when I need approvals and controls.

    Over 300,000 entrepreneurs have made the switch. When founders ask me where to set up their account, I send them to mercury.com. 

    Free to get started, no in-person visits, no minimum balance.

    Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.

    Topics we cover:

    (5:48) – AI and the Core Four SaaS skills

    (7:03) – Why AI falls short with sales and marketing

    (8:45) – The editorial eye AI still lacks

    (10:14) – Why AI is worst at product

    (13:41) – Bill Gross's top five startup success factors

    (19:48) – A parking app's terrible UX decisions

    (24:24) – The Beastie Boys and lessons on shipping

    Links from the show:

    TinySeed | SaaS Institute 

    Ep. 817 | Bootstrapping in the Age of AI with Jason Cohen

    Rob Walling YouTube

    Rob Walling Newsletter

    Bill Gross’s Ted Talk on Startup Success Factors

    The Beastie Boys on Conan O’Brian’s Podcast

    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
  • Startups For the Rest of Us

    Episode 828 | Am I Building a SaaS?, Serving Both B2C and B2B, Pricing, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)

    14/04/2026 | 41min
    Is your product actually a SaaS?

    In this episode, Rob Walling tackles listener questions about what really qualifies as SaaS (and where he disagrees with ChatGPT), how to serve both solopreneurs and enterprise customers with a dual funnel strategy, layering a B2B offering on top of a B2C product, pricing a mission-driven app without gatekeeping access, and the impact of healthcare costs on startup runway.

    Want to get your question answered? Drop it here.

    Episode Sponsor:

    Your payroll tool doesn't talk to your bank. Your bank doesn't talk to your bookkeeper. And you're the one stuck in the middle playing admin instead of building your company.

    Every is the back office platform built for startups. Incorporation, banking, international and domestic payroll, bookkeeping, and tax prep, one login, one platform. You get a dedicated Slack channel with actual humans, up to $3 million in FDIC insurance, corporate cards, and automated accounting.

    Setup takes under 30 minutes. Most founders are fully transitioned within a week. 

    Check them out at every.io. 

    And if you're at MicroConf in Portland, make sure to swing by and chat with the team.

    Topics we cover:

    (3:09) – What qualifies as a SaaS business?

    (5:15) – Why Netflix and Spotify are not SaaS

    (8:11) – Where Rob disagrees with ChatGPT on SaaS

    (12:21) – Serving solopreneurs and enterprise simultaneously

    (15:13) – The power of the dual funnel strategy

    (17:02) – Navigating the enterprise sales process

    (22:20) – Layering B2B features onto a B2C product

    (28:52) – Pricing a mission-driven job search app

    (35:57) – Healthcare costs and startup runway in the US

    Links from the show:

    MicroConf Masterminds – Applications close April 17th

    MicroConf’s Masterminds Guide

    Newscatcher 

    HelpSpot 

    TinySeed

    Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X

    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

    Listen to Episode 828
  • Startups For the Rest of Us

    Episode 827 | The Founder's Guide to Selling Your SaaS for What It's Actually Worth

    07/04/2026 | 40min
    What would it mean for you to leave 60 or 70% of your company's value on the table when you sell?

    In this episode, Rob sits down with Einar Vollset, co-founder of TinySeed and founder of Discretion Capital, to talk about his new book, The Definitive Guide to M&A for B2B SaaS between $2 and $20 million ARR. They dig into why private equity now dominates the buyer landscape, why growth and churn are the top two valuation drivers, and how the myth that "startups are bought, not sold" could cost you millions.

    Einar also explains the danger of running your business past its peak growth rate before selling, why ARR multiples matter more than profit, and how the right M&A advisor can add 30 to 300% to an initial offer.

    Episode Sponsors:

    This episode is brought to you by Mercury

    Mercury is the banking solution I use across all of my businesses, from my personal single-member LLC to MicroConf and TinySeed.

    Traditional banking is broken, slow wires, clunky interfaces, tools that feel like they were built in 2005. 

    Mercury is what banking should feel like in 2026. Everything just works.

    Whether it's daily bill pay or wiring large sums to the dozens of companies we invest in each year, Mercury handles it. Simple when I need simple, robust when I need approvals and controls.

    Over 300,000 entrepreneurs have made the switch. When founders ask me where to set up their account, I send them to mercury.com. 

    Free to get started, no in-person visits, no minimum balance.

    Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.

    Everyone's talking about AI in marketing. But AI without strategy just means generating more bad marketing, faster.

    The founders who win aren't the ones using the most tools, they're the ones with a real system behind their growth. Positioning, persuasion, conversion. That's what moves the needle.

    That's what Conversion Factory does. They're a SaaS marketing and design agency that has worked with over 100 startups, including several TinySeed companies.

    Book a call at https://conversionfactory.co/ and mention this podcast for $1,000 off your first month. And if you're at MicroConf US in Portland, grab Corey Haines in the hallway track to see how they can help you.

    Topics we cover:

    (3:34) – Why Einar wrote an M&A guide for SaaS founders

    (5:26) – How founders leave value on the table when selling

    (8:22) – How private equity moved down market

    (11:24) – Choosing the right broker or banker

    (12:55) – Platform acquisitions vs. tuck-ins explained

    (19:24) – Why "startups are bought, not sold" is wrong

    (25:48) – Growth and churn as top valuation drivers

    (30:02) – Why ARR multiples matter more than profit

    (34:34) – The danger of running past peak growth

    Links from the show:

    The Definitive Guide to M&A for B2B SaaS between $2–20M ARR

    Discretion Capital

    MicroConf US (Portland) - April 12-14, 2026

    MicroConf Mastermind Matching

    MicroConf Mastermind Playbook

    TinySeed

    Exit Strategy...
  • Startups For the Rest of Us

    Episode 826 | How to Find, Hire, and Work with Owner-Level Thinkers

    31/03/2026 | 31min
    How do you find someone who thinks like an owner, not just a task-doer?

    In this episode, Rob digs into a batch of listener questions about task level, project level, and owner level thinkers. He covers how to identify them, what they cost, where to find them, and why building a team of exceptional people creates a virtuous cycle that lifts everyone up.

    Topics we cover:

    (4:13) – Defining task, project, and owner level thinkers

    (7:32) – Are owner level thinkers born or built?

    (10:16) – Compensation ranges for owner level thinkers

    (11:53) – W2 vs. contractor for senior hires

    (15:53) – Do you actually need owner level thinkers?

    (17:36) – Where to find project and owner level thinkers

    (20:16) – How long to integrate them into your company

    (24:40) – How to identify them in job interviews

    (29:38) – Why you won't always get hires right

    Links from the show:

    Rob Walling's Essays

    Rob Walling’s Newsletter

    Rob Walling YouTube

    The SaaS Playbook

    Remote First Recruiting 

    MicroConf

    TinySeed 

    SaaS Institute

    Discretion Capital

    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

Mais podcasts de Empreendedorismo

Sobre Startups For the Rest of Us

The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.
Site de podcast

Ouça Startups For the Rest of Us, Economia Falada e muitos outros podcasts de todo o mundo com o aplicativo o radio.net

Obtenha o aplicativo gratuito radio.net

  • Guardar rádios e podcasts favoritos
  • Transmissão via Wi-Fi ou Bluetooth
  • Carplay & Android Audo compatìvel
  • E ainda mais funções

Startups For the Rest of Us: Podcast do grupo

Informação legal
Aplicações
Social
v8.8.13| © 2007-2026 radio.de GmbH
Generated: 4/29/2026 - 8:09:23 PM