In this episode of TinySeed Tales, Rob Walling reconnects with Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hammerstone, as she shares the latest developments in their startup journey.

Colleen opens up about the emotional challenges of co-founder conflicts with Aaron, highlighting the importance of communication and alignment in their partnership. They also discuss the significant pivot from their initial product offering to the newly rebranded Hello Query, a SaaS solution focused on internal reporting for teams.

Topics we cover: 

• (0:59) – Breaking up with a co-founder
• (7:39) – How could this conversation have been different?
• (9:49) – Navigating a major pivot
• (14:37) – Changing the name
• (16:56) – Getting closer to finding product-market-fit
• (19:39) – Competing in a competitive market

Links from the Show: 

• SaaS Institute
• TinySeed
• Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger) | X
• Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger.bsky.social) | Bluesky
• Aaron Francis (@aarondfrancis) | X
• Aaron Francis (@aaronfrancis.com) | Bluesky
• MicroConf Recap, Episode 59 – The Hammerstone Podcast
• Hello Query

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!

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