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#101: Arvid Kahl – From SaaS founder to full-time creator

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May 3, 2022

Guest

Arvid Kahl

Arvid Kahl, creator of The Bootstrapped Founder and author, talks about his journey from co-founding the SaaS company FeedbackPanda to becoming a full-time creator. He shares insights on the challenges of transitioning from founder to creative work. Arvid discusses his unique strategies for Twitter growth and the differences between writing books and creating courses. His mission of empowerment and approaches to equitable pricing for online courses are particularly inspiring, making this a must-listen for aspiring creators.

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ANECDOTE

Feedback Panda Origin

Arvid Kahl built Feedback Panda, initially a tool to help his partner Danielle automate student feedback reports.
It quickly grew to 5,500 customers and $55,000 monthly recurring revenue before being sold.

insights

INSIGHT

Purpose in Helping

Arvid found more purpose in helping users than in coding.
He discovered a passion for empowering others, shifting his focus from technical problem-solving to helping people realize their ambitions.

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ANECDOTE

MicroConf Opportunity

SureSwift Capital's acquisition of Feedback Panda led to a speaking opportunity at MicroConf Europe for Arvid.
This boosted his Twitter following significantly and increased his credibility within the indie hacker community.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

From Software Startup to Creative Pursuits

01:47 • 2min

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From SaaS Founder to Empowered Creator: A Journey of Innovation

04:14 • 4min

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From Side Project to Success

08:19 • 9min

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From Business Sale to Speaking Engagement: The Journey of Online Credibility

16:57 • 3min

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Navigating Financial Freedom and New Opportunities

19:49 • 6min

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Sustainable Income Through Infinite Games

25:23 • 29min

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Empowering Global Audiences Through Equitable Pricing

54:24 • 4min

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#212

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In this book, James P. Carse distinguishes between finite and infinite games. Finite games are instrumental activities with clear rules, boundaries, and winners, such as sports, politics, and wars. Infinite games, on the other hand, are authentic interactions that aim to continue the play, changing rules and boundaries as needed. Carse explores how these concepts apply to various aspects of life, including culture, religion, sexuality, and self-discovery. He argues that finite games offer wealth, status, and power, while infinite games provide something more subtle and grander, such as true freedom and endless possibility. The book offers insights into how approaching life as either a finite or infinite game affects one's choices, satisfaction, and success.

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Built to sell

Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You

John Warrillow

In 'Built to Sell', John Warrillow provides practical advice on creating a business that can operate independently of its owner. The book is structured around a story where a business owner, Alex, is guided by his mentor Ted to transform his marketing agency into a sellable business. Key lessons include running the company as if it will last forever but being ready to sell at any moment, focusing on a specific, non-customizable product or service, creating a positive cash flow cycle, and hiring a sales team to remove the owner from the sales process. The book emphasizes the importance of making the business repeatable, valuable, and teachable to attract potential buyers.

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The Embedded Entrepreneur

How to Build an Audience-Driven Business

Arvid Kahl

In 'The Embedded Entrepreneur', Arvid Kahl provides a comprehensive guide on how to build a business by first identifying and engaging with the target audience. Instead of developing solutions in search of customers, embedded entrepreneurs join communities, observe, participate, and transform their learnings into products that meet the needs of their audience. The book covers key aspects such as audience discovery, exploration, problem identification, and leveraging social media to build and monetize an audience. Kahl shares his own experiences and practical advice, making the book a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and community builders.

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The Infinite Game

Simon Sinek

In 'The Infinite Game', Simon Sinek distinguishes between finite and infinite games. Finite games have known players, fixed rules, and a clear endpoint, whereas infinite games, like business and life, have no defined endpoint and are played to continue the game rather than to win. Sinek argues that leaders who adopt an infinite mindset, focusing on a 'Just Cause', building 'Trusting Teams', having 'Worthy Rivals', practicing 'Existential Flexibility', and showing the 'Courage to Lead', will build stronger, more innovative, and resilient organizations. The book uses real-world examples to illustrate the benefits of an infinite mindset and the pitfalls of a finite mindset in business and leadership.

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In 'The 4-Hour Workweek', Timothy Ferriss presents a step-by-step guide to 'lifestyle design', encouraging readers to question the traditional notion of retirement and instead create a lifestyle that prioritizes freedom, adventure, and personal growth. The book teaches how to outsource life tasks, automate income, and eliminate unnecessary work using principles like the 80/20 rule and Parkinson’s Law. Ferriss shares his personal journey from a corporate workaholic to a location-independent entrepreneur and provides practical tips and case studies to help readers achieve similar results. The book emphasizes the importance of focusing on high-value activities, taking 'mini-retirements', and living life to the fullest in the present rather than deferring enjoyment until retirement.

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Start Small, Stay Small

A Developer's Guide To Launching a Startup

Mike Taber

Rob Walling

This book provides practical, step-by-step instructions for developers aiming to launch startups with no outside funding. It focuses on finding product ideas, testing the market, pricing products, using virtual assistants, and structuring the ideal startup launch. The book is tailored for solo founders or small teams, emphasizing sustainable success in niche markets rather than seeking venture capital funding.

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why most small businesses don't work and what to do about it

Michael E. Gerber

The E-Myth Revisited challenges the common assumption that most businesses are started by entrepreneurs. Instead, Gerber argues that most businesses are started by technicians who understand the technical work but not the business itself. The book introduces the concept of the E-Myth and explains that successful business owners must balance three roles: the Entrepreneur (the visionary), the Manager (the planner and organizer), and the Technician (the one who performs the technical work). Gerber emphasizes the distinction between working 'in' your business and working 'on' your business, and he provides strategies for systemizing and scaling businesses, including the concept of the Franchise Prototype.

#248

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Zero to Sold

Arvid Kahl

Zero to Sold is an actionable guide that takes readers through the four stages of a bootstrapped business: Preparation, Survival, Stability, and Growth. The book recounts the story of FeedbackPanda, a bootstrapped SaaS business that grew to thousands of customers before being sold. It provides practical advice on validating ideas, building products, and growing businesses sustainably, with a focus on mental health and real-world experiences.

Arvid Kahl is the creator of The Bootstrapped Founder. The Bootstrapped Founder is the home of his Twitter course Find your Following, the books Zero to Sold: How to Start, Run, and Sell a Bootstrapped Business and The Embedded Entrepreneur, which is an audience-driven book teaching you how to build an audience-driven business.

Previously, Arvid was the co-founder of FeedbackPanda, an online teacher productivity SaaS company, with my partner Danielle Simpson. FeedbackPanda was sold to SureSwift Capital in 2019.

In this episode, we talk about the start of FeedbackPanda, a speaking opportunity that opened up a new world for Arvid, the transition from founder to creator, his unconventional approach to Twitter, the difference between creating a course vs. books, and why he’s on a personal mission of Empowerment.

Learn more about Arvid Kahl

Follow Arvid Kahl on Twitter

Take Arvid's Twitter course

Join the Creative Companion Club

Subscribe to Creative Companion

Follow Jay on Twitter

Full transcript and show notes

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