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Startups For the Rest of Us
Episode 765 | TinySeed Tales s4e9: Making the hardest decision
Mar 13, 2025
Colleen Schnettler, founder of Hello Query, shares her candid journey through the struggles of entrepreneurship. She talks about the tough decision to shut down her SaaS business after grappling with customer acquisition and a co-founder split. Reflecting on her experiences, Colleen reveals valuable lessons learned, including the importance of speed and execution in the startup world. With a new venture on the horizon and early signs of success, she encapsulates resilience in the face of adversity and the evolving nature of a founder's journey.
28:20
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Quick takeaways
- Colleen highlights the emotional struggle founders face when deciding between the hope of future success and the reality of exhaustion from limited resources.
- Reflecting on her co-founder’s departure, Colleen emphasizes the necessity of aligning goals among partners to ensure the success of a startup.
Deep dives
Colleen's Journey and Decision-Making Process
Colleen discusses her experiences with building Hello Query and the difficult decision of whether to continue or shut it down. Despite tripling her monthly recurring revenue (MRR) to $540, she faced challenges in acquiring new customers, as each sale required significant effort and did not follow a repeatable path. Her experience highlights the emotional struggle founders face when weighing the potential for growth against the reality of limited resources and time. Ultimately, Colleen grapples with balancing the hope of future success with the practicalities of opportunity cost and exhaustion from years of work.
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Discover
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