Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hammerstone and an experienced developer, shares her journey from coding to managing. She discusses the tough pivot to a focused product stack and the development of a new reporting MVP. Colleen opens up about the complexities of transitioning roles, including the challenges of hiring and how it impacts team dynamics. Her insights reveal the struggles and rewards of being a manager, emphasizing the importance of feedback and communication for a thriving business.
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insights INSIGHT
Reporting Dashboard Pivot
Building a reporting dashboard simplifies the product and addresses the most common use case.
This shift allows Hammerstone to own the UI and provide a true drop-in solution.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Validate with Customers
When repositioning a product, validate your assumptions by talking to customers and showing mockups.
Colleen found that demonstrating the reporting dashboard resonated with potential customers.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Focusing on Rails
Hammerstone initially targeted both Laravel and Rails markets with functionally similar products.
However, they found the Rails market more receptive to paid products, leading them to focus solely on Rails.
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Buy Back Your Time is a definitive guide for entrepreneurs at every level, teaching them how to scale their business quickly while avoiding burnout. The book introduces the 'Buy Back Principle,' which emphasizes hiring people to do repetitive and low-value tasks, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on high-value activities that bring energy and fulfillment. Dan Martell provides practical steps, frameworks like the 'replacement ladder' and 'DRIP matrix,' and strategies for outsourcing, automation, and prioritization to enhance both professional and personal life. The book is structured around key frameworks and tools, making it a valuable resource for entrepreneurs looking to achieve a better work-life balance and build a thriving business empire.
Never Split the Difference
Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
Tahl Raz
Chris Voss
VOSS/RAZ
This book, written by former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss and co-author Tahl Raz, provides a masterclass in influencing others through negotiation. It distills the Voss method, revealing skills such as establishing rapport, creating trust with tactical empathy, and transforming conflict into collaboration. The book is filled with real-life examples from Voss's career, illustrating how these techniques can be applied in both professional and personal life to achieve goals and defuse potential crises.
In this episode of TinySeed Tales, Rob Walling catches up with Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hammerstone, about the progress her team has made since their initial check-in.
Colleen describes the tough decision to focus on one product stack, and their recent pivot toward building a reporting MVP. They also discuss Colleen’s shift into a more managerial role.
Topics we cover:
(2:10) – Motivations behind building additional functionality
(7:07) – Repositioning the reporting dashboard
(10:08) – Focusing in on the successful part of the product
(14:30) – How shifting focus affects the team dynamic
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!
Startups For the Rest of Us 
