Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hammerstone.dev, is a self-taught Rails developer and military spouse. In this insightful discussion, she shares her journey from a stay-at-home mom to a tech entrepreneur. Colleen dives into the challenges of custom reporting, navigating product-market fit, and the ups and downs of startup life. She also reveals the motivations behind joining TinySeed and discusses the risks and ambitions ahead for her AI-powered chatbot business, which is evolving into Hello Query.
Colleen Schnettler's journey from a self-taught developer to co-founding Hammerstone.dev exemplifies resilience and the ability to adapt within the tech industry.
The founders recognized that enhancing product positioning and actively listening to customer feedback were essential for improving sales and meeting market needs.
Deep dives
Colleen Schnettler's Journey as a Founder
Colleen Schnettler, a self-taught Ruby on Rails developer, transitioned from being a stay-at-home mom to co-founding Hammerstone.dev, which specializes in developer tools. Initially, she sought flexible remote work before realizing her potential in the tech industry. Through persistence and years of dedication, she overcame the challenges of learning to code while managing her responsibilities as a military spouse and mother. Colleen's atypical journey underscores the idea that determination and adaptability can lead to success, despite societal perceptions about traditional paths in technology and entrepreneurship.
Innovative Product Development at Hammerstone
Hammerstone.dev, co-founded by Colleen and Erin Francis, offers a unique approach with its flagship product, Refine, which functions as a visual query builder for both Laravel and Ruby on Rails developers. This dual product strategy stems from insights Erin gained while working in another company's custom reporting needs, demonstrating the importance of listening to client demands. The co-founders realized that their product's positioning was crucial and explored shifting their focus from developers to product managers, aiming to cater to a broader audience. This strategic pivot aims to enhance customer engagement and meet market requirements more effectively.
Resilience and Growth Through Challenges
The founders faced setbacks, including poor sales performance following a price drop which initially gave the impression that pricing was the main issue. However, upon reflection, they recognized that the underlying problem lay in product positioning rather than cost. By actively seeking feedback from potential customers, they identified an opportunity to enhance their offering by adding custom reporting features. This adaptability highlights their resilience as they continue to evolve Hammerstone's product and anticipate future growth while navigating the complexities of the startup journey.
Welcome to Season 4 of TinySeed Tales, where we follow the founders of one SaaS startup throughout a few years as they share their struggles, victories, and failures.
In the first episode of Season 4, Rob introduces us to Colleen Schnettler, the cofounder of Hammerstone. Colleen is a self-taught Rails developer, and this season will follow how Hammerstone eventually becomes Hello Query – an AI-powered chatbot that runs custom reporting on your data. Colleen is one of 27 startup founders from TinySeed’s Fall 2022 accelerator batch.
Topics we cover:
(2:16) – TinySeed Tales Season 4 with Colleen Schnettler
(3:57) – Custom reporting in Laravel and Rails
(7:05) – Becoming an “atypical founder”
(14:11) – Entrepreneurship as a military spouse
(16:17) – Motivations for joining TinySeed
(19:15) – A recent low point, and high point in the business
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!