Episode 683 | Bringing on a Partner, Attending Trade Shows, Pre-launch Discounts, and More Listener Questions

11 snips

Oct 17, 2023

Discover how to effectively gather feedback from customers who are hesitant to share their thoughts. Explore the pros and cons of partnering with others in your business venture, as well as the nuances of equity distribution. Dive into the benefits of attending trade shows for networking and product-market fit. Plus, learn about strategic pre-launch discounts and pricing strategies tailored for SaaS products. Stay energized and motivated with tips on navigating the challenges of entrepreneurship!

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ADVICE

Gathering Customer Feedback

Consider the customer type you serve, as technical individuals provide different feedback than non-technical ones.
Focus on identifying the problems your customers face, rather than directly asking for feature ideas.

ADVICE

Evaluating Potential Partnerships

Be cautious about giving away large amounts of equity (30-40%) unless the partner brings significant value, like full-time work or substantial capital.
Implement vesting schedules with cliffs to protect your equity if you decide to partner.

ADVICE

Trade Show Value

Attend trade shows to learn from potential customers and observe their reactions firsthand.
Don't be overly concerned about competitors stealing ideas unless your innovation is truly groundbreaking.

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

Get the app

In episode 683, join Rob Walling for another solo adventure where he answers listener questions. He addresses gathering feedback from customers that are reluctant to give it to you, whether to bring on a partner, and the value of going to in-person events. Rob also covers topics such as equity for advisors, pricing strategies, & productized services.

Episode Sponsor:

Find your perfect developer or a team at Lemon.io/startups

The competition for incredible engineers and developers has never been more fierce. Lemon.io helps you cut through the noise and find great talent through its network of engineers in Europe and Latin America.

They take care of the vetting, interviewing, and testing of candidates to make sure that you are working with someone who can hit the ground running.

When it comes to hiring, the time it takes to write your job description, list the position, review resumes, schedule interviews, and make an offer can take weeks, if not months. With Lemon.io, you can cut down on a lot of that time by tapping into their wide network of developers who can get started in as early as a week.

And for subscribers of Startups For the Rest of Us, you can get 15% off your first 4 week contract with a developer by visiting lemon.io/startups

Topics we cover:

1:56 – Gathering feedback from reluctant customers
8:47 – When to bring in other partners
12:45 – Weighing the positives and negatives of going to trade shows
15:36 – Staying energized and motivated
17:51 – Offering pre-launch discounts vs. offering value-added product
22:08 – Charging for products in different currencies
23:37 – Productized service, pricing, and pausing
26:40 – Fractional CTOs and equity grants

Links from the Show:

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!

Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify | Google