Startups For the Rest of Us
Episode 517 | Married Co-founders Who Turned a Free Tool Into a Fast-Growing SaaS Product
Oct 6, 2020
Join John Samuelson and Colleen Johnson, co-founders of Scatterspoke, a thriving SaaS business that started as a side project. They discuss the exciting journey of transforming a free tool into a successful product, sharing insights on shifting to enterprise customers and the emotional toll of bootstrapping. The duo opens up about the challenges of outsourcing development and the delicate task of re-evaluating pricing strategies, including the tough decision to remove a free tier while maintaining user trust. Their story is both inspiring and educational!
31:29
Episode guests
AI Summary
AI Chapters
Episode notes
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- The transition from a side project to a full-time business required founders to adopt a strategic growth mindset based on market demands.
- Catering to both small Agile teams and enterprise clients allowed Scatterspoke to generate consistent revenue while enhancing product features for diverse users.
Deep dives
Founding Story and Initial Growth
The founders of Scatterspoke, John and Colleen, initially launched their tool as a side project to learn new technology and solve a personal challenge within the Agile methodology space. They experienced significant growth after realizing that their free tool was gaining traction, with high numbers of users, which led to the decision to turn it into a business. After launching a more structured version in 2018, they focused on tailor-made features driven by user feedback, driving organic customer growth. By leveraging Colleen's expertise and reputation in the Agile community, they capitalized on speaking engagements and events to attract early users and iterate on their product.
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
