Episode 753 | TinySeed Tales s4e3: Co-Founder Conflicts + Renaming a Business
Jan 30, 2025
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Colleen Schnettler, a developer and entrepreneur, shares her journey as the co-founder of Hello Query, previously known as Hammerstone. She candidly discusses the emotional trials of co-founder conflicts and emphasizes the value of open communication. The conversation dives into their decision to pivot their product offering to a SaaS solution focused on internal reporting, highlighting the challenges and lessons learned along the way. Colleen also shares insights on finding product-market fit in a competitive landscape.
Colleen and Aaron's experience highlights the crucial role of open communication in resolving co-founder conflicts and aligning partnership goals.
The rebranding to Hello Query exemplifies their strategic pivot towards a true SaaS offering to better meet market demands.
Deep dives
Navigating Co-Founder Conflicts
Colleen and her co-founder faced significant conflict in their partnership when Colleen transitioned to working full-time on their startup while Aaron remained part-time due to family commitments. This imbalance heightened tensions, leading Colleen to feel immense pressure to make the business work, especially after losing a substantial consulting income. The situation culminated in an emotional confrontation that spanned several days, where both co-founders openly discussed their commitment levels, personal goals, and the future of their partnership. Ultimately, they reached a resolution, realizing the value of their complementary skills and reaffirming their desire to work together, which significantly improved their communication and relationship moving forward.
Shifting Business Strategies
Colleen and Aaron encountered challenges with their initial business model, which resembled a productized consulting service instead of a true SaaS offering. After conducting thorough customer discovery interviews, they recognized that their positioning and packaging were misaligned with market needs, prompting them to sell the intellectual property of their previous venture and shut it down. This pivot reflected a significant strategic shift as they moved away from licensing models and missed opportunities with target customers. By embracing the lessons learned, they prepared to build a new venture better suited for broader market appeal and sustainability.
Rebranding and Future Directions
In response to their foundational shifts, Colleen and Aaron have rebranded their startup to Hello Query, focusing on providing hosted internal reporting solutions for teams rather than limiting their audience to Rails developers. Their new model aims to be a true SaaS product, which increases their market reach and potential customer base. Colleen's enthusiasm for this new direction suggests she is committed to actively engaging with potential customers through cold outreach while ensuring the product genuinely addresses user needs based on previous feedback. This strategic rebranding illustrates their dedication to iterating on their business based on real-world requirements and positioning themselves more competitively in a crowded market.
In this episode of TinySeed Tales, Rob Walling reconnects with Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hammerstone, as she shares the latest developments in their startup journey.
Colleen opens up about the emotional challenges of co-founder conflicts with Aaron, highlighting the importance of communication and alignment in their partnership. They also discuss the significant pivot from their initial product offering to the newly rebranded Hello Query, a SaaS solution focused on internal reporting for teams.
Topics we cover:
(0:59) – Breaking up with a co-founder
(7:39) – How could this conversation have been different?
(9:49) – Navigating a major pivot
(14:37) – Changing the name
(16:56) – Getting closer to finding product-market-fit
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!