Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben accidentally launches a Vim course, debates a B2B vs B2C focus, and feels out different Formkeep pricing tiers. Chris welcomes back a handful of former subscribers to Upcase, continues to work on content production, and integrates relevant content into broader thoughtbot docs. Upcase Formkeep Become a Daily Vim User Vim Tips With Ben Podcast Sublime Text Factory Girl docs with Upcase introductory video Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Chris converts with email campaigns, lays out a time-table to churn out a ton of content, and tries to analyze a dip in revenue. Meanwhile, Ben tests the definition of what constitutes a "conference", focuses on how to enrich Formkeep for specific use cases, and makes headway on tiered pricing. Upcase Formkeep Moraware- Countertop Fabricator Software Clearbit Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben finalizes Formkeep's Ember removal, toys with the idea of manual on boarding, and positions himself to begin experimenting with plans and pricing. Meanwhile, Chris deals with credit card fraud, too many inodes on Upcase's server, and finishes the changes required to offer free videos. Upcase Formkeep Barbell Investment Strategy Designing Forms That Convert Free Gitsh Video from The Weekly Iteration What is 2.5 * 26? Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Chris talks with growth expert Brian Balfour on starting and sustaining SaaS business, and his team's approach to addressing growth issues. Upcase Pirate Metrics Airbnb Growth Study Be the Best at Getting Better Traction vs Growth How to Become a Customer Acquisition Expert Power Law Coelevate- Brian’s personal writings Brian on Twitter Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Chris gets a surprise while reviewing Upcase's Q4 profit & loss statement, gains some insight into e-mail marketing, wrestles with the added complexity of adding github auth-to-access, and brainstorms new community-driven projects. Meanwhile, Ben gets his hands dirty with Formkeep's Ember removal, is tempted by the siren's call of distraction, and gets an open review from the Bootstrapped Web podcast. Also, Chris does a live user-test of Formkeep's new user activation flow. Formkeep Upcase The Chris Toomey of Real Estate Deep Work- Cal Newport Bootstrapped Web Ep 98- Formkeep Teardown! xkcd: Nerd Sniping Pave the Cowpaths Cooper Press Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben resolves to cut back on dashboard checkins, makes progress on Formkeep's Ember extraction, and struggles with product-market fit. Meanwhile, Chris tackles some analytics issues, opens up Upcase landing pages from behind the paywall to improve marketing and SEO, and steps up his marketing and social-media game. Formkeep Upcase baremetrics Formkeep Blog The Pragmatic Programmer SPIN Selling Radical Candor Bootstrapped Web Podcast Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben and Chris both struggle with cancelations coming into the new year, Formkeep continues to strip out Ember and focus on content marketing, and Upcase resolves a major issue in the exercise system and improves the checkout flow. Formkeep Upcase The Mythical Man-Month Levenshtein Distance Edgar Laura Roeder on Giant Robots How to 3x your productivity in 10 minutes a week- Mitchell Harper gitolite Test All the F***in Time Finding Your Flywheel- Rob Walling SPIN Selling Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Chris tracks new members after the release of the new Mastering Git course from Upcase, launches a drip e-mail campaign to attract more members, and focuses on increased content output. Ben continues removing Ember from Formkeep, rethinks an activation sequence A/B test, conducts user tests to improve the checkout flow, and adopts a mindset of continuous improvement. Formkeep Upcase Mastering Git course on Upcase Drip Marketing Mastermind Alliance Startup Playbook- Sam Altman Rob Walling on Giant Robots How to 10x in 15 Months The Content Marketing Handbook Airbnb vs Hotels The Effective Executive- Peter F. Drucker Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

As Ben transitions from Upcase to Formkeep, so too will the podcast transition to an open discussion around growing thoughtbot's internal projects and maintaining them as businesses, highlighting our hopes, experiments, tactics, failures, and success along the way! Today Ben and new co-host Chris discuss finding that magic feature or metric around which to structure pricing, selecting the right framework for your app, and customer acquisition tactics. Formkeep Upcase Price Intelligently Audience Ops Bootstrapped Web Podcast Middleman Traction Wistia Turnstile Rob Walling on Giant Robots Visual Website Optimizer Mastering Git course on Upcase Chris on Twitter Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben talks with Ashe Dryden about ways to approach diversity in the tech community from workplace, conference, and personal perspectives. AlterConf The Diverse Team The Inclusive Event Model View Culture Brianna Wu - 9 Ways to Stop Hurting and Start Helping Women in Tech Fund Club Ashe on Twitter Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots