A Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for Founders

Forrest Zeisler, Co-founder of Jobber, shares his inspiring journey from receiving six months of rejections to achieving an impressive $100M ARR. He discusses the emotional rollercoaster of landing their first customer, navigating investor skepticism, and the importance of incremental improvements over quick wins. Forrest emphasizes how the right investors can shape a startup's destiny and why chasing ‘silver bullets’ rarely works in the pursuit of product-market fit. His candid storytelling offers invaluable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Koen Droste, Founder of Polarsteps, transformed a personal travel tracker into a $10 million app with 10 million users—despite losing 90% of users overnight. He shares how ignoring conventional advice and focusing on word-of-mouth growth led to their viral success. By obsessing over Net Promoter Score (NPS), they achieved explosive organic growth. Droste emphasizes that quality over speed and avoiding distracting partnerships are crucial for early-stage founders aiming for product market fit.

Jordan Boesch, founder of 7Shifts, shares his inspiring journey from a teenager solving his dad's restaurant scheduling woes to leading a software used by 50,000 restaurants. He emphasizes the power of customer feedback over funding, revealing how strategic partnerships fueled his growth. Jordan discusses managing near-failure, surviving burnout, and the importance of establishing core values for a resilient company culture. He also offers insights on using SEO effectively and why customer complaints can signal success.

Wesley Tian, founder of the AI headshot app Aragon, shares his incredible journey from being broke and rejected by VCs to hitting $10M ARR in just two years. He reveals bold strategies like guerrilla marketing, optimizing landing pages, and leveraging affiliate blogs that drove early sales. Wesley discusses the importance of timing and niche focus amidst competition, as well as his experiences with customer support and managing burnout. His insights provide practical tactics for founders looking to navigate their own paths to success.

Mike Salguero, founder of ButcherBox, shares his journey from raising $30M for a failed startup to bootstrapping ButcherBox to $550M in revenue. He emphasizes the importance of product-market fit versus investor expectations. Listeners will learn how focusing on customer needs and ditching vanity metrics fueled his success. Mike discusses the benefits of bootstrapping, transforming challenges into opportunities, and the ethical commitment to sustainable meat production. His insights are invaluable for early-stage founders aiming for genuine traction.

Gopi Rangan, Founder of Sure Ventures and a dedicated podcaster, shares insights from his journey investing in 30 early-stage startups. He reveals a three-step framework for identifying the right VCs, emphasizing the importance of business acumen over brand names. Gopi explains how to balance vision and execution in pitches, offering a unique 2-minute test to spot genuine early-stage investors. His practical tips on structuring pitches and strategic networking are essential for founders navigating the challenging pre-seed landscape.

Cardiologist Jim Min is the co-founder of Cleerly, a health tech startup transforming heart attack prevention with AI and advanced coronary scans. He reveals the shocking reality of silent heart attacks and the urgency for early detection. Jim shares the challenges of navigating a slow healthcare system, from FDA approvals to securing funding during the pandemic. He emphasizes the importance of resilience in startup life, illustrating how a mission-driven approach can overcome near-crises and innovate heart health screening.

Adam Robinson, founder of Retention.com, shares his remarkable journey from a stagnant $3M ARR SaaS to a thriving $14M profit venture—without any outside funding. He reveals the pivotal moments that led to true product-market fit and emphasizes focusing on genuine customer engagement rather than growth hacks. Adam highlights his unique brand-marketing approach on LinkedIn that attracted thousands of new leads. His insights on bootstrapping, data privacy, and the significance of authentic word-of-mouth marketing make for an enlightening listen for aspiring founders.

Dan Park, CEO of Clutch and a dynamo in the online used car market, shares his rollercoaster journey from near-bankruptcy to a staggering $400M in sales and a $575M valuation. He reveals the shocking move of cutting 75% of staff, why he turned off test drives, and how rapid iteration became his lifeline. Listen to his candid insights on surviving financial turmoil, restructuring strategies, and the emotional rollercoaster of leading a startup through crises—all while reforming the vehicle sales landscape.

Noah Greenberg grew a content-distribution product from zero to $1M ARR in just one year (and to $4M in 2 years) by focusing on a single channel most founders underrate: LinkedIn. He posted insights daily, highlighted key players in his industry, and made it impossible for prospects not to notice him.In this episode, Noah reveals the exact step-by-step playbook, including how to structure 3-month pilots for fast feedback, craft DMs that actually get replies, and pick the right content “watering holes” so your future customers come to you eager to sign. If you're a founder trying to figure out your go-to-market approach, you need to see what Noah did.______Why You Should Listen1. Turning LinkedIn into a Free PR Engine – Noah shows how daily micro-posts drive high-value leads without needing to go viral.2. Finding Your First 10 Customers with 3-Month Pilots – Short trials = instant feedback on who’ll stay and who’ll churn.3. Never Stop Triangulating – How 50 customer conversations per month reveal the right product, price, and packaging.4. Selling without Selling – The “this isn’t a pitch” call that makes prospects lean in and ask, “Wait, how do we buy?”5. Earning Credibility at Scale – Noah’s “watering hole” posts spark real engagement from decision-makers (and reel in 5-figure deals)._______KeywordsB2B Sales, LinkedIn Strategy, Early-Stage Growth, Founders’ Playbook, Bootstrapped Startup, Content Distribution, Sales Prospecting, Pilot Contracts, Outbound Leads, Product-Market FitTimestamps(00:00:00) Intro(00:02:35) Stacker's Origin Story(00:06:00) How to generate warm leads(00:15:53) How to use LinkedIn for lead gen(00:21:42) No One Wants To Be Pitched(00:26:06) How to get feedback on pricing(00:38:08) LinkedIn Go-To-Market Strategy(00:42:20) Breaking Above The NoiseSend me a message to let me know what you think!