Startups For the Rest of Us

Laura Roeder, founder of Paperbell and former creator of MeetEdgar, shares valuable insights for bootstrapped SaaS founders. She discusses practical steps for hiring your first team member on a budget and the importance of testing pricing with existing customers. Laura highlights targeted content strategies to attract leads and the significance of knowing your best customers. She also emphasizes leveraging limited resources effectively to build a pipeline of potential clients.

Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hammerstone.dev, is a self-taught Rails developer and military spouse. In this insightful discussion, she shares her journey from a stay-at-home mom to a tech entrepreneur. Colleen dives into the challenges of custom reporting, navigating product-market fit, and the ups and downs of startup life. She also reveals the motivations behind joining TinySeed and discusses the risks and ambitions ahead for her AI-powered chatbot business, which is evolving into Hello Query.

Einar Vollset, co-founder of TinySeed and an expert in SaaS investing, shares insights on startup investing strategies. He discusses the waning stigma around bootstrap funding and redefines success beyond billion-dollar exits. The conversation delves into deal flow dynamics, the tricky nature of valuations, and the importance of keeping optionality in investments. Einar highlights TinySeed's unique focus on capital efficiency in supporting ambitious B2B SaaS companies, contrasting it with traditional VC models.

In this discussion, Jane Portman, co-founder of Userlist, shares insights from her seven-year journey in SaaS customer success. She outlines the four stages of their evolution, revealing the challenges of onboarding complex products. Jane highlights the transition to 'done-for-you' services and the importance of leveraging customer feedback. The conversation also touches on the significance of insightful content creation in the SaaS space, emphasizing expertise over superficial articles.

A forward-looking discussion unveils nine bold predictions for the startup landscape in 2025. Trends in AI are reshaping search and advertising dynamics, making AI a standard feature rather than a buzzword. Self-driving taxis are gaining traction, promising safety benefits while challenging traditional transport. Additionally, increasing platform risks loom for entrepreneurs, highlighting the unpredictable nature of platform reliance. Get ready for an evolving tech landscape!

Join Rob as he reflects on the intriguing concepts of 2024! He revisits the 2-20-200 Validation Framework and the eight levels of platform risk. Discover his top five favorite episodes filled with entrepreneurial insights. He also shares personal accomplishments and evaluates his predictions for the year. Plus, get a sneak peek into the return of TinySeed Tales in 2025. It's a candid journey through triumphs and challenges in the SaaS landscape!

Join Tracy Osborn, an active tech influencer and contributor to TinySeed, alongside Einar Vollset, co-founder of TinySeed, as they dive into the rising social media platform Bluesky. They make bold predictions about its future and engage in a friendly bet. The duo also discusses TinySeed's new fundraising efforts and how Y Combinator chooses to support competing startups. They tackle imposter syndrome faced by founders and reflect on the implications of potential social media regulations in Australia, highlighting the balance between freedom and safety.

Selling a business can be an emotional rollercoaster, akin to a divorce, filled with unexpected challenges. Insightful discussions reveal the psychological impacts of this transition and emphasize the importance of planning and mental health. The bond entrepreneurs have with their businesses is compared to parental connections, making the departure even harder. Founders are urged to document their exit visions to navigate this complex journey. Personal anecdotes add depth, turning a daunting topic into relatable and useful guidance.

Explore the significance of embracing hard work and resilience in entrepreneurship, likening it to bison facing storms. Discover the tough decisions entrepreneurs must navigate, including workforce changes and how to confront challenges head-on. Learn about a strategic framework: make it work, make it right, and make it fast. Plus, understand the importance of long-term thinking in scaling your business and building your intuition as a founder.

Wes Bush, CEO and Founder of ProductLed and a well-known author on product-led growth, shares his insights on this strategic approach. He clarifies misconceptions around product-led growth, emphasizing the importance of delivering value to users from the start. Wes contrasts product-led and traditional sales-led methods, illustrating his points with case studies. He also discusses effective marketing strategies and the nuances of pricing models, all while debunking the myth that a good product sells itself.