MicroConf On Air (Rob Walling)

The hosts of the SaaS Podcast Award nominated Software Social Podcast join Rob to chat about all things SaaS, early stage marketing strategies, and more. 

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Michele Hansen @mjwhansen 

Co-founder of Geocodio @geocodio, A geocoding SaaS, which she and her husband started in 2014. It started as a side project and she went full time in 2017. She is co-host of Software Social Podcast, which was nominated in several categories for MicroConf's 2020 SaaS Podcast Awards. She also recently launched a free newsletter about customer research for bootstrappers. 

Colleen Schnettler @leenyburger

Colleen  is a Ruby on Rails consultant. She has spoken at both RailsConf and RubyConf, and loves being part of the developer community.She recently launched her first product - https://www.simplefileupload.com/. You can hear all about her journey launching and monetizing a software product on her podcast - Software Social. She's a mother and a military spouse and loves chatting about all things software and business.

• When did you start your show, and why?
• Have you received any benefit from having a podcast, or is it just for fun?
• How long do you plan to share revenue on the show?
• How much time (and money) do you dedicate to the podcast outside of the time "on air"? 
• How do (did) you foster a growth mindset? How did you develop the mindset to ship things without the need for immediate payoff?

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Just as designers benefit from learning a little bit about programming, programmers, marketers, product managers, and salesfolk, can benefit from learning a little bit about design.

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Tracy Osborn is the Program Manager of TinySeed, Founder of WeddingLovely, and an all around genius when it comes to operational efficiency and web design.  Her book, Hello Web Design, will be published nationally, and is available for pre-order at https://nostarch.com/hello-web-design. 

What elements should you consider when making a choice about fonts for your website?

"Too many cooks spoil the broth": does too many designers spoil the design too? 

What factors should founders consider when getting a logo designed? Should they always go bespoke? What's the cost for a custom logo design generally?

I find that most dev-tools screenshots of their features can be a bit busy or boring (sometimes it’s code, numbers, analytics etc.). Any design advice for dev-tool SaaS companies to help visualize these features where screenshots of their product might not work well? 

When you're looking at a website, what are 2-3 things you always look at to evaluate how "well" it is designed?

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We’re fortunate to be continuously amazed by the quality and number of applicants for TinySeed’s annual accelerator program: https://tinyseed.com #tinyseed

In total, we’ve received nearly 2,000 applications across our three accelerator batches. And with each successive batch, the quality of applications has grown alongside the percentage of companies with higher revenue. This round’s batch is also our most international to date, with seven founders based outside the U.S.

We’re proud to welcome these 18 startups to our 2021 accelerator program: 

→ Aurelius (https://www.aureliuslab.com) is an all-in-one space for researchers to organize notes, capture insights, analyze data and share outcomes with their team. 

→ Breachsense (https://breachsense.io/) enables security teams to reset stolen usernames and passwords before criminals exploit them.

→ CloudForecast (https://www.cloudforecast.io/) eliminates wasted costs in AWS without significant engineering resources. Through easy-to-understand daily email and Slack reports, engineering teams can quickly react to cost anomalies and mistakes that can often sit for weeks.

→ CraftyBase (https://craftybase.com) is an inventory and bookkeeping package for handmade sellers.

→ Harbor Plan (https://www.harborplan.com/) is an out-of-the-box sales tool that enables non-tech savvy users to follow up automatically via email and text message. The software extracts a lead’s contact info as soon as it lands in the user’s inbox, sending a campaign of built-in content until the lead responds or books a consult.

→ Lasso Analytics (https://getlasso.co/) Analytics is the all-in-one affiliate marketing plugin for WordPress. Lasso helps you create beautiful product displays, find new affiliate opportunities, and easily manage all of your important links in one place.

→ Lexgo (https://www.lexgo.cl/) is the first automated legal service for startups in Latin America, enabling founders to complete their legal processes faster and at a fraction of the cost of a lawyer. 

→ Localyser (https://www.localyser.com/) is an online reputation management solution that helps businesses manage all of their reviews from across multiple platforms all from one place. Whether you manage one brand or several, one listing or a chain, our easy-to-use dashboard allows you to monitor, respond, analyze, and generate more reviews quickly.

→ Monolith Forensics (https://monolithforensics.com/) is case, evidence, and lab management software for digital forensics labs and teams.

→ MSPCFO (https://www.mspcfo.com/) leverages data in a managed services provider’s systems to identify actionable items that can drive growth and stability to the bottom line. 

→ NewsCatcher (https://newscatcherapi.com/) allows users to search through an indexed database of online-published news articles in near real-time.

→ Planifi (http://www.planifi.net) provides project and resource planning for arch...

Entrepreneurship is moving at a breakneck speed to keep ahead of the curve and create without getting overtaken by your nearest competitor.  If you aren't learning the market your business serves and the intricacies of it's consumers quickly, then you'll never keep up with their needs.  

Anders Thue Pedersen experienced that outpacing while he was building his last business, TimeBlock.  Learn how changed his mindset to a constant state of curiosity and how he is applying that framework to his new product, Mælt.co.

Inspiration ➡️ https://twitter.com/andersthue/status...​

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Watch the video recording at https://youtu.be/eRbQOuuW-FQ

MicroConf has been around for a decade now and do we have some stories.  If you've ever had any questions about what it takes to produce MicroConf, how we pivoted from an in person event to a digital community, or any other random question you have about MicroConf in general, we'll get those answered for you.  

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Xander Castro is the Events Director for MicroConf.  He joined the team back in 2014 as a freelance coordinator and has been producing MicroConf and MicroConf Europe ever since.  In 2019, Xander was hired as a full time producer for the MicroConf and TinySeed team and has lead the charge on the expansion of the MicroConf brand, community, and digital presence ever since. 

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Curious about TinySeed, MicroConf's accelerator and fund? The TinySeed accelerator team (Tracy Osborn, Rob Walling, and Einar Vollset) recorded this live webinar to answer questions about their third application round.

Jump to a question:

2:43 - Why is it called TinySeed?

8:52 - What are TinySeed's basic investment terms?

13:55 - Do we invest in non-US countries?

16:03 - Do we invest in B2B companies?

18:34 - Is there a requirement for the application process?

21:43 - What is your policy against repeat investment in the same space?

22:48 - How many months would you estimate the churn rate over for small business?

24:24 - I feel our evaluation now may be above the standard investment terms for TinySeed. Will there be any flexibility in terms?.

25:08 - What industries or companies did you see thriving this year due to COVID?

25:55 - We just started providing annual payments were people can pay in advance for a year — should we advertise those when calculating MRR in our application ?

26:55 - My SaaS isn't launched yet but it's making a $1000 or more in the MRR — am I right for the program?

27:36 - I believe you looking to fund to 20 to 25 companies, which is 2 times more than previous batches. How will you maintain the camaraderie and intimacy the with a bigger batch?

31:46 - We have a B2B SaaS system, we have 15000 active free users and 25 paying customers — 15000 looks better than 25, which one should I use for customers?

32:30 - Is Edu/Research Tech under your domain?

33:05 - Do you have a preferred formula for LTV?

35:04 - Can salary cap be adjusted with inflation overtime, or market changes?

36:16 - Is the investor dividend based on equity?

36:30 - If there are multiple founders, do you require all founders to be full time?

38:00 - What factors do you look at before onboarding a company?

40:25 - Is there an option to buy your shares out?

42:43 - Do you invest in S-Corps?

44:32 - What is the process and timeline after the application has been submitted?

46:19 - How do you approach the application if you had previously had a SaaS?

47:00 - What happens after the accelerator year?

50:18 - When is the next application process and when is the next batch?

51:16 - If you're recently launched, should I apply now (to be on the radar) or later?

52:12 - In your application, you ask the number of team size — is this the number of founders?

55:04 - How do you compute monthly churns, if only yearly churns are counted?

56:07 - Is growth more important than profitability?

57:25 - Apart from investing, what else can we get from TinySeed? 

TinySeed, MicroConf's venture fund and SaaS accelerator, is launching their Fall 2021 accelerator batch this week.

When Sabba Keynejad started VEED, he knew that he wanted to build the company as a bootstrapped business. Founded in 2018, the business has been growing steadily over the past 3 years, and with the boom in video content over the past year and a half, the impact was palpable.

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There is power in numbers and developing communities around your brand, your product, and your users can be a great strategy to ensure customer and client satisfaction.

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Rosie Sherry has just started a new role with Orbit.love and has been serving as the Community Manager for Indie Hackers before launching her Community Building hub, community and course, Roiseland.

I want to build a community but I feel there are already so many communities existing out there targeting the same audience ... feels saturated - your view ?

What went into the decision of using Discord? Pros? Cons?

Are you worried about what's going on with Facebook and Section 230? Could it kill the small online communities?

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At MicroConf, we have been fortunate to have the support of some incredible sponsors to help us invite guests to our events on a scholarship program. This week, we're going check in on one of those scholarship recipients, Veni Kunche, founder of DiversifyTech.co We ask Veni about her experience at MicroConf, how she decided to build and launch DiversifyTech, and how she has continue to grow and monetize this social good service.

The State of Independent SaaS Survey is now open!  Help us develop critical analysis of the current world of Independent SaaS by heading over to http://stateofindiesaas.com.

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This far huh? 

On this week's episode of MicroConf On Air, we covered a few questions that have come in over the last few months that we haven't been able to address during the livestream.  

Thanks to our 2020 Headline Sponsors, Stripe and Basecamp. 

If you want to join the conversation, you can tune in live on Wednesday @ 1:00 PM ET at microconfonair.com

We're welcoming co-founder of Snappa, Christopher Gimmer, to talk about SEO, content development, YouTube, and how each of those pieces, done correctly, can create a flywheel for your startup.

Check out more talks from Christopher ➡️ https://microconf.com/speakers/christopher-gimmer

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During this conversation with Rand Fishkin, the CEO and Co-Founder of SparkToro, we are chatting about high quality web marketing opportunities and how to make the most out of those outlets.

Rand mentions a few resources: 

Communities for Marketers:
Coywolf Community
Data Driven U

Check out Rand's Blog Post, "119 Examples of 10X Content (by Rand Fishkin) | SparkToro"

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Today, we're joined by MicroConf Connect members Edwin Williams, Founder of ZenHammer, and Tony Chan, Founder of CloudForecast.

If you want to be featured on our Founder Spotlight series, join MicroConf Connect @ www.microconfconnect.com.

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Meryl Johnston is the co-founder of Bean Ninja's, a productized service built around Xero accounting and bookkeeping software. During this conversation, Rob and Meryl discuss the pro's and con's of productized services, how to build a product that is centered around a service that you don't own, and more.

We also announced MicroConf Remote, our first virtual conference taking place on August 26th, 2020. For tickets, head over to http://microconfremote.com

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This week, we are joined by Thomas Smale, Co-Founder of FE International and Owner of SaaSMag to talk about how traditional media can be leveraged by startup foudners.  

We also capitalize on Thomas' expertise in Mergers and Acquisitions in this episode, talking ahout buying and selling business, available funding strategies for acquiring businesses.  

Tickets for MicroConf Remote are now on sale, grab your tickets at http://microconfremote.com.

We had some issues with the recording, so this is a truncated version of this weeks episode.  

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Jessica Baldwin and Joshua Toenyes, the Co-Founders of Cardsetter, were seeking funding options in early 2020. Then the pandemic hit and their funding options seemed to run dry. As a result, the spent the last 5 months doubling down on growth, more than 5x-ing their customer base.

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This week, we've invited Sumit Kumar (@TweetsOfSumit), Founder of Geoman.io - a B2C product that allows users to draw and edit geodata with our intuitive and powerful leaflet plugins and Tresor.one, an automated portfolio management tool.

This poses the question - what does it take to build and support two businesses as an indie funded SaaS founder? And what can you expect from working with two very different audiences in a B2B and a B2C space.

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Bootstrapping SaaS can be a bit... lonely. Lots of folks are working from home, might only have a couple of colleagues that they can bounce ideas off of.

We're excited to chat with Irma Mesa, the founder of Cafecito (https://meetcafecito.com), as she is actively building a SaaS company that combats that sense of isolation.

The 2021 State of Independent SaaS Survey is now open for responses. Help us pull back the curtain on the how the bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped founders have faired this year.

Complete the survey at http://stateofindiesaas.com

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We had some issues with the original recording of this episode, so we've gone ahead and added a new version - hopefully this one works for everyone!  Sorry for the inconvenience! 

As you are seeking out product market fit, it is important to consider the path you forge into that market. Will you be competing for every customer against a crowded or competitive market because you think you can do it... better? Or will you forge your way into a deeper niche that may leave you to early to be noticed?

We invited Derrick Reimer, who just finished building SavvyCal, an easier way to create schedule appointments, and co-founded Drip with Rob.

When you're staring down the landscape and you see giant competitors like MailChimp or Calendly, what does that decision making process look like, and how do you carve out your own share of that market from those giants.

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As we continue to evolve the MicroConf On Air Podcast, we have decided to move into a more open call for questions from the audience rather than a straightforward interview format.  

Host Rob Walling is joined today by Matt Wensing, the founder of Summit (http://usesummit.com) and RiskPulse, which was recently sold. 

In this episodes, we cover the following questions: 

 - When is Matt are you going to start hiring a team for Summit? When does he anticipate he will hit a growth stage within the company?

-My product is a social intranet software sort of like microsoft teams/facebook combined, so we deal with B2B. A lot of my competitors make it very difficult for their customers to sign up, do not give free trials or freemium, you have to fill out a form for a demo or to get signed up. Is there some sort of hidden advantage to being difficult to get started with?  Is there an advantage to weeding people out or what exactly is the goal here?

-How do you think non-American startups should forecast currency fluctuations if most customers are in the US paying in dollars?

-What does Summit do? At what stage in my business is it for me?

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Bootstrapping V. Venture Capital. This is an ongoing discussion in the SaaS startup community for the last decade . The question is less about the how, and more often about the why and when. MicroConf has always advocated for self-funding and customer centered entrepreneurship, while venture capital can be a chase for profit.

We're chatting this week with Hana Mohan, founder of MagicBell.io (https://magicbell.io) about her experience bootstrapping her last company (SupportBee) to $45K MRR and deciding to accept YC funding in 2021 after her exit.

Hana is the co-founder & CEO of MagicBell. She is a proud transgender woman who is passionate about empowering women & other minorities. She lives in Barcelona with her two cats.

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In a recent blog post (https://allisonseboldt.com/september-2020/), Allison Seboldt, Founder of Fantasy Congress, pondered whether right now was the time to put a pause on her plans for the expansion of the product.

During this conversation, Rob and Allison will chat about some of the elements that go into what that decision means, what steps to take to let things run on autopilot, and what comes next.

Allison is a self taught developer and bootstrapping enthusiast. After working as a web developer for four years, she quit corporate life to pursue her passion project. Fantasy Congress is an online game that puts a fantasy sports spin on politics. Players draft members of Congress for their team and earn points based on legislative actions like votes, sponsoring bills, and debating on the chamber floor.

Fantasy Congress is intended to be a fun way to connect with friends while also helping people stay engaged and informed in the political process.

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Transcript

Hitting the Pause Button On Your SaaS with Allison Seboldt

Rob Walling: [00:00:00] And we're live. Welcome to this week's MicroConf On Air. I'm your host, Rob walling, every Wednesday, 1:00 PM. Eastern 10:00 AM. Pacific. We live stream. For 30 minutes and we covered topics related to building and growing ambitious SaaS startups that bring us freedom and purpose and allow us to value and maintain healthy relationships.

We believe that showing up every day, shipping that next feature, next piece of marketing copy or closing your next sale is a way to build a sustainable company. We don't ask for permission to start companies. We build and ship real products. So the real customers pay us real money. Welcome to MicroConf On Air.

You may be able to hear my dog in the background. This is live streaming in a pandemic. I have a couple of children at home, as well as a Sharpie who is steadfastly guarding the front door. Today. We are talking about hitting the pause button on your SaaS. It's a, an interesting topic. And a new one that I don't think I've covered before, where they're on this, this show or on other podcasts that I've done.

I am pretty excited to dive into this. My guest today is Allison Seboldt. Of Fantasy Congress. She's the founder of Fantasy Congress @ fantasycongress.com. Allison is a self taught developer and a bootstrapping enthusiast. After working as a web developer for four years, she quit corporate life to pursue her passion project, which is Fantasy  Congress.

Fantasy Congress is an online game that puts a fantasy sports spin on politics. Players draft members  of U.S. Congress. I love this for their team and earn points based on legislative activities, actions like votes, sponsoring bills and debating on the chamber floor. Fantasy Congress is intended to be a fun way to connect with friends while also helping people stay engaged and informed in the political process.

So again, we're going to be talking today a little bit about, building and loans and putting Fantasy Congress on pause for the moment.

 We're going to dive in. So Allison, welcome to the show.

Coming to you in the last 24 hours to apply for TinySeed!

Learn what joining a remote startup accelerator is like from Tony Chan, co-founder of CloudForecast.io, who was accepted into the Spring 2021 batch of TinySeed, the MicroConf Startup Accelerator and Fund. 

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Tony is a member of the MicroConf Connect community from launch and has been building CloudForecast, an AWS cost management tool that helps engineering teams monitor and eliminate wasted spend without spending.  He is a 3x applicant to TinySeed, having applied over each of the application rounds. 

TinySeed is currently accepting applications for the Fall 2021 batch of companies that we will welcome into our accelerator.  If you'd like to apply, head over to https://tinyseed.com/apply

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The inimitable Steli Efti has been a leader in the startup and SaaS sales landscape for years. Check out this live Q+A focused on sales processes.

- Any tips on how I can use to my advantage the fact that I am a client as well as a co-founder in marketing, sales or during onboarding calls? 2- I have had extensive success in Marketing & Sales in the Sports & leisure industry selling an in-person Service in the B2C world. Any tips on how to translate those skills into the SaaS and B2B world?

- If you were to start a CRM system today from scratch, how would you try to launch and build it up in todays world? From Max Sinclair a big fan and user of Close

- How do you know when to put a fork in a cold outreach campaign?

- Any advice for selling to non-technical industries when your domain expertise is in tech & not their field?

- What are the best sales books?

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Hiring your first team member is a huge milestone in creating a team that can advance the mission and values that are core to your SaaS Business.  In this episode, with Natalie Luneva, the SaaS Boss, we're going to talk about when you should make those hires, how to decide which position you should hire first, and the characteristics of a high performing remote team. 

Natalie is a growth and team performance coach to SaaS founders. Drawing from 10+ years of marketing and team leadership experience, and being married to a bootstrapped SaaS founder, she helps SaaS companies identify and implement high ROI opportunities, clarify business priorities and scale.

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Finding product market fit is not an overnight process.  It's almost impossible to strike that sweet spot at the onset of your product idea - even if you have some degree of validation.  

https://microconfonair.com

According to the State of Independent Saas (https://stateofindiesaas.com) the majority of founders originally validated their idea by building out an MVP or prototype, but the likelihood that they found PMF with just that prototype seems unlikely.  

Maren Kate has spent the last 3 years bootstrapping AvraTalent, and has some thoughts on the various markers to watch out for on the journey to Product Market Fit.  

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Mentorship for SaaS Founders can mean the difference between the slow SaaS ramp of death and making the critical changes to your process that helps get you to consistent growth.

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John Knox is a repeat Angel Investor in some of the most successful mobile and SaaS brands, including Summit, Branch, and 1 Second Everyday. He is a current Mentor for TinySeed, and his insights and network are huge assets to the companies he provides mentorship for.

- Do you follow up on the people you help with a specific problem to see how it went and find further opportunities to help? How do organize this?

- Any recommendations on how to become more coachable?

- Can you talk about what’s in it for the mentor if they're not an investor?

​- How formal are the mentorships you're talking about? Is there an equity split, consistent scheduled meetings, or is it more informal?

- I am at the MVP stage and in the process of promoting my SaaS. It’s going slowly due to lack of budget. Any thoughts on how to speed up growth on a budget?

MicroConf Remote (https://microconfremote.com) is on sale! The event is scheduled for March 23 - 25 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM EST Daily.

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This week, Rob is joined by Jessica Malnik, our MicroConf Community Manager, to talk about the future of MicroConf Connect, the community, and we introduce the MicroConf Accountability Challenge.

Join our January Accountability Challenge and get a head start on your 2022 goals.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” This is a quote from James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits. (Good read btw!)

The end of December and the beginning of January are a natural time to reflect and set goals.

These goals can provide the necessary vision and direction.

However, setting goals without a detailed plan for how you will hit them is a recipe for failure. The difference between smashing your goal and falling shot often lies in the tiny habits and wins along the way—the 5, 15, or 60 minutes you are spending each day directly focused on one thing that will help you reach your goal.

That’s what inspired the idea behind this community accountability challenge.

For the month of January, we’re going to post an accountability thread in the #hallway-track channel every Monday.

Join MicroConf Connect ➡️ https://microconfconnect.com

All you have to do is share one tiny thing you plan to accomplish this week that will get you one step closer to reaching your goal. :muscle:

Then, on Friday, when you complete that task, post about it in the #tiny-wins channel so we can cheer you on. :tada:

Here is an examples of what this could look like:

Let’s say your big, scary goal for 2022 is to Reduce churn by 10%. Trying to achieve this in a month, a quarter, or even 6 months is hard. However, you can break this goal into 50+ tiny tasks that need to happen and will get you closer to this goal. The key is that each task shouldn’t take more than a week to finish (ideally far less time than that!)

Here are some examples of tiny tasks that can get you closer to your goal:

Week 1 task - Send a NPS survey to your...

We're talking with Bet Hannon about the in's and out's of accessible design in a digital landscape.

The application for TinySeed’s Fall 2021 SaaS accelerator batch of startups will open for two weeks starting on August 9th, 2021.

Watch the video recording of the Fall 2021 Batch Info Session here: https://youtu.be/6dqTClonO2Y

Interested in applying? Join us for an info session with the TinySeed team to talk about the application process, what to expect as a member of TinySeed, and some of the things we are looking for in companies we welcome into the fold.

https://tinyseed.com

#tinyseed

We’ve written a few posts that might be helpful if you’re considering applying:

— Our Fall 2021 application announcement: https://tinyseed.com/latest/tinyseeds-fall-2021-application-announcement

— Preview our Fall 2021 application and requirements in this overview: https://tinyseed.com/latest/2021-application-preview

— Curious about what it's like being a TinySeed founder?

Part 1 - https://tinyseed.com/latest/whats-it-like-being-a-tinyseed-founder

Part 2 - https://tinyseed.com/latest/part-2-tinyseed-founder

Should you bootstrap your business or get venture capital? If you're a bootstrapping startup and things get tight, you may consider vc funding for startups instead. But is it the right move? Or maybe you did get venture capital, and now you're wishing you hadn't. In today's video, I'll help you understand both options so you can make the best decision for your SaaS business or startup.

What to Watch Next:

Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped SaaS ➡️ https://bit.ly/ideal-bootstrapped-saas

Building Your First Bootstrapped SaaS: The Ultimate Playlist ➡️https://bit.ly/build-your-first-saas

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E-mail ➡️ support@microconf.com MicroConf 2021

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In this episode of On-Air, Jesse Mecham, the founder of You Need A Budget, joins @RobWalling to chat about why core values and culture truly matter. Jesse also gives an update on how YNAB has grown since he gave his talk at MicroConf in 2014.

If you haven't seen the talk, you should check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jw8N7YrBM4o

Change is tough. The decision to charge more for your software can be one of the biggest changes you can make - impacting your customers in a pretty meaningful way. This episode dives into the pricing and rebranding that his startup had to go through.

Eran Galperin is the founder of Gymdesk, online management software for gyms. He has been building tech companies since 2003 and has over 20 years of experience in software development and leading product teams.

Episode will cover: - How our value proposition changed over the years - Planning for and rolling out a pricing update - Reasons and considerations for a rebrand - Executing a rebrand and dealing with the fallout

In this episode, Rob Walling (@robwalling) chats with Tony Chan (@toeknee123) from CloudForecast.io about key takeaways from the recent MicroConf Growth in Minneapolis. 

_______________________

Links from this pod:

Tickets for MicroConf Remote 4.0:$$$, on May 3-5th are on sale at microconf.com/remote

Also, tickets for our next MicroConf Local:London on May 18 are on sale here: https://microconf.com/local-london  

A Rob Q+A Solo Adventure! Rob Walling answered listener questions live from MicroConf Connect (https://microconfconnect.com).

Topics Covered:

• What are three key tips for pre-launch, pre-revenue to make sure that you absolutely must do?

• What has the body of a Unicorn and the head of a Pegasus?

• How was launching Tiny Seed Tales different than Startups for the Rest of Us podcast? What's changed in terms of "podcast launch strategy" since then?

• How to deal with anxiety when launching starting something new?

• Picking Customer Pain for my companies segment, as opposed to Competitor Pain and general observations about SaaS for non-technical customers.

• If Rob was starting over today and trying to find a ".Net invoicing" to acquire and iterate on, where would he look?

• Where should the balance fall between domain knowledge, industry connections and general sales skills when hiring your first sales person?

• What is the best thing to do if revenue has plateaued?

• What advice do you have for staying positive in spite of frequent fires caused by platform risk?

• How to find a good SaaS idea?

Links and books from this episode:

• The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick

• List of SaaS Marketplaces

• If you are interested in speaking at any MicroConf event, head to microconf.com/call-for-speakers and fill out the form.

• Tickets for our next MicroConf Local:London on May 18 are on sale here: https://microconf.com/local-london 

Staying sane as an entrepreneur is not always easy. In this episode, Rob talks with Sherry Walling to chat about the habits of successful entrepreneurs.

This episode is sponsored by our Alternative Financing Partner, Pipe.

Do you need growth capital to scale, ramp up your marketing, and acquire new customers?

Pipe turns your recurring revenue into up-front growth capital within as little as 24 hours of being connected.

Pipe is a two-sided trading platform for recurring revenue that connects you directly to the capital markets. Simply sign up for free, securely connect your billing, banking, and accounting software with a couple of clicks, and Pipe will provide you with a trading limit in as little as 24hrs. Select the amount of capital you need, click trade, and get cash in your bank instantly. No 30 page business plans or founder due diligence - just growth capital based on the health of your business - perfect for time-strapped bootstrappers.

You can use your Piped revenue to grow your sales team, boost ad spend, and scale however you see fit. Pipe is growth on your terms.

And right now, MicroConf listeners get trading fees waived for 12 months which could save you tens of thousands of dollars depending on the size of your business and the volume you trade.

Sign up at http://www.pipe.com/MicroConf to start trading today.

Topics covered:

[3:45] Habit #1: Have a sense of intentionality in how you work

[6:45] Habit #2: Focus- avoid Shiny Object Syndrome

[7:45] Challenge with focus is the shadow side of a great entrepreneurial strength

[10:15] Habit #3: Invest in relationships

[13:45] Habit #4: Have something else to care about

[15:45] Getting better sleep & ‘turning off’ after a day of work

[16:45] Habit #5: Be willing to take risks and make mistakes

[19:45] De-risking the small things

[23:00] Habit #6: Move quickly

Books Mentioned in the Show:

Touching Two Worlds (https://www.touchingtwoworlds.com/) by Sherry Walling

Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together (https://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Keeping-Your-Together/dp/0999651803) by Sherry Walling & Rob Walling

Why We Sleep (https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Matthew-Walker-audiobook/dp/B0752XRB5F) by Matthew Walker

Science of Sleep (https://www.amazon.com/Science-Sleep-What-Works-Matters/dp/022638716X) by Wallace B. Mendelson

If you are looking to start selling to customers and earning money on the internet - building a SaaS is rarely going to be the best way to get started. The Stair step Approach to Bootstrapping (microconf.com/stairstep) is a method that Rob Walling charted out in 2015 and it has helped thousands of entrepreneurs slowly build their chops online, find a way to buy back their time from an employer, and build a business that creates financial independence.

In today’s episode of MicroConf On Air, we’re going to take a look a prime example of the Stairstep Approach in Action by talking to Corey Haines (@CoreyHainesco https://twitter.com/coreyhainesco), who is currently leading Swipefiles (https://www.swipefiles.com/), a community focused on growth marketing strategies.

We’ll chat about Corey’s journey up the stair step method, from his two courses, content marketing as a funnel, community building to find his audience, and finally, his focus on SaaS marketing and increasing his prices to get to a position that has him Default Alive and building on the success of SwipeFiles.

Learn more about the stairstep approach straight from the source.

https://microconf.com/latest/the-stairstep-approach-to-bootstrapping

In this episode, you'll hear the following:

Corey's First Step: (9:20)

What SaaS ideas Cory would avoid (13:00)

How Corey acquired his marketing skills (16:45)

Advice for marketing to customers who aren't that active online (21:50)

Corey's Next Steps (29:05)

Advice for absolute SaaS beginners (40:00)

Leapfrogging early stair steps (41:30)

Advice to consultancy owner on starting the stairsteps (44:40)

Advice on translating websites (49:00)

Book mentioned in the show:

The Ultimate Sales Machine (https://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Sales-Machine-audiobook/dp/B000VRA0ZW/) by Chet Holmes

The Updated Survival Guide for Bootstrapping SaaS

A few years ago, Omar Zenhom shared the story of how it went from being broke with fewer than 300 people on his email list to having 14,000 paying customers and 1 million attendees for WebinarNinja in 5 years. 

We recently caught up with him to hear what he's been up to with WebinarNinja since then. 

In this podcast, you'll hear about the following:

Setting goals and managing growth projections (6:11)

How WebinarNinja fared in the spring of summer of 2020 (6:57)

The specific adjustments he made to the company structure when the pandemic first started back in 2020 (13:40)

How his team structure has evolved since 2019 (26:55)

Where he sees the webinar landscape heading in the next 3-5 years (33:05)

The most surprising thing he’s learned to date running WebinarNinja (37:16)

Relevant links mentioned in this episode:

https://twitter.com/TheOmarZenhom https://webinarninja.com/

https://100mba.net/ https://microconf.com/upcoming-events

https://microconfremote.com

https://microconfconnect.com/

https://microconf.com/

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With applications for our next round of companies to join the TinySeed Accelerator program in full swing, we are sitting down with Alex McQuade, Program Manager for TinySeed EMEA to talk about his goals for launching a successful EMEA focused accelerator for bootstrapped startup founders.

Alex McQuade has worked alongside hundreds of bootstrapped businesses, in addition to growing his own. He exited his business in 2020, and prior to that ran operations at the Dynamite Circle

Watch the live stream @ https://bit.ly/on-air-tinyseed-europe 

Welcome to MicroConf - Where Independent SaaS Founders Launch, Meet, Learn, and Grow! MicroConf is the world’s most trusted community for bootstrapped SaaS founders.

MicroConf is a community of SaaS founders that brings together bootstrapped and independently-funded B2B SaaS companies who are not looking to chase “unicorn status'' or venture capital.

We provide SaaS training, education and networking opportunities for other founders who are pre-product, focused on scaling their business, and looking for an exit strategy.

MicroConf began almost a decade ago. Since then, we’ve hosted 19 events with nearly 200 speakers, helped thousands of attendees, and impacted tens of thousands more through our videos and online community.

Ready to take your SaaS startup to the next level? Check these out:

In Person Events:

https://microconf.com/upcoming-events

Digital Events: https://microconfremote.com

MicroConf Connect: https://microconfconnect.com/

Let’s Connect...

TinySeed, the MicroConf Startup Accelerator and Fund, announced their Investment Syndicate today.

Join the co-founders of TinySeed, Rob Walling and Einar Vollset, as we discuss what it means to be an investment syndicate, how it can help startup founders more broadly than our accelerator program, and more.

At TinySeed we operate several funds, all with the same underlying thesis: Invest broadly into the earliest stages of B2B SaaS companies worldwide.

Typically, the kinds of companies we back are early stage — usually, $3-15k MRR at the time of application (although the range is much wider) — and those investments join our year-long remote accelerator in batches. The TinySeed Funds do not invest directly into any TinySeed company that decides to raise additional funding (a so-called “follow-on” round), or make any other kinds of investments.

microconf.com
MicroConf 2015

There are 2 obstacles getting in the way of your visitors clicking your buttons: friction and anxiety. In this short presentation, see how both may be holding your CTR back - and what we've done to reduce friction and neutralize anxiety. (With data from A/B tests we ran in 2013 and 2014 on button copy.) Oh, and find out what the hell we mean by ""lizards thru doorways""... and how that little phrase can make all the difference for your button click-thrus. By Joanna Wiebe of Copy Hackers (copyhackers.com).

Check out Joanna’s MicroConf speakers page for more talk’s ➡️ https://microconf.com/speakers/joanna-wiebe

MicroConf Growth 2019

Chris Savage, Wistia

Most founders dream of building a product that eventually becomes a household name and sells for a billion dollars, but chasing that goal comes with some downsides. We chose a different path.

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Ben has a theory: Developers who create digital products or SaaS apps tend to screw up in predictable ways. They are particularly likely to under-invest in marketing and sales, and will tend to over-automate. Worst of all, they almost always charge too little. After years of making these mistakes himself, Ben will share some hard-won tips for avoiding them. (Sorry in advance, but the answer is rarely "write more code.")

Access the first video in the Building Your First SaaS Business series, Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business by Jason Cohen, which was featured on the MicroConf Refresh Episode 2: https://microconfpodcast.com/episodes/microconf-refresh-episode-2-designing-the-ideal-bootstrapped-business-jason-cohen-founder-wp-engine

Check out Ben’s MicroConf page for more talks → https://microconf.com/speakers/ben-or... https://microconf.com

MicroConf Starter 2017 #microconf #microconfstarter2017 #microconf2017

MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2020 Headline Partners ► Stripe https://stripe.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe ►

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Rob Walling tells the story of launching Drip to $7k in MRR and then struggling to find product/market fit. He walks through the steps he took to get there, and his thought process along the way, including a revenue chart of the substantial growth Drip experienced after product/market fit.

Check out Rob’s MicroConf speakers page for more talks → https://microconf.com/speakers/rob-wa...

Rob's homepage → https://robwalling.com

MicroConf 2015 #microconf #microconf2015 https://microconf.com MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2020 Headline Partners

► Stripe

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Think you can't aggressively acquire customers using outbound sales for SaaS? Think it's too expensive, too inefficient, too distracting? Think again. You can do it. Jordan Gal show you how he and his team does it for CartHook.

From list building, to qualification research, to cold email automation, to scheduling demos. Everything from faceless prospect to free trial to paying customer. It's all outsourced, affordable, and scalable. And Jordan will show you how to put the whole thing together.

https://microconf.com #microconf #microconf2015 MicroConf 2015

Check out Jordan’s MicroConf speakers page for more talks → https://microconf.com/speakers/jordan...

MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2020 Headline Partners

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Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe

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Steli Efti (Close) talks at MicroConf 2015 on how to build your own SaaS sales machine if you don't have piles of money from venture capitalists lying around.

In this video, you're going to learn the core principles of selling, how to write emails that get opened, why 90% of success is in the follow-up, and more.

Check out Steli’s MicroConf speakers page for more talks ➡️ https://microconf.com/speakers/steli-...

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MicroConf 2015

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MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

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E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2020 Headline Partners

► Stripe https://stripe.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe

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Twitter → https://twitter.com/Basecamp

Everyone wants the formula, the recipe, the framework that says how to make the magic happen. Well here you have it. With The Dinner Party Strategy you can now confidently create an email onboarding strategy for your trial customers.

In less time than it takes a hipster bartender to make your locally sourced craft cocktail, you'll get the simple 6-part framework that builds connection, adds value, and drives revenue for your brand.

https://microconf.com

MicroConf Growth 2017

#microconf #microconfgrowth2017 #microconf2017

MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2020 Headline Partners

► Stripe

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Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe

► Basecamp

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Twitter → https://twitter.com/Basecamp

Learn how to offer your customers amazing support over email and Twitter, create a fanatical user base, and how to avoid the quagmire of 1-star reviews.

Check out Sarah’s MicroConf speakers page for more talks → https://microconf.com/speakers/sarah-...

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MicroConf 2012

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E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2020 Headline Partners

► Stripe https://stripe.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe

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Twitter →https://twitter.com/Basecamp

Rob Walling: [00:00:00] this week's MicroConf refresh episode where we play the audio of a past. MicroConf talk. Usually one of the top rated talks of all time. I am your host, Rob Walling, and today's talk is from 2012. We are going back in the archives. The talk is from Sarah Hatter of Co-Support. And it's called Cheap and Easy Customer Support.

She says, learn how to offer your customers amazing support over email and Twitter, create a fanatical user base and how to avoid the quagmire of a one-star reviews. Sarah Hatter is a multi-time Microcom speaker, and she has forgotten more about customer support than most of us will ever learn. So I hope you enjoy this talk from Sarah Hatter.

Sarah Hatter: [00:00:49] yeah. Hi everybody. This is going to be super fun because I'm weaseled my way into getting my Q and a stuff built into my time. So we're going to do three things in my talk. We're gonna talk about who I am, why I'm here. We're going to do some real world examples of how you guys can be doing support faster, better, easier, cheaper, smarter, funnier, all that stuff.

And then if you, once I thought that we could also do. Sorta some life lessons about, Ooh, sorry, starting a business because I've only been in this business...

Knowing of which metrics to track, and which to ignore, is an essential part of growing your SaaS business. The ability to filter out good, actionable, data from the ever-present noise that just distracts you is what separates many successful businesses from the ones that never get off the ground. By creating a system of how you can collect, review, and take action on the data in your business you'll be able to take action with confidence that your business is going in the right direction.

https://microconf.com

#microconf #microconfeurope2019

MicroConf Europe 2019

Castos: Podcast hosting and analytics tool.

https://castos.com

Join the conversation → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

http://microconfremote.com

It takes a ton of methodical, strategic steps to get any product off the ground. For some, they fear launching before the product is perfect; others may launch way to early, before establishing any degree of product market fit. But in the grand scheme of things, unless your launch has been prefaced with fanfare or critical note, you may decide to launch by simply flipping the on switch and seeing what happens.

Our opener tweeted back in early June that she had inadvertently launched her company. It doesn’t get much earlier stage or right at launch as that. Corinn Pope is the Founder of Speckled, and has been following the stairstep approach to move from an employee to a info-product maker, to now a self-taught technical Founder of Speckled. And her approaching to building the company leaned so far into the concept of “Just Ship It” that she had launched her MVP before she had even realized it was on the market. Check out her story.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show.

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

http://microconfremote.com

Startup Founders In Cars Getting Coffee: Founder Origin Stories

Dr. Sherry Walling has spent nearly 300 episodes on her podcast, ZenFounder, talking about the in’s and out’s of the founder psychology. That, along with a doctorate in clinical psychology and years of working with entrepreneurs, has helped her put together a couple of avatars for the variety of founders you see in the startup work.

Join her and Rob as they talk about the origin stories of many founders, and see which one you relate most to.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show.

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

https://microconf.com MicroConf 2013

Starting a business is hard enough. The last thing you need to do is set up a foundation that works against you. A better approach is to take stock of your natural advantages, disadvantages, goals and needs, and "back in" to what that has to mean about your business model, pricing, market, product, approach, advertising, etc...

Check Out Jason’s MicroConf Speakers Page for More Talks ➡️ https://microconf.com/speakers/jason-...

http://microconfremote.com

Chapter 2: The Road to $10K MRR

From launch, there are a ton of baby steps that are celebrated. Your first paying customer. Your first $100 MRR. $1,000K MRR. Maybe the first time that you can pay yourself! It is full of milestones that propel you forward. But depending on your pricing, it can be a different world entirely between earning your first $1,000 MRR on a $10 monthly subscription or a $100 monthly subscription. Hitting that $10K mark starts to instill that sense of product market fit.

Our next storyteller is Colleen Johnson, the Co-Founder of Scatterspoke. The winding road that her and her husband co-founder have navigated in the last three years as they’ve build up a product that served a specific need within the Agile community has brought them to the door of $10K MRR. Take a step by step walkthrough on the various turns she and the Scatterspoke team took as they slowly made their way to that $10K MRR mark.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show.

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

http://microconfremote.com

What are Quick Fixes?

We asked some pretty smart people a pretty hard question: What is 1 thing you can do today that is going to make tomorrow and on easier for you to run your business?

Meryl Johnston, Co-Founder of Bean Ninjas, takes a deep look into things that founders at a few different stages of their journey can be optimizing their finances for the future.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show.

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

http://microconfremote.com

Join the MicroConf Remote host, Rob Walling, for a conversation with Andy Martin, Founder of BlueRithm and Minneapolis Native who joined us in the MicroConf Remote studio to chat about his experience building BlueRithm on the back of a successful career supporting large scale projects.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

http://microconfremote.com

What are Quick Fixes?

We asked some pretty smart people a pretty hard question: What is 1 thing you can do today that is going to make tomorrow and on easier for you to run your business?

Viola Eva of Flow-SEO has a few quick tips on how to optimize your best performing content for SEO.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show.

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

http://microconfremote.com

Chapter 3: Accelerating to $100K MRR and Beyond

While the first $10K MRR may be one of the tallest hills to climb, sometimes, if you time things right and you’ve put in the work to be a known quantity within the communities, the social media circles, and the leading voices in your target market, you can feel the slow rumble of blastoff that has you moving towards your next milestones faster than you could imagine.

That was the experience of lifelong friends and co-founders of Squadcast.fm , Zach Moreno and Rock Felder. It took them nearly 2 years to go from Launch to $10K MRR. In the last year, they’ve 10x’d that MRR to beyond $100K. In this talk, they’ve cover the three things that they can point to that carried them through this milestone, and the direction that they are currently headed.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show.

http://microconfremote.com

What are Quick Fixes?

We asked some pretty smart people a pretty hard question: What is 1 thing you can do today that is going to make tomorrow and on easier for you to run your business?

And finally, we have Asia Orangio of Demand Maven who think that paying off your Analytical Debt as early as possible will clear up a lot of question marks later on in your business.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show.

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

http://microconfremote.com

Let’s face it – there comes a time in a founder’s lifecycle within their company where having them on support emails is a terrible idea. Eventually, you’re going to have the assets to be able to afford a marketing person, and THAT person is now responsible for all of the copyrighting. You cannot be the only person doing demos. In time, if your company has found product market fit and your growing in ways that allow you to bring on more help – its time to create a structure so that you can let them know how to move through a project…. without you.

Nate Grahek, Founder of Sticky Albums, is going to share a few pointers for how he optimizes his internal operations so that his team of much smarter people doing their own thing can get their jobs done without him being the bottleneck.

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show.

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

http://microconfremote.com

Chapter 4: Onto something new…

There is something to be said about bootstrapping your business to millions in revenue, to stick by it and still hold the keys, over 2 decades after launch. It is rare to see the founders of any company stick it out for that long… but there isn’t much that isn’t rare about the founder journey that our next storyteller can share. It begs you to wonder, when the only pre-ordained next step in your roadmap to building your business is “The End”, but you’ve not reached that ending… what is there left to do to fill the next few chapters.

That is how we’re going to end our story. And ending that keeps moving forward but jis yet untold.

With our guest, Jason Fried, Co-Founder of Basecamp and Hey!, we hosted an open ask me anything about what it took to grow Basecamp to the degree of success it reached, how the small bootstrapped team was able to develop a competitor to the likes of Gmail or Yahoo Mail, and their very public spat with the Apple App Store in mid-2020.

Check out the full-length conference video at https://youtu.be/q1WNvRoSays

If you want to join in on the conversation with over 1400 other founders, join MicroConf Connect, a slack community space where you can meet founders from around the globe working on cool products in a sustainable way. Head over to http://microconfconnect.com for more details.

This video was recorded on September 1, 2020 in Minneapolis MN. All proper social distancing, PPE, and health and safety measures were taken in the production of this show

Note, this is not a live session, so calls for questions, survey, etc… are all pre-recorded.

http://microconfremote.com

We asked our MicroConf Remote speakers to answer the question: "What is one thing I can do today that will make a meaningful impact on by business in the future?"

Bjork uses a simple expense audit and asks 3 questions for each transaction:

Should I cancel this?

Should I change this to a yearly discount plan?

Can I ask for a discount?

Check out the video and get registered for MicroConf Remote!

MicroConf Connect ➡️ http://microconfconnect.com

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MicroConf 2020 Headline Partners

Stripe

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Basecamp

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Andy Ayim talks about how mental models can help us to make different types of decisions. And how, by using specific frameworks, we can focus on solutions that aren’t immediately obvious.

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#microconf #microconfeurope

2019 MicroConf Europe 2019

Join our exclusive community for SaaS founderss → http://microconfconnect.com

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MicroConf 2021 Headline Partners

► Stripe

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MicroConf 2014 Playing the Long Game: Making Entrepreneurship a Sustainable Life - Dr. Sherry Walling

Competition online is getting increasingly fierce, how do you stand out from the crowd in a marketplace dominated by industry giants? In this talk we’ll explore the ways to win organic clicks and sales away from the big players in your industry whilst working with budgets a fraction of theirs. Key takeaways include:

• How to develop SEO strategies to outrank the industry giants • Standing out in the organic search results even when you’re not in first place

• Getting your share of the search real estate

• How to conduct competitor research to fuel your SEO campaign

• Discover the foundations for building an SEO campaign that helps you gain a bigger share of the market with a start-up’s budget.

If you are going against huge brands in the search results then you can’t miss this talk.

MicroConf Europe 2019

#microconfeurope2019 #microconf

https://microconf.com

MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2021 Headline Partners

► Stripe https://stripe.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe

► Hey https://hey.com

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In this recording, Irina Nica (Senior Marketing Manager at HubSpot) goes over how to build buzz and backlinks on a bootstrapped budget. Irina is in charge of the Hubspot's off-site SEO Strategy, including content promotion, influencer outreach, and link building. Prior to joining HubSpot, Irina was the Marketing Manager of SEOmonitor.com – an award-winning SEO tool for agencies.

MicroConf Europe 2019

#microconf #microconfeurope2019

https://microconf.com

MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2021 Headline Partners

► Stripe https://stripe.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe

► Hey https://hey.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/heyhey

Build a SaaS app!" they said... "It'll be great!" they said...it turns out, running an online service Is a big pain in the SaaS. In this talk I will tell you all about designing, building, selling, scaling, maintaining and supporting balsamiq.cloud, the online version of Balsamiq Wireframes. I'll focus on 'the things they don't tell you' and even give you the dirt about a massive data-loss incident from May 2018. Fasten your seatbelts, there will be turbulence!

---

Giacomo 'Peldi' Guilizzoni is a programmer turned entrepreneur, who founded Balsamiq in 2008 and has been learning how to run and grow the company ever since. He has spoken at Microconf a few times along the way, to share his learnings and, mostly, his mistakes. He still loves to code, when he's allowed to by his team. :)

Check out Peldi’s MicroConf speakers page for more talks → https://microconf.com/speakers/peldi-...

https://microconf.com

#microconf #microconfeurope2019

MicroConf Europe 2019

MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2021 Headline Partners

► Stripe https://stripe.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe

► Basecamp

https://basecamp.com

In this talk at MicroConf Europe 2019, Rob Walling (TinySeed, previously founder at Drip) covers five specific marketing tactics that are working for SaaS companies today.

https://microconf.com

#microconf #microconfeurope2019

Check out Rob’s MicroConf speakers page for more talks: https://microconf.com/speakers/rob-wa... Rob's homepage → https://robwalling.com

MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2021 Headline Partners

► Stripe

https://stripe.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/Stripe

► Hey

https://hey.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/heyhey

Featured in this week's episode are two of our Attendee Talks, which were selected by the audience at MicroConf Europe:

How to Survive Building a Business and a Family at the Same Time

Jeppe Liisberg

"I am a father of three. I have a startup that is almost break-even and has been so for years. I have a job to make ends meet. I'm struggling but coping. I'll be talking about creating and maintaining a sustainable work-life balance in this context. You've heard it before: there's an opportunity in every crisis. I've been spending time practising that, building a startup and a family at the same time. I'll be talking about the hard prioritisations you have to make every day. And about adjusting ambition, balancing personal goals and values along the way. I'll be giving tips and tricks to cope with stress, conflict and motivation."

A Frank Talk About Fear and How to Deal With It

Sergey Koltov

"In the beginning of this year I moved to another country; my wife and I are expecting our first baby in a few months; a revenue growth is slower than I expected, and so on, and so on. As an owner of a small self-funded startup, I constantly feel pressure but this year has become the hardest ones. The fear of failure started hindering my abilities to make good decisions. In June I started to fight back. I'm still far from overcoming it, but there is a good progress. In this talk, I will share what I learned in the last few months, why it is important to deal with fear on a regular basis, and what practices I use or experimented with."

http://microconf.com

#microconf #microconfeurope2019

MicroConf Europe 2019 - Attendee Talk

MicroConf Connect → http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter → https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail → support@microconf.com

MicroConf 2021 Headline Partners

► Stripe

An overview on early stage SaaS and software marketing strategies that can help you find your first customers.

https://microconfremote.com

MicroConf Connect ➡️ http://microconfconnect.com

Twitter ➡️ https://twitter.com/MicroConf

E-mail ➡️ support@microconf.com

MicroConf Remote 2.0 Technology Sponsor

Quietlight Brokerage

https://quietlight.com/

Captioning Made Possible By:

Balsamiq

https://balsamiq.com

MicroConf 2021 Headline Partners

Stripe

https://stripe.com

Twitter ➡️ https://twitter.com/Stripe

Hey

https://hey.com

Twitter ➡️ https://twitter.com/heyhey

Living at the #2 Spot on ProductHunt for January 2021, Derrick will take you on a look behind the success of his launch with SavvyCal.

A conversation between Ruben Gamez and Rob Walling. Learn how Ruben maxed out the benefits of his AppSumo offer, what customizations are needed to improve your posts, and the points to back up these recommendations.

It always helps to have a team behind you as you begin your next mission. Creating a partnership program with likeminded organizations and communities is a great way to get your product in front of potential customers and critical users. Leonardo will focus on his experience working with Start-Up Chile, 500 Startups México and others to help drive most of Lexgo’s early stage revenue.

You know that you need product documentation to help your users level up their XP and get the most out of your SaaS. But did you know that you could also evolve your documentation to work harder as a lead magnet? Natalie will take you on an expert mode journey in converting these somewhat boring, mandatory pieces of copy into a content marketing strategy that makes it easier for your customer to find you.