Build Your SaaS
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About
Interested in building your own SaaS company? Follow the journey of Transistor.fm as they bootstrap a podcast hosting startup.
Episodes
- What is Transistor's secret weapon?
Justin sits down with Helen Ryles and Michael Green, the two people behind almost every chat, email, and demo call that comes into Transistor, to talk about the company's secret weapon: the thing that converts 75% of trials to paid and kee…
- An update from Justin and Jon
Justin and Jon reconnect after a two-year podcasting hiatus. What's happened since their last episode? Lots! They talk about big changes in their personal lives, and then move on to how they're thinking about Transistor as a business. Thes…
- "Justin, I built a SaaS!"
Harris Kenny was a long-time listener of the podcast, and dreamed about building his own software product. After multiple attempts, over 5 years, he finally did it. How? He shares his experiences transitioning from a corporate job to entre…
- Giuuunta! Motivating yourself when you're not in startup mode
Bootstrapping a business is like getting a plane to lift off the ground. But what do you do once the plane is in the air? Dave Giunta and Justin Jackson recorded a recent phone call about maintaining motivation after the initial startup ph…
- Adam Wathan: how small startups hire employees (Tailwind CSS)
How do founders of small bootstrapped companies hire new employees? Adam Wathan got over 1600 people who applied for two new roles at Tailwind Labs (a small team of six people). They ended up hiring two people, but neither of them actually…
- Is ONCE enough?
A panel discussion on 37signals' first ONCE product, the launch of Campfire ("pay for it once, install it, and run it on your own server"). Ian Landsman, Tyler Tringas, and Justin Jackson share what they expected to happen before the launc…
- How Ben and David bootstrapped the Acquired podcast
Fast Company called Acquired "the #1 tech podcast sensation." I've been a huge fan of the show for years. So, I was surprised when they contacted me and wanted to switch to Transistor for podcast hosting! Since switching, they've had a bre…
- Nashville team retreat: scary birds, country music, and a photo shoot
The whole team is on the show! Jon, Helen, Jason, Josh, and Justin are on the mics to discuss our recent team retreat to Nashville, Tennessee. If you're wondering what a retreat looks like for a remote team, you'll get a lot out of this ep…
- Paul Jarvis: gaining freedom by building an indie business
Justin catches up with his old internet friend Paul Jarvis. Today, Paul co-founded Fathom Analytics with Jack Ellis : a simple alternative to Google Analytics. Paul is also the author of the book " Company of One ," which has influenced a…
- How Tim worked on side-projects for 10+ years, and finally went full-time (with kids)
Tim reached out after the Aaron Francis episode: "I wanted to pitch you on the idea of coming on the podcast and sharing my journey of building side projects for the last decade while raising a family. I can also share the guardrails I put…
- Startup coaching: helping founders and team members realize their full potential
This week Jon and Justin are joined by Marcella Chamorro . Previously, she worked in startup marketing but has recently transitioned to coaching founders and teams. We discussed how startup founders and their team members can realize their…
- Michele Hansen update: Section 174 and bootstrapping with kids
In this podcast episode, Michele Hansen ( Geocodio ) gives us an update on Section 174 and provides her take on "bootstrapping with kids." Michele explains you can be a part of the Small Software Business Alliance , and fight Section 174.…
- Should a parent with young kids try to bootstrap a new startup?
In this episode, Justin speaks with Aaron Francis about being a new parent and trying to bootstrap a startup. Aaron argued the other side of Justin's tweet thread : "Wait until your kids are older to start a company." Aaron is well-positio…
- Why we hired someone new
Jon and Justin welcome Joshua Anderton to the Transistor team! Josh is an amazingly talented full-stack web developer (Laravel, Rails, Tailwind CSS, Alpine, and more!) He's been helping us as a part-time contractor since Oct 2022, and we'r…
- Act now before it's too late: Section 174
Michele Hansen (co-founder of Geocodio) is raising the alarm about Section 174. This legislation could dramatically increase your tax bill this year if you're a small software company in the USA. Michele is organizing a response through th…
- This would kill our company immediately
Jon's back from his first real vacation in years. In this episode, we discuss how we've been removing inactive accounts on Transistor, SVB, Section 174, Revin is shutting down their Merchant of Record service, SaaS sales tax compliance: (0…
- One pepperoni pizza please
"I don't get it: if that money is for the government, how come the pizza place put it in their cash register?!?" (Jon is on vacation - our next real episode is coming soon!) Listen to our past episodes on the headache that is SaaS sales ta…
- Super Fun SaaS Sales Tax (Part Deux)
Last week's episode hit a nerve! "The idea that every small software company in the world will be able to be in perfect compliance will every foreign federal, provincial, state, and municipal government that imposes a sales tax is ridiculo…
- Nobody wants to talk about this (SaaS sales tax)
Sales tax compliance: nobody in SaaS wants to talk about it. Jon and Justin tried to do something about it and it turned into a nightmare. According to Stripe Tax, there are about 90 different regions that software companies may have to re…
- The gang goes to Montréal
The whole Transistor team got together for a retreat in Montréal. Jon, Justin, Helen, and Jason chat about the experience. What should we talk about next? Twitter: @buildyoursaas , @mijustin , @jonbuda , @jsonpearl , and @helenryles Leave…
- Jon & Justin reveal everything (part 2)
It's the fourth anniversary of Transistor's public launch! This is part 2 of "Jon and Justin answer your questions." (00:37) - When did you start paying yourself how much you wanted to make? (01:34) - Any broad advice for startups? (11:38)…
- Jon & Justin reveal everything (part 1)
It's the fourth anniversary of Transistor's public launch! In this two-part series, Jon and Justin answer your questions. 01:22 - Our history 14:51 - What is the secret to running Transistor as a company? See our values here . 21:19 - What…
- Bootstrapping in France (Baptiste Jamin from Crisp)
Baptiste Jamin co-founded Crisp with a friend he met in high school. Highlights (go straight to 🔥 for the best stuff): 1:42 – Crisp competes with massive companies: Zendesk, HelpScout, Intercom 2:52 – How did Crisp get started? (they star…
- What's it like getting acquired by Spotify? (Dave Zohrob from Chartable)
Dave Zohrob is the co-founder of Chartable (a podcast analytics startup), talks about selling his company to Spotify in February 2022 . Highlights (go straight to 🔥 for the best stuff): 1:00 – What's the Spotify office in New York like? 5…
- Patrick Campbell: why ProfitWell sold to Paddle for $200M
Patrick Campbell just sold his startup, ProfitWell , to Paddle for $200 million. Highlights (go straight to 🔥 for the best stuff): 0:00 – "My problem is I'm always curious if other people are living a better dream than me." 1:30 – The maj…
- Going from $0 to $2 million in ARR in 7 years (the Missive story)
Philippe Lehoux and his two co-founders started working on Missive around 2015, and just passed $2 million in annual recurring revenue. 0:00 – Getting to know Philippe, and what it's like living in Quebec 3:09 – How Missive got started: "h…
- Taylor Otwell: the business of Laravel in 2022
Taylor Otwell , is the founder of Laravel , a programming framework for PHP. But he's also one of the most successful indie SaaS operators I know. In this episode we discuss: 0:30 – Taylor is changing how he hires and manages people at Lar…
- Why Customer Support = Startup Success
Helen and Justin talk about the importance of customer support for indie SaaS companies. 1:08 The hardest part about podcasting is doing it every week 1:38 We just launched the new podcast website themes feature. 2:24 Getting feedback, or…
- What's it really like to work at Transistor?
We got the whole band together: Helen and Jason join Jon and Justin to talk about what it's really like to work at Transistor Helen , Jason , Jon, Justin, all squeezed into the podcasting closet to make an episode 0:55 Jason's first podcas…
- Founders' retreat
Jon and Justin recorded this episode sitting on the same couch! Photo of the Coeur de Boeuf The last time we were together in person: April 30, 2019 [ Photo ] 2022 roadmap planning. We're exploring what we'd like to accomplish this year. U…
- Reflecting on 2021
Jon and Justin reflect on 2021 and get excited about 2022: Rework podcast episode : the word "startup" Should we rename the show "Maintain your SaaS"? ;) Biggest highlights: hiring Helen and Jason Giving employees generous bonuses Justin's…
- Brian Casel, of Bootstrapped Web, chats about his new app
In this guest episode, Justin chats with Brian Casel. Bootstrapped Web podcast ZipMessage Brian's other projects What should we talk about next? Twitter: @buildyoursaas , @mijustin , @jonbuda Leave a review/comment on Podchaser ; it's like…
- What does my daughter think of the podcast industry?
In this bonus episode, Justin interviews his 18-year-old daughter, Sadie, about: A Gen Z perspective on podcasting Why women are the future of podcasting: Edison Research "Now, look at the rookies – 47% are men, but the majority, 53% are w…
- A few questions
This week Jon and Justin discussed: Tweet: what should we talk about? Justin's daughter wrote an article for the Transistor blog: https://transistor.fm/gen-z/ Customer case studies Dynamic audio insertion Integration with Descript Book: Ra…
- Why should we care about our customers' feelings?
This week Justin chats with Michele Hansen , founder of Geocodio . I got fired up about interviewing customers! Get Michele's new book! Deploy Empathy Listen to Michele's podcast: Software Social "Empathy is a skill you can learn." Get Mic…
- This is a big step for us
This week Jon and Justin discussed: Our values determine how we make decisions Hiring FT: we hired Jason Pearl ! Summer SaaS slowdown Tweet: worst month ever ConvertKit’s public numbers What should we talk about next? Twitter: @buildyoursa…
- Is venture capital bad?
This week Spencer Fry, founder of Podia.com , joins Justin Jackson to talk about venture capital and bootstrapping. Spencer's tweet : "The hostility that the bootstrapper community has towards the VC community continues to perplex me." Jus…
- Basecamp | Hiring | How to have a calm company
This week Jon and Justin discussed: Basecamp Note: we recorded this before Casey Newton's second article on Basecamp came out. Also: this article is a really thoughtful take on the whole situation. Ruby/Rails open source world. https://dis…
- A good business will change your life (for real)
This we, we chatted about: Evil Crypto Teletubbies Voltswagon Fathom has acquired Google Jon is trying out a new private office, in a coworking space ( Deskpass ) Justin had a quick chat with Derrick Reimer , SavvyCal Tweet : Two years ago…
- We're doing this and it's weird
Real humans making a business together: Taking the leap Why is Justin jealous of Ben? Pros and cons of building a remote company in 2021 Limited exposure to your co-founder What would take to get Jon to move to Canada? Story: confronting a…
- Podcast companies losing money?
Jon's back! He and Justin share their feelings/thoughts about the new year: Closing the door on the past Exciting revenue milestone Podcast companies losing money https://podnews.net/update/pocket-casts-for-sale https://www.cnbc.com/2021/0…
- Jason Fried – you can't control the market
This week, Justin and Jason discuss the dynamics of market demand. Justin's original tweet Jason's response What should we talk about next? Twitter: @buildyoursaas , @mijustin , @jonbuda , @jasonfried Leave a comment on PodHunt ; it's like…
- What happened after Simon went full time on his SaaS?
This week, Justin catches up with Simon Bennett of Snapshooter: Every once in a while, we highlight one of our listeners who are building their own SaaS. This week: Simon Bennett , comes back to tell us what's happened since he left his fu…
- Landsman on software
Justin is joined by everybody's favorite Twitter Uncle: Ian Landsman (founder of HelpSpot ). Ian's encounter with his internet hero Joel Spolsky Do you get worried that this all going to go away? How scared should we be of the competition?…
- How fragile is the prosumer SaaS market?
We're back! Justin's voice sounds terrible (sorry!) When is the next wave of economic despair going to happen? The maker/creator market is on 🔥 right now. How long will it last? How "soft" is the prosumer market? How fragile is it? A BUNC…
- What it takes to launch a SaaS
We have a bonus episode for you this week! Justin was on the Framework podcast. Check out the other Spec.fm shows Subscribe to Framework in Overcast Want to reply to something we said? Twitter: @buildyoursaas , @mijustin , @jonbuda , @tomc…
- THE FEAR
Jon and Justin talk about "optionality" in bootstrapping. (Justin is concerned, Jon thinks we should just enjoy the moment). DHH : "Part of what gave us the confidence to turn down the whole world of venture capital was a small sale of equ…
- Do you really need to build an audience?
Late-summer update! This week on the program, we bring you a super spicy interview that Justin did on the TechZing podcast . Do you really need to build an audience before you build your product? Justin's tweet There's this idea that you n…
- Break out
Mid-summer update! This week on the program, Justin and Jon talk about: If you're bootstrapping SaaS, how many monthly trials do you need? Tweet : "You probably need more trials than you think." Breaking out of your own way of thinking "Al…
- Talking about an acquisition
This week on the program, Justin and Jon talk about: Updates on Transistor: new API is almost done, static site generator, growth slowed in June? Questioning whether we should slow down for the summer Talking about the Simplecast acquisiti…