Bootstrapped

Steve and Ed look back at the goals they set for 2020 at the beginning of the year. What goals did we hit? What goals eluded us? What did we learn along the way?Discuss this episode and more on our discussion forum for Bootstrappers.

This is a talk I recently gave at Barcelona's ESIC business school. Ostensibly, I spoke on working with intangibles as products. But actually, I told the story of how I started as a bootstrapper - and revealed how clueless I was at the beginning.So, if you are curious about how I got started creating and selling software products, then you'll enjoy this episode.

Liz is an expert in onboarding email sequences. Over the course of this episode, Liz helps me design a great email sequence for Saber Feedback.On the way, there are plenty of practical tips for better emails that you can apply to your product's emails.Want to see the results of my conversation with Liz? Sign up for Saber Feedback, and experience the new onboarding sequence first-hand.Liz's agency: Comma Comma CopywritingContact Liz: liz@commacomma.co.ukLiz recommends Userlist as a segmenting and emailing tool.Discuss this episode and other topics on our forum for bootstrappers.  

Ed and Steve talk about recent challenges and successes in their bootstrapped SaaS businesses. Ed tells of the agony of doing enterprise sales. Steve admits to  self-doubt when waiting for SEO results.Some things we discussed:2020 SaaS Podcast AwardsOur forum thread on dealing with endless business administrationFathom Analytics  

Moritz Dausinger, founder of refiner.io, chats about his success as a serial founder of bootstrapped SaaS products. He founded and sold two B2B SaaS apps, and now he's doing it a third time.Moritz shares some real-world practical, proven tips based on his repeat successes.Moritz's current SaaS app: refiner.ioMoritz's previous SaaS apps: Docparser and Mailparser.Moritz on Indie Hackers podcastMoritz on Twitter.Discuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum.  

Ed and Steve discuss the endless burden of busy-work that comes with running a business - and how we try to minimise it.We also mention Ed's new marketing-related hire, Feature Upvote's dashboard design overhaul, and using a content agency to write blog posts for Saber Feedback.The invoice handling service we mentioned is GetMyInvoices.Discuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum. 

Discounts, discounts, discounts! Ed and I discuss how we respond to customers asking for discounts, whether we should offer Cyber Monday offers, and how offering discounts can hurt future sales.Discuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum.

Alex runs a successful help desk software company with only 3 employees, competing in a crowded market.We discuss:the importance of industry knowledge,the customer awareness funnel,advanced SEO techniques,bringing on a co-founder after you've already got traction.Links:JitbitAlex on TwitterGail Goodman's talk ‘The Long, Slow, SaaS Ramp of Death’The Awareness Funnel aka the Buyer's JourneyDiscuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum. 

Robin Warren of Corrello tells me how he finds and recruits freelance developers for his bootstrapped software company.We also talk about:Robin's business creating Trello Power-upsUsing Product Hunt to hone your marketing messageJuggling multiple productsLinks:Robin on TwitterCorrelloBlue Cat ReportsBurndown Charts by CorrelloRobin's previous interview on the Bootstrapped podcast 

I seek Ed's advice on some Saber Feedback stuff. We talk about pricing, free plans, legacy framework woes, and database hosting.We also chat about:running  Geomob as an online conference instead as a COVID alternative to an in-person conferenceautomating away common customer support enquiriesDiscuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum.Other links:SureSwift Capital's Start-up founder customer service tips. 

Ed and I discuss knowledge sharing for bootstrappers, and even for one-person teams. How do you make sure the important knowledge for your business gets remembered, shared, and used?Discuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum. 

I answer several questions from a loyal listener who wants advice on building a B2B SaaS similar in scope and style to my product, Feature Upvote. 

Robert Brandl of ToolTester Network built his company by developing excellent SEO skills. In this episode he turns his skills to Saber Feedback, and gives me awesome advice on how to solve my SEO problems.We also talk about his recent acquisition of https://howtogetonline.com/Other links:Robert on Twitter: @robertbrandlSaber Feedback's guide to feedback buttons

Ed Freyfogle is back again. This week he interviews Steve on his progress with Saber Feedback, six months after acquisition.Ed marvels at how many words we were able to write about feedback buttons.We also talk a bit about co-working in the age of Covid.Discuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum.

Ed Freyfogle steps in for me this week and interviews Hrishi Mittal, founder of online learning platform Learnetto.Hrishi shares his struggle to progress past a point of having limited success without finding real traction. He also talks about his desire to bring on a cofounder.Hrishi on TwitterLearnettoLearnetto on Twitter"The Complete React on Rails Course" on LearnettoDiscuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum.

Laura Roeder talks about why she doesn't do demo calls unlike most other SaaS founders - and how bootstrapping frees you up to run your business the way that works for you.Laura is the founder of MeetEdgar, a social media scheduling tool, and cofounder of Paperbell, coaching software.LinksLaura on Startups for the Rest of UsLaura's talk at Business of Software Europe 2018: Bootstrapping A Business In The Face Of Well-Funded CompetitionRemember, as Laura says, "You get to do this however works for you" 

Kevin McArdle of SureSwift Capital has acquired almost 40 online businesses, most of them B2B SaaS products.We talk about the process of getting acquired, as the seller and founder of an online business.Kevin tells me the options for getting acquired at 4 different revenue levels:$1,000 to $4,000 monthly revenue$10K to $20K monthly revenue$20K to $50K monthly revenue$100K+ monthly revenueLinksKevin's interview on Escape Velocity with Dan MartellSureSwift CapitalKevin on TwitterKevin's email: kevin@sureswiftcapital.comMicroAcquireMy conversation with Matt Bearman on the acquisition of Saber FeedbackDiscuss this topic and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum.

Ed reintroduces himself, Steve shares his experience of making it to the front page of Hacker News, and we discuss Quaderno's 5-hour work day and Wildbit's 4-day work week.Links:Ed's home on the web.Quaderno's job page.Wildbit's 4-day work week.Discuss these topics and more on the Bootstrapped discussion forum. 

Patrick Hathaway is the cofounder of Sitebulb, a website auditing tool for SEO consultants and agencies. Patrick tells us why he made a desktop app when his competitors offer cloud apps.We also talk about how Patrick uses awesome release notes as a marketing tool. We finish up with a discussion the pros and cons of using Paddle as a payment processor.Sitebulb: https://sitebulb.com/Sitebulb's release notes: https://sitebulb.com/release-notes/  

When, if ever, should you, should make changes to your product's code that don't change its external behaviour?How do you weigh up the risks of breaking things against the ease of future development?Steve and Ed get way more technical than usual in this episode.We mention Refactoring, the book by Martin Fowler.We want listener questions! Post your question here and we'll discuss it in a future episode of Bootstrapped.