• 33 minutes 37 seconds
    Episode 843 | Success Patterns of $1M+ SaaS Founders

    Are you building systems for your team, or are you still the system? 

    In this episode, Rob Walling talks with Julien Marzouk, a former SaaS founder and coach who has worked with hundreds of seven and eight figure founders over the past decade. Julien breaks down six recurring patterns he sees in founders who scale past a million, from the identity shift of moving from operator to leader, to the visibility problems that get mistaken for lead problems.

    Topics we cover:

    • (2:59) – Why seven-figure founders seek coaching
    • (5:50) – Coach versus mastermind, key differences
    • (9:44) – Mindset shift to be coached well
    • (12:05) – Pattern 1: Operator to leader
    • (14:05) – Pattern 2: Doing too many things
    • (18:17) – Pattern 3: The rescuing founder
    • (21:45) – Pattern 4: Visibility disguised as leads
    • (25:36) – Pattern 5: Action beats analysis paralysis
    • (28:55) – Pattern 6: Clarity before AI agents
    • (32:07) – What coaching at SaaS Institute involves

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    28 July 2026, 10:00 am
  • 24 minutes 44 seconds
    Episode 842 | What is the Future of SaaS in an AI World? (Rob Solo)

    Is SaaS dead now that AI can build an app in a weekend?

    In this solo episode, Rob Walling gives his most definitive answer yet to the question flooding the internet: what's the future of SaaS now that AI makes it easier than ever to build and copy a product? He breaks down the four most common claims that AI will kill Saas, and explains why the real SaaS apocalypse is coming for overpriced incumbents, not bootstrappers.

    Topics we cover:

    • (2:15) – What's the future of SaaS with AI?
    • (3:08) – Why "X is dead" predictions keep failing
    • (5:12) – Claim 1: The self-hosting fantasy
    • (11:39) – Claim 2: Anyone can clone your app
    • (13:32) – Claim 3: Agents will do the work
    • (16:34) – Claim 4: Infinite competition
    • (18:02) – Which SaaS categories genuinely get squeezed
    • (19:06) – The real apocalypse: Overpriced incumbents

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    21 July 2026, 10:00 am
  • 27 minutes 39 seconds
    Episode 841 | One-time Payments, Growing a Step 2 Business, Positioning, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)

    Should you keep pouring time into a business that will probably never be huge?

    In this episode, Rob Walling answers listener questions about whether to keep growing a "step two" B2C business despite platform risk, when one-time payments make sense versus subscriptions, and how to price and position a Shopify app that needs custom implementation work.

    Want to get your question answered? Drop it here.

    Episode Sponsor:

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    Topics we cover:

    • (2:06) – Growing a "step two" business
    • (5:11) – Momentum vs. market size
    • (9:16) – One-time payments vs. subscriptions
    • (15:11) – Why recurring revenue teaches faster
    • (18:22) – Mixing one-time and subscription pricing
    • (20:28) – Pricing a custom Shopify app
    • (22:31) – Building a $49 vs. $249 tier
    • (24:47) – Protecting margin on custom work

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    14 July 2026, 10:00 am
  • 32 minutes 46 seconds
    Episode 840 | 5 PM Revisited, Starting Over After Failure, Never Shipping, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)

    What's really stopping you from shipping your product and how do you finally push through?

    In this listener questions episode, Rob Walling covers a lot of ground: revisiting the 5PM framework with more opinionated guidance on pricing and market size, the right time to use vibe coding in your SaaS, why B2C apps are brutal, how to rebuild after startup failure, and the mindset shift needed to finally ship. 

    Want to get your question answered? Submit it here.

    Topics we cover:

    • (2:19) – 5PM framework revisited
    • (7:01) – When does vibe coding make sense?
    • (10:26) – Why B2C SaaS is brutally hard
    • (13:46) – Rebuilding after failure without funding or network
    • (17:46) – Targeting solution-aware vs. problem-aware customers
    • (20:49) – The never-shipping trap and how to break out
    • (23:28) – Best resources for pre-product-market-fit founders
    • (24:34) – How to validate without paid traffic
    • (28:41) – Cold outreach economics for self-serve products

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    7 July 2026, 10:00 am
  • 36 minutes 15 seconds
    Episode 839 | The Journey Growing Help Scout to $35M ARR

    What happens when a bootstrapper at heart raises $28 million and spends the next decade living with that decision?

    In this episode, Rob Walling sits down with Nick Francis, the co-founder of Help Scout, to walk through the full 15-year arc of building one of the most beloved support tools in SaaS. From the cramped Techstars apartment he shared with a co-founder, to the decision to become a public benefit corporation, to the bold pricing overhaul that ultimately became a turning point in his time as CEO, Nick holds nothing back.

    Topics we cover:

    • (2:00) – Help Scout's origin story
    • (4:30) – Techstars $18K for 6% equity
    • (7:56) – Getting the first 50 customers
    • (11:13) –  Raising a $12M Series A
    • (13:37) – Would Nick raise again?
    • (19:23) – Becoming a B Corp
    • (22:27) – Help Scout's AI strategy
    • (26:02) – Per-seat to per-contact pricing
    • (32:03) – Stepping down as CEO

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    30 June 2026, 10:00 am
  • 25 minutes 42 seconds
    Episode 838 | 6 Key Takeaways From a TinySeed Batch Kick-Off

    What do 15 brand-new TinySeed founders have in common? 

    In this solo episode, Rob Walling shares six key takeaways from the most recent TinySeed batch kickoff in New York City. He covers why asking "why" is the most underrated founder habit, why pricing is still the biggest lever in SaaS and positioning might be the second biggest, why AI SEO is already a real channel and more. He also makes the case for why being around other founders doing what you're doing is one of the most underrated advantages in bootstrapping.

    Episode Sponsors:

    What if you could go from idea to your first real user in 30 days?

    Not a prototype, not a promise, but an actual working app. Designli will put that in writing.

    Their TractionLab is a 90-day plan that takes you from idea to first paying customers. By Day 30, v1 of your app is in your users' hands, guaranteed. Miss that deadline and your next month is free.

    It starts with a free 30-minute call where you share your idea and they tell you exactly what they'll build and what it costs. No surprises.

    You get a full senior team: product owner, engineering lead, full-stack developer, senior UX designer, and solutions architect. They use AI to ship faster, but senior engineers own every architecture decision and review every line of code. The result is yours, and it's built to last.

    Go from idea to revenue in 90 days: designli.co/gettraction

    Topics we cover:

    • (5:59) – Takeaway #1: Always ask why
    • (8:42) – Takeaway #2: New revenue fixes everything (except bad pricing)
    • (10:29) – Takeaway #3: Positioning is the second biggest lever in SaaS
    • (16:32) – Takeaway #4: Quick test for your lowest pricing tier
    • (18:23) – Takeaway #5: AI SEO is a real channel
    • (21:20) – Takeaway #6: Be around people doing what you're doing

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    23 June 2026, 10:00 am
  • 43 minutes 20 seconds
    Episode 837 | How Do You Learn Product? and Optimizing Your Trial Funnel (with Ruben Gamez)

    How does a founder actually learn the skill of product?

    In this episode, Rob Walling talks with Ruben Gamez of SignWell and Bidsketch to answer listener questions that turned into a much deeper conversation than expected. They cover why friction works well for one of Ruben's products and kills conversions on the other, how to think about trial length and onboarding when users need more time, and what it actually takes to develop product instincts as a bootstrapped founder. 

    Want to get your question answered? Drop it here.

    Topics we cover:

    • (4:00) – Friction in trial funnels: Bidsketch vs. SignWell
    • (8:26) – When to test friction vs. trust your gut
    • (10:44) – Testing with low volume
    • (16:56) – Trial length for project management SaaS
    • (18:47) – How do you learn product?
    • (21:39) – How Ruben developed product sense on the job
    • (23:21) – The two core product skills bootstrappers actually need
    • (29:42) – Product management vs. UX
    • (31:46) – Why product sense doesn't transfer between products
    • (34:07) – How fast you can build product sense

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    16 June 2026, 10:00 am
  • 34 minutes 5 seconds
    Episode 836 | The 5 A.I. Moats Acquirers Value Most

    Is your SaaS actually protected from AI disruption, or are acquirers walking away without even looking?

    In this episode, Rob Walling talks with Einar Vollset of Discretion Capital for a front-lines SaaS M&A market report, covering how the acquisition climate has shifted since 2021, why some PE firms now require at least one AI moat before they'll even look at a deal, and a breakdown of all five moats: hardware-software coupling, two-sided network effects, communication graph embeds, proprietary data with closed feedback loops, and operational switching costs. 

    Topics we cover:

    • (2:05) – State of SaaS M&A from 2020 to today
    • (5:49) – Why 2021 was the best time to sell
    • (7:38) – How the 2022 downturn raised the acquisition bar
    • (8:59) – The SaaS apocalypse narrative and AI FUD
    • (12:26) – Why bootstrappers should care about exit markets
    • (15:52) – AI moat #1: Hardware-software coupling
    • (17:38) – AI moat #2: Marketplace scale and two-sided network effects 
    • (20:05) – AI moat #3: Communication graph and relationship embed
    • (21:27) – AI moat #4: Proprietary data with closed feedback loops
    • (23:20) – AI moat #5: Operational embed and switching costs
    • (27:28) – Some PE firms now require at least one moat
    • (29:23) – AI-native SaaS faces even higher hurdles

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    9 June 2026, 10:00 am
  • 32 minutes
    Episode 835 | The Right Way to Use AI in Your Startup Marketing

    Are you using AI in your marketing because it's actually good, or just because it's fast?

    In this episode, Rob Walling sits down with Taylor Hendricksen, a performance marketer who has managed tens of millions of dollars in ad spend across Meta and Google, to talk about where AI is genuinely useful and where it produces flat, mediocre output that makes you look like everyone else. They also dig into unconventional distribution channels, offer design, and why some of the best SaaS niches are the least exciting ones. 

    Episode Sponsor:

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    Topics we cover:

    • (5:04) – AI as boogeyman: proving value to customers
    • (6:59) – Human-first content vs. AI-generated content
    • (9:38) – Why AI produces average work by default
    • (13:05) – AI is the average of the internet
    • (16:18) – Overcoming artificial growth ceilings
    • (20:26) – Finding your avatar and positioning around real problems
    • (22:52) – Unconventional distribution: direct mail and video mailers
    • (25:52) – Crafting offers people feel stupid saying no to
    • (28:42) – Using AI for ops, research, and thought partnership

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    2 June 2026, 10:00 am
  • 39 minutes 51 seconds
    Episode 834 | Eric Ries Revisits The Lean Startup and Discusses How to Become Incorruptible

    Is AI actually making your build-measure-learn cycle faster, or just making your work more average? 

    In this episode, Rob Walling talks with Eric Ries, author of The Lean Startup, to revisit what's held up in Lean Startup thinking 15 years on, why AI speeds up building but can't replace human learning, and what drove Eric to write his new book, Incorruptible. Eric also shares the story of how the Long-Term Stock Exchange nearly died before it ever launched, and why Costco is the rare example of a company that figured out how to stay incorruptible. 

    Topics we cover:

    • (3:48) – Lean Startup: 15 years later
    • (8:33) – How countercultural MVPs and pivots were
    • (11:02) – How AI changes build-measure-learn
    • (13:36) – Learning is still a human job
    • (15:43) – AI makes everyone's work more average
    • (17:39) – The Long-Term Stock Exchange story
    • (21:03) – How LTSE was nearly destroyed
    • (25:00) – A better definition of profit
    • (31:45) – Companies already living this way
    • (32:33) – The legend of Sol Price and Costco
    • (37:36) – Incorruptible: ethos plus integrity

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

    26 May 2026, 10:00 am
  • 29 minutes 16 seconds
    Episode 833 | Success Patterns of Nobel Laureates, Developing Expertise, and From Zero to $10k (A Rob Solo Adventure)

    What do Nobel Prize winners and successful bootstrappers have in common? 

    In this solo episode, Rob Walling shares the story of how a TinySeed company went from near-zero revenue to $10,000-$20,000 a month almost overnight, breaks down Claude Shannon's research on the habits that separated Nobel laureates from forgotten scientists, and explores why deep expertise looks like magic from the outside.

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    Topics we cover:

    • (2:46) – BlinkMetrics: from no product-market fit to $10-20K/month
    • (8:31) – 104 coffee chats, 24 sales calls 
    • (10:25) – AI changes custom dashboard economics 
    • (12:53) – What separates Nobel winners from the forgotten 
    • (14:40) – Knowledge compounds like interest 
    • (18:28) – Taking bigger swings vs. staying in your comfort zone
    • (19:36) – Going deep on one idea for years 
    • (21:21) – Expertise that looks like magic 

    Links from the show:

    If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

    Subscribe & Review: iTunes |Spotify

    19 May 2026, 10:00 am
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