Startups For the Rest of Us

How do you leave a $400K salary to go all in on your business?

In this solo episode, Rob Walling cranks through a backlog of listener questions on reducing risk with your startup to go full-time, when to register as a business, how to price a SaaS with seat ambiguity, when to pivot, and how to keep building when you have four kids under eight. 

Want to get your question answered? Drop it here.

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Topics we cover:

(2:15) – Leaving a $400K salary to go full-time

(7:43) – When to officially register your business

(10:51) – Seat-based pricing with shared branding

(12:40) – When to get a design audit

(15:05) – How to calculate TAM for a Shopify app

(18:29) – Can a step one app break free of its marketplace?

(20:22) – How to know when it's time to pivot

(22:31) – Building a startup with four young kids

(25:30) – How to find ICP conversations without a network

Links from the show:

MicroConf Connect Join by May 20th to attend a Live AMA with Rob Walling

The SaaS Playbook

Start Small, Stay Small 

Reddit Thread: $30K to $440K in 7 Years (AMA)

Stripe Atlas 

I Grew This SaaS by 13% Every Month for 13 Months 

Episode 589 | Finding a SaaS Idea Through 70 Cold Calls

Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X

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

Should your first customer pay you, or get your product for free? 

In this episode, Rob Walling answers listener questions on charging customer zero, what metrics to track for a seasonal transaction fee-based SaaS, what it really means to sell into a low-awareness market, and when freelancers help vs. hurt your bootstrapped business. He also calls in Producer Ron to break down exactly how he thinks about writing copy for a podcast ads.

Want to get your question answered? Drop it here.

Topics we cover:

(2:42) – Six years to overnight success

(4:55) – Should customer zero pay or get it free?

(8:42) – Writing ad copy for podcast ads

(15:14) – Metrics for a transaction fee-based SaaS

(18:40) – Moving from GMV-only to subscription plus fees

(20:38) – Selling into a low-awareness market

(23:53) – When bootstrappers struggle without problem awareness

(27:09) – Podcast music history editor Josh

(31:44) – How to find and work with freelancers

Links from the show:

SaaS Launchpad

TinySeed SaaS Accelerator

MicroConf

The SaaS Playbook

Zell Wave by Josh Young - SoundCloud

Dynamite Jobs

New Rob’s VideoAsk 

Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X

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

What were the highlights and takeaways from MicroConf? 

In this episode, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer recap MicroConf US 2026 in Portland, Oregon. They break down the best talks from the event, including Jason Cohen on breaking through growth plateaus, Amanda Natividad on Zero-Click Marketing and broken attribution, Rob's framework for six ways to implement AI in SaaS, and Craig Hewitt's all-in take on AI adoption. Plus, they cover excursions, the hallway track, and why the MicroConf community keeps pulling founders up.

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Topics we cover:

(2:14) – MicroConf 2026 attendee caliber and mix

(5:07) – Rebuilding MicroConf post-COVID

(8:51) – Jason Cohen on breaking growth ceilings

(12:48) – Amanda Natividad on Zero-Click Marketing

(19:30) – Excursions, arcades, and the hallway track

(22:01) – Rob's six ways to implement AI in SaaS

(27:27) – Gia Laudi on Jobs To Be Done as your GTM moat

(29:00) – Craig Hewitt's "AI Doomer" talk

(33:41) – MicroConf Europe in Iceland

Links from the show:

MicroConf Europe┃Reykjavik, Iceland · Sept 21–23, 2026

MicroConf Connect

TinySeed SaaS Institute

Jason Cohen's "Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business with Jason Cohen" 

Amanda Natividad | LinkedIn

SparkToro

Gia (Georgiana) Laudi | LinkedIn

Formspree 

Rob Walling on YouTube

Craig Hewitt | LinkedIn

SavvyCal (Derrick Reimer)

Derrick Reimer | LinkedIn

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

Can AI really handle product decisions for your SaaS?

In this solo adventure, Rob Walling revisits the core four SaaS skills and breaks down what AI can and cannot do across Development, Sales, Marketing, and Product. He also reframes Bill Gross's top five startup success factors for bootstrappers, walks through a hilariously bad UX decision by a local parking app, and closes with a surprisingly insightful Beastie Boys anecdote about shipping creative work into the world.

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Topics we cover:

(5:48) – AI and the Core Four SaaS skills

(7:03) – Why AI falls short with sales and marketing

(8:45) – The editorial eye AI still lacks

(10:14) – Why AI is worst at product

(13:41) – Bill Gross's top five startup success factors

(19:48) – A parking app's terrible UX decisions

(24:24) – The Beastie Boys and lessons on shipping

Links from the show:

TinySeed | SaaS Institute 

Ep. 817 | Bootstrapping in the Age of AI with Jason Cohen

Rob Walling YouTube

Rob Walling Newsletter

Bill Gross’s Ted Talk on Startup Success Factors

The Beastie Boys on Conan O’Brian’s Podcast

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

Is your product actually a SaaS?

In this episode, Rob Walling tackles listener questions about what really qualifies as SaaS (and where he disagrees with ChatGPT), how to serve both solopreneurs and enterprise customers with a dual funnel strategy, layering a B2B offering on top of a B2C product, pricing a mission-driven app without gatekeeping access, and the impact of healthcare costs on startup runway.

Want to get your question answered? Drop it here.

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And if you're at MicroConf in Portland, make sure to swing by and chat with the team.

Topics we cover:

(3:09) – What qualifies as a SaaS business?

(5:15) – Why Netflix and Spotify are not SaaS

(8:11) – Where Rob disagrees with ChatGPT on SaaS

(12:21) – Serving solopreneurs and enterprise simultaneously

(15:13) – The power of the dual funnel strategy

(17:02) – Navigating the enterprise sales process

(22:20) – Layering B2B features onto a B2C product

(28:52) – Pricing a mission-driven job search app

(35:57) – Healthcare costs and startup runway in the US

Links from the show:

MicroConf Masterminds – Applications close April 17th

MicroConf’s Masterminds Guide

Newscatcher 

HelpSpot 

TinySeed

Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X

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

Listen to Episode 828