The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies...
Episode 743 | How to Sell Your Business Without Regret
In episode 743, Rob Walling and Dr. Sherry Walling read the first chapter of their new book, Exit Strategy: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Selling Your Company Without Regret. They discuss the emotional and psychological challenges of selling a business, and why it’s often harder than founders expect. They offer insights on how to prepare for a sale, protect your mental health, and how to best navigate this major life change that few others understand.
Back the book on Kickstarter
Episode Sponsor:
Hiring senior developers can really move the needle in your business, but if you bring on the wrong person, you can quickly burn through your runway. If you need help finding a vetted, senior, results-oriented developer, you should reach out to today’s sponsor, Lemon.io.
For years, they’ve been helping our audience find high quality, global talent at competitive rates, and they can help you too.
Longtime listener Chaz Yoon, hired a senior developer from Lemon.io and said his hire ”definitely knew his stuff, provided appropriate feedback and pushback, and had great communication, including very fluent English. He really exceeded my expectations.”
Chaz said he’d definitely use Lemon.io again when he’s looking for a senior level engineer.
To learn more and get a 15% discount on your first four weeks of working with a developer at lemon.io/startups.
Topics we cover:
(1:49) – Exit Strategy Introduction
(6:56) – Exits are complicated
(11:16) – One of the hardest things you’ll ever do
(15:57) – Your business is your baby
(18:35) – Entering the unknown
(26:49) – Six factors that shape how you feel about an exit
(31:03) – Making it real
Links from the Show:
Exit Strategy: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling Your Business Without Regret
Back the book on Kickstarter
MicroConf Connect Applications Close Today, December 10th
Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X
Dr. Sherry Walling (@sherrywalling) | X
The SaaS Playbook
Built to Sell by John Warrillow
Touching Two Worlds by Dr. Sherry Walling
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together by Sherry Walling, PhD, Rob Walling
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your quest...
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36:42
Episode 742 | Normalizing Hard Things, Facing Your Biggest Threat, and Making it Fast (A Rob Solo Adventure)
In episode 742, Rob Walling goes solo to explore normalizing doing hard things and facing your biggest threats. He also discusses a framework for founders looking to scale without cutting corners – making things work, making them right, and then making them fast.
Exit Strategy Kickstarter ends on December 12!
Topics we cover:
(2:39) – Normalizing doing hard things
(6:54) – The “hard things” in your startup
(10:27) – Walking into the storm
(16:21) – ”Make it work, make it right, make it fast”
(22:04) – Building your “Founder Gut”
(25:42) – Think in years, not months
Links from the Show:
Exit Strategy: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling Your Business Without Regret
MicroConf Masterminds Applications Close on December 4th
Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X
Dr. Sherry Walling (@sherrywalling) | X
The Comic Lab Podcast
The SaaS Playbook
The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping
This Took 11 Years to Be An "Overnight Success" - SaaS Exit Strategy
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
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Episode 741 | What Actually is Product Led Growth? (with Wes Bush)
In episode 741, Rob Walling talks to Wes Bush, CEO and Founder of ProductLed, about the nuances and misconceptions of product-led growth. Wes debunks common myths and explains how companies can leverage their product to drive user acquisition, engagement, and growth. They dive into a real-world example and explore how founders can avoid the trap of thinking the product will “sell itself” while contrasting PLG and sales-led strategies.
Episode Sponsor:
Hiring senior developers can really move the needle in your business, but if you bring on the wrong person, you can quickly burn through your runway. If you need help finding a vetted, senior, results-oriented developer, you should reach out to today’s sponsor, Lemon.io.
For years, they’ve been helping our audience find high quality, global talent at competitive rates, and they can help you too.
Longtime listener Chaz Yoon, hired a senior developer from Lemon.io and said his hire ”definitely knew his stuff, provided appropriate feedback and pushback, and had great communication, including very fluent English. He really exceeded my expectations.”
Chaz said he’d definitely use Lemon.io again when he’s looking for a senior level engineer.
To learn more and get a 15% discount on your first four weeks of working with a developer at lemon.io/startups.
Topics we cover:
(2:01) – Defining product-led growth
(6:07) – Are users able to get value for free?
(11:38) – Hybrid: both product-led and sales-led
(14:52) – Determining the main outcome of your free model
(19:23) – Misuse of the PLG terminology
(22:00) – The benefits of PLG over sales-led growth
(24:08) – Workshopping SavvyCal’s product-led strategy
Links from the Show:
Mastermind Applications are open until December 4th
Wes Bush (@wes_bush) | X
ProductLed (@productled) | X
ProductLed
Product-Led Growth: How to Build a Product That Sells Itself by Wes Bush
The Product-Led Playbook: How to Unlock Self-Serve Revenue and Dominate Your Market (With a Tiny Team) by Wes Bush
Free Audiobook of The Product-Led Playbook
Product-Led Onboarding by Ramli John
TinySeed
SparkToro
SavvyCal
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!...
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31:48
Episode 740 | My New Book! The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling Your Business Without Regret
In episode 740, Rob Walling speaks with Dr. Sherry Walling about their new book, "Exit Strategy: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling Your Business Without Regret." They explore the emotional, psychological, and practical aspects of selling a business, emphasizing the universal challenges entrepreneurs face. The book draws on both Rob and Sherry’s unique experiences that they’ve shared with countless founders throughout their careers.
Exit Strategy is now live on Kickstarter!
Topics we cover:
2:01 – Not just a book for those selling SaaS
8:13 – The Kickstarter for the book is live today
12:16 – Before, during, and after the exit
14:55 – Why exiting is so hard
20:39 – Life after the exit
25:10 – A few traps await founders shortly after exit
26:24 – What do you do with a big pile of money?
Links from the Show:
MicroConf Remote Goes Live November 20th!
Exit Strategy: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling Your Business Without Regret
Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X
Dr. Sherry Walling (@sherrywalling) | X
Zen Founder
Zen Founder Podcast
The SaaS Playbook
The Art of Selling Your Business by John Warrillow
Before the Exit by Dan Andrews
Finish Big by Bo Burlingham
MicroConf
TinySeed
Touching Two Worlds by Dr. Sherry Walling
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
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Episode 739 | Selling SaaS to Customers Who Don't Know They Have a Problem
In episode 739, Rob Walling interviews Andy Kim, co-founder of Trotto, about his unique journey into SaaS. Andy shares how “go links” work, and why they are so valuable for internal, enterprise use despite their relative obscurity. They also explore the marketing hurdles and customer adoption challenges in a business like Trotto.
Episode Sponsor:
Hiring senior developers can really move the needle in your business, but if you bring on the wrong person, you can quickly burn through your runway. If you need help finding a vetted, senior, results-oriented developer, you should reach out to today’s sponsor, Lemon.io.
For years, they’ve been helping our audience find high quality, global talent at competitive rates, and they can help you too.
Longtime listener Chaz Yoon, hired a senior developer from Lemon.io and said his hire ”definitely knew his stuff, provided appropriate feedback and pushback, and had great communication, including very fluent English. He really exceeded my expectations.”
Chaz said he’d definitely use Lemon.io again when he’s looking for a senior level engineer.
To learn more and get a 15% discount on your first four weeks of working with a developer at lemon.io/startups.
Topics we cover:
3:13 – Go links, URL shorteners for enterprise
6:14 – History of the problem and core users
9:44 – Customer education and growth opportunities
15:37 – Finding the repeatable marketing funnel
21:07 – Buying into a co-founder role at Trotto
24:42 – What’s the hardest part of running Trotto?
Links from the Show:
Exit Strategy: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling Your Business Without Regret
MicroConf Masterminds - Applications close on December 4th, 2024
Trot.to
Trotto go links (@TrottoHQ) | X
TinySeed
How did go links start and evolve at Google?
Quiet Light
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
The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.