Getting To Ramen
Joshua Anderton
One SaaS-trepreneur's journey to building a sustainable lifestyle business online. With all of the failures, successes, and learnings along the way (including interviews with people like Justin Jackson, Rob Walling, Ben Orenstein, and others).
An update on Meeps (and why it's a good time to be a TALL dev)
A long overdue update on how the development of Meeps is going!
Increasing motivation & focus (and what drives every living thing)
What began as some light reading in order to learn more about ADHD, has turned into a new obsession with the molecule that drives every living thing on this planet. This episode ended up being a continuation/revision/partial-redaction to Episode 37 on "mentally optimizing for creativity" (https://share.transistor.fm/s/7979b502). Links
Huberman Labs YouTube Channel
Controlling Your Dopamine For Motivation, Focus & Satisfaction | Huberman Lab Podcast #39
Characterization of dopamine releasabl
Mentally optimizing for creativity
After being diagnosed with ADD and SAD, Josh has been researching natural long-term solutions for a healthy, consistent, and creative mental game.Kite Drinks - Organic sparkling adaptogenic tea★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
It's a great time to SaaS
Josh talks about why it's such a great idea to build a software product right now.
Launching a SaaS. Selling a SaaS.
Here's a quick update on how things are going with Meeps and UpscribeMegamaker PodcastMeeps.app - A better way to manage an online communityUpscribe on MicroAcquire
Never going solo again
I'm working on a new project with Justin Jackson. Here's what it's been like so far...
I got micro-acquired
Recovered from surgery and back with an exciting announcement. One of my businesses has been acquired!LinksJoshua's Newsletter (https://joshuaanderton.upscri.be)Micro Acquire - Startup acquisition marketplaceMade With Grit - Podcast by Adreform's Landon Bennet and Kyle ConarroAdreform - Speed up your tedious ad ops tasks by 10xUserfeed - User feedback tool for InteromPutler - Consolidate all your stores, payment gateways and Google Analytics in a single appBillingly.io - Dunning emails
Time to get a job
Time to make a change. Here's how the last 7 months have gone and my plans moving forward.JoshuaAnderton.ca (Josh's personal portfolio site)UpscribePodmelon (Josh's podcast editing business)Vidmelon (Josh's video business)Transistor.fmBuild Your SaaSAdReformJosh's tweetMegaMakerPotion.soSandwich VideoWistia
PART 2: SaaS sales + getting to revenue quickly w/ Landon Bennet of AdReform
In this episode Josh talks to Landon Bennet of AdReform about finding and closing on larger SaaS customers.Landon has a ton of experience in SaaS sales at several customers (including 3 companies that he's successfully bootstrapped with his co-founder Kyle Conarro). This is a must-listen for any indie hackers or bootstrap founders.A few topics covered in the call are:Landon's approach to finding new (validated) business opportunitiesHow early conversations with potential customer helped
PART 1: Finding and closing bigger SaaS customers w/ Landon Bennet of AdReform
In this episode Josh talks to Landon Bennet of AdReform about finding and closing on larger SaaS customers.Landon has a ton of experience in SaaS sales at several customers (including 3 companies that he's successfully bootstrapped with his co-founder Kyle Conarro). This is a must-listen for any indie hackers or bootstrap founders.A few topics covered in the call are:You should never be surprised by the outcome of a dealTime kills every dealAnnual contractsAvoid forever discounts
Founder depression
Josh talks about what it's been like managing his mental health while trying to grow a software company full-time. There's also a tiny rant about a certain well-known exit and how the employees were "taken care of".
Building an email marketing solution as an IndieHacker
Making a Living From the Paid Newsletter Ecosystem with Yaroslaw Bagriy of Newsletter Crew
Focusing on just one product (still not ready for freemium)
Took the plunge! Josh talks about what it's been like after a month of working on Upscribe full-time.
Should you start multiple businesses? (I built something new)
As a maker, it's easy to get distracted by new technologies or emerging fads. But is it a great idea to start-up more than one thing simultaneously? Also, I started a new thing...Billingly.io - Dunning emails & sms for less (don't pay until we've recovered revenue for you!)Upscribe - No-bloat email marketing and opt-in formsPodmelon - Quality podcast editingBasecamp - The All-In-One Toolkit for Working RemotelyWildBit - The team behind Beanstalk, Postmark, DMARK Digest, and People-F
What not to work on next (advice from successful founders)
Tweet about balancing priorities as a founderVersolyVolkan Kaya TwitterDrawSQLDennis Ong TwitterUserfeed.ioSummitMatt Wensing TwitterBidSketchDocSketchRuben Gamez TwitterBorrowing Brilliance
You should be collecting customer feedback
Links & ResourcesUserfeed.ioBuild Your SaaS
What is "normal" now?
What will "business as usual" look like after this whole thing blows over? Plus; a few ways us techies can help during a pandemic.Show NotesStill here!Can things go back to normal?How this affects us and our businesses foreverWays we techies can help (financial and otherwise)Links & ResourcesThe Tyler Stalman Podcast, EP80: Tech and the Pandemic, with Sam ShefferMade With Grit Podcast, EP19: How we're dealing with COVID-19
Getting COVID-19, un-productivity hacks, and market differentiators
A bit of an update about the fam & I (as we've been recovering from COVID-19). I also rant about one of the best differentiators I think a business can have in a crowded market.
Head of Product at Userfeed.io
Links & ResourcesMade with Grit podcast episodeLandon's announcement on TwitterUserfeed - Build the right products and grow your business using Intercom data
Rob Walling of MicroConf & TinySeed on his Stairstep Approach to Bootstrapping
Links & ResourcesRob's Stairstep Approach to Bootstrapping blog postJosh's 2019 revenue tweetRob's response to revenue tweet
The big Stripe dispute: a cautionary tale
While driving his mini-van home one evening, Josh talks about a Stripe dispute that happened over Christmas time and gives updates on Podmelon (his newly branded podcast editing business) and Upscribe.
Repositioning a platform-reliant product
Stuck in traffic on my way home from downtown Vancouver, I talk about how the repositioning of Upscribe is going. I also give an update on the podcast editing business, and do some solo-founder venting...
Stuck at $5K MRR...now what?
Upscribehttps://upscri.bePodcard - Podcast editing serviceshttps://editing.podcard.fm
Ben Orenstein of Tuple.app on building a fast-growing bootstrapped company
Tuple - Pair programminghttps://tuple.appBen Orensteinhttps://twitter.com/r00k
Matt Wensing of SimSaaS.co on why you don't need a co-founder and taking funding from TinySeed
Matt's Tweethttps://twitter.com/mattwensing/status/1176469847468859392Matt Wensinghttps://twitter.com/mattwensingSimSaaShttps://simsaas.coMatt's podcast Out of Betahttps://outofbeta.fm/
Landon and Kyle of Userfeed.io and AdReform.com on using continues customer feedback to inform product
Userfeedhttps://userfeed.io@userfeedioAdReformhttps://adreform.com@adreformersLandon and Kyle's Podcast Made With Grithttps://madewithgrit.fmLandon on Twitter@LandonB32Kyle on Twitter@conarro
Mubashar Iqbal of PodHunt on building the company you want to work for
Mubashar Iqbal on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/mubashariqbalPodHunthttps://podhunt.appQuuuhttp://quuu.coI Worked Onhttps://iworkedon.com/@mubashariqbal
Matt Wensing of SimSaaS.co on scaling Stormpulse pricing from $0/mo to $30k/mo
Matt Wensinghttps://twitter.com/mattwensingSimSaaShttps://simsaas.coOut of Beta podcasthttps://outofbeta.fm/
Justin Jackson of Transistor.fm on why I'm not gaining traction
Justin Jacksonhttps://justinjackson.caTransistor.fm - Host all of your podcasts on Transistorhttps://transistor.fmMegaMaker - A community for bootstrappershttps://megamaker.coBaremetrics Open Startupshttps://baremetrics.com/open-startupsUpscribe's open metricshttps://upscribe.baremetrics.comDerrick Reimerhttps://www.derrickreimer.com/StaticKithttp://statickit.com
Benedikt Deicke of Userlist.io on competing with Intercom in an established market
Follow @benediktdeicke on Twitter.Userlist.io - A behavior-based customer messaging tool for SaaS companies.StageCMS - The Content Management System for unique band website design.Slow & Steady Podcast - A podcast by Benedikt Deicke and Brian Rea about what it's like to build and launch a bootstrapped startup while working for yourself full-time. Also, check out Benedikt's co-founder Jane Portman's podcast UI Breakfast!Userlist blog post about their launch strategy:https://userlist.
Going part time / building for everyone == building for no-one
Making a change! One that will affect Upscribe, and this podcast. I also reflect on my time in a rock band and how it has influenced the way I build software.
Product launches: Build first vs talk to customers first
After receiving some extremely appreciated listener feedback I go into more detail about how I started Upscribe following a failed project (that I also talk about) and the lessons learned. I also talk about the successful Product Hunt launch that brought in Upscribe' first 1000 users in just over a week.
Creating an emotional connection between your customer and your product
Customer service has become one of my favourite parts of running a small SaaS company. You learn so much about your product and what people are feeling when they use it. Here are a few examples how to turn an angry customer into a true fan or just truly churned.
Growing a startup and a young family and learning to take my time seriously
I’ve been doing a poor job lately of being present while with my family. In this episode I talk about some of the pressures of having a young family and trying to start a company as well as some of the benefits. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gettingtoramen/message
Why annual plans are a win win and I’m building features for nobody
In this episode I talk about my phone call with Corey Haines from Baremetrics (https://baremetrics.com) and how he showed me how I’ve been building a bunch of features no one needs (as well as how to fix this). Then I really nerd out like a number-one-fan about bootstrapping SaaS. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gettingtoramen/message
The downside to this “No Code” fad and lessons from a millionaire
This No Code fad has been huge. Tools like Bubble, WebFlow, etc. are killing it and changing the way we launch and build products. But there may be a cost I think most people aren’t thinking about. I also talk about a conversation I had with a multi-millionaire business man (who shall not be named) about “learning whatever it takes”.
Why MRR is a deceiving metric and my 2 year old thinks I don’t love him
Balancing a day job, a family, and a side project can be a rollercoaster of emotion. So are revenue analytics. I talk about these (while trying to say “umm” less), how founders are addicted to checking their baremetrics dashboard, and a more (not a lot more).
The future of “growth hacking”
Wistia, Basecamp, Transistor.fm...companies that are run by teams who actually need and use the product they build. Here’s another rant about the advantages of being your own customer and NOT JUST knowing your own customers.
Why I’m making a podcast about SaaS
I talk about why I’m building a SaaS company and why I’m podcasting about it.