Build Your SaaS

This week, Jon and Justin talk about new developments with Transistor:

• We've taken over $100,000 in funding (from our customers!)
• We harken back to July of 2018 (right before our official launch), when Justin was stressed about money.

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• ProfitWell gives you free subscription metrics for your SaaS. Just plug in your billing system (Stripe, Zuora, Braintree, Chargebee, Recurly are all supported) and get free access to your MRR, churn, cohorts. Sign up for free at profitwell.com.
• Redash is is a BI tool for people who love SQL. Connect your database, query, visualize and share your data in minutes. Mention "Build your SaaS podcast" and get 50% off your first 3 months! Sign up at redash.io

Show notes:

• Old episode: The opposite of bored money
• Justin’s tweets on why we're considering switching to Statamic from WordPress
• Article: How an Offer to Sell Wistia Inspired Us to Take On $17m in Debt
• Podcast: Reboot podcast interviews Wistia's founders
• Google PageSpeed test
• SanityCheck by Nick

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Colin Gray
• Josh Smith
• Ivan Curkovic
• Brian Rhea
• Miguel Piedrafita
• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett 
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda danbuda.com
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• ProfitWell.com
• Redash.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

More honest updates from Jon and Justin on what it's like to be building Transistor.fm:

• People can't believe that we're using this in production.
• Why SaaS feels better than other businesses we've been involved with.
• "Kubernetes sounds like a Russian swat squad."
• There's a temptation to over-engineer things; but there's only two of us working on Transistor!
• The enterprise sales process seems like it's too much for our small bootstrapped company.
• Looking back, we were wrong about who are customers were going to be.
• You won't believe what Justin's been sending to customers. 😳

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• ProfitWell gives you free subscription metrics for your SaaS. Just plug in your billing system (Stripe, Zuora, Braintree, Chargebee, Recurly are all supported) and get free access to your MRR, churn, cohorts. Sign up for free at profitwell.com.
• Redash is is a BI tool for people who love SQL. Connect your database, query, visualize and share your data in minutes. Mention "Build your SaaS podcast" and get 50% off your first 3 months! Sign up at redash.io

Show notes:

• Tweet from Caddy's engineer
• Podcast: Protect the Hustle
• Podcast: Not Overthinking
• Ruben's new app: Docsketch

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Josh Smith
• Ivan Curkovic
• Brian Rhea
• Miguel Piedrafita
• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett 
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda danbuda.com
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• ProfitWell.com
• Redash.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

Jon and Justin share some honest updates about as they continue to build their SaaS (Transistor.fm):

• Justin swears in this episode.
• We're half way through 2019!?!
• Jon is wondering if donuts are big in Canada.
• Official Transistor start dates:
  • May 2017: actual incorporation date
  • January 2018: Jon and Justin sign partnership documents
  • August 2018: official launch
  • "Some days I feel like I've been doing 
• Justin thinks business is a lot like fishing.
  • "Transistor's launch has felt different than other products I've been involved with."
• Jon is debating whether some integrations are worth it: "The nature of the web and APIs are amazing but it sure does take up a lot of resources."

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• ProfitWell gives you free subscription metrics for your SaaS. Just plug in your billing system (Stripe, Zuora, Braintree, Chargebee, Recurly are all supported) and get free access to your MRR, churn, cohorts. Sign up for free at profitwell.com.
• Redash is is a BI tool for people who love SQL. Connect your database, query, visualize and share your data in minutes. Need to report on your weekly goals and metrics? Mention "Build your SaaS podcast" and get 50% off your first 3 months! Sign up at redash.io

Show notes:

• justinjackson.ca/jump
• Twitter thread about fishing
• Nieman Lab article on new Apple Podcast desktop app
• Apple’s original“podcasting on iTunes” announcement

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Ivan Curkovic
• Brian Rhea
• Miguel Piedrafita
• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett 
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• ProfitWell.com
• Redash.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

Jon and Justin share some honest updates about as they continue to build their SaaS (Transistor.fm):

• Jon asks: "how do you prioritize with limited resources?"
• "Working on something for an hour only isn’t really feasible. it takes about 20 minutes just to back into it."
• Justin is thinking about "the myth of the niche market"
• This latest revenue update has Jon and Justin scared. 😱

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• Balsamiq is giving a shout out to their ADMIN team members. They are the unsung heroes of any well-run software business, and rarely get any spotlight. Without their tireless work, none of it would be possible. Anna, Joy, Amanda and Natalie: thanks for everything you do. You're the "oil" that keeps our engine running smoothly, but you’re also the oil that completes our Balsamiq dressing! balsamiq.com/company
• Clubhouse.io: Clubhouse is the first project management platform for software development that brings everyone together. It's designed for developers, but product folks, marketing, support folks love using it. Get two months free: clubhouse.io/build.

Show notes:

• Myth of the niche market
• Transistor's revenue numbers

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Ivan Curkovic
• Brian Rhea
• Miguel Piedrafita
• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett 
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• Balsamiq.cloud
• Clubhouse.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

Happy Two-Four ya hosers! After a Canadian long weekend, Jon and Justin convene to talk about:

• Justin thinks non-alcoholic drinks are going to be huge.
• Jon just shipped an update that puts RSS feeds on a CDN.
• We're still struggling to "find the time" to work on big features.
• Building things slowly vs BEING IN A RUSH!

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• Balsamiq: You can meet the support team at balsamiq.com/support - they're awesome people.
• Clubhouse.io: Clubhouse is the first project management platform for software development that brings everyone together. It's designed for developers, but product folks, marketing, support folks love using it. Get two months free: clubhouse.io/build.

Show notes:

• Derek Sivers on the Tim Ferris Show
• sivers.org
• Derrick Reimer on moving on
• Art of Product product

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Ivan Curkovic
• Brian Rhea
• Miguel Piedrafita
• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett 
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• Balsamiq.cloud
• Clubhouse.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

Jon and Justin are wrestling with thoughts about growth:

• "Our current rate of growth is nice: it feels sustainable." – Justin
• "It feels less sustainable for me, because I'm working a full-time job." – Jon
• We’re able to keep up with demand, and enjoy the process.
• There are all these stories about folks whose companies are growing like crazy. They’re just always adding more people, more process, more stress. Do we want that?
• Peldi tells this story about starting Balsamiq. He said his launch was like “holding on to a rocket ship with his fingernails.”
• Some folks would say we should be capturing more of the market. There’s this idea that you can’t be satisfied with what you have. That you have to juice every bit of growth you can.
• But then you’re building all of these dependencies that you have to keep up even when the market goes down.

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• Balsamiq: If you’d like to help in make Balsamiq Wireframes better, and help them shape the future of wireframing, join their Customer Advisory Board at balsamiq.com/support/makeusbetter
• Clubhouse.io: Clubhouse is the first project management platform for software development that brings everyone together. It's designed for developers, but product folks, marketing, support folks love using it. Get two months free: clubhouse.io/build.

Show notes:

• Greg Wade, the baker that Jon apprenticed with, just won a James Beard award.
• Peldi's interview on Indie Hackers.
• Paul Jarvis on growth and sustainability.
• Bootstrapped Web podcast: Jordan loves building his team.

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Miguel Piedrafita
• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett - SnapShooter
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• Balsamiq.cloud
• Clubhouse.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

Jon and Justin are back from Portland and wrestling with ideas, bots, and CMSes:

• Justin's spouse wants to know why we wouldn't sell for $5 million (and each get $2.5 million)
• Jon found some bot traffic that we need to eliminate from our analytics, and it's giving him a Postgres headache.
• Justin is trying a bunch of different CMS options: Vapid, Statamic in an effort to get off WordPress.

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• Balsamiq: They make a low-fidelity wireframing tool, specifically geared for non-designers. Get in the zone, and I feel creative right away. Try out their free trial: balsamiq.com
• Clubhouse.io: Clubhouse is the first project management platform for software development that brings everyone together. It's designed for developers, but product folks, marketing, support folks love using it. Get two months free: clubhouse.io/build.

Show notes:

• Book: Company of One by Paul Jarvis
• Book: Sourdough a Novel
• PRX User Agent
• Dave Zohrob from Chartable
• Vapid.com
• JustinJackson.ca (built on Statamic)
• Statamic.com

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Miguel Piedrafita
• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett - SnapShooter
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• Balsamiq.cloud
• Clubhouse.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

Jon and Justin do a founder retreat in Portland with Darby Frey and Shay Howe (Lead Honestly). We hashed out some ideas for:

• How do you start building a really big feature?
• What does version 1 of our "dynamic content" feature look like?
• Setting up Mixpanel: creating event triggers, funnels, and onboarding.

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• Balsamiq: They make a low-fidelity wireframing tool, specifically geared for non-designers. Get in the zone, and I feel creative right away. Try out their free trial: balsamiq.com
• Clubhouse.io: Clubhouse is the first project management platform for software development that brings everyone together. It's designed for developers, but product folks, marketing, support folks love using it. Get two months free: clubhouse.io/build.

Show notes:

• Lead Honestly
• Photo: We got to hang out with some cool folks in Portland
• How to host a “tiny” conference
• How to host a retreat
• Hiten Shah: "Hiten bombs" article

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett - SnapShooter
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• Balsamiq.cloud
• Clubhouse.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

If you're struggling with pricing your app, listen to this episode! Ben Orenstein, Jordan Gal, Patrick Campbell, and I discussed whether "charge more" is always the right answer.

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• Balsamiq: They make a low-fidelity wireframing tool, specifically geared for non-designers. Get in the zone, and I feel creative right away. Try out their free trial: balsamiq.com
• Clubhouse.io: Clubhouse is the first project management platform for software development that brings everyone together. It's designed for developers, but product folks, marketing, support folks love using it. Get two months free: clubhouse.io/build.

Show notes:

• YouTube Live
• Justin's article: Should we always charge more?
• Ben Orenstein, Tuple.app
• Jordan Gal, CartHook
• Patrick Campbell, Price Intelligently
• Justin Jackson, Transistor.fm

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Shane Smith
• Austin Loveless
• Simon Bennett - SnapShooter
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• Balsamiq.cloud
• Clubhouse.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!

Jon is away so Justin called up Taylor Otwell, the creator of Laravel. In this episode we covered:

• How Laravel become the most popular backend framework on GitHub.
• Surprise! Taylor wasn't really into computers before he created Laravel.
• What was Taylor's motivation? Why did he create this, even though there were other alternatives?
• What's Laravel's secret? Why did it succeed?
• How is Laravel a business? How does it earn revenue?

Here's the timeline we discussed:

• 2010: Taylor starts working on Laravel.
• 2011: Taylor launched version 1.0 of Laravel.
• 2013: Taylor launches an ebook
• 2013: Start working on Forge
• 2013: First Laracon conference (90 people)
• 2014: Launches Forge at Laracon (240 people)
• 2014: after a month he had 1000 customers, $90k / ARR almost right from launch. (He thought it would maybe make $2-$3k / month). Plans started at $10 / month.
• End of 2014: decided to go full-time on Laravel.
• 2015: Full-time on Laravel, developed a competitive nature, really driven to see Laravel 
• 2015: Launched Envoyer.io 
• 2016: Launched Spark, as a “SaaS starter kit.”
• 2016: First full-time employee, Mohamed Said.
• 2017: Launched Laravel Echo, Passport, Notifications. 
• 2017: Second hire, 
• 2018: Laravel Nova.

★ Thanks to our sponsors:

• Balsamiq: They make a low-fidelity wireframing tool, specifically geared for non-designers. Get in the zone, and I feel creative right away. Try out their free trial: balsamiq.com
• Clubhouse.io: Clubhouse is the first project management platform for software development that brings everyone together. It's designed for developers, but product folks, marketing, support folks love using it. Get two months free: clubhouse.io/build.

Show notes:

• Taylor Otwell on Twitter
• Taylor Otwell's podcast
• Laravel.com
• Laracon - the Laravel conference
• Justin's article: Why many products struggle, and only a few succeed
• Jeffrey Way and Laracasts
• Create your own podcast at transistor.fm

You can reply to this podcast here:

• Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.
• Otherwise, get us on Twitter: @transistorfm or email us: [email protected]

Thanks to our monthly supporters:

• Simon Bennett - SnapShooter
• Corey Haines
• Michael Sitver
• Paul Jarvis and Jack Ellis
• Dan Buda
• Darby Frey
• Samori Augusto
• Dave Young
• Brad from Canada
• Kevin Markham
• Sammy Schuckert
• Dan Ericson
• Mike Walker
• Adam DuVander
• Dave Giunta (JOOnta)
• Balsamiq.cloud
• Clubhouse.io
• GetRewardful.com

🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.
📺 Learn how to start your own podcast!