Build Your SaaS

Is ONCE enough?


Listen Later

A panel discussion on 37signals' first ONCE product, the launch of Campfire ("pay for it once, install it, and run it on your own server"). Ian Landsman, Tyler Tringas, and Justin Jackson share what they expected to happen before the launch, what did happen, and what it means for indie hackers and bootstrappers who want to launch SaaS companies. Is this the end of SaaS?

Links:

  • Once landing page
  • Campfire sales page
  • DHH's tweet: "ONCE/Campfire hasn't even been for sale for a week, but we've already sold more than quarter of a million dollars."
  • Tyler Tringas's video

I want to hear your thoughts:

If you listen to the episode, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts:

  • Can you think of a low-price, pay-once, on-prem software product that's succeeded? (The only one I could think of was ​Statamic CMS​)
  • Do you think a different Once product might have made more sales? What kinds of products do you think might work?
  • Did you buy Campfire? What did you buy it for? Are you using it as a chat tool for your company?
  • Other thoughts on our discussion.

👉 ​Leave a voicemail here​

🐦 Reply on Twitter


Timestamps:

  • (00:00:00) - "I appreciate that 37signals exists."
  • (00:01:58) - 37signals' influence in the bootstrapped startup space
  • (00:03:58) - What did we expect from the Campfire/Once launch?
  • (00:06:23) - DHH's tweet on Campfire sales – is that what we expected?
  • (00:09:49) - The Once model, philosophy, and Campfire's history
  • (00:17:21) - Misconceptions about what IT Managers want
  • (00:19:49) - How Campfire was marketed and positioned
  • (00:26:01) - Basecamp's PR, virality, and audience 
  • (00:28:29) - Can you do customer research to validate demand?
  • (00:32:01) - The volume of sales as a success metric
  • (00:33:33) - The Potential for Campfire's expansion
  • (00:37:37) - Distribution opportunities with hosting providers
  • 00:39:31) - The intuition behind HEY Email's success
  • (00:43:42) - The Value of an Audience and Customer Overlap
  • (00:45:12) - The Compounding Advantage of Longevity
  • (00:49:54) - Scorecard

Thanks to our monthly supporters

  • Pascal from sharpen.page
  • Rewardful.com
  • Greg Park
  • Mitchell Davis from RecruitKit.com.au
  • Marcel Fahle, wearebold.af
  • Bill Condo (@mavrck)
  • Ward from MemberSpace.com
  • Evandro Sasse
  • Austin Loveless
  • Michael Sitver
  • Colin Gray
  • Dave Giunta

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

    ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Build Your SaaSBy Transistor.fm

    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7

    4.7

    79 ratings


    More shows like Build Your SaaS

    View all
    The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source by Changelog Media

    The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

    285 Listeners

    Startups For the Rest of Us by Rob Walling

    Startups For the Rest of Us

    694 Listeners

    Bootstrapped Web by Bootstrapped Web

    Bootstrapped Web

    57 Listeners

    The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship by Omer Khan

    The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship

    180 Listeners

    Laravel News Podcast by Jacob Bennett and Michael Dyrynda

    Laravel News Podcast

    54 Listeners

    The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

    The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

    179 Listeners

    Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

    Y Combinator Startup Podcast

    214 Listeners

    Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats by Wes Bos & Scott Tolinski - Full Stack JavaScript Web Developers

    Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats

    984 Listeners

    REWORK by 37signals

    REWORK

    212 Listeners

    My First Million by Hubspot Media

    My First Million

    2,616 Listeners

    The Bootstrapped Founder by Arvid Kahl

    The Bootstrapped Founder

    32 Listeners

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

    All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

    8,385 Listeners

    The Startup Ideas Podcast by Greg Isenberg

    The Startup Ideas Podcast

    185 Listeners

    Mostly Technical by Ian Landsman and Aaron Francis

    Mostly Technical

    15 Listeners

    Moneywise by Hampton

    Moneywise

    633 Listeners