Invigorating thoughts on creative expression, eking out a living and a grander purpose, creating real value, and trusting oneself.

From a graphic design gig that became her first and only real job, to becoming a freelancer and a teacher, and now the co-founder of a fast growing SaaS startup, Edgar, Laura Roeder has found a little more of herself, with every line of work.

In this episode, we cover:

Being uncertain about her aspirations as a kid.

Her first, and only, real job.

Quitting her job without clients or prospects, and surviving on a discount store.

Learning everything from scratch with trial and error.

What her first post on Copyblogger meant to her.

Her fondest memories from the early days .

Getting 10 years of experience versus an year of experience for 10 years.

How she thinks about luck.

The biggest motivation behind building Edgar.

The importance of owning one’s work.

Two other values that drive the Edgar team.

The singular purpose of the product.

Translating vision and feedback into a great product.

The role of imagination.

Today’s guest has become a known name in the SaaS circles owing to his work over the last 10 months or so. But these 10 months owe themselves to the last 10 years.

From wanting to be an NBA player, to the PGA tour, and then listening to and working closely with people that he admired, in companies like Constant Contact, Privy, and HubSpot, Dave Gerhardt has stuck with the principle of taking the long cut.

In today’s show we’ll speak with David Apple, the Director of Customer Success at Typeform, a startup that is reimagining the most fundamental interface between screens and humans.

Before joining Typeform, David worked as a Mechanical Engineer in London and Berlin, started and sold his own business, and tried getting into FC Barcelona.

Our current disciplines inform the future disciplines in ways that are hard to muster. The work of today’s guest is a testament to the same.

Today, we speak with Hana Abaza, the VP of Marketing at Uberflip, and we talk about starting early in life, teaching Ju-Jitsu, the importance of learning how to learn, building a lasting brand, learning from people who’ve just been where you were.

Today’s guest is Alex Theuma, the founder of SaaScribe, a close knit community of SaaS instigators. He also hosts The SaaS Revolution show. He has ran lemonade stands. He has made perfumes from flowers. And has been a nightclub promoter.

Post college, he has spent 11 years in the sales world. And over the last 18 months or so, he has created one of the most flourishing communities in the tech world.

And he has done that with an aim to produce consistent value for the community, both online and offline. With podcasts and meetups. With blog posts and keynotes. And a lot of care.

From being in the ruins of the music industry, in the early 2000s, Michael Sacca’s choices have led him in unusual directions, and he’s traveled with a backpack filled with stories, a grounding in business, and a willingness to question his trajectories, relentlessly.

In this episode, Michael lets us in on his journey, and talks about bootlegging music tapes in Albany, New York, his transition to the tech world, life resets, telling stories, creative expression.