Open Threads

By Brian Casel

What's Open Threads about?

Brian Casel hosts conversations with founder friends. We talk about startups, products, software, entrepreneurship, but also what's happening in our lives away from our screens and revenue graphs.

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Open Threads episodes:

05.29.2024
Bringing Great Design to WordPress with Mike McAllister
Mike McAllister is a designer of brands, websites, products, and WordPress goodness... Here in part 2 of our conversation, we dive into Mike's current work on OllieWP, a new product that brings great design to the WordPress ecosystem. We also...
05.22.2024
From Designing Products to Acquihired with Mike McAllister
Mike McAllister has an incredible track record as a designer of brands, websites, products, and WordPress goodness... In part 1, we talked about Mike's experience building a successful WordPress products business that was acquired by WPEngine, and what he learned...
05.15.2024
From Products to Product Agency with Shawn Adrian of Input Logic
Here's my conversation with Shawn Adrian, co-founder of Input Logic, a product design and development agency. They're also launching their own product in 2024 in the AI journaling space, called Stilo.ai. This conversation was recorded on March 5th, 2024. {{...
05.08.2024
The 80/20 Software Consultancy Model with Daniel Coulbourne
Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. Daniel Coulbourne is the cofounder of Thunk.dev and the co-host of the Talking Businessly podcast. We had a great conversation about the "80/20 model" in software development consulting, striking a balance between working...
05.01.2024
Radical Design with Jack McDade
Jack McDade is the creator of the new course, Radical Design. He's also the founder of Statamic CMS. In this contuation of our conversation, we talked about Jack's unique approach to designing things and how he strikes a balance between...
04.24.2024
The Story of Statamic CMS with Jack McDade
Jack McDade is the founder of Statamic CMS and the creator of the new course, Radical Design. In this conversation, Jack shared his story of going from film maker to full stack designer and developer to building a website CMS...
04.17.2024
Software founder life in NYC with Sam Selikoff
Sam Selikoff, cofounder of BuildUI, returns to the show and we talk all about NYC! New York City, one of my favorite places. Brian and Sam’s conversation was recorded on December 15th, 2023. Brian's update was recorded on...
04.10.2024
Building a Courses Business with a YouTube audience with Kevin Powell
Kevin Powell returns to the show where we talk about the business side of his work as a YouTuber and teacher of front-end development and CSS. Brian and Kevin’s conversation was recorded on December 7th, 2023. Brian's update...
04.03.2024
How Lianna Patch Reinvented Her Copywriting Business
Lianna Patch wasn’t thrilled with the work she was doing, who she was doing it for, and the lack of fun she was having as a professional copywriter. So she changed everything and relaunched her Punchline Copy business with a...
03.27.2024
Fractional Product Management to SaaS Cofounder with James Lewis
I invited James Lewis on to help understand the idea of a “fractional product manager” (and we covered that) but it turned into James’ story of how we transitioned from that into cofounder of a new SaaS, Lemon, in the...
03.20.2024
From Founder to Coaching Founders with Justin Ferriman
Justin Ferriman returns and we discuss his post-exit transition to becoming a business coach for other founders. Brian and Justin’s conversation was recorded on November 10th, 2023. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. (00:00) - From Founder...
03.13.2024
Teaching User Interface Development with Sam Selikoff (BuildUI)
Sam Selikoff, cofounder of BuildUI joins me for a wide-ranging (and sometimes technical) conversation about his journey as a software engineer, and his business teaching UI development with video courses and YouTube. Brian and Sam’s conversation was recorded on...
03.06.2024
The Health Pendulum as Entrepreneurs with Jay Clouse
Jay Clouse, founder of Creator Science, returns to the show and we have a fun episode where we talk about our lives away from the cameras and mics to talk about how we stay fit and healthy (or at least...
02.28.2024
Geeking out on Comedy with Lianna Patch
Lianna Patch is known as a fantastic copywriter. Why? Because she’s also a comedian! We talk about Lianna’s passion for the craft of comedy, her comedic roots, and how she translated that into a thriving career as a copywriter. ...
02.21.2024
Teaching CSS to 800k YouTube Subscribers with Kevin Powell
I spoke to Kevin Powell, YouTuber and front-end CSS teacher about how he operates his YouTube content business and how he grew to over 800,000 subscribers. Brian and Kevin’s conversation was recorded on December 7th, 2023. Brian's update...
02.14.2024
YouTube as a Business with Aaron Francis
Aaron Francis, creator of screencasting.com and prolific YouTuber returns to the show to talk all things video, screencasting and growing a business on YouTube. Brian and Aaron's conversation was recorded on November 16th, 2023. Brian's update was recorded on...
02.07.2024
From Selling a WordPress Business to SaaS with Justin Ferriman
Justin Ferriman, founder of LearnDash, talks to me about how he started, grew, and exited from this WordPress business in the LMS space. Brian and Justin’s conversation was recorded on November 10th, 2023. Brian's update was recorded on...
01.31.2024
The Science Behind a Creator Business with Jay Clouse
Jay Clouse, who runs Creator Science, joins me to talk all things creator businesses. Brian and Jay’s conversation was recorded on November 8th, 2023 Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. (00:00) - The Science Behind a...
01.24.2024
Scaling a Fitness Coaching Business with Adam Gilbert
Adam Gilbert, founder of My Body Tutor, joins me to talk about how he scaled a personal fitness coaching business. Brian and Adam’s conversation was recorded on November 3rd, 2023. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024....
01.17.2024
3+ Years of Nomad Life with Dru Riley
Dru Riley, founder of Trends.vc, returns to the show to talk about his life as a digital nomad for 3+ years. Brian and Dru's conversation was recorded on November 20th, 2023. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. (00:00)...
01.10.2024
Products vs. Creator Businesses with Aaron Francis
Aaron Francis, creator of screencasting.com and prolific YouTuber joins me to talk about his “Era of Maximum Effort”. We get into building products businesses vs. creator businesses, and more. Brian and Aaron's conversation was recorded on November 16th, 2023. ...
01.03.2024
The Laravel Ecosystem with Ian Landsman
Ian Landsman of HelpSpot joins me to unpack all things Laravel ecosystem. Brian and Ian's conversation was recorded on November 3rd, 2023. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. (00:00) - The Laravel Ecosystem with Ian Landsman (02:22) - Ian...
12.27.2023
Choosing & Sustaining Product Ideas w/ Colleen Schnettler
Colleen Schnettler, founder of HelloQuery, joins me for a wide-ranging discussion around the question of choosing the right product idea to commit to as an entrepreneur. Brian and Colleen recorded this conversation on November 17th, 2023. Brian's update was...
12.20.2023
Growing a Newsletter Business with Dru Riley (Trends.vc)
Dru Riley, founder of Trends.vc joins me to talk about building his Newsletter and Community business and the systems and processes he’s used to grow it. Brian and Dru's conversation was recorded on November 20th, 2023. Brian's update was...
12.13.2023
Rebuilding a SaaS from the ground up with Ian Landsman (HelpSpot)
Ian Landsman and his team at Userscape work on HelpSpot, a well-established SaaS product for customer support. And after well over 10 years in business, they decided to embark on a full rebuild of their app. Brian and Ian's conversation...
12.08.2023
Open Threads Returns!
Open Threads is returning! This is a quick update where I (Brian Casel) give you a preview of what's to come in the upcoming weekly episodes of Open Threads. Plus a note on some changes to the format, including an...
02.20.2023
Be Back in a Bit!
Hey! Just want to let you know that I’ll be taking a break (for a bit) from recording new episodes of this Open Threads podcast. But don’t unsubscribe! I promise to come back to this feed with new conversations as...
02.13.2023
Pivoting and Building Awareness for a New Product (in a Competitive Space) with J.R. Farr
Lemon Squeezy, the new platform for building SaaS businesses went through quite a few iterations before J.R. Farr and the Make Lemonade crew figured out what it is and who it’s for… And how to make people aware. Lots of...
02.06.2023
Newsletter-Driven Entrepreneurial Exploration with Corbett Barr
I invited Corbett back on the show when I noticed he’s been picking up steam on his Substack-based newsletter, Starting Things. Clearly, he’s in the exploration phase of his next entrepreneurial chapter. The perfect time for an Open Threads check-in...
01.30.2023
The Hidden Value Organizing and Attending a Conference for Fellow Founders with Tyler Tringas
Founder Summit was one of the best conferences I’ve attended because it’s built on the idea that a conference is really about the relationships, not the headline speakers. Tyler Tringas, founder of Calm Company Fund, takes us through how Founder...
01.23.2023
Creating Noteworthy Podcasts for Big Brands (as a business) with Harry Morton
Harry Morton, founder of Lower Street, is back on the show today to take us inside the creative process behind big brand podcast productions. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill interview shows. This is what next-level podcasting looks like — and how...
01.16.2023
Forming a Dream Team Partnership with J.R. Farr
In 2020, after a hugely successful run building and exiting MOJO Marketplace, J.R. Farr announced the formation of a “dream team” new company known as Make Lemonade. What they’re making is truly impressive. We get into it! Brian and J.R's...
01.09.2023
Hitting the Creative Reset Button (in between businesses) with Corbett Barr
After building, selling and exiting Fizzle, a community and content-based business, Corbett Barr decided to hit the reset button. How? By deleting all of his social media and past blog content to start with a clean slate. We explore what...
01.02.2023
Starting & Sustaining a Fund for Calm Companies with Tyler Tringas
From bootstrapping and selling a SaaS to… Starting a fund for bootstrapped SaaS companies. Tyler Tringas talks about that transition and what he’s learned since starting and growing Calm Company Fund. Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on January 2,...
12.19.2022
Talking Code & Product with Benedikt Deicke
It’s strange how little we talk about the code side of building and running a software business. So Benedikt Deicke, technical co-founder of Userlist, joins me to geek out on Rails, front-end frameworks, software testing, and more. Brian and Benedikt's...
12.12.2022
A Music Production Geek Out Session with Harry Morton
I’m on a quest to geek out with all my founder friends who are also musicians. Harry Morton shares a love for the combo of tech + creativity in music production. We geeked out about pursuing careers in recording studios,...
12.05.2022
American Founder Life Abroad (and Back) with Craig Hewitt
Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos, moved to France for 5 years but he and his family have moved back here to the States. We unpack life and business abroad vs. stateside and the many tradeoffs. Brian and Craig's conversation was...
11.28.2022
Shipping Speed & Deciding What to Build Next with Benedikt Deicke
In SaaS, speed matters. A lot. Benedikt Deicke, co-founder of Userlist, joins me to chat about shipping speed and how we decide what to build next. It’s too easy to get these essentials wrong! Brian and Benedikt's conversation was recorded...
11.21.2022
Geeking out on Music Documentaries with Justin Jackson
I could talk for days about music. So can Justin Jackson, cofounder of Transistor. So we geeked out on our favorite bands, documentaries, and how these experiences actually shape us as entrepreneurs (believe it or not!). Brian and Justin's conversation...
11.14.2022
Starting Over with a New SaaS Idea with Nathan Powell
After exiting his 1st SaaS and shuttering all his social media profiles, Nathan Powell is back online with a new idea for a SaaS - Feature Flux. Let’s dig into it. Brian and Nathan's conversation was recorded on November 14,...
11.07.2022
Quitting the Internet (for a while) with Nathan Powell
The story of why Nathan Powell quit the internet for a while after exiting his SaaS business (and why he came back to start his new company, Feature Flux). Brian and Nathan's conversation was recorded on November 7, 2022. ...
10.31.2022
People Strategy with Tyler King
Tyler King, CEO and co-founder of Less Annoying CRM, is back on the show to talk about teams. Remote, in-house, culture, experience, and everything in between. Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on October 31, 2022. Brian's update was...
10.25.2022
Sharing Our Fails (& Wins) with Craig Hewitt
Building in public ain’t all about the highlight reel. Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos, and I agree that there’s so much more to learn from our fails. The question is, how can we share them publicly in a helpful (and...
10.03.2022
The business of snowboarding (in the ‘90s) with Justin Jackson
Justin Jackson, co-founder of Transistor, joins me to share the story of how he started a snowboard shop in the late 90s and what, if any, parallels can be drawn to software businesses today. Brian and Justin's conversation was recorded...
09.26.2022
Portfolio of products vs. focus on one with Dan Rowden
Dan Rowden, founder of ilo, and I share our experiences running multiple products simultaneously vs focusing on one. Brian and Dan's conversation was recorded on September 26, 2022. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. Brian's Product Studio My product...
09.19.2022
Marketing: More Questions Than Answers with Tyler King (LessAnnoyingCRM)
Tyler King, CEO and co-founder of Less Annoying CRM, joins me to commiserate on why marketing a SaaS is so damn hard in 2022. Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on September 19, 2022. Brian's update was recorded on...
09.12.2022
Let’s find Kalen Jordan’s next business idea
Kalen Jordan, founder of Commercehero.io, joins me to talk about the next business idea. Brian and Kalen's conversation was recorded on September 12, 2022. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. Brian's Product Studio My product studio, Instrumental Products, is...
09.05.2022
Twitter in 2022 with Dan Rowden
Dan Rowden, founder of ilo.so, joins me to talk about Twitter in 2022 Brian and Dan's conversation was recorded on September 5, 2022. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. Brian's Product Studio My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where...
08.29.2022
The business of community with Matt Gartland, CEO of SPI with Pat Flynn
Matt Gartland, partner and CEO of Smart Passive Income, joins me to talk about the business of community. Brian and Matt's conversation was recorded on August 29, 2022. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. Brian's Product Studio My product...
08.22.2022
Transitioning Away From WordPress with Chris Lema
Chris Lema joins me to talk about transitioning away from WordPress. Brian and Chris's conversation was recorded on August 22, 2022. Brian's update was recorded on May 6th, 2024. Brian's Product Studio My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner...

What's Open Threads about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Open Threads episodes:

Bringing Great Design to WordPress with Mike McAllister

From Designing Products to Acquihired with Mike McAllister

From Products to Product Agency with Shawn Adrian of Input Logic

The 80/20 Software Consultancy Model with Daniel Coulbourne

Radical Design with Jack McDade

The Story of Statamic CMS with Jack McDade

Software founder life in NYC with Sam Selikoff

Building a Courses Business with a YouTube audience with Kevin Powell

How Lianna Patch Reinvented Her Copywriting Business

Fractional Product Management to SaaS Cofounder with James Lewis

From Founder to Coaching Founders with Justin Ferriman

Teaching User Interface Development with Sam Selikoff (BuildUI)

The Health Pendulum as Entrepreneurs with Jay Clouse

Geeking out on Comedy with Lianna Patch

Teaching CSS to 800k YouTube Subscribers with Kevin Powell

YouTube as a Business with Aaron Francis

From Selling a WordPress Business to SaaS with Justin Ferriman

The Science Behind a Creator Business with Jay Clouse

Scaling a Fitness Coaching Business with Adam Gilbert

3+ Years of Nomad Life with Dru Riley

Products vs. Creator Businesses with Aaron Francis

The Laravel Ecosystem with Ian Landsman

Choosing & Sustaining Product Ideas w/ Colleen Schnettler

Growing a Newsletter Business with Dru Riley (Trends.vc)

Rebuilding a SaaS from the ground up with Ian Landsman (HelpSpot)

Open Threads Returns!

Be Back in a Bit!

Pivoting and Building Awareness for a New Product (in a Competitive Space) with J.R. Farr

Newsletter-Driven Entrepreneurial Exploration with Corbett Barr

The Hidden Value Organizing and Attending a Conference for Fellow Founders with Tyler Tringas

Creating Noteworthy Podcasts for Big Brands (as a business) with Harry Morton

Forming a Dream Team Partnership with J.R. Farr

Hitting the Creative Reset Button (in between businesses) with Corbett Barr

Starting & Sustaining a Fund for Calm Companies with Tyler Tringas

Talking Code & Product with Benedikt Deicke

A Music Production Geek Out Session with Harry Morton

American Founder Life Abroad (and Back) with Craig Hewitt

Shipping Speed & Deciding What to Build Next with Benedikt Deicke

Geeking out on Music Documentaries with Justin Jackson

Starting Over with a New SaaS Idea with Nathan Powell

Quitting the Internet (for a while) with Nathan Powell

People Strategy with Tyler King

Sharing Our Fails (& Wins) with Craig Hewitt

The business of snowboarding (in the ‘90s) with Justin Jackson

Portfolio of products vs. focus on one with Dan Rowden

Marketing: More Questions Than Answers with Tyler King (LessAnnoyingCRM)

Let’s find Kalen Jordan’s next business idea

Twitter in 2022 with Dan Rowden

The business of community with Matt Gartland, CEO of SPI with Pat Flynn

Transitioning Away From WordPress with Chris Lema

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