Trial to Paid – SaaS Journeys to $1K MRR and Beyond

By Rob Morgan

Early stage SaaS founders tell their unvarnished stories of how they clawed their way to $1k MRR.

What worked, what didn't, how they stayed sane.... more

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FAQs about Trial to Paid – SaaS Journeys to $1K MRR and Beyond:

How many episodes does Trial to Paid – SaaS Journeys to $1K MRR and Beyond have?

The podcast currently has 5 episodes available.

Trial to Paid – SaaS Journeys to $1K MRR and Beyond episodes:

July 11, 2025 Shervin Koushan (AnyTracker): $800 MRR from 10K Freemium Users – Time to Experiment With Pricing?
In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Shervin Koushan discusses the development and success of his versatile app, AnyTracker, which allows users to track various metrics from any website. Shervin outlines his guiding principles for creating successful apps and shares how his personal coding journey from high school to studying robotics at university influenced his work. He highlights the app's broad appeal, user growth, and revenue model, while also touching on business challenges and future aspirations. Shervin emphasises the importance of continuous improvement, user feedback, and the potential to tap into new markets. The episode provides valuable insights for aspiring app developers and entrepreneurs.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:16 Guiding Principles for Building Products
01:10 Shervin's Coding Journey
02:52 The Creation of AnyTracker
06:38 How AnyTracker Works
10:49 Market and User Insights
17:59 Business Model and Pricing
18:53 Revenue Insights and Pricing Strategies
19:43 Freemium Model and User Base
21:20 Marketing Efforts and User Acquisition
24:34 Lessons Learned and Future Plans
28:11 Scaling and Monetization Goals
30:31 Partnerships and Team Dynamics
32:03 Balancing Day Job and Side Projects
32:57 Final Thoughts and Advice for Founders
Shervin's Links
AnyTracker: https://anytracker.app
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/shervin-koushan-907917192/
X: https://x.com/koushanshervin
Instagram: https://instagram.com/_shervinkoushan_
Rob's Links
Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan
X: https://x.com/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)
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35min
July 02, 2025 Martin Rue (LangSesh): From Engineering Manager to Purpose-Driven SaaS Nomad
In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Rob Morgan welcomes Martin Rue, the founder of LangSesh, to discuss his journey from a lifelong passion for languages and software engineering to creating an innovative language learning tool. Martin shares his guiding principles for building products, the importance of honesty and doing meaningful work, and his unique path as a digital nomad in Southeast Asia. The conversation delves into LangSesh's development, including challenges, technological choices, and the essential feedback loop with users. Martin also emphasises the significance of aligning personal interests with entrepreneurial projects, fostering a fulfilling and sustainable work-life balance. This episode is packed with insights on innovation, user-centered design, and maintaining motivation in the startup world.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:17 Guiding Principles in Product Design
01:06 The Importance of Helping Others
02:31 Building for Yourself and Finding Your Market
03:21 Discussing LangSesh
03:49 Early Coding Journey
08:14 The Fascination with Languages
13:05 Discovering Esperanto
20:03 Entrepreneurial Journey and Side Projects
25:11 Challenges and Lessons Learned
27:46 Transition to Digital Nomad Life
31:49 Cutting Costs and Saving Time: Our Move to Vietnam
33:32 Living Off Savings: The Reality of Our Journey
35:11 The Ups and Downs of Life in Vietnam
39:23 Introducing LangSesh: A New Language Learning Tool
40:34 LangSesh Features and User Experience
43:40 Challenges and Iterations: Improving LangSesh
49:01 The Journey of Building LangSesh
57:45 Validating and Launching LangSesh
01:05:06 Feedback and Iteration
01:06:13 Shipping Updates and Pricing Changes
01:08:09 Challenges and Early Signals
01:10:02 Marketing and Community Engagement
01:14:24 Tech Stack and Development Philosophy
01:19:53 Wins and Learnings
01:26:13 Future Vision and Advice for Founders
01:35:09 Final Thoughts and Contact Information
Martin's Links
LangSesh: https://langsesh.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/martinrue/
X: https://x.com/martinrue
Rob's Links
Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan
X: https://x.com/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)
...more
1h 37min
June 25, 2025 Jerad Maplethorpe (Hypertxt): From $3K to $2K MRR and Back Again – What I Learned From Churn
In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Rob Morgan chats with Jerad Maplethorpe, founder of Hypertxt, an AI-driven SEO article writing tool. Jerad shares his journey from ideating and building projects to focusing on creating profitable businesses. He delves into his guiding principles, his background in writing and web development, and the evolution of Hypertext. The conversation covers the successes and challenges Jerad faced, including targeting the right audience, pricing strategies, and the importance of user feedback. Despite facing hurdles such as churn and shifting user behaviour, Jerad highlights his ongoing passion for building products and his current work on a new tool aimed at simplifying the creation of newsletters. The episode is packed with valuable insights for aspiring founders, especially those interested in bootstrapping and indie hacking.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Welcoming Jerad
00:18 Guiding Principles in Business
01:19 Discussing SaaS Product Hypertext
01:43 Jerad's Background and College Days
03:12 Early Web Development and Projects
05:12 First Successful Product: Narrow
08:11 Challenges and Lessons Learned
09:19 Introduction to Hypertext
10:49 Target Audience and User Experience
23:18 Validation and Market Fit
25:58 Competitors and Market Position
31:27 Business Progress and Future Plans
39:42 Understanding Customer Profiles
40:01 The Benefits of Structured AI Tools
42:10 Challenges in Marketing and Conversion
42:49 Initial Trials and Marketing Strategies
46:38 Building and Iterating the Product
50:39 Tech Stack and Development Insights
52:28 Key Wins and Learning from Failures
01:01:27 Future Plans and Philosophies
01:07:45 Advice for Aspiring Founders
Jerad's Links

Hypertxt: https://hypertxt.ai
NewsletterOps: https://newsletterops.ai
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/maplethorpe/
X: https://x.com/maplethorpej
Rob's Links
Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)
...more
1h 13min
June 19, 2025 Mo Rassam (LiGo): From "Chief Failure Officer" to $5K MRR Helping B2B Teams Win on LinkedIn With AI
In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Rob Morgan chats with Mo Rassam, co-founder of LiGo, about the journey of building and growing AI-powered products and businesses. Mo shares guiding principles that have helped in shaping his career and startups, particularly around leveraging AI for automation and maintaining lean operations.
The conversation touches upon the inception of LiGo, a full-stack LinkedIn automation tool aimed at optimizing LinkedIn content for various user segments like founders, agency owners, and independent consultants. Mo also delves into the evolution of his programming passion, initial coding experiences, and his venture into artificial intelligence and product development.
The episode covers the significance of rapid prototyping, validation processes, SEO strategies using AI, and the challenges of differentiating LiGo in a competitive market. Mo emphasizes the importance of starting early in the tech field, the necessity of building quality products, and effectively leveraging multiple acquisition channels including Medium and Reddit.
Lastly, future aspirations for LiGo and the broader company vision are outlined, providing listeners with valuable insights into startup growth and AI integration.

Chapters
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:14 Guiding Principles in Business
00:55 The Philosophy of AI in Business
02:54 Journey into Coding and Early Career
07:29 Founding Antimatter and Transition to LiGo
10:41 Developing LiGo: Challenges and Strategies
12:51 LiGo's Target Audience and Market Fit
15:58 Product Features and Compliance
24:49 Business Progress and Future Plans
30:26 SEO and User Acquisition Strategies
31:00 Addressing Customer Churn and Product Stickiness
33:24 Paid Acquisition Experiments
35:00 Building the MVP and Team Dynamics
38:55 Effective Marketing Channels
46:12 Challenges with LinkedIn
50:02 Future Goals and Vision
59:00 Advice for Aspiring Founders

Mo's Links

LiGo: https://ligo.ertiqah.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/muhammad-rassam/
Rob's Links
Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)
...more
1h 3min
June 12, 2025 Bill Yang (Rybbit): From “Too Dumb to Code” to $1.6K in 35 Days
In the very first episode of Trial to Paid, Rob Morgan chats with Bill Yang, the indie hacker behind Rybbit — a privacy-focused, open-source web analytics platform that hit $1.6K in revenue just 35 days after launch.
Bill shares how he went from thinking he was “too dumb to code” in high school to building a high-traffic gaming analytics site (1.5M sessions/month) and then leveraging that experience to launch Rybbit. We dive into his origin story, why he chose open source, how he engineered a viral launch with zero ad spend, and what he’s learned along the way — including smart moves like embedding a live demo directly into his landing page.
If you're into indie hacking, open source, or bootstrapping SaaS from scratch, this one’s packed with real talk and tactical insights.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome to the Trial to Paid Podcast
00:21 Guiding Principles for Building Products
03:45 The Journey to Becoming a Coder
12:30 Early Entrepreneurial Ventures
14:24 Building Tomato.gg
19:10 Introducing Rybbit: A Google Analytics Alternative
23:36 Rybbit's Market Position and Competitors
28:18 Differentiating Through Design
29:18 Building the Marketing Site
30:08 Using AI Tools in Development
30:56 Launching the Product
33:10 Technical Stack and Frameworks
35:14 Open Source Strategy
42:50 Marketing and Promotion
50:12 Reflections and Future Plans
57:31 Advice for Aspiring Developers

Bill's Links

Rybbit: https://rybbit.io
Tomato.gg: https://tomato.gg
X: https://x.com/yang_frog
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-yang-/
Rob's Links
Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)
...more
1h

FAQs about Trial to Paid – SaaS Journeys to $1K MRR and Beyond:

How many episodes does Trial to Paid – SaaS Journeys to $1K MRR and Beyond have?

The podcast currently has 5 episodes available.