Mike Taber (Bluetick) and Rob Walling (Drip) started MicroConf in 2011 as a conference for self-funded startups. It's gone from just over 100 attendees to nearly 500. It's become the place for bootstrappers to hang out.Get $100 off MicroConf St

EP90 – "Give yourself time." Building a profitable business on the Shopify apps platform

Nov 18th, 2017 49m 3s

6 years ago, Bjorn Forsberg built an app called OrderlyPrint for Shopify. His goal was to increase his freedom, and to spend more time with his family. Was able to achieve it? (This is the 5th case study in the Mega Profitable series)We shoul

EP101 – Scott Young: teach yourself how to program, finally!

Aug 7th, 2019 1h 28m

I've been trying to learn how to program since 1985. This past year, at 38 years old, I finally figured out how.Questions we discuss in this episode:Is there only "one" way to learn how to code?Why is getting started SO HARD?How did Justin fina

EP100 – James Clear: improving your life in 2019 with Atomic Habits

Jan 24th, 2019 1h 3m

James Clear describes how you can improve your life, using small incremental steps that add up to big wins.Questions we discuss in this episode:How does "what you repeatedly do" affect your identity?How does someone’s context affect their abili

EP99 – Ben Orenstein's new startup is focused on pair programming

Jan 2nd, 2019 1h 8m

Ben is the co-founder of Tuple.app and is running a new course called Habits for Hackers.★ Looking for a community of bootstrappers?Join MegaMaker ClubShow notesBen Orenstein on TwitterHabits for HackersMalcolm Gladwell and Rick Rubin talking a

EP98 – The hard truth about bootstrapping startups (Part 2 with Jason Cohen)

Dec 17th, 2018 1h 11m

Jason Cohen asks Justin Jackson hard questions about his startup, Transistor.fm, and what it's going to take to go full-time.This is the second half of our chat. Part 1 was really just setting the stage. Part 2 digs into the real-life challenge

EP97 – Can you bootstrap a company on the side? (Part 1 with Jason Cohen)

Dec 14th, 2018 32m 47s

When you're building a startup you have these questions:Should I work on my startup on the side, and grow it slowly?Should I take investment and go full-time sooner?These are the questions that have been circulating in my head over the past few

EP96 – My secret phone call with Hamish

Nov 23rd, 2018 58m 4s

Hamish Macpherson is an engineer at Buffer, and was one of the first people to join MegaMaker.★ Looking for community of bootstrappers?Join MegaMaker ClubShow notesFollow Hamish Macherson on TwitterBufferHamish's Stand to Make side-projectThe l

EP95 – "Programming's gateway drug" with Samantha Geitz

Nov 5th, 2018 1h 7m

This is a great chat with Samantha Geitz, a Senior Developer at Tighten, and the founder of BetaFish.Topics in this episode: Should "business/marketing" people learn programming?What's the difference between messing around and being a serious p

EP94 – Does the old SaaS playbook still work in 2018?

Jun 11th, 2018 57m 17s

So many great topics in this episode: Should developers learn design?Derrick's "viral signup" trickHow important is a personal brand?How to promote your project (while you're still building it)Do software companies need to become more service o

EP93 – SaaS pricing with Patrick Campbell

Jun 1st, 2018 57m 42s

I'm building a new SaaS in 2018 with my buddy Jon Buda called Transistor.fm. Now, we're trying to figure out our pricing. We're trying not to pretend we know everything there is to know about running a SaaS.So, we wanted to reach out to some ex

EP91 – Josh Nielsen from Zencastr: software for podcasters

Jan 6th, 2018 58m 29s

Josh started out trying to build a "GitHub for music." When that idea didn't pan out, he still wanted to do something with Web Audio and WebRTC. So he started building Zencastr, which gives podcasters the ability to record "double-ender" interv

EP89 – "We never wanted to fire anyone," Natalie Nagele on Wildbit's journey

Oct 28th, 2017 55m 29s

Back in the early 2000s, Wildbit was an agency building Flash websites for Philly nightclubs.Then, in 2007, they launched their first product, Beanstalk. Two years later, they quit doing consulting. Natalie Nagele takes us through their story!G

EP88 – Pippin Williamson from beer money to over $1 million in revenue with WordPress plugins

Oct 21st, 2017 47m 42s

Pippin Williamson started out like a lot of us do: building websites for whoever would pay him. He decided to try selling one of his WordPress plugins. Now, Pippin's Plugins earns over $1 million in revenue a year. This Mega Profitable series a

EP87 – How Nick Disabato built a profitable productized service

Oct 4th, 2017 55m 35s

It's time for another Mega Profitable interview! This series aims to help founders, like you, get profitable. Learn how Draft went from having $21 in the bank (in his first year) to creating a solid, profitable solo-founder business.Get all the

EP86 – Mega profitable with Brennan Dunn

Sep 20th, 2017 55m 36s

Introducing a new series: Mega Profitable. What's the difference between a founder who is mega profitable, and a product person who's just making a living? Brennan Dunn joins me to talk about his journey.This episode sponsored by...I've just up

EP85 – Facing your launch fears with Mike Taber of Bluetick.io

Aug 11th, 2017 44m 51s

You'll recognize Mike from Startups for the Rest of Us and the MicroConf conference. He's launching a new product called Bluetick.This episode sponsored by...★ I'm updating my most popular product: the Marketing for Developers book.Relaunches e

EP84 – Contrarian bootstrapper Ian Landsman

May 16th, 2017 1h 25m

"Charge more!" "Use content marketing!" "Start with an ebook!"There's a lot of folklore in the startup and bootstrapping community. Do they all stand up to scrutiny?This is my interview with long-time SaaS entrepreneur, Ian Landsman.Show notesL

EP83: Laura Elizabeth – unmistakable product validation

Apr 8th, 2017 45m 18s

How do you find product ideas that resonate?Hear how Laura knew there was demand for her project, Client Portal.Everyone was like: "I want that."(This is my special MicroConf 2017 episode!)Show notesLeave a review on iTunes!lauraelizabeth.coLau

EP82: Adam Wathan is back with a new launch story

Dec 23rd, 2016 59m 48s

When we last chatted with Adam Wathan he'd just launched his first book.His next project is a course called Test Driven Laravel. You won't believe his launch results!You'll hear how he built the course, all his launch numbers, and why he thinks

EP81: Behind Adam Wathan's $100k book launch

Nov 1st, 2016 1h 6m

Adam Wathan has always been passionate about learning new things, and sharing what he's learned with the world.Then he discovered that he could earn an independent living doing it.His book and video course, Refactoring to Collections, teaches P

EP80: Are we at peak SaaS?

Aug 12th, 2016 24m 2s

Should you start a SaaS company in 2016? Does it still make sense to run a SaaS as a solopreneur?(Originally posted on the MegaMaker podcast)SaaS isn’t a destination. It’s just a licensing and delivery model. Don’t treat it like a religion!

EP79: Josh Pigford - "We're all winging it"

Jun 21st, 2016 1h 2m

Josh is the founder of Baremetrics. But he's also just a normal guy. When a relatively well known investor chastised him, it stung.How does he deal with scrutiny?Most companies aren’t doing nearly as well as you think they are. 90% of the time

EP78: Nathan Barry - cash flow therapy (Part 2)

Apr 6th, 2016 31m 47s

This is part 2 of my conversation with Nathan Barry. In the past four months, he’s taken his burgeoning SaaS company (ConvertKit) from $1 million in annual recurring revenue to $2 million.That sounds exciting, but it wasn’t easy getting there.

EP77 - Nathan Barry – Three years in the desert (Part 1)

Apr 1st, 2016 35m 19s

The last time I talked to Nathan, his web app (ConvertKit) had just hit $5,000 in MRR. In this two part series, Nathan describes how they grew that to $182,000 in monthly recurring revenue.I’m going to start more conference talks with: “Look, t