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The Bootstrapped Founder

426: how your data model shapes your product

425: ai best practices for bootstrappers (that actually save you money)

424: i never really loved coding (and only ai made me realize it)

423: the marketer's hierarchy of needs: a framework for understanding customer intelligence

422: the things your customers don't care about

421: why you should never start a software business

420: ai for the code-writing purist: how to use ai without surrendering your keyboard

419: the missing piece in your validation strategy

418: why ai-generated code hurts your exit

417: the best tech stack in the age of ai

416: the ownership paradox: what do you really control in your software business?

handling multiple icps as a solo founder

414: the pure amateur is vanishing: why everyone's a performer now

413: we’re gonna need a bigger moat

the $0.20/day ai system that converts trial users into paying customers

411: the currents of a founder

410: building for the age of ai consumers

409: james phoenix — claude code masterclass

408: the podscan ideas vault: engineering as marketing

407: nick groeneveld — exploring ai's impact on modern design

406: making your business sellable (even if you never plan to sell)

405: the friction paradox: why ai might be making us worse at what we do

404: the transcription challenge: building infrastructure that scales with the world

403: amar ghose — from non-technical founder to saas innovator

402: a $2 billion industry built on digital duct tape

401: vova feldman — mastering entrepreneurship in the payments sector

400: the hidden revolution: ai is democratizing coding mentorship

399: nativephp: how simon hamp & shane rosenthal are building & monetizing php on mobile

398: the hidden cost of being first

397: when profitability disappears — a podscan reality check

396: jack friks — building tools that empower without overwhelming

395: from code writer to code editor: my ai-assisted development workflow

394: taylor otwell — the (quite entrepreneurial) creator of laravel

393: ai is a threat to saas multiples

392: building ai businesses without breaking the internet

391: ai is flipping our relationship with technology

390: when to choose local llms vs apis

389: the founder's first hire: when to let go of your weaknesses

388: the job to be done: understanding customer value communication

your api documentation is not for developers anymore

386: one year of podscan: reflecting on tech & business decisions

385: the balancing act: free trials, value demonstration, and business sustainability

podscan's profitability milestone: what's next?

383: repositioning podscan: from monitoring to data platform

382: i went to microconf in new orleans

381: how ai changes famous laws in software and entrepreneurship

380: experiment report: trying new things

379: anne-laure le cunff — tiny experiments

378: think with ai, do with people

377 — virality is poisonous

376: justin moore — becoming a sponsor magnet

375: mute those “dings”

374: indie hacking databases at scale

373: delete your backlog

372: indie hacking & the singularity

371: brian sierakowski — mastering product communication

370: building systems that work while you don't

369: expect-ai-tions

368: johannes jäschke — from hypnosis innovation to business exit

367: the biggest opportunity of 2025

366: omar zenhom — crafting success without a tech background

365: arvid's year in review: 2024

364: breaking my own rules

363: ben rometsch — from side projects to industry giants

362: startup opportunities in podcasting

361: pierre de wulf — bootstrapping scrapingbee to millions

360: product-market fit & time-to-first-value

359: connor turland: pioneering the future of bookkeeping with ceedar.ai

358: love is for those who love the work

357: (free) trial & error

356: james phoenix — mastering code & ai for the modern developer

355: the age of the gatekeeper is over

354: the art of productive procrastination

353: podscan’s dream customer (acquisition) strategy

352: running lean at scale

351: from overload to opportunity

350: building your castle in someone else's kingdom

349: navigating constraints as a bootstrapper

348: observability in software businesses

347: the ai-powered solopreneur

346: when podcasts attack: the unexpected challenges of external data

345: scrape or be scraped

343: andrew davies — the power of a merchant of record

344: andrew davies — the power of a merchant of record

342: the evolution of coding in the ai era

344: should indie hackers go to tech conferences?

the evolution of coding in the ai era

341: striking a balance

340: kerollmops — from hackathon to success: the meilisearch story

339: does your saas need a “user tour?”

“working in” vs “working on” the business

337: doing things that don’t scale …unintentionally

336: the 7 deadly sins of indie hacking

335: tipping over

355: tipping over

334: sincere, not serious

333: kitze — juggling projects, adhd, and the indie hacker lifestyle

332: beyond small bets — embracing the big play

331: geoff roberts — playing the long game

330: 50% new users overnight… and a burning server

329: "ai for the rest of us"

328: negotiating bootstrapper funding with tyler tringas

327: two (surprisingly scary) tales of platform risk

326: zeno rocha — from bootstrapping to ycombinator

325: indie hackers’ myopic view of ai

324: tim schumacher — the bootstrapper's mindset

323: the power of the dream customer list

322: noah kagan — early stage founder hurdles & how to jump them

321: unexpected downtime: stress as enhancement vs. stress as panic

320: dr. jessica gold — emotional resilience and self-care for founders

319: my saas server exploded (& how i salvaged it)

318: louie bacaj — betting small to win big

317: podscan, 2 months and $1k mrr in

316: marybeth alexander — knowledgebase secrets

315: microconf atlanta — my biggest learnings

314: nicolai klemke — switching lanes: physics phd to indie hacker

313: challenges of offering an api

312: aaron francis — you're fired!

311: finding my ideal customer profile

310: jessica malnik — how to communicate as an indie hacker

308: michael taylor — prompt engineering for fun & profit

307: addressing my weaknesses

306: johannes radig — traveling the world and raising prices

305: ai hype — the straight line bias and the fear of not keeping up

304: tyler tringas — investing in bootstrapped saas

303: how i deal with investment offers

302: nick groeneveld — speaking the language of your customers

301: podscan, one month in (mrr, expenses, marketing tactics)

300: marc louvion — becoming a product launch beast

299: adversarial thinking in entrepreneurship

298: sharath kuruganty — letting go isn't quitting

297: payment platforms for solopreneurs

296: yong-soo chung — surviving serial entrepreneurship

295: forever business or exit?

294: roxcodes — building dreams and letting go

292: josh pigford — the open-source transformation of maybe

291: to pivot or not to pivot

290: spencer patterson — mastering market niches and startup growth

289: rethinking the creator economy

288: thibault louis-lucas — selling a $10m saas and building another one

287: white glove onboarding

286: asia orangio — crafting a growth blueprint for emerging startups

285: voices of influence: how expert feedback shapes saas success

284: kasey jones — the art of strategic self-revelation in the digital age

283: business validation traps

282: kevon cheung — embracing vulnerability in startup culture

281: ai and the future of saas

280: dominic monn — crafting a thriving online mentorship community

279: fear-setting my saas: what’s enough?

278: nicolas cole — harnessing the written word for profit

277: nocode, ai, and the future of software entrepreneurship

276: khe hy — breaking free from the rat race

275: i’m starting a new saas journey

274: amanda natividad — mastering content creation and audience engagement

273: freedom vs. autonomy

272: andrew hodson — a mechanic's leap into tech entrepreneurship

271: arvid's top 15 book recommendations for founders

270: rob walling — stair-stepping into saas success

269: embracing obstacles for opportunity

268: channing allen — myths and realities of the indie hacking scene

267: risks and rewards of building on openai

266: sakshi shukla — understanding identity and being the only one

265: "authenticity" in the digital age

264: dickie bush — harness the power of digital writing

263: indie hacking isn't dead — it's just less hacky

262: pieter levels — the indie hacker’s guide to ai startups

261: accessibility for profit

260: milly tamati — the power and potential of generalists

259: monetizing micro-communities

258: aaron francis — the power of sharing expertise

257: proof of work: how indie founders build defensible businesses

256: brennan dunn — this is personal

255: pet rock projects (and why they… rock)

254: aprilynne alter — behind the scenes of a successful youtuber

253: focusing on customer retention features

252: erica schneider — build your personal platform (and not just a brand)

251: what i learned from 250 podcast episodes

250: amanda goetz — the antidote to hustle culture

249: avoiding the entrepreneurial planning trap

248: ruben gamez — cracking the e-signature market

247: you’re not “too late”: capitalizing on pre-validated ideas

246: corey haines — mastering product marketing

245: take a break

244: emmet gibney — referred into the role of ceo

243: bootstrapped saas exit planning

242: louis pereira — when an indie hacker strikes gold

241: human creativity amidst ai dominance

240: danny postma — an indie hacker's business evolution

239: things that kill the village

238: brian sierakowski — leading an acquired business

237: eventual reciprocity

236: tony dinh — ups and downs of an indie hacker journey

235: the bad kind of attention

234: jason cohen — two exits & two unicorns

233: entrepreneurship isn't genetic. it’s memetic.

232: andrew mcintosh — first-generation entrepreneurs

231: responding fast to customers — a good idea?

230: moritz dausinger — serial indie entrepreneurship

229: utility, pricing, and entrepreneurship

228: kevin mcardle — the man who changed my life (and could change yours)

227: self-censorship on twitter

226: paul millerd — walking the pathless path

225: twitter teardowns: 3 low hanging fruit to massively improve your twitter presence

224: dr. julie gurner — founder mental health 101

223: how to build in public without revealing too much

222: joe masilotti — building in public and monetizing open source

221: why entrepreneurs are choosing 'short-lived businesses' over 'forever businesses

220: simon høiberg — building a saas that works for you

219: ∀𝑦∃𝑥 ≠ ∃𝑥∀𝑦: the dangerous misconception founders have about their market

218: evelyn j. starr — the evolution of a brand

217: the flip side: when not to build in public

216: jack ellis — taking on google as a bootstrapper

215: in pod we trust: how creators can best juggle credibility & sponsored content

214: fatih kadir akın — selling a global sticker business

213: the rubber band effect

212: dagobert renouf — the emotional journey of entrepreneurship

211: writing with a nemesis: using chatgpt to strengthen your arguments

210: dr. sherry walling — the reality of burnout for entrepreneurs

209: microconf us '23 recap — what happens when 250 saas founders meet

208: louis nicholls — growing your newsletter

207: chatgpt: goldmine or minefield for indie hackers?

206: marie poulin & benjamin borowski — digital permaculture

205: artificial scarcity damages the creator economy

204: josh spector — saying less and making more

bonus: arvid on "first class founders" by yong-soo chung

203: the art of naming your business

202: peter askew — domain expertise

201: how i stay consistent

200: justin jackson — bootstrapping transistor.fm on open standards

199: the saas solution-workflow fit

198: rob fitzpatrick — tinkerers, thinkers, and teachers

197: securing your saas

196: troy hunt — securing your saas

195: don't fall for the follower count trap

194: matt wensing — publish your juicy thoughts

193: stair-stepping with plugins: platforms to build on

192: colleen schnettler — stair-stepping into saas

191: writing for founders

190: hassan osman — writing on the side

189: be the kindest person in the room

188: kp — building an authentic personal brand

187: negative reviews are good for you

186: brennan dunn — mastering email marketing

185: the monkey and the pedestal

184: laura elizabeth — building software products as a non-technical founder

183: expanding your opportunity surface

182: daniel fayle — door-to-door to $2m arr

181: the role of trust in remote work

180: marissa goldberg — running a remote-first business

179: founder mental health pitfalls

178: patrick campbell — life after a $200mil exit

177: diversify your creator portfolio

176: jay clouse — creative commitments

175: realistic building in public for introverted founders

174: ana bibikova — the introvert superpower

[bonus] sahil lavingia — gumroad’s pricing disaster

173: build a defensible indie business

172: andrew gazdecki — building a sellable business

171: avoid vanity metrics

170: rosie sherry — building profitable communities

169: paying the bills while building your first indie business

168: jakob greenfeld — writing your way to clarity

167: find business ideas on social media

166: daniel vassallo — building a portfolio of small bets

165: why you shouldn’t sell your business

164: damon chen — building a $400k/year saas

163: when should you go from side-project to full-time?

162: michele hansen — moving from side project to full time

161: calm business misconceptions

160: operating a calm saas business

159: pricing for calm saas businesses

158: product development for calm saas businesses

157: solution exploration for calm saas businesses

156: the toxicity of growth hacks

155: problem discovery for calm saas businesses

154: market analysis for calm saas businesses

153: on art and artifice — when ai creates masterpieces we can't ignore

152: infrastructure of a calm saas business

151: entrepreneurial strategies & anti-patterns for a calm saas business

150: business models for a calm saas business

149: fundamentals of a calm saas business

148: fundamentals of a calm business

147: how not to use twitter dms

146: don't blame the market; blame your marketing

145: on saying "no"

144: the risks and illusions of the "post-exit retirement"

143: permission to follow up

142: consulting in public

141: founder stories are powerful assets

140: the forever transaction

139: building in public and legacy

138: parasocial relationships

137: should freelancers offer free trials?

136: choose your own adventure: creator, curator, commentator, or connector

135: scalable customer service for bootstrappers

134: managing expectations: making good (on) promises.

133: you don’t need to be an extrovert to build in public — an introvert’s perspective

132: why founders end up unemployable

131: seven kinds of entrepreneurial debt

130: entrepreneurial anti-patterns — what to avoid when you're starting a business

129: what founders can learn from professional wow gamers

128: how i find twitter content ideas

127: how i (fortunately) failed to launch an nft collection

bonus: a conversation with michele hansen (on the software social podcast)

126: the saas market maturity paradox

125: the power of the narrative when building in public

124: building in public and negativity

123: purchasing power parity pricing

122: being imperfect in public

121: the performative nature of building in public: a view from the inside

120: fear-setting

119: the power of repetition

118: building in public: maintaining a positive self-image

117: what founders can learn from web3 community-building (and what they can't)

116: twitter: the gathering. how and where to find the right followers

115: make it easy to cancel

114: building in public: how to build a minipoly

113: building in public: how radical transparency hurts founders

112: building in public: oversharing

111: passive income and entrepreneurship

110: building in public: what to share at which stage of your journey

109: building in public: taking breaks

108: building in public: balancing building and sharing

107: too little, too much: advice and how to take it

105: what founders can learn from the facebook outage

104: copycats and endurance

103: audience-building is not community-building

102: pivoting in public: risks and opportunities

101: why reading fiction is important for entrepreneurs

100: consistency, accountability, and perseverance

99: of tangibility and lawnmowers

98: the creeping nature of stress for a saas founder

97: why competition is good for business

96: hyrum's law

95: what watching gamers fail for days can teach you about entrepreneurship

94: how to kill your business

93: conversations are at the core of engagement

92: the myth of the immediate payoff

91: say thank you

90: competition isn't always a business

89: selfish vs. selfless: self-promotion in communities

88: properties of an interesting problem

87: the line between stealing and being inspired

86: audience-building and relatable content

85: platform risk and the three kinds of audiences

84: impostor syndrome and building capital

83: entrepreneurship, job security, and wealth creation

82: accountability systems for founders

81: all that glitters is not gold: navigating bootstrapping advice

80: saas, self-talk, and many small bets

79: audience graduation

78: lifetime deals and saas businesses

77: the goals of audience-building

bonus: a conversation between michele hansen, colleen schnettler, and danielle simpson, co-founder of feedback panda

75: the shape of a problem in the wild

74: on re-using content

73: audience discovery: the importance of budget

72: what founders can learn from twitch streamers about building in public

71: fear of disappointing your customers

70: when your business gets cloned

69: jargon and community

68: the grief and loss of selling a business

67: the two goals of audience-building

66: how i use twitter

65: on offering public apis for your saas

64: motivation will eventually go away: build accountability systems instead

63: audience-building through podcasting

62: avoiding the validation trap

61: open-source and bootstrapping

60: tech stacks and indie hacking

59: rewards and perils of being your own customer

58: when privacy and customer value clash

57: how i approach pricing for a brand new saas

56: sunk cost fallacy engineering

55: customer lock-in and "insurance features"

54: limiting beliefs

53: early tech choices and analysis paralysis

52: "audience-first" is not just "building an audience"

51: finding an audience for your side business

50: priming your business for due diligence

49: preparing for the sale from day one: getting the documentation right

48: at a crossroads: the different kinds of exits

a unified voice: staying consistent when you grow

how i self-published zero to sold, a bestselling book on bootstrapping

45: positioning is where it's at

44: you want a tribe

43: when you reach your limits: growing a company beyond the founder(s)

42: the power of omission: killing features for fun and profit

41: made to stick: shaping an extensible product

40: standard operating procedures: managing your future self

39: roadmaps and you: building a future together

38: customer retention: how to keep them around / the zero to sold launch

37: customer exploration: seeing through your customer’s eyes

36: being small is a benefit: how to leverage being a bootstrapper

35: spreading the word: how to do marketing on a shoestring budget

34: seller beware: pricing models that can break your business

33: offer yearly plans from the start

32. how to deal with plans that no longer work / profit sharing

31. price is not set in stone: strategies for increasing your revenue

30. you may be barking up the wrong tree: re-evaluating your audience

29. build for value, not for applause: product management under heavy constraints

28. first things first: feature prioritization frameworks

27. forget goals, create systems: foundations of a sustainable bootstrapped business

26. the boring truth of successful products that survive

25. making tech choices: don’t add risk to an already risky business

24. not in house: on reinventing the wheel

23. surviving a recession as a bootstrapped business

22. how to release as a bootstrapper: often, early, and safely

21. scaling your saas without scaling your anxiety

20. too many eyes: why bootstrapped companies stop being transparent (eventually)

19. continuous validation: staying in touch with your market

18. the do's and don'ts of the minimum viable product

17. so you got an offer: how to do due diligence on your potential acquirer

16. churn, retention, and revenue: what makes customers stick around and why that's important

15. how to do maximum customer support with minimum effort

14. the bootstrapper’s plight: the social headaches of building a business

13. the myth of the finished product

12. real and imaginary responsibilities of a bootstrapped founder

11. your initial pricing will never be right, but try anyway

10. do you need a co-founder?

9. finding the most painful problem in a market

8. solution validation doesn’t happen in a vacuum: how to talk to your future customers

7. determining the size of a market

6. finding a market to build a saas

5. the power of the niche

4. finding the critical problem: how to work on the right things

3. make it sell itself: on referral systems

2. problem validation: making sure you’re talking to the right people

1. the feedbackpanda story