Rob Walling

I think that that desire to learn and that openness to learning from the right people, I think is a mindset for founder success. So thanks for that question, Orly. Hope it was helpful. My next question is from Timo from Germany. Timo writes, However, we don't reach everyone, and some people simply don't want to take the call.

I think that that desire to learn and that openness to learning from the right people, I think is a mindset for founder success. So thanks for that question, Orly. Hope it was helpful. My next question is from Timo from Germany. Timo writes, However, we don't reach everyone, and some people simply don't want to take the call.

When we offer people the chance to voluntarily book a call by email, we get very few bookings. But since I know the calls work, I've considered making them mandatory to unlock certain features. I've never seen anyone do this after signup, which makes me wonder if it's a bad idea. What are your thoughts on making calls mandatory? We are B2B only and the subscription costs 90 euro per month.

When we offer people the chance to voluntarily book a call by email, we get very few bookings. But since I know the calls work, I've considered making them mandatory to unlock certain features. I've never seen anyone do this after signup, which makes me wonder if it's a bad idea. What are your thoughts on making calls mandatory? We are B2B only and the subscription costs 90 euro per month.

So the cost for one quick call shouldn't be an issue. Yeah, I would agree with that. I know you generally do not recommend free plans, but in our case, a free plan lacks the ability to contact candidates. So there's no value in the free plan other than testing. Thanks for the work and the podcast. This is a great question. I would try it. I would just try it.

So the cost for one quick call shouldn't be an issue. Yeah, I would agree with that. I know you generally do not recommend free plans, but in our case, a free plan lacks the ability to contact candidates. So there's no value in the free plan other than testing. Thanks for the work and the podcast. This is a great question. I would try it. I would just try it.

I don't know if I've ever seen anyone do this, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. And I love stuff like this where you're getting creative with it and you know that something moves the needle and you want to... How do you incentivize someone to do the thing that you know moves the needle? Well, you can either offer them a carrot or a stick, you know?

I don't know if I've ever seen anyone do this, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. And I love stuff like this where you're getting creative with it and you know that something moves the needle and you want to... How do you incentivize someone to do the thing that you know moves the needle? Well, you can either offer them a carrot or a stick, you know?

You either penalize them for not doing it or you offer them a gift or a reward for doing it. And in this case... I guess you're kind of doing both. You're penalizing them and saying, well, that part of the app isn't available, but also you're rewarding them, right? By saying, hey, you get this feature or this upgrade or this whatever by doing a call with us. I think I would try it.

You either penalize them for not doing it or you offer them a gift or a reward for doing it. And in this case... I guess you're kind of doing both. You're penalizing them and saying, well, that part of the app isn't available, but also you're rewarding them, right? By saying, hey, you get this feature or this upgrade or this whatever by doing a call with us. I think I would try it.

I just don't know what else to say other than it might work. And just figure out, build it in a way that you can roll it back easily. You get it all in one commit. and try it for two weeks, four weeks, you know, whatever makes you comfortable. And my guess is you'll know pretty clearly within a few weeks of rolling this out. I like the creativity, Timo, and thanks for writing in.

I just don't know what else to say other than it might work. And just figure out, build it in a way that you can roll it back easily. You get it all in one commit. and try it for two weeks, four weeks, you know, whatever makes you comfortable. And my guess is you'll know pretty clearly within a few weeks of rolling this out. I like the creativity, Timo, and thanks for writing in.

My last question for the day comes from James M. James appeared on this very podcast several months ago. He is the co-founder of Astalti and is also now a TinySeed mentor. So James asks, I have plenty of questions around hiring at the senior level. How do you balance cash flow with high salaries? At what point is a head of engineering more valuable than a senior engineer?

My last question for the day comes from James M. James appeared on this very podcast several months ago. He is the co-founder of Astalti and is also now a TinySeed mentor. So James asks, I have plenty of questions around hiring at the senior level. How do you balance cash flow with high salaries? At what point is a head of engineering more valuable than a senior engineer?

And for product-led startups, what should team composition look like? So I'll start with the last one, actually. For product-led startups, that means not sales-led, right? So this is low-touch funnel engineering. or you may have sales calls, but low-touch funnel, what should team composition look like? So the answer is it depends on your competition.

And for product-led startups, what should team composition look like? So I'll start with the last one, actually. For product-led startups, that means not sales-led, right? So this is low-touch funnel engineering. or you may have sales calls, but low-touch funnel, what should team composition look like? So the answer is it depends on your competition.

If you're the only app in the space, you need fewer engineers because you need fewer features to stay competitive. But if you're an email service provider or a CRM, you need a lot more engineers because you just need to keep pace or you will lose product market fit. So it does depend, but usually whatever the founders can't do, meaning if you don't have any engineering founders...

If you're the only app in the space, you need fewer engineers because you need fewer features to stay competitive. But if you're an email service provider or a CRM, you need a lot more engineers because you just need to keep pace or you will lose product market fit. So it does depend, but usually whatever the founders can't do, meaning if you don't have any engineering founders...

then your first hire has to be an engineer to write the code, build the product. Your second hire in product light is almost always customer support because you will be a higher volume, probably a higher volume app with a lot of customers and so you're going to have a lot of emails and live chat if you offer it. And then after that, it just depends.

then your first hire has to be an engineer to write the code, build the product. Your second hire in product light is almost always customer support because you will be a higher volume, probably a higher volume app with a lot of customers and so you're going to have a lot of emails and live chat if you offer it. And then after that, it just depends.