Build Your SaaS
Episodes
"I can't believe you're using that in production"
11 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
More honest updates from Jon and Justin on what it's like to be building Transistor.fm:People can't believe that we're using this in production.Why Sa...
How big of a market should you target?
04 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin share some honest updates about as they continue to build their SaaS (Transistor.fm):Justin swears in this episode.We're half way throu...
Four different git branches in various unfinished states
28 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin share some honest updates about as they continue to build their SaaS (Transistor.fm):Jon asks: "how do you prioritize with limited reso...
You can't put me in a box
21 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Two-Four ya hosers! After a Canadian long weekend, Jon and Justin convene to talk about:Justin thinks non-alcoholic drinks are going to be huge....
Wrestling with our company's growth
14 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin are wrestling with thoughts about growth:"Our current rate of growth is nice: it feels sustainable." â Justin"It feels less sustainab...
Burn it all to the ground
07 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin are back from Portland and wrestling with ideas, bots, and CMSes:Justin's spouse wants to know why we wouldn't sell for $5 million (and...
Keeping the dream alive in Portland
30 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin do a founder retreat in Portland with Darby Frey and Shay Howe (Lead Honestly). We hashed out some ideas for:How do you start building ...
The "charge more" debate
23 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If you're struggling with pricing your app, listen to this episode! Ben Orenstein, Jordan Gal, Patrick Campbell, and I discussed whether "charge more"...
Taylor Otwell: "PHP (and a cheap laptop) changed my life"
16 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon is away so Justin called up Taylor Otwell, the creator of Laravel. In this episode we covered:How Laravel become the most popular backend framewor...
The market for your startup matters
09 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon's away! Today I talked to Spencer Fry, from Podia about:How do you find a good startup idea?What are the worst types of companies to start?Should ...
When should bootstrappers get paid?
02 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Recorded on April fools day! Here's what we covered:If you're bootstrapping, when should you get a salary?An update on the worst day ever. (We're fine...
Worst day ever
26 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Sunday, we had a service outage. Jon and Justin talk about what happened:TLS / SSL day of horrorSunday morning Justin started getting messages from...
Pro athletes are mocking me on the internet
19 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Lots of interesting items this week:Justin got a personal message from an NFL playerJon moved everyone over to the new CDNPodcasting has a lot of conf...
Do startups need specialists or generalists?
12 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Good stuff this week:Justin wants to know: when's the last time you changed your business' homepage?Jon does a deep dive into Apple's podcasting docs....
Full-on sweatpants mode
05 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Good stuff this week:Jon ran into Myke Hurley at the Cards Against Humanity office.Whether you should work from home or the office.Spotify analytics u...
Did we solve our bandwidth cost crisis?
26 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin share their progress on:The bandwidth / CDN cost problem (and how it might affect our profitability).Marco Arment: "It would cost them ...
Counting beans and getting hit by a bus
19 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Jon and Justin are wrestling with some heavy startup founder topics:What should your SaaS company's gross margins be?How much is bandwidth ...
Is this the best time to start a podcasting startup?
13 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Dave Zohrob, the CEO of Chartable, chats with Justin about bootstrapping a startup in the podcast space. We cover:Why Jon and Justin started Transisto...
Getting real: sharing our founder struggles
05 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode:Jon and Justin open up about the challenges of bootstrapping "on the side."Â How things have gotten harder (in some ways) now that we ...
How to grow your audience
29 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Jon and Justin discuss the golden rule for growing your audience. This could mean:How to get more paying customers for your software ...
Should startups worry about their competition?
22 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Jon and Justin discuss talk about how you should think about your software product's competition.Why you shouldnât focus on the comp...
Marketing tactics for your SaaS: how to get the word out
15 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We received some product marketing questions from Nirav Mehta:Â How to get the word out about your SaaS?Should you pursue partnerships?How can you get...
Our predictions for 2019
08 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jon Buda and Justin Jackson make predictions for the tech industry, the podcasting space, and the startup ecosystem.Predictions for 2019There will be ...
How to find the right customers for your software business
19 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk about the different types of customers for a SaaS:B to C: selling to consumers. Here, we'd think of products and services lik...
Let's chat about the podcast industry
13 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Justin gets interviewed by Harry Duran on the Podcast Junkies show, and answers questions about:Is podcasting really having it's moment now?Is now a g...
Why does Jon need a co-founder?
05 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode Jon talks about why he decided to partner with Justin (even though he'd already built the product).â Thanks to our two sponsors:Alit...
How did you split equity in Transistor?
27 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How did you split equity in Transistor? How do I start a podcast? How do you say Adam's name?â Thanks to our sponsor: podcastinsights.comIf you want...
Interesting ways you can use a podcast
20 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Why do you want to start a podcast?Grow your business:Â Get more clients â Nate TechNest Real EstateBrand / PR â Drift Seeking WisdomGrow your aud...
Insulating our recording studio
13 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin respond to the new funding options available for bootstrappers, mainly Earnest Capital.The GP, Tyler Tringas, told us what types of com...
There's a new funding option for bootstrapped founders
06 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Tyler Tringas recently announced Earnest Capital; a new way for bootstrappers to raise money for their startups. Should Jon and Justin consider this ...
Your startup's expenses are too high
30 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How much does it cost to run a SaaS in 2018? We take a look at our bootstrap expenses.Every business accrues monthly expenses. The danger? Business ow...
How'd you get into computers? (Apple II, PC clones, BBSes, CYBERSPACE)
23 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you used computers in the 80s and 90s you're going to love this episode.Apple IIe in the school computer labThe original Macintosh"I wanted an Amig...
You forgot $20,000 in your snowboard pocket
10 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Here we are at episode 30! Just found this old 2012 interview with the founder of MailChimp, before they became a $4.2 billion company. This quotes is...
You drew a prototype on that napkin from Portland
02 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After one failed attempt, we're back with a new episode. Sorry it's late!"We, as the customer, are paying people who make apps so that their good work...
What's the most important metric for a web app?
25 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What do you think?Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhon...
We have some explaining to do
18 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin are back from Portland and the XOXO festival.In the last few weeks we've had a chance to interact with many of our customers in-person:...
Your revenue forecast is wrong
28 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What does "bootstrapping" mean really?For most folks, bootstrapping means self-funding your business from revenues. It means not taking Venture Capita...
The problem with podcasts
21 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Nick Quah shared this in his recent newsletter, commenting about podcasts:[I have] this feeling that everybodyâs drilling for oil in the same spot b...
What's a good conversion rate for a web app?
14 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
SaaS conversation rate cheatsheet:Credit card upfront:Visitor to trial: 0.75% - 1%Trial to paid: 40% - 60%No credit card upfront:Visitor to trial: 5%+...
Launch week hangover
07 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
What do you think?Leave a comment on Breaker, the podcast app for Android and iPhone.Leave a comment on CastBox, the podcast app for Android and iPhon...
The opposite of bored money
24 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In 2013, I interviewed Jason Calacanis, the angel investor.One of the things I asked him: "Why do venture capital investors take these big risks with ...
Startup advice from Justin Kan, Stephanie Hulburt, and Naval
17 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Three tweets TuesdayJustin Kan:Â "B2C is a gamble while B2B is (more) within your control."Stephanie Hulburt:Â "We have a philosophy of âno hard sel...
Meet me in Chicago
10 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How to build anticipation for your product launchHave a mailing list! Email them consistently during development.The week of launch you should send th...
I see Spots
03 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Show notes:Spots.fm â "what if advertising on a podcast was as easy as advertising on Facebook?"Spots.fm/story - the Spots story so far.SaaS Your La...
Our Voltron needs fuel
26 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Show notesJustinâs Instagram TV episodeMegaMaker.coIndie VCCanadaâs Startup VisaTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on TwitterJon...
Teaser: I don't want to get crushed by the VC monster
19 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Show notesTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on TwitterJon Buda is back on Twitter: @jonbudaJustin Jackson on Twitter here: @mijusti...
Bonus: building a SaaS on the side is hard!
12 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Show notesThis is the recording from the Art of Product Podcast. Full episode will be there!Ben Orenstein on TwitterDerrick Reimer on TwitterDerrick's...
SaaS pricing advice from Rob Walling and Patrick Campbell
05 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin are probably 1-2 months away from the launch of Transistor.fm. That means we need to figure out pricing.âIn your early stage two thin...
What does Nathan Barry think of podcast hosting pricing?
29 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Today's show is not a full episode! Jon and I have been busy with our day jobs, plus Memorial Day, and didn't have time to record a show.But, to be ho...
How should we price our SaaS?
22 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We're hoping to launch Transistor officially in July 2018.And that means we need to figure out a pricing strategy. What types of tiers and plans shoul...
Should we make our revenue numbers public?
15 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How transparent of a startup do we want to be?There's an app called Buffer that really kickstarted the "radical transparency" movement with startups. ...
How to validate your product idea
08 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Play this episode | Download MP3Jon is busy launching our new podcast analytics feature, so this episode features Justin's talk from MicroConf 2018 in...
Live from Las Vegas
02 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Show notesMicroConf GrowthMicroConf StarterMicroConf talk notesTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on TwitterT-shirt contest! Â Leave...
How to organize your time when your startup is your side-hustle
24 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Whatâs been happening?New iTunes review from Shane Smith in Australia: "Keep up the great work. Love hearing the behind-the-scenes part of setting u...
Startup money
17 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Recent newsWe're an official Spotify partner. You'll be able to find us in Spotify soon!Build Your SaaS was #1 on Product Hunt!1,773 downloads that da...
We need to talk
10 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Whatâs been happening?Is the Macbook Pro 2013 the best computer ever made?Jon's review of the new Macbook Pro: the screen, the keyboard, the thinnes...
My teenager wants to play Dungeons & Dragons
03 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jon and Justin discuss "Why did we choose podcasting? And why now?" Picking the right idea, the right market, and having the right timing is crucial.C...
Six screens and a power glove
27 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is sponsored by Bullet Train. If youâre building a SaaS in Ruby on Rails stop what youâre doing right now, and visit BulletTrain.co.Y...
What are you scared of?
20 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
NewsWeâve opened up early access! Weâve been inviting people by email.We currently have 15 shows on our platform. In four months, weâve served 2...
I want Castle Grayskull
13 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A storyIn 1999, Basecamp started a blog called Signal vs Noise, which they billed as âStrong opinions and shared thoughts on design, business, and t...
How to find a cofounder (our story)
06 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Who are we?Jon is a Web Designer and Developer in Chicago. Justin is a Product Manager and Podcaster from Canada. How did we meet?We met in 2014 at X...
What does it take to build a SaaS these days?
17 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Jon Buda and Justin Jackson are building and launching a new product this year called Transistor.You can follow along as we explore this question:What...