In episode 668, Rob Walling and Arvid Kahl share nine key takeaways from MicroConf US 2023 in Denver. They cover topics ranging from founder mental health, shared motivations for bootstrapping, the value of in-person conferences, and the MicroConf experimentation that led to the “Chaos Lunch”. Topics we cover: 2:04 – MicroConf 2023 in Denver, building back after COVID 9:09 – Founders are sharing an experience of struggles and pivots 11:21 – Why nothing beats being in a room together 14:07 – Discussing mental health in a welcoming environment 17:07 – How experimentation on the MicroConf format led to “Chaos Lunch” 21:03 – Sharing strategies and tactics, Dev Basu’s talk on product marketing 24:28 – What motivations do founders have for running their SaaS businesses 27:27 – Arvid’s workshop encourages discussion of founder mental health 30:22 – MicroConf’s powerful Hallway track 32:45 – Patrick Campbell’s talk on mental frameworks and founder paths 36:47 – Upcoming MicroConf events 40:05 – The not-so-hidden track: Arvid’s Twitter growth and strategy Links from the Show: MicroConf US 2024 | Atlanta, GA | April 21 - 23, 2024 MicroConf US Recordings Arvid Kahl (@arvidkahl) I Twitter Episode 492 | From Zero to $55k MRR to Exit (in 2 Years) with Feedback Panda thebootstrappedfounder.com Lianna Patch (@punchlinecopy) | Twitter Claire Suellentrop (@ClaireSuellen) | Twitter Dev Basu (@devbasu) | Twitter Patrick Campbell (@Patticus) Twitter John Ndege (@johnndege) | Twitter Comte Anthony Eden (@aeden) | Twitter Quiet Light (@quietlightinc) | Twitter Sherry Walling (@sherrywalling) | Twitter If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you! Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify |

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.