The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.
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The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.
Episode 794 | From Struggling Side Project to Life-Changing SaaS Exit
Startups For the Rest of Us
56 minutes 4 seconds
1 month ago
Episode 794 | From Struggling Side Project to Life-Changing SaaS Exit
B2C, low price point, one-time payments… not the typical recipe for a life-changing exit.
In this episode, Rob Walling talks with longtime listener Zamir Khan, founder of VidHug (now Memento). Zamir’s story broke a lot of SaaS “rules”: B2C, low price point, one-time payments, and years of slow growth. He shares how he nearly gave up, the pandemic surge that changed everything, and the emotional ride that led to a life-changing exit.
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Topics we cover:
(3:47) — From podcast listener to SaaS founder
(7:59) — The role of luck, timing, and the pandemic in growth
(18:37) — A birthday gift becomes a product
(23:54) — Charging early and surviving slow growth
(30:47) — From $1k a month to 80k daily users
(39:58) — Support load, stress, and the edge of burnout
(48:58) — Deciding to sell (and why timing mattered)
(52:57) — Life after the exit: slowing down and finding balance
Links from the Show:
TinySeed – Applications close tonight!
MicroConf Connect – The community for SaaS founders
The SaaS Playbook
Memento (formerly VidHug)
Zamir Khan (@zam1rkhan) | X
Zamir Khan | LinkedIn
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
Startups For the Rest of Us
The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.
