In this episode, Rob Walling breaks down data-backed strategies to improve your trial funnel and explains why most SaaS founders should rethink freemium vs. free trial. Backed by insights from the nearly 700+ startups who participated in the State of Independent SaaS Report and 200+ of his own investments.   Links from the Pod MicroConf US Tickets are on Sale 2024 State of Independent SaaS Report MicroConf Connect Watch this video on YouTube Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel  

Plateaus are the death of SaaS; unless you know how to spot and beat them. In this talk from MicroConf New Orleans in 2025, Rob Walling shares real data from 192 startups and reveals how to break through the 7 SaaS growth plateaus- including leaky funnels, high churn, lack of leads, and losing product-market fit.   Links from the Pod MicroConf US 2026 Tickets are on sale! MicroConf Remote Tickets are on Sale | November 5, 2025 Watch this video on YouTube Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel  

In this episode, Rob reveals why selling to consumers (rather than businesses) is so freaking hard. He shares the only B2C SaaS strategy he would ever bet on, after starting 6 companies, investing in 224 SaaS startups, and writing 5 books on building life-changing businesses.   Links from the Pod Watch this video on YouTube Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel MicroConf Mastermind Applications are Open MicroConf Connect Castos Startups For the Rest of Us Podcast

Rob read the comments. Every last one of them. 225+ and some were wild. He’s here to break it down, clear the air, and set the story straight. Watch the video that caused all this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rXXRdB3TJI&t=2s   Links from the Pod MicroConf Masterminds Watch this video on YouTube Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel TinySeed Portfolio Rob's Books Startups For the Rest of Us Podcast

Every founder dreams of building the next big SaaS success. But what separates the ideas that just sound good from the ones that truly take off? In this video, Rob Walling shares his personal checklist for the perfect SaaS idea. The more boxes you can check, the higher your chances of success.   Links from the episode: Tinyseed Applications open soon! The SaaS Launchpad Watch this video on YouTube Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel

If you're an early-stage founder or just dreaming about launching your own startup, you want to maximize your odds of success. But here’s the thing: not all ideas are created equal. Some are so tempting, so popular, that you'll see them everywhere—but they're actually traps that have burned more founders than can be counted.   In this episode, Rob Walling walks through seven startup ideas he’d never build.   Links from the Pod Get the Free SaaS Launchpad module Watch this video on YouTube Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel    

Want to know the real truth about SaaS? In this video I cover 5 critical SaaS fundamentals that can help you grow 7-figure businesses. There are harsh realities to building a SaaS, but knowing these principles can save you from beginner mistakes.   Links in the episode: MicroConf Connect Watch this video on YouTube  Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube channel The SaaS Launchpad The SaaS Playbook Start Small, Stay Small TinySeed    

Join Peldi Guilizzoni from the MicroConf stage in Dubrovnik, as he details his 7-step journey from maker to entrepreneur. Peldi is the CEO of Balsamiq, and his talk is loaded with tactics that will help you grow business beyond what you can achieve as a single maker. Links in the video: Watch this talk on YouTube Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube channel MicroConf Europe 2025, Istanbul Exit Strategy Finish Big Balsamiq

Don't leave millions on the table when you sell – finding the right buyer is crucial for maximizing the value of your life's work. In this video, Rob Walling describes the 6 different types of business buyers and where you can find them.   Watch this video on YouTube   Links in the episode: Exit Strategy Book Discretion Capital Quiet Light Brokerage TinySeed Acquire.com Flippa    

Are AI Agents going to kill SaaS? In this video I explain why SaaS businesses are so resilient, even through times of great disruption. In fact, there are a few ways you can take advantage of the latest AI trends to grow your business stronger.   Links in the episode: Watch this episode on YouTube MicroConf Connect MicroConf’s Mastermind Matching Program

Venture Capital can be a great tool for explosive growth, but it's not a fit for all startups. In this video I explain the downsides of VC, and share how most companies should approach their growth and funding.   Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uc85Kg70_Ng   Links in the video: MicroConf Europe Tickets are on Sale: https://microconf.com/europe TinySeed: https://tinyseed.com/ TinySeed Program: https://tinyseed.com/program TinySeed Memo: https://tinyseed.com/thesis Invest in TinySeed: https://tinyseed.com/invest

You need to be systematic and focused to find growth channels that actually move the needle as a bootstrapper. In this video, I'll cover some of the best, low cost SaaS marketing strategies that have worked in my businesses, and in the businesses I've invested in. Links in this episode: SaaS Launchpad: https://saaslaunchpad.co/ TinySeed Applications Open Through Feb 23rd: https://apply.tinyseed.com/ The SaaS Playbook: https://saasplaybook.com/ Invest in TinySeed: https://tinyseed.com/invest Start Marketing The Day You Start Coding: https://robwalling.com/books#coding

Incorrectly pricing your SaaS product is the easiest way to accidentally kill your business. I'll tell you how to fix your pricing, how founders fall into the trap of charging too little, and why charging more can catapult your business's growth.   Links in the episode: MicroConf Remote | May 21: https://microconf.com/remote Announcing a change in pricing and process: bit.ly/carthookpricing TinySeed Portfolio: https://tinyseed.com/portfolio The SaaS Playbook: https://saasplaybook.com/

Rob Walling shares 5 predictions for the SaaS and broader startup market in 2025. Some of these represent great opportunity, and others will be big hurdles. Let us know what big disruptions that you see coming that he might have missed!   Links from the Pod: MicroConf Remote MicroConf Growth Retreat Watch this video on YouTube TinySeed Portfolio Startups For the Rest of Us Episode 735 | The 8 Levels of SaaS Platform Risk (A Rob Solo Adventure) Linklo State of Independent SaaS 2024 Report Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel

In this video, Rob reviews six SaaS ideas sourced from Reddit threads. These ideas are unlikely to be worth billions of dollars, but they could grow into your next profitable SaaS business and let you walk away from your day job.   Links from the Pod: MicroConf Connect Applications are closing Today April 9th MicroConf Growth Retreat Watch this video on YouTube The SaaS Launchpad Inventory Management for Custom Apparel Business Integrating Ticketing Systems Across Customers ERP for small manufacturing facility Client Portal for a Retail (in person) business Simple MAM (media asset management) Museum Cataloging App Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel

Rob Walling speaks from the stage at MicroConf US 2023 to share how to hire your SaaS team. He covers job titles & incentives, hiring paths, and how to fire yourself - all with a focus on bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped companies.   Episode Sponsor: As a founder, it’s easy to get caught up in the fun of building flashy new features. But failing to build a scalable architecture is a dangerous game.  When your infrastructure can't keep up, you lose customer trust, miss sales, and watch your churn rate soar. If you need a partner to tackle the hard work of building scalable architecture, you should reach out to our friends at Techstack. Techstack has been helping US founders build scalable products for over a decade. Visit tech-stack.com/community to claim one of 10 exclusive spots for MicroConf listeners. You'll get a free discovery session plus 10% off your first month. Head there now before these spots are gone!   Links from the Pod: Tickets for MC EU 2025 are on Sale Now MicroConf Masterminds Watch this video on YouTube Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel

Incorrectly pricing your SaaS product is the easiest way to accidentally kill your business. I'll tell you how to fix your pricing, how founders fall into the trap of charging too little, and why charging more can catapult your business's growth.   Links from the Pod: Apply to MicroConf's Mastermind Matching Program before March 31st Invest in TinySeed Watch this video on YouTube Announcing a change in pricing and process TinySeed Portfolio The SaaS Playbook Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel

In this video, Rob interviews Snir Alayof about his stair-step approach to building a portfolio of Micro SaaS apps for the monday.com marketplace. Snir reveals how he explored users' needs and validated potential solutions. He then details how his team launched, refined, and supported these apps to go from $0k to $30k+ MRR in less than a year.   Links from the Pod: MicroConf Connect Applications will open next week from Mar 3-5th. Asia Orangio will be hosting a Connect Live session on March 13th. Watch this video on YouTube monday app marketplace Developer Documentation Get your FREE Developer Account Apps Developer Community Get your copy of the the eBook Follow Snir on LinkedIn Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel

When do you know it's time to sell your company? After speaking with hundreds of founders, Rob and Dr. Sherry Walling identified 9 signs that it may be time for an exit. If you've dreamed of selling your business, pay attention to these signs, and strategize your exit.   Links from the Pod: TinySeed Applications are Open until Feb 23rd Watch this video on YouTube Back Exit Strategy on Kickstarter Read a Free Chapter of Exit Strategy Rich vs. King in the Real World: Why I sold my company Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel

Many founders struggle with Imposter Syndrome and wonder how to get past it. It often shows up in different forms at the various stages in their founder journeys. Rob shares some of the forms that imposter syndrome takes and offers actionable advice if you are feeling like a fraud.   Episode Sponsor: As a founder, it’s easy to get caught up in the fun of building flashy new features. But failing to build a scalable architecture is a dangerous game.  When your infrastructure can't keep up, you lose customer trust, miss sales, and watch your churn rate soar. If you need a partner to tackle the hard work of building scalable architecture, you should reach out to our friends at Techstack. Techstack has been helping US founders build scalable products for over a decade. Visit tech-stack.com/community to claim one of 10 exclusive spots for MicroConf listeners. You'll get a free discovery session plus 10% off your first month. Head there now before these spots are gone!   Links from the Pod: Watch this video on YouTube MC US Ticket prices go up on Jan 31st The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube Channel