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Startups For the Rest of Us

Rob Walling
Saas
Entrepreneurship
Microconf
B2B Saas
Tinyseed
Product Market Fit
Marketing
Artificial Intelligence
Bootstrapping
Startups
Outboundsync
Hello Query
SEO
Savvycal
Tiny Seed
Product-Market Fit
Saas Companies
Freemium Model
Pricing Strategy
Saas Customer Success

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.

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes329Founded17 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
EntrepreneurshipBusinessMarketing

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Artwork for Startups For the Rest of Us

Latest Episodes

What did you miss at our biggest MicroConf Europe ever?

In this episode, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer recap MicroConf Europe 2026 in Reykjavik, Iceland. They break down the talks on ranking in ChatGPT and AI SEO, Rob's eight moats that still work ... more

YouTube

Which SaaS moats are left in 2026?

In this episode, Rob Walling and Einar Vollset walk through the 10 ways AI is attacking SaaS companies, from customers vibe coding the app to per-seat revenue disappearing entirely. They then dig into the 8 moats t... more

YouTube

Where do the best SaaS ideas actually come from?

In this episode, Rob reads a chapter from his new book, Idea to Traction: Stop Building SaaS Nobody Wants in the Age of AI. He walks through the five places problems tend to show up, eight strategic a... more

YouTube

How do you get LLMs to actually recommend your SaaS?

In this episode, Rob Walling talks with Ross Hudgens, founder of Siege Media and author of the new book Generative Engine Optimization, about how SaaS companies get recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini,... more

YouTube

Key Facts

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Podcast Host
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Recent Guests

Derrick Reimer
Software founder and developer
SavvyCal
Episode: Episode 856 | Key Learnings from MicroConf Europe 2026
Einar Vollset
SaaS mergers and acquisitions adviser and co-founder of TinySeed
Discretion Capital
Episode: Episode 855 | The Eight SaaS Moats that Still Work in the Age of AI
Ross Hudgens
Author of Generative Engine Optimization book and CEO of Siege Media
Siege Media
Episode: Episode 853 | How to Become the SaaS That AI Recommends
Ruben Gamez
CEO of Signwell, expert in e-signature space and bootstrapped SaaS
Signwell
Episode: Episode 852 | Getting Big Name Customer Case Studies and More Listener Questions (with Ruben Gamez)
Nathan Tyler
Founder of BlinkMetrics and BlinkPages; former Staging Pilot founder
BlinkMetrics, BlinkPages
Episode: Episode 851 | The Messy Middle of a SaaS Pivot
Kyle Schmidt
Founder of Field Logic Labs, FloorSync
Field Logic Labs
Episode: Episode 849 | Legal Threats, AI as Platform Risk, Building Confidence, and More Listener Questions (Rob Solo)
Brian Henderson
Co-founder of Wash-Dry-Fold POS
Wash-Dry-Fold POS
Episode: Episode 844 | Building a $1M+ ARR SaaS for Laundromats
Julien Marzouk
Former SaaS founder and SaaS coach
SaaS Institute (TinySeed)
Episode: Episode 843 | Success Patterns of $1M+ SaaS Founders
Nick Francis
Co-founder of Help Scout
Help Scout
Episode: Episode 839 | The Journey Growing Help Scout to $35M ARR

Host

Rob Walling
Host and founder-focused SaaS entrepreneur and educator; runs programs and communities for bootstrappers (e.g., MicroConf, TinySeed ecosystem).

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 1.7k ratings
  • Just a sales pitch for his networks and product

    This was once a helpful podcast for me. But it has just evolved into a show that just keeps selling tiny seed and other products Rob has. Just now for me.

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    rethink
    United States3 months ago
  • Good early entrepreneur podcast

    I love Rob’s insights about starting a business, what matters, and how to navigate common and critical decisions. His regular guests are great.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Bobarewski
    United States6 months ago
  • My favorite tech / startup podcast

    Been listening for a couple years. It’s really great. Rob is unassuming, low ego, and a good interviewer. I like the mix of solo episodes and interesting guests. Most other podcasts in this space just seem like one long ad for something.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Murphycj
    United States9 months ago
  • Great content

    I am a solopreneur with a small business and Rob’s podcast is so helpful and inspiring and empathic. 5 stars.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    MicXXCCC
    Italya year ago
  • I don’t want to give it 5 stars

    I rather gate keep this and keep all this info goodness to myself, only reason i am giving it 5 stars and writing this review is because i feel i need to repay them for all the no bs down to earth realistic info on how to build a SaaS. Even in the age of AI this podcast is very valuable. Keep it up! I look forward to every episode.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Sashogs
    Australiaa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Fans value consistent cadence and real-world founder stories.
Some critique for perceived self-promotion and promotional segments.
Listeners praise practical, down-to-earth advice and actionable tactics.
Many comment on high-quality guests and robust question-driven episodes.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Episode 856 | Key Learnings from MicroConf Europe 2026
Q: Did you have any thoughts or takeaways on her talk?
Reimer says Ajelix's team repeatedly pivoted to remain relevant as AI capabilities spread, eventually focusing on EU privacy and training open-weight models. He notes that adapting this way can be exhausting.
Episode 856 | Key Learnings from MicroConf Europe 2026
Q: What were your takeaways, if any, from those two talks?
Reimer says the talks showed how founders can create substantive content that helps language models accurately describe their products, using real customer questions to guide content and prompt libraries.
Episode 855 | The Eight SaaS Moats that Still Work in the Age of AI
Q: What are some moats that are still available?
Walling and Vollset identify eight: buyer trust, being the system of record, authorization to act, customers trusting the work without checking it, official approvals, network effects, learning from customers, and the operational complexity of keeping a service running.
Episode 855 | The Eight SaaS Moats that Still Work in the Age of AI
Q: How do we not get sideswiped by AI?
Vollset recommends improving the business with AI, making software accessible to agents, and moving toward delivering customer outcomes instead of selling only a tool. He also emphasizes building a learning loop from real customer activity.
Episode 851 | The Messy Middle of a SaaS Pivot
Q: How did you know the EOS stuff wasn't working and that you needed a shift?
The data maturity and willingness to adopt new processes were not there, and pulling data from many sources became a painful, opaque process; the problem was not painful enough for customers to pay and scale.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Startups For the Rest of Us

What is Startups For the Rest of Us about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A practical, founder-focused show that centers on bootstrapped SaaS, sustainable growth, pricing experiments, and real-world pathing from idea to traction. Episodes frequently tackle pricing strategies, product-market fit signals, go-to-market tradeoffs, and bootstrapping challenges, often featuring questions from listeners and stories from solo founders and small teams. Noteworthy is the consistent emphasis on tangible tactics over hype, with discussions ranging from pricing models and AI adoption to customer engagement, M&A considerations, and building durable product systems. The format tends to blend solo insights with guest perspectives from experienced founders and coaches, making it a reliable resource for hands-on entrepreneurs seek... more

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Which podcasts are similar to Startups For the Rest of Us?

These podcasts share a similar audience with Startups For the Rest of Us:

1. The Startup Ideas Podcast
2. My First Million
3. Y Combinator Startup Podcast
4. Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth
5. Moneywise

How many episodes of Startups For the Rest of Us are there?

Startups For the Rest of Us launched 17 years ago and published 329 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Startups For the Rest of Us?

Recent guests on Startups For the Rest of Us include:

1. Derrick Reimer
2. Einar Vollset
3. Ross Hudgens
4. Ruben Gamez
5. Nathan Tyler
6. Kyle Schmidt
7. Brian Henderson
8. Julien Marzouk

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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