Rephonic
Artwork for Startups For the Rest of Us

Startups For the Rest of Us

Rob Walling
Saas
Entrepreneurship
Microconf
B2B Saas
Tinyseed
Product Market Fit
Marketing
Bootstrapping
Startups
Outboundsync
Artificial Intelligence
Hello Query
Savvycal
SEO
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

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for Startups For the Rest of Us

Latest Episodes

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

Should you be worried that another founder will steal your idea if you ask them for advice?

In this episode, Rob is joined by Ruben Gamez to answer four listener questions: whether reaching out to more advanced founders puts your idea at risk, how t... more

YouTube

How do you pivot your SaaS when things aren’t working?

This week Rob talks with Nathan Tyler, founder of BlinkMetrics, about the messy, uncertain process of finding product market fit in real time. Nathan walks through why his original EOS scorecard... more

YouTube

How do you onboard a hire onto a codebase you built alone?

In this episode, Derrick Reimer joins Rob to tackle four listener questions. They cover hiring and onboarding your first developer as a bootstrapped founder, then move into the temptation to... more

YouTube

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Similar Podcasts

Recent Guests

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
Taylor Hendricksen
SaaS Institute coach and performance marketer with extensive ad spend experience
SaaS Institute
Episode: Episode 835 | The Right Way to Use AI in Your Startup Marketing
Eric Ries
Founder of The Lean Startup
The Lean Startup
Episode: Episode 834 | Eric Ries Revisits The Lean Startup and Discusses How to Become Incorruptible
Einar Vollset
Founder of Discretion Capital, co-founder of TinySeed
Discretion Capital
Episode: Episode 827 | The Founder's Guide to Selling Your SaaS for What It's Actually Worth
Adam Wathan
Co-founder of Tailwind CSS
Tailwind Labs
Episode: Episode 825 | Talking Tailwind CSS and Founder Fitness (with Adam Wathan)

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 1.6k 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 States2 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 States5 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 States8 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 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.
Episode 852 | Getting Big Name Customer Case Studies and More Listener Questions (with Ruben Gamez)
Q: Jay asks how to handle selling to governments while working a full-time job, given nine-to-five scheduling constraints; what are practical approaches?
The guidance is to recognize the misalignment between a GovTech venture and a full-time job, suggesting options like negotiating a reduced in-office schedule, outsourcing parts of the process, finding a daytime partner, or pivoting to a model that doesn't require constant near-daylight engagement. The hosts also discuss the difficulty of attracting investment without traction and propose practical steps to maintain momentum while exploring other niches or co-founders.
Episode 852 | Getting Big Name Customer Case Studies and More Listener Questions (with Ruben Gamez)
Q: Mitch asks whether to continue pushing on a Shopify-based model given fake reviews and a crowded marketplace or pivot to standalone SaaS; what's the recommended path?
The hosts advocate evaluating one's own motivation and willingness to endure market noise, suggesting stepping off the platform ladder if it becomes too painful, and considering a clear path to a standalone SaaS if long-term viability is uncertain. They emphasize that a co-founder or external funding could change the calculus, but staying in an unideal setup without traction is risky.
Episode 852 | Getting Big Name Customer Case Studies and More Listener Questions (with Ruben Gamez)
Q: The first listeners' question is about talking to people who work at the same ICP but aren't competitors and whether they'll steal the idea; how should a founder approach this in the early days?
Ruben and Rob downplay the risk of idea theft, arguing that many people won't actually act on an idea, and if they do, early validation should focus on learning how customers buy and which channels work rather than whether someone will copy the concept. The broader advice is to seek insights from slightly larger peers and sales/marketing professionals to understand go-to-market dynamics.
Episode 850 | How Not to Screw Up When Hiring Your first Developer and More Listener Questions (with Derrick Reimer)
Q: What other tips help in hiring developers for small startups, especially around the use of AI and remote recruiting?
Leverage remote-first recruiting to access a broader talent pool; use AI tools to filter and contextually assess candidates, and pair programming as a critical screen; recruiter support can help manage volume while maintaining quality; and emphasize adaptability and alignment with your startup's pace and culture.

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

Where can I find podcast stats for Startups For the Rest of Us?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Startups For the Rest of Us. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Startups For the Rest of Us and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Startups For the Rest of Us get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Startups For the Rest of Us, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for Startups For the Rest of Us?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Startups For the Rest of Us, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does Startups For the Rest of Us have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Startups For the Rest of Us has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

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. Moneywise
5. The Koerner Office - Business Ideas and Deep Dives with Chris Koerner

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.

How do I contact Startups For the Rest of Us?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Startups For the Rest of Us?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Startups For the Rest of Us from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Startups For the Rest of Us?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Startups For the Rest of Us. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

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

Recent guests on Startups For the Rest of Us include:

1. Nathan Tyler
2. Kyle Schmidt
3. Brian Henderson
4. Julien Marzouk
5. Nick Francis
6. Taylor Hendricksen
7. Eric Ries
8. Einar Vollset

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.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days