Build Your SaaS

We're hoping to launch Transistor officially in July 2018.And that means we need to figure out a pricing strategy. What types of tiers and plans should we offer?SaaS pricing examples:HootsuiteWPEngineSumoStatusPagePatrick Campbell, from Price Intelligently, says there are three aspects of a pricing strategy:Positioning: who are the right customers for your product? How will you target and attract them?Packaging: what features are included in each tier? What value does each type of customer want from your product?Pricing: putting a price on your tiers that reflects the value your customer receives.Where did we get stuck? Jon and I started by looking at who had signed up for early access to Transistor:Hobbyists – podcasting for fun, two people talking, no advertising.Prosumers – side-project podcasting, may have a bit of income, want to go pro.Solopreneurs – solo founders building smaller tech products. Small tech teams – teams of 3-10 people building larger software products.Bigger brands / enterprise companies.This list brought up a question: how do we define our target customer? Is "podcast hosting and analytics for professionals" too broad?Here's our homework for this week: we're going to let this simmer, we're going to talk to smart people about pricing, and we're going to come back to this next week.Question of the week:Tweet to @jon and @mijustin and let us know: how should we price our SaaS?Show notesJason Fried - Ass pricingPatrick Campbell - Price Intelligently Jason Cohen - WPengine tiered pricingTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on TwitterJon Buda is back on Twitter: @jonbudaJustin Jackson on Twitter here: @mijustin★ Please review us in iTunes – T-shirt contest! Leave a review you’ll be entered to win a limited edition Transistor t-shirt! Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

How transparent of a startup do we want to be?There's an app called Buffer that really kickstarted the "radical transparency" movement with startups. Over time, they've revealed almost everything: how much their employees make, their company's revenue metrics, their internal emails, and their hiring process.But is this something that we want for Transistor.fm? Listen to the episode to hear what we decided. ;)Show notesBuffer TransparencyArticle: How radical transparency kills stressArticle: How to Build a Transparent Company the Buffer WayBuffer: Why are we transparent?Right Message goes public with revenueWhisper networkSpencer Fry on public roadmapsBaremetrics Open StartupsIndie Hackers – transparency numbersVideo: Our new analytics featureSnapShooter on Indie HackersAnnouncement: We did it. We’re sharing our revenue on Indie Hackers!Marco Arment: “podcasters have enough data”Transistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on TwitterJon Buda is back on Twitter: @jonbudaJustin Jackson on Twitter here: @mijustinT-shirt contest! Leave a review you’ll be entered to win a limited edition Transistor t-shirt!★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Play this episode | Download MP3Jon is busy launching our new podcast analytics feature, so this episode features Justin's talk from MicroConf 2018 in Las Vegas.You need more than product/market fit. You need alignment between you as a founder, your market, and your product.In this episode, you'll hear Justin's step-by-step approach for:Identifying who you are, and what you wantChoosing a marketDiscovering what they wantShipping a (small) initial solutionShow notesJustin Jackson's 2018 MicroConf talk - video and notesDownload the slidesJames Clear's list of core valuesMicroConf GrowthMicroConf StarterTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on TwitterJon Buda is back on Twitter: @jonbudaJustin Jackson on Twitter here: @mijustinT-shirt contest! Leave a review you’ll be entered to win a limited edition Transistor t-shirt!★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Show notesMicroConf GrowthMicroConf StarterMicroConf talk notesTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on TwitterT-shirt contest! Leave a review you’ll be entered to win a limited edition Transistor t-shirt!★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What’s been happening?New iTunes review from Shane Smith in Australia: "Keep up the great work. Love hearing the behind-the-scenes part of setting up your SaaS."T-shirt contest! Leave a review you’ll be entered to win a limited edition Transistor t-shirt!New features inside Transistor:Embeddable playersShareable linksDirect MP3 download URLFile uploaderWe've closed early access. Official launch coming soon!Marketing website is almost doneWe're working on a secret new thing - stay tuned to hear more.Main topic: organizing your timeThis will be interesting because we’re coming at it from two different perspectives:Jon works full-timeJustin runs his own businessWhat’s hard about it?Jon: I’m other people’s boss. Running the tech team at CAH/Blackbox. So people are depending on me. Blackbox is also a startup that requires a good deal of product decisions day to day. Both are exciting so it’s hard to juggle sometimes!Justin: I’m my own boss. I tell myself what to do. The hardest part right now is Transistor isn’t making money, but it’s the funnest thing to work on.How do you overcome those obstacles?Jon: Two separate Pivotal Trackers and Apple Reminders lists. if I can think of something for Transistor during work I just throw in the list for later. I have to smart about not doing Transistor during the work day and letting my team down. Transistor is mostly relegated to after hours and weekends. Justin: notepad, I split it into two sections: “MegaMaker” and “Transistor.” I have a Trello for MegaMaker that tracks what my contractors are doing.What does your ideal day look like?Jon: ideally I’m only working on Transistor in reality, wake up a bit early and see if I missed anything overnight for Transistor. errors, support emails, etc. Go do the fulltime thing. take a break after work to work out or make dinner and then work on Transistor at night a couple of times of week. Ideally I deploy at least something to Transistor everyday.Justin: I’ve realized I really get energy from interacting with people. I recently did this “Strengths finder” test and activities like doing sales, doing demos, interacting with customers, writing, making videos and podcasts, hacking on ideas, building prototypes… these all play to my strengths.Tips for listeners:Define the end result first:“what does your ideal day look like” is a really important question. Distinguish between big milestones and daily tasks.Have a way of organizing tasks. Try a bunch!Contextual zones. Have a different place to work on your side-hustle.Show notesGood place for startup swag: printful.comStrengths Finder TestNew feature: see our new shareable optionsDropzoneQuest Quest - a live D&D podcastCBC Radio Contextual ZonesA Soft Murmur - audio contextual zonesTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on Twitter★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Recent newsWe're an official Spotify partner. You'll be able to find us in Spotify soon!Build Your SaaS was #1 on Product Hunt!1,773 downloads that day. Our previous record was 443 downloads in a day. ;)Searching for Casey Neistat.How do people find out about Transistor?Thanks Joe Workman for referring us a new customer! Check out his show: Weaver Radio.New shareable / embeddable share links coming soon!Main topic: moneyShould your startup get funding?Quotes:Joel Gascoigne, founder of Buffer: “Easy to sell away your ownership and control without realizing what it will mean. The industry seems to normalize and make people feel like it's a given that they can't grow with their company.”John O’Nolan, founder of Ghost: “This is so important. I had the exact same experience in a startup accelerator. All these wealthy smart people telling me that there was no way to succeed without taking capital. They are VERY good at convincing people of that”“Growing fast and health are nearly mutually exclusive”Pros to funding: it’d be nice to move faster.Cons to funding: you lose control, your forced to move faster than you might like (or need to).Show notes:Transistor’s new shareable links for social mediaProduct Hunt: Build Your SaaSSearching for Casey Neistat tweetInteresting funding model: Indie VCJoel Gascoigne, founder of BufferJohn O’Nolan, founder of GhostThanks to Andrew C and Bullet Train for being our first sponsor!Kayako for customer supportFlywheelAdam Clark designing our marketing websiteZohoXeroTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on Twitter★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

What’s been happening?Is the Macbook Pro 2013 the best computer ever made?Jon's review of the new Macbook Pro: the screen, the keyboard, the thinness are great. He doesn't like the touchbar, and it crashed a lot initially.Thanks to Bill for the Spotify introduction!We tried out Amazon Transcribe and it was hilariousMain topic: Partner communication, making decisionsWe got a question on Twitter from Dennis Martinez:“How often do you both keep in touch with each other talking about the product in an average day/week? How important is daily communication?”Jon and Justin have different decision making styles:Justin is "quick start." He likes to make decisions quickly, and have a fast momentum.Jon is more thoughtful and detail-oriented.Having this balance is important!How we communicate:Daily communication: SlackWeekly call: SkypeHow we make decisions: consensus.TakeawaysThis is the benefit of doing a small project before you launch something bigger.Example: where are we going for lunch? (XOXO), what source control are we going to use? (small project we did before Transistor)Partner with someone who is trustworthy, autonomous.Make sure there's enough overlap in your timezone.Ensure your co-founder has enough time to dedicate to the project.Show notes:Justin's mic: ATR2100 USBKyle Fox doesn't like the new Macbook ProSpotify's podcast programAmazon TranscribeIndie HackersJustin's article on Walt and Roy DisneyTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on Twitter★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Jon and Justin discuss "Why did we choose podcasting? And why now?" Picking the right idea, the right market, and having the right timing is crucial.Current trends we've noticed:Dungeons and Dragons is getting popular again. Maybe because of Stranger Things?Podcasting, and branded podcasts, continue to grow in popularity. Increasingly, I'm hearing folks talk about the Tim Ferriss podcast in coffee shops. Instead of asking "What are you reading?" folks are asking "What podcasts are you listening to?"Qualitative evidence almost always comes before quantitative evidence.Show notes:Thanks to Greg at Mtek Digital for the studio space!Photo of Justin at Mtek studioWorld Waterpark at West Edmonton MallPhoto of waterparkTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on Twitter★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

This episode is sponsored by Bullet Train. If you’re building a SaaS in Ruby on Rails stop what you’re doing right now, and visit BulletTrain.co.You asked us:"What's your tech stack for Transistor?"In this episode, Jon goes into the nerd stuff. What programming language, frameworks, and infrastructure we're using to build our SaaS.What we recommend:Programming language: use what you know!Make sure you can connect to the community (both local and on the web)Hosting: use Heroku if you don’t have DevOps experience, AWS is great if you know how to configure itDatabase: MySQL is fine, we use Postgres (good community + features)Design framework: Semantic UI, or BootstrapRepos: GitHubMost important: Get something running as quickly as you can (and into the hands of customers!).Show notes:Sponsor: BulletTrain.coPaul Graham's "Do things that don't scale"Nate Kontny’s take on “should you use Rails?”Stripe AtlasDHH on Rails 5.2Justin’s video tutorialTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on Twitter★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

NewsWe’ve opened up early access! We’ve been inviting people by email.We currently have 15 shows on our platform. In four months, we’ve served 2,335,033 downloads!So far: great feedback and feature requests.We have a bunch of folks in our trial funnel. We’ll start seeing whether people convert to paying accounts on April 6.XOXO is back!Top fears when you're building a SaaSCan our servers handle the load? (So far, so good: over 2 million downloads)Will the user experience be good?Are we building the right tools?Uptime. There's this added layer of stress, because you don't want to let users down.Lack of time to build an app on the side.Or, working too much and burning out!Two co-founders can't go out drinking the same night, unless they're in the same room. 😜How to get over your fearsDon't focus on your competition; focus on your customers!Listen to your customers. Get on the phone with them. Read their emails. Do live chat.Get paying customers as soon as you can. Listen to their feedback.Your ego is the enemy. You're putting your product out into the world so people get value from it.Put things in context: sure, this might not work out. But that's not the worst thing that could happen.How to get over your fears?Send us a tweet (@transistorfm), or email us: [email protected]. We'd love your audio clips as well!Links2018.XOXOfest.comBlog post: Why I'm building a SaaS in 2018Blog post: SaaS is ripe for disruptionAdii Pienaar on customer supportA checklist for product validationBook: Ego is the enemyTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on Twitter★ Please review us in iTunes ★ Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

A storyIn 1999, Basecamp started a blog called Signal vs Noise, which they billed as “Strong opinions and shared thoughts on design, business, and tech.”It had a huge impact on their business. By 2009, over 100,000 people were subscribed. Later, in their best-selling book Rework, they said:“When you build an audience, you don’t have to buy people’s attention – they give it to you. This is a huge advantage. So build an audience. Speak, write a blog, tweet, make videos – whatever.”Nowadays, it’s harder than ever to get people’s attention. Channels are saturated. There’s enormous competition. And many folks are growing feel overwhelmed by all the content.So what’s Basecamp doing in 2018 to build their audience? They're focusing a lot of their energy on their new podcast, also called Rework.What we learnedBusinesses like Basecamp, eBay, and Code Pen have discovered the power of having a branded podcast. There are lots of challenges: creating and syndicating the feed, creating a compelling podcast website, producing a regular show, and calculating ROI.So we want to make Transistor the best way to create a podcast for your business.We already have our first paying customer: Cards Against Humanity. Their show, The Good News Podcast, which is hosted on Transistor."Branded content" sounds like a really dirty word. But it doesn't have to be.Focusing on businesses, rather than DIY or hobbyist podcasts, has some advantages:Businesses have more money to spend, and they value their time more.Many hobbyists are looking for the lowest price. Businesses don't mind paying more if there's value.Businesses are highly motivated to spend money when it helps them make progress.What We Urge You to DoWhen you're building a new product, ask yourself these questions:Why would someone use my product over what's already out there in the market?What opportunities exist in this market?What advantages do I have?LinksSignal vs NoiseReworkNuzzelJon's book recommendation: Da Vinci BiographyJustin's book recommendation: SapiensAltered CarbonRework.fmWailin Wong on TwitterCodePen RadioGimlet Startup PodcastFast Company: Branded Podcasts are the Ads People Actually Want to Listen toThe Good News PodcastMastercard Launches a Branded Podcast with Gimlet CreativeAnchor.fmMacualey Caulkin: Bunny Ears PodcastThe Hyacinth DisasterTransistor.fmHow I Built This PodcastTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on Twitter Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Who are we?Jon is a Web Designer and Developer in Chicago. Justin is a Product Manager and Podcaster from Canada. How did we meet?We met in 2014 at XOXO in Portland. At the end of the festival, we said to each other: “We should build something together someday.” How do you find a cofounder?Go to events!Build your own projects: make stuff, tell people.Build long-term relationships (“I’m never going to team up with someone I just met”)What should you look for in a cofounder?Complimentary skillsThey should have their own networkTrustworthyPositivityValues What we urge you to doSign real legal documents!Use Stripe AtlasBe really up-front about:Your valuesYour aspirations: what are you trying to get out of this?Talk to a lawyerShow notesBlackboxThe Chicago Podcast CooperativeXOXO FestivalChase ReevesMarketing for DevelopersSprintlyProduct PeopleThe Good News PodcastTransistor.fmStripe AtlasCards Against Humanity's Max Temkin500 Startups Legal DocumentsHow I Built This PodcastTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on Twitter Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta 🎙️ Podcast hosting is provided by Transistor.fm.📺 Learn how to start your own podcast! ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Jon Buda and Justin Jackson are building and launching a new product this year called Transistor.You can follow along as we explore this question:What does it take to build a SaaS business now? Is all of the low-hanging fruit gone?You'll get to hear our real raw emotions:"A lot of my time right now is spent trying to figure out how motivated the customer is to sign up."If this sounds interesting, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to shows. Show notesHow to start a podcastTransistor.fmTransistor.fm on InstagramTransistor.fm on TwitterJon Buda is back on Twitter: @jonbudaJustin Jackson on Twitter here: @mijustin Thanks to our monthly supporters Rewardful.com Mitchell Davis from sixsides.co Bill Condo (@mavrck) Ward from MemberSpace.com Evandro Sasse Austin Loveless Michael Sitver Dave Giunta ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★