When launching a new SaaS business, what comes first? What features do you focus on? How do you keep an eye on your key metrics early on? How do you handle onboarding when you’re shuffling team members’ priorities? Brian and Jordan talk all about the newest updates with ZipMessage and Rally. From experimenting with free plans, website redesigns, and preparing themselves for an influx of activity, there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Exciting things are happening but with excitement come da...
Dec 08, 2021•31 min•Ep. 191
What is the difference between going to market and marketing? What mindset do you need to be in to accomplish your goals for both of these stages of business? In addition to answering these questions, Brian and Jordan dive into their marketing goals, content strategists, and updates on where they are with their Rally and ZipMessage. Jordan talks about Rally’s methodical blog posts , which will be released slowly over the next few months. Brian shares some of the new features on ZipMessage and hi...
Nov 09, 2021•38 min•Ep. 190
Jordan shares some big news, 5.8 million dollars worth of news. At the feet of the news of Rally’s seed funding announcement, Brian and Jordan talk all about raising money for businesses. What are the mechanics of starting the funding journey? Which funding path should you take? What does it mean for a fund to lead a round? Meanwhile, Brian gives updates on ZipMessage including marketing projects (comparison/competitor pages), hiring designers for website redesigns, and falling behind on content...
Nov 09, 2021•49 min•Ep. 189
Bootstrapped Web is no longer bootstrapped, on either side! Jordan starts off this episode with his “coming out” strategy, which all starts with his initial three-post series on Rally . He also dives into Rally updates, comparing your start-up businesses, and the importance of developing a unique view of the market. Brian takes funding from Calm Fund (formerly Earnest Capital), which has been a month in the making. He talks about the different decisions and considerations to be made when exiting...
Oct 27, 2021•42 min•Ep. 188
Some news! Brian has sold his business, Audience Ops , to JD Graffam ! And what better way to announce this transition than to bring JD on the show! Jordan leads the way as Brian and JD talk through how this deal came together, the process from each of their perspectives, and the successful close and transition that’s now underway. If you’re thinking about pursuing an exit from your business or thinking about acquiring one, we hope you’ll find some of our real-world experience from this deal hel...
Sep 23, 2021•57 min•Ep. 187
Introduction: Do you work with a full-service accounting and admin company? How do you create markers on your business’s path to success? What unique marketing platforms and ideas do you use? Brian and Jordan are back behind the mic, during this horrendous heatwave. Today’s topics range from admin and accounting tasks they would rather avoid, their very professional podcasting process, Rally’s current markers and goals, and Brian’s exciting marketing ideas. If you have any questions, comments, o...
Aug 19, 2021•38 min•Ep. 186
After a month hiatus, Brian and Jordan are back with stories about trips, waking up in pain, and prepping for competition. They also talk about growth in terms of profitability versus milestones, the newest developments with ZipMessage, and introducing “common, everyday tools” to people outside of the SaaS community. If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped Web, leave us a message here . “Growth as headcount as an acceptable growth metric. And the reason for that is i...
Aug 05, 2021•39 min•Ep. 185
Brian and Jordan are back to back-to-back weeks before vacation and travel plans kick in because… It’s summertime! While Jordan deals with a minor lacrosse injury, they both gush over Matt Medeiros, and give updates on their latest business endeavors. They talk about the progress on the search for a media creator for both Rally and ZipMessage, hiring funnels and hiring hurdles, getting feedback, and ways to get out of a funk. If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped W...
Jun 24, 2021•45 min•Ep. 184
Brian and Jordan are back with updates about diving headfirst into team sports with an “old man lacrosse leagues,” to celebrating 10-year wedding anniversaries, job postings, and creating messages that resonate with customers. They’re covering a little bit of everything today. Brian shares a couple of interesting job openings based on ZipMessage: a media creator and a technical marketer. Check out the job opening for media creator if you love to create content, are comfortable telling stories, a...
Jun 17, 2021•34 min•Ep. 183
Brian and Jordan are back with no excuses and plenty of updates for both Rally and ZipMessage. Today’s topics are all about roadmaps, leading tech teams, and ecommerce marketing. While ecommerce has been around for a while, SaaS is evolving in the way it is marketed and sold. What are your thoughts on SaaS marketing strategies? Do you prefer leading a large tech team or would you rather keep your team small and easily manageable? What are your thoughts on the importance of communication for team...
Jun 03, 2021•40 min•Ep. 182
It’s a big day here at Bootstrapped Web now that Jordan can talk more openly about his newest endeavor: Rally. Brian and Jordan talk about what Rally is, breakdown Rally’s elevator pitch, as well as the steps Jordan has taken up to this point. They also get into a few updates with ZipMessage. Brian talks about the possibility of building a small team and the stigma around hiring a team full of contractors. Are you a freelancer looking for a little work? Are you a marketing specialist? If you hav...
May 20, 2021•59 min•Ep. 181
Brian and Jordan are back behind the mic for the second week in a row. Today they’re focusing on bugs over customers, or should it be the other way around? After some project and business updates, they talk about the early stages of development and launch for a new product. How do you decide if this new project is worth it? How do you find people who are as excited about it as you are? If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped Web, leave a message for Brian and Jordan ...
May 06, 2021•35 min•Ep. 180
Brian and Jordan are back with big news about both of their newest projects. Today they’re doing a deep dive into some of the mental struggles when you start something new. Some touchy-feely topics, some logistics, and back to touchy-feely topics: a typical Bootstrapped Web episode. If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped Web, leave a message for Brian and Jordan on their ZipMessage account at https://zipmessage.com/bootstrappedweb . “We need to complement each other...
Apr 29, 2021•47 min•Ep. 179
Brian and Jordan are back before Brian leaves to scratch his travel itch. Today, they are talking about the things they can control (launching ZipMessage and Jordan’s new company), while also touching on a couple things they can’t control (vaccines and concerts). They also spend a little time talking about Josh Pigford’s amazing public journey, from exiting Baremetrics to starting his own company for modern financial planning & wealth management. How do you handle your professional persona? ...
Apr 15, 2021•42 min•Ep. 178
Brian and Jordan are rounding out 2020 by looking back and looking into the future. Brian talks about taking a break for the next couple weeks, ProcessKit updates, and looking back to see what he was wrong about when thinking about 2020. Jordan talks about a couple podcasts he was a part of, fun holiday parties, and minimizing risks of wasting hours. They also go over some final thoughts about the holidays, and what they plan on doing on their vacation. [tweetthis]“What were all the things that ...
Dec 24, 2020•36 min•Ep. 177
Vote for us on the SaaS Podcast Awards! Jordan and Brian are back with new podcasting gear and set-ups. Today’s topics cover a little bit of everything: from making quality content, to morale boosting Zoom meeting activities. They are also talking about Jordan’s experience working with Shopify, Brian’s 2021 goals for consistency, as well as a surprise nomination, onboarding and conversion, marketing and tracking, and niche podcasting. [tweetthis]“If you keep hammering on a topic that resonates w...
Dec 10, 2020•49 min•Ep. 176
On this episode of Bootstrapped Web (dubbed the “anything but election talk” episode), Jordan and Brian go over Carthook’s exciting launch in the Shopify App Store and ProcessKit’s visual upgrade. Brian also has a couple of aces up his sleeve when it comes to high level changes as well as day-to-day uses for ProcessKit. Today the focus is all about what it means to satisfy customers: new and existing customers. How do you convert trial customers? How fast should you handle feature requests? How ...
Nov 12, 2020•36 min•Ep. 175
Jordan and Brian are back after a few weeks. It is election week; that means a lot of stress and a lot of chaos. But before that stuff hits the fan, Jordan is launching a new Carthook product inside the Shopify app store and Brian has been redesigning the ProcessKit app to fix little frustrations. They’re also talking about structure, spreadsheets, and the importance of app store reviews [tweetthis]“As we started to add more and more features, the overall structure and experience (and I’m talkin...
Nov 05, 2020•48 min•Ep. 174
Today Brian and Jordan are talking about deadlines, Black Friday, and a little bit of introspection. They go over their love/hate relationship with mornings. They also take a deep dive into hopes, dreams, dedication, and hiring true believers. [tweetthis]“I still really believe in dedicating time to writing tests and for us that really means integration tests and feature tests.” - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are today’s conversation points: The Carthook deadline How the new ProcessKit developer step...
Oct 15, 2020•51 min•Ep. 173
On today’s episode of Bootstrapped Web, Brian and Jordan are joined by Ian Landsman from HelpSpot. Ian has made product after product over the years, from UserScape to HelpSpot to LaravelJobs and Thermostatio. You can find him on Twitter or you can learn more about him on his website . Brian, Jordan, and Ian are talking all about podcasts, business models, and privacy on the internet. They also go over the lessons they’ve all learned from previous products and projects they have been involved in...
Oct 08, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 172
We’re in a great mood on today here atf Bootstrapped Web. We’re talking about drive-in movies, apple picking, AirBnB’s, Twitter, and business updates. This episode is a bit of a topic potpourri is as we cover new features, hiring and interview processes, big picture visions, and building communities. [tweetthis]“Aside from the obvious goal of marketing (which is to grow traffic and leads and sales), I think the bigger goal should be to build community.” - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are today’s conv...
Oct 01, 2020•49 min•Ep. 171
Brian and Jordan are back behind the (brand new) mics. They’re reminiscing about the beginning of the podcast, the fires in the west coast, and catching up on the latest news in the industry as well as their businesses. [tweetthis]“From a design standpoint, in the first year of an app, so many things change, like, in terms of the feature set and the scope.” - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are today’s conversation points: The tail end of the hiring process Using the Silo strategy 5 years in the busines...
Sep 17, 2020•53 min•Ep. 170
It’s been a little while but Brian and Jordan are back behind the mics. On today’s episode, they’re talking about vacations, a long first week back, marketing, big news with Carthook, cold emails, and guest features. [tweetthis]“I wanted to get things moving and basically get things up and running, so I hired a marketer” - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are today’s conversation points: Carthook, Shopify, and working together How Shopify works What cold emailers get wrong Conversion rates and automation...
Sep 10, 2020•46 min•Ep. 169
We’re back with “Boo-strapped Web”. We’re behind the mic talking about stress, marketing, executing decisions, and guilt over new hire experiences. Lastly, we’re going over the latest news in startup financing, which could blow everything out of the water: rolling funds. [tweetthis]“Saas is an ongoing chicken or egg problem and it happens more in the product side and maybe even more so on the marketing side.” - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are today’s conversation points: New Hire Experiences New emp...
Aug 20, 2020•42 min•Ep. 168
Today we’re talking about camping ratios, COVID and Black Friday, the eCommerce boom due to COVID, emotions versus moods, Twitter, and competitors. We go over some bold and unique marketing strategies with ProcessKit, how we’ve won Jordan over in the “Working-from-home” battle, and about hiring contractors and coaches. [tweetthis]“He found the reviews where they’re complaining about the competitors and we’re, like, featuring those. Not to just poke at them but to show, ‘If [the customers] compla...
Aug 06, 2020•38 min•Ep. 167
We’re back after a two-week break. More specifically, a camping and Niagra Falls break. Today we go over two kinds of VC: vacations and venture capital. Not to mention, we go over ProcessKit’s newest marketing news, Ali Mese’s article on Medium, and our thoughts on positioning. [tweetthis]“I’m trying to understand the type of person who discovers a SaaS product and starts emailing their support every single day for fourteen days straight, with multiple paragraphs.” - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are ...
Jul 23, 2020•51 min•Ep. 166
We’re back in the studio with a very special agenda… in that we don’t have an agenda today. So we turned to Twitter to ask listeners and followers what topics they would be interested in hearing about. If you have a question or a comment you’d like us to cover in a future episode, feel free to tweet it to us! Today we cover everything from product management to marketing to hobbies. [tweetthis]“To me the most important part of [product management] is the customer feedback.” - Brian [/tweetthis] ...
Jul 02, 2020•44 min•Ep. 165
We’re back and we have so much to talk about. First off, we’d like to dedicate this episode to Ian Landsman and his twitter account. “Hey” seems to have taken Twitter by storm. We’ll talk about how we feel about that, and, of course, we’ll update you on what’s going on in our businesses as well. [tweetthis]"For an everyday email app, I need it to be as clean and simple as possible. But the experience and the functionality and the UI makes a lot of sense, I think." - Brian, on Hey from Basecamp [...
Jun 25, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 164
We’re back behind the mic today after a one-week hiatus. We had originally recorded an episode last week (which addressed current events) but decided not to publish it. Our hearts do go out to everyone in this time of chaos and uncertainty. This week, we’re back, talking about business, bad habits, and kindergarten graduation parades. We’re talking about ProcessKit’s onboarding updates and one of their newest customers. We’re also talking about Jordan’s big problem and his recruiting and hiring ...
Jun 18, 2020•43 min•Ep. 163
The world is in chaos but we’re still here. Today we’re talking about some of the trends and the future of podcasting after some big news with The Joe Rogan Experience. We’re also going over some updates with Carthook, ProcessKit, and Audience Ops. [tweetthis]"It does seem like there’s still that massive gap between the seed rounds and the Series A. Right? When you’ve grown to a certain level and you still need more firepower to grow." - Brian [/tweetthis] Here are today’s conversation points: T...
Jun 04, 2020•45 min•Ep. 162
