What do 15 brand-new TinySeed founders have in common?

In this solo episode, Rob Walling shares six key takeaways from the most recent TinySeed batch kickoff in New York City. He covers why asking "why" is the most underrated founder habit, why pricing is still the biggest lever in SaaS and positioning might be the second biggest, why AI SEO is already a real channel and more. He also makes the case for why being around other founders doing what you're doing is one of the most underrated advantages in bootstrapping.

What if you could go from idea to your first real user in 30 days?

Not a prototype, not a promise, but an actual working app. Designli will put that in writing.

Their TractionLab is a 90-day plan that takes you from idea to first paying customers. By Day 30, v1 of your app is in your users' hands, guaranteed. Miss that deadline and your next month is free.

It starts with a free 30-minute call where you share your idea and they tell you exactly what they'll build and what it costs. No surprises.

You get a full senior team: product owner, engineering lead, full-stack developer, senior UX designer, and solutions architect. They use AI to ship faster, but senior engineers own every architecture decision and review every line of code. The result is yours, and it's built to last.

Go from idea to revenue in 90 days: designli.co/gettraction

• (5:59) – Takeaway #1: Always ask why
• (8:42) – Takeaway #2: New revenue fixes everything (except bad pricing)
• (10:29) – Takeaway #3: Positioning is the second biggest lever in SaaS
• (16:32) – Takeaway #4: Quick test for your lowest pricing tier
• (18:23) – Takeaway #5: AI SEO is a real channel
• (21:20) – Takeaway #6: Be around people doing what you're doing

• TinySeed SaaS Institute
• TinySeed Mentors
• TinySeed Apply
• SignWell
• SavvyCal
• Senior Place
• How to Perfectly Position Your B2B Brand in 34 Minutes | Microconf Talk by Anthony Pierri
• Episode 772 | A Highly Effective Framework for SaaS Positioning
• The SaaS Playbook
• Rob Walling (@robwalling) | X

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

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How does a founder actually learn the skill of product?

In this episode, Rob Walling talks with Ruben Gamez of SignWell and Bidsketch to answer listener questions that turned into a much deeper conversation than expected. They cover why friction works well for one of Ruben's products and kills conversions on the other, how to think about trial length and onboarding when users need more time, and what it actually takes to develop product instincts as a bootstrapped founder.

Want to get your question answered? Drop it here.

• (4:00) – Friction in trial funnels: Bidsketch vs. SignWell
• (8:26) – When to test friction vs. trust your gut
• (10:44) – Testing with low volume
• (16:56) – Trial length for project management SaaS
• (18:47) – How do you learn product?
• (21:39) – How Ruben developed product sense on the job
• (23:21) – The two core product skills bootstrappers actually need
• (29:42) – Product management vs. UX
• (31:46) – Why product sense doesn't transfer between products
• (34:07) – How fast you can build product sense

• SaaS Institute Cancun Retreat – Dec 5-7, 2026, exclusively for 7 & 8 figure SaaS founders | Waitlist: tracy@tinyseed.com
• Sponsorship inquiries: sponsors@tinyseed.com
• TinySeed SaaS Institute
• Shreyas Doshi Product Sense Course
• Shreyas Doshi on YouTube
• Ep 15 - Strategy Session | The Offsite Podcast
• The Panel Podcast
• SignWell
• Bidsketch
• Ruben Gamez (@earthlingworks) | X

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

Is your SaaS actually protected from AI disruption, or are acquirers walking away without even looking?

In this episode, Rob Walling talks with Einar Vollset of Discretion Capital for a front-lines SaaS M&A market report, covering how the acquisition climate has shifted since 2021, why some PE firms now require at least one AI moat before they'll even look at a deal, and a breakdown of all five moats: hardware-software coupling, two-sided network effects, communication graph embeds, proprietary data with closed feedback loops, and operational switching costs.

• (2:05) – State of SaaS M&A from 2020 to today
• (5:49) – Why 2021 was the best time to sell
• (7:38) – How the 2022 downturn raised the acquisition bar
• (8:59) – The SaaS apocalypse narrative and AI FUD
• (12:26) – Why bootstrappers should care about exit markets
• (15:52) – AI moat #1: Hardware-software coupling
• (17:38) – AI moat #2: Marketplace scale and two-sided network effects
• (20:05) – AI moat #3: Communication graph and relationship embed
• (21:27) – AI moat #4: Proprietary data with closed feedback loops
• (23:20) – AI moat #5: Operational embed and switching costs
• (27:28) – Some PE firms now require at least one moat
• (29:23) – AI-native SaaS faces even higher hurdles

• MicroConf Connect Next Live Session: Jim Zarkadas on User-Friendly Onboarding (June 17)
• TinySeed
• MicroConf YouTube
• The SaaS Playbook
• Discretion Capital M&A Guide
• Fiscal.ai
• DealForma
• BuiltWith
• ZyraTalk
• EverCommerce
• Einar Vollset (@einarvollset) | X

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you'd like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We'd love to hear from you!

Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify