Shows
The Bootstrapped Founder406: Making Your Business Sellable (Even If You Never Plan to Sell)Today, I’ll share how I’ve been preparing Podscan (and long before that, another SaaS business) to be ready to be acquired at a moment’s notice. This episode of The Bootstraped Founder is sponsored by Paddle.comThe blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/making-your-business-sellable-even-if-you-never-plan-to-sell/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/406-making-your-business-sellable-even-if-you-never-plan-to-sellCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find m...
2025-08-0122 minThe Bootstrapped Founder405: The Friction Paradox: Why AI Might Be Making Us Worse at What We DoToday we’ll talk about how AI systems, particularly the ones that do all the work for us, can both massively amplify and hinder our effectiveness. The good get better, and the bad get worse. It's a problem.This episode of The Bootstraped Founder is sponsored by Paddle.comThe blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-friction-paradox-why-ai-might-be-making-us-worse-at-what-we-do/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/405-the-friction-paradox-why-ai-might-be-making-us-worse-at-what-we-doCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a vo...
2025-07-2513 minThe Bootstrapped Founder404: The Transcription Challenge: Building Infrastructure That Scales With The WorldToday we’ll talk about keeping up with an avalanche of audio data and how I built Podscan’s transcription infrastructure.This episode of The Bootstraped Founder is sponsored by Paddle.comThe blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-transcription-challenge-building-infrastructure-that-scales-with-the-world/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/404-the-transcription-challenge-building-infrastructure-that-scales-with-the-worldCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find my weekly article on my blog: http...
2025-07-1827 minThe Bootstrapped Founder403: Amar Ghose — From Non-Technical Founder to SaaS InnovatorAmar Ghose has been growing Zenmaid from idea to market leader as a non-technical founder. Zenmaid is a SaaS platform that's been helping maid service owners grow their businesses since 2013. Amar is one of those amazing founders who truly embodies the bootstrapping spirit—when his co-founder left early on at just $15k in monthly revenue, he could have easily given up. Instead, he stuck with it, and through relentless customer focus and persistence, he's built ZenMaid into a $150k per month business over the past 12 years.What makes Amar's story particularly inspiring is that he's a non-technical fo...
2025-07-1644 minThe Bootstrapped Founder402: A $2 Billion Industry Built on Digital Duct TapeToday I’ll share my insights into the podcasting universe, from a software founder perspective. There are so many untapped opportunities in a space where budgets and expectations are growing massively, so why not talk about the most challenging issues and what could be gained if they were solved.This episode of The Bootstraped Founder is sponsored by Paddle.comThe blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-podcasting-infrastructure-crisis-a-2-billion-industry-built-on-digital-duct-tape/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/402-a-2-billion-industry-built-on-digital-duct-tapeCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out th...
2025-07-1122 minThe Bootstrapped Founder401: Vova Feldman — Mastering Entrepreneurship in the Payments SectorVova Feldman is the founder of Freemius, a Merchant of Record payment provider. He's been at it for a while, and it wasn't always easy. Vova shares his approach to weathering the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, how to build a team (and mis-hires), and what operating in the payment industry means for a crafty founder.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/vova-feldman-mastering-entrepreneurship-in-the-payments-sector/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/401-vova-feldman-mastering-entrepreneurship-in-the-payments-sectorCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan...
2025-07-0941 minThe Bootstrapped Founder400: The Hidden Revolution: AI Is Democratizing Coding MentorshipOne aspect of the AI hype we’re all dealing with right now is severely underreported. And it’s that part that I personally think has a much more substantial long-term impact than all the magical video generators and coding agents.This episode of The Bootstraped Founder is sponsored by Paddle.comThe blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-hidden-revolutionai-is-democratizing-coding-mentorship/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/400-the-hidden-revolution-ai-is-democratizing-coding-mentorshipCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend...
2025-07-0414 minThe Bootstrapped Founder399: NativePHP: How Simon Hamp & Shane Rosenthal are Building & Monetizing PHP on MobileShane Rosenthal and Simon Hamp from the NativePHP Project have brought PHP, and with it my favorite web framework Laravel, onto Mobile devices. I love this: taking established tech and porting it into places where you wouldn’t expect. I’ll be talking to Share and Simon about how they accomplished this, and, maybe even more impressively, how they turned this into a profitable business at a very early stage.This episode of The Bootstraped Founder is sponsored by Paddle.comThe blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/simon-hamp-shane-rosenthal-building-monetizing-nativephp/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/epis...
2025-07-0250 minThe Bootstrapped Founder398: The Hidden Cost of Being FirstWhen Python's dominant package manager pip was challenged by newcomer uv—which is so fast users think it's broken—it revealed a fundamental truth about first-mover advantage that every founder needs to understand. Discover why being first means building "unavoidable complexity," how smart competitors exploit this weakness, and the strategic framework for deciding whether to pioneer a market or build a better mousetrap.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-hidden-cost-of-being-first/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/the-hidden-cost-of-being-firstCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minu...
2025-06-2711 minThe Bootstrapped Founder397: When Profitability Disappears — A Podscan Reality CheckToday’s episode represents the reality of entrepreneurship—not just the wins, but the difficult decisions and uncertainty that come with building something new. Sometimes the most valuable conversations happen when we're honest about the challenges we're facing.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/when-profitability-disappears-a-podscan-reality-check/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/397-when-profitability-disappears-a-podscan-reality-checkCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find my weekly artic...
2025-06-2017 minThe Bootstrapped Founder396: Jack Friks — Building Tools That Empower Without OverwhelmingJack Friks (@jackfriks) is the founder of PostBridge, a social media scheduling tool that grew from his own frustration with spending hours posting across platforms to a $18k/month business. We explore the evolution of social media toward authenticity, the challenges of building lean products as a solopreneur, and how to navigate the noise while maintaining a genuine human connection in an AI-driven world.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/jack-friks-building-tools-that-empower-without-overwhelming/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/396-jack-friks-building-tools-that-empower-without-overwhelmingCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out...
2025-06-1839 minThe Bootstrapped Founder395: From Code Writer to Code Editor: My AI-Assisted Development WorkflowMy day-to-day coding looks very different from what it was a few years ago. Today, you'll learn about my voice-to-code workflow and how I leverage smart tools to have so much free time that I feel guilty for "not working enough." Seriously.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/from-code-writer-to-code-editor-my-ai-assisted-development-workflow/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/395-from-code-writer-to-code-editor-my-ai-assisted-development-workflowCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidY...
2025-06-1326 minThe Bootstrapped Founder394: Taylor Otwell — The (Quite Entrepreneurial) Creator of LaravelTaylor Otwell (@taylorotwell) didn't just create the popular open-source framework Laravel. He turned it into a highly profitable business that helps developers build profitable businesses themselves. Few other open-source devs have such a clear understanding of market needs AND developer requirements. Taylor shares his approach to monetizing freely available code, how he intentionally built an ecosystem of free and paid-for tooling, and where the Laravel journey will go.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/taylor-otwell-the-quite-entrepreneurial-creator-of-laravel/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/394-taylor-otwell-the-quite-entrepreneurial-creator-of-laravelCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes...
2025-06-1141 minThe Bootstrapped Founder393: AI is a Threat to SaaS MultiplesSoftware-as-a-service business acquisitions are in trouble. What is responsible for a downward trend in multiples and acquisition dollar amounts? It has a lot to do with AI, but it may not be what you think.I recently recorded an in-depth session for Rob Walling's SaaS Launchpad. This module is called AI in SaaS, and I share over a dozen pitfalls, unobvious risks, and hard-earned insights from my own AI SaaS building journey. The course was already great, but... you know... ;) Use the code ARVID150 to get $150 off until June 8th.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com...
2025-06-0623 minThe Bootstrapped Founder392: Building AI Businesses Without Breaking the InternetEver heard of model collapse? It occurs when AI models are trained on the outputs of previous AI models. And it's not pretty.I recently recorded an in-depth session for Rob Walling's SaaS Launchpad. This module is called AI in SaaS, and I share over a dozen pitfalls, unobvious risks, and hard-earned insights from my own AI SaaS building journey. The course was already great, but... you know... ;) Use the code ARVID150 to get $150 off until June 8th.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/building-ai-businesses-without-breaking-the-internet/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/building-ai-businesses-without-breaking-the-internet
2025-05-3022 minThe Bootstrapped Founder391: AI is Flipping Our Relationship with TechnologySecond brains were all the rage a year ago. Now, it feels like we're not just externalizing our thoughts; we're training a much bigger, much less personal brain. A first brain. THE brain. Is this a good thing? Are we truly the beneficiaries here?The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/ai-is-flipping-our-relationship-with-technology/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/391-ai-is-flipping-our-relationship-with-technologyCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvid
2025-05-2325 minThe Bootstrapped Founder390: When to Choose Local LLMs vs APIsWhen I started Podscan, I wanted to go full local AI. Self-hosted, self-managed, self-serving. But that tune has changed. Here's what to think about when contemplating a local AI strategy.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/when-to-choose-local-llms-vs-apis-a-founders-real-world-guide/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/390-when-to-choose-local-llms-vs-apisCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find my weekly article on my blog: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com
2025-05-1616 minThe Bootstrapped Founder389: The Founder's First Hire: When to Let Go of Your WeaknessesIt's time. Solopreneurship works for a while, but it can't last forever. Not for me, not for Podscan. We need help.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-founders-first-hire-when-to-let-go-of-your-weaknesses/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/389-the-founders-first-hire-when-to-let-go-of-your-weaknessesCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find my weekly article on my blog: https://thebootstrappedfounder.comPodcast: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/podcastNewsletter...
2025-05-0914 minThe Bootstrapped Founder388: The Job To Be Done: Understanding Customer Value CommunicationPMF is MIA without JTBD. Make sense? :DThe "job to be done" sits at the core of my customer's use of my product. I need to understand it to understand them. To fathom their needs.This week, I'll share how I approach that — and why it's taken me years to get here.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-job-to-be-done-understanding-customer-value-communication/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/388-the-job-to-be-done-understanding-customer-value-communicationCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://po...
2025-05-0211 minThe Bootstrapped Founder387: Your API Documentation is Not For Developers AnymoreAPI docs used to be by and for developers. Now, non-technical people use AI tools to build integrations into our SaaS products. We need to rethink how we communicate with them (and the AI agents that write their code).The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/your-api-documentation-is-not-for-developers-anymore/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/your-api-documentation-is-not-for-developers-anymoreCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find my...
2025-04-2511 minThe Bootstrapped Founder386: One Year of Podscan: Reflecting on Tech & Business DecisionsThis week, I'm sharing behind-the-scenes choices that allowed Podscan's growth from a small experiment to a thriving business. I'll delve into the choices I've made and how some have worked better than others. I'll explore the key decisions that have driven our success, such as selecting the right tools and technology, and utilizing AI to enhance the efficiency of our processes. Join me to learn how these choices, along with important upgrades and strategic partnerships, have contributed to our achievements.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/one-year-of-podscan-reflecting-on-tech-business-decisions/The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/386-one-year-of-podscan-reflecting-on-tech-business-decisions
2025-04-1824 minThe Bootstrapped Founder385: The Balancing Act: Free Trials, Value Demonstration, and Business SustainabilityJust how much of your service should a trial user be allowed to "try"? When it costs you real money to supply your product, when and how do you apply limits so that people have to upgrade?That's my challenge this week, and I'll share a concrete example from my journey with Podscan.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/the-balancing-act-free-trials-value-demonstration-and-business-sustainability/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/385-the-balancing-act-free-trials-value-demonstration-and-business-sustainability Check out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fm
2025-04-1115 minThe Bootstrapped Founder384: Podscan's Profitability Milestone: What's Next?Podscan is profitable. Wild. A great success, a year after starting the business, and a fun opportunity to look at the options that lay before me. What will be my next milestone? What's the ultimate goal here?Well, you'll hear all about it today.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/podscans-profitability-milestone-whats-next/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/podscans-profitability-milestone-whats-nextCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail...
2025-04-0421 minThe Bootstrapped Founder383: Repositioning Podscan: From Monitoring to Data PlatformLast week, in my hotel room just after MicroConf, I got excited about repositioning. I have had some time to think about the steps forward since then, and here's what I've come up with. This week, I dive into what I have already done, what needs to be done next, and where this is going.The blog post: https://tbf.fm/episodes/383-repositioning-podscan-from-monitoring-to-data-platform The podcast episode: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/repositioning-podscan-from-monitoring-to-data-platform/Check out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fm
2025-03-2818 minThe Bootstrapped Founder382: I went to MicroConf in New OrleansAnd I have a few things to say.In one of my rare directly-from-the-hotel-room-to-you episodes, I'll dive right into the many wonderful experiences of this uniquely amazing conference, and I'll share my biggest learnings with you right here.The blog post: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/i-went-to-microconf-in-new-orleans/ The podcast episode: https://tbf.fm/episodes/382-i-went-to-microconf-in-new-orleansCheck out Podscan, the Podcast database that transcribes every podcast episode out there minutes after it gets released: https://podscan.fmSend me a voicemail on Podline: https://podline.fm/arvidYou'll find...
2025-03-2116 min