AI Can Code, but Not Decide SaaS Product Direction
AI can help you write code, draft cold emails, and generate blog posts. But there's one of the core four SaaS skills where AI falls flat: Product. Knowing what to build, what not to build, and how to listen to your customers without building everything they ask for. That's something AI just can't do for you. In this week's solo episode, I also reframe Bill Gross's top five startup success factors for bootstrappers, share a parking app's terrible UX decision, and explore what the Beastie Boys can teach us about shipping creative work. Listen here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eeep7yKr Thanks to Mercury for sponsoring this episode. I manage half a dozen Mercury accounts across my businesses, from my personal single-member LLC to MicroConf to TinySeed. The dashboard shows me exactly where each business stands at a glance, and the interface handles everything from paying invoices to multi-step approval processes for investment wires. There's a reason more than 300,000 entrepreneurs have made the switch. It's free to get started with no in-person visits and no minimum balance. 👉 https://mercury.com/
Running SaaS in a Post‑Software, Agentic Era
.@TheCraigHewitt takes the stage to close out #MicroConf 2026 talking about how to run a SaaS in a post-software / agentic world. https://t.co/zzixtMeUsl
Defining SaaS: What Truly Counts for Founders
Is your product actually a SaaS? I gave the definition of SaaS more thought than I ever have before, and it turns out ChatGPT and I disagree on a few things. In this week's episode, I answer listener questions covering...
StartupS Pod Celebrates 16 Years And
16 years ago today, the first episode of @startupspod went live. It’s now old enough to drive. 825+ episodes later, still shipping. Appreciate everyone who’s listened, reviewed, shared, or sent in a question along the way. https://t.co/ViciIzm0Bu
Choosing Your SaaS Agentic Interface: Which Approach Works?
If you've built (or are planning to build) an agentic interface to your SaaS, which approach did you take?
MCP Hype’s Half-Life Shrinks to a Quarter
Remember four months ago when everyone was talking about MCP servers? The half-life of “this changes everything” is down to about a quarter now.
4 Skills Every SaaS Founder Needs (Most Are Missing One)
The video outlines the four essential SaaS founder competencies—product, development, marketing, and sales—and warns that lacking even one creates a hard ceiling on growth, no matter how attractive the market or how clever the idea. The presenter breaks down each skill:...
Weekly Newsletter Offers Founder Insights on Growth, Hiring, Marketing, Exits
I haven't published new essays in almost 15 years. But I started writing again, and am now sending out a weekly email with new thoughts on topics like: - The 6 stages of SaaS growth, and how to know which you're...
Product‑Market Fit Is a Spectrum, Not a Binary
Most founders think of product-market fit as binary. You have it or you don't. That framing causes a lot of unnecessary anxiety. PMF is a spectrum. You move through stages, and each stage has different work. The question isn't "do I have PMF?" It's...
AI Ads Will Be The Next Land Grab (Here's How I'd Play It)
The video warns that AI chat platforms are about to launch advertising slots, likening the moment to the early days of Google Adwords and Facebook ads when cheap clicks gave early adopters a competitive edge. The presenter outlines a timing framework:...
Your Day Job Can Teach 11 Entrepreneurial Lessons
Some of the best founder training happens in your 9 to 5 if you’re curious enough to notice. In episode 815, I share 11 unexpected lessons a day job can teach you about entrepreneurship. Listen here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gfJNG6qV
Bootstrapped Teams Outperform Funded Rivals in Niche Markets
Some markets aren’t meant for venture funding. And that’s exactly why they’re perfect for bootstrappers. I had Laura Roeder of Paperbell on the pod to talk about what most founders miss: • How big funding rounds create false signals •...
9 Brutal Truths About Startups I Know After 20 Years in SaaS
Rob Walling opens the video by warning that despite SaaS’s alluring recurring revenue, high margins and lofty exit multiples, the model hides a series of hard‑won lessons he’s gathered over two decades of building, exiting, and investing in SaaS firms....
2026 SaaS Forecast: 9 Predictions, SEO Risk Highlighted
In Episode 813, I revisit last year's predictions and share 9 new SaaS predictions for 2026, including why overreliance on SEO could be your biggest risk. Check out the whole list 👉 https://lnkd.in/g2-GFkKj
Vertical SaaS Outpaces Horizontal: Lower Churn, Stronger Exits
After funding 200+ SaaS startups, a clear trend has emerged at TinySeed . Vertical + Orthogonal SaaS is outperforming Horizontal SaaS. Lower churn. Better retention. Stronger exits. In episode 812, I share the 2025 State of TinySeed, including TinySeed’s growth,...