Software entrepreneur, author, and investor Rob Walling joined me on Ditching Hourly to explain why faster software development does not remove the need to validate a software product idea before building it.
We talked about the future of SaaS in the age of AI, the 2-20-200 validation framework, customer conversations, finding ideas, turning client work into a product, starting marketing early, choosing an ideal customer profile, competitive research, and the advantages of vertical vs orthogonal vs horizontal product positioning.
- 00:00 - Meet Rob Walling
- 01:28 - Idea to Traction
- 02:45 - Who Builds SaaS Now?
- 05:18 - SaaS in the Age of AI
- 09:23 - Validate Before You Build
- 16:29 - Better Customer Conversations
- 17:47 - Finding and Choosing Ideas
- 20:46 - Turning Client Work into SaaS
- 26:24 - Market from Day One
- 28:53 - Find and Refine Your ICP
- 32:09 - Competitive Research and Positioning
- 35:48 - The DNA of a Great SaaS Business
- 38:26 - Vertical, Horizontal, and Orthogonal SaaS
Rob Walling is a software entrepreneur, author, and investor. He hosts Startups for the Rest of Us, a podcast he said has run for 16 years, and co-founded TinySeed, where he invests in SaaS bootstrappers. He started Drip in 2012 and sold it in 2016. Idea to Traction is his sixth book and revisits the early stages of software entrepreneurship. Learn more and pre-order the book at Idea to Traction.
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Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
Before you go!
The next time someone asks you for your hourly rate, I want you to stop what you're doing and head on over to valuepricingbootcamp.com to sign up for my free value pricing email course.
Hope to see you there!
