Episodes
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Today's episode is a summary of our top advice on becoming a non-tech founder in this developer-dominated world.
We also cover an update on Laura's WordCamp EU experience and share some news about the future of this podcast.
We cover:
Laura's first WordCamp EU experience and overcoming fears about public speakingWhy Laura thinks non-tech founders should go audience first when launching a productNathan's tips on the importance of finding product-market fit and testing EARLY Our views on bringing on a technical co-founder vs. going it aloneThe question of building a product based on an existing company (e.g. an extension) and whether it's worth itSome news about the future of this podcast -
This episode is an off-the-cuff one where we decided to do an update on both Nathan and Laura's current state of affairs. We ended up talking about a couple of really interesting topics ranging from managing your time to making your first full-time hire.
We cover:
How Nathan's doing after his move into a new apartmentThe challenges that come with managing your time when you're in different seasons of life (spoiler: every season has its own issues!)What time-boxing is and how Nathan is going to experiment with it to see if he can balance client work with growing his businessLaura's big update: how she hired her first full-time employee (!)Musings about why in-person everything seems to work better – even for introvertsI (Laura) mentioned a couple of episodes of the Diary of a CEO podcast. If anyone wants to give them a listen, here they are:
No.1 Habit & Procrastination Expert: We've Got ADHD Wrong! Break Any Habit And Never Be Distracted 10 Life-changing Lessons From The Longest Study Ever On Human Happiness -
Missing episodes?
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In this episode we delve into finding product market fit as a solo, non-tech founder – preferably as early and with as little up-front investment as possible.
We cover:
What exactly product market fit is – and how we define itThe three stages to determining product market fit (market research, creating an MVP, and looking for signs of traction) How we think about product market fit for Client Portal and Feature Flux Subtle signs that might indicate that you don't have product market fit (even if everyone is saying that you do) Key considerations that every solo founder should keep in mind when determining product market fitThe least risky (but not necessarily fastest) way to build a SaaS with product market fit -
In this episode Nathan and Laura talk about setting goals (and why they’re so important), splitting your work into sprints, and taking regular time off.
We cover:
Why goals are so important – and how to set them correctly How many goals should you have at a time? And how do you accurately measure a success or failure? How sprints have changed my (Laura's) business for the better How I set up my sprints and track them with my goals Taking sabbaticals: why you should even if you don't feel like you can -
This episode is all about running a business at home with kids: how to balance work life with home life – when they're both in the same physical space.
We cover:
Does age matter? What are the different challenges between an infant/toddler vs. an older child? How to fit work around extracurricular activitiesIs having a lifestyle business setting an unrealistic expectation for your child? How to ruthlessly prioritise your schedule with sprintsWhy regular 'sabbaticals' are even more important when you're juggling work and kids -
This week we talk about building and running a SaaS during a recession: what you can do and how you can not only survive but thrive.
We detail a popular Twitter thread by Patrick Campbell (who built – and sold – ProfitWell ). This thread is basically the blueprint for what I'm (Laura 👋) working on with Client Portal, so it seemed like a good idea to run through some of the ideas and how we are implementing them in our businesses.
We cover:
Why you should focus more on existing customers than new customers and some simple strategies to increase your profits.How offering a lower discount can actually prevent churn and make you more money.The benefits and drawbacks of freemium – and who should consider it.Why you should focus on building a community and helping people – even if they're not ready to buy.Should you go after your competitor's customers? Playing the long game. How you can plant the right seeds now and harvest them later. -
This week, Nathan and Laura deep-dive into the topic of Education as Marketing.
In the age of #buildinpublic, good old-fashioned marketing seems to have gone the way of the dodo. Is there still value in this tried and tested method of attracting customers?
We think there probably is... but we could be wrong.
Client Portal
Badass: Making Users Awesome
Nontechpodcast (Twitter) -
In this episode of the podcast, Laura and Nathan delve into the topic of launching a new SaaS (Software as a Service) and discuss important considerations around timing, product readiness, and generating interest. They explore questions such as, "When is the right time to launch a new SaaS?" and "How polished does it need to be before launch?"
Client Portal
Feature Flux
The Transistor Journey
The Lab -
Today’s episode is the first in our ask an expert series. This is a bit experimental but the idea is that for some episodes we will bring in experts on specific topics to essentially co-host the podcast with us. This week we chatted with Brennan Dunn. Brennan is one of the brightest minds when it comes to email automation. He's successfully built and run multiple businesses using email automation as the backbone for growth.
So, if you want to learn how to get started with email automation or grow your business further, check out today's episode.
https://createandsell.co/
https://palladio.dev/
https://rightmessage.com/
https://twitter.com/brennandunn
https://convertkit.com/
https://client-portal.io/
Feature Flux -
Being a non-technical founder brings its own unique set of struggles. And one of the areas that we always seem to struggle with is hiring a good developer.
Today Laura and Nathan talk about their experiences in hiring developers. They share their thoughts on some best practices you can follow and how to get the most out of your time with your new hire.
If you have any additional tips, send them to us on Twitter.
Forefront Agency
Client Portal
Feature FluxA special shoutout and thank you to Yoren Chang for showing Laura what working with a fantastic developer looks like.
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Is it possible to build a product business while working full-time? What about while freelancing? Both are possible, but both have their pros and cons. Laura and Nathan go in-depth on how they built their products while working full-time, going freelance, and growing a family.
They look at partner accountability, going it 100% alone and how to put in the hours without going insane.
Does age play a part in how you build a product on the side? Are you capable of working 12+ hours a day? Or do you only have an hour here and there? Listen in to find out how we did it and continue to do it.
ps. Laura has a great suggestion on how to plan your week if you're a freelancer!
Links.
Nusii
Rob Walling
Feature Flux -
Today we look at the advantages and disadvantages of being a non-technical founder. There are areas where we excel and perhaps even surpass our technical counterparts. So, can non-technical founders go the distance?
Some of the things we chat about today:
Laura's recent holiday.Laura sees a 50% increase in sales since launching her new website.Feature Flux is advancing and Nathan realises that his SaaS might be more suitable for enterprise businesses. What will that mean for sales?Is it easier for non-tech founders to market their products?Would we want coding skills?The advantages of building a quick MVP as a developer.Doing everything as a solo founder is a lot to ask. If you can't build your own product, what can you do? Building an audience.Finding a co-founder.Paying a developer to build your MVP.Funding for your SaaS.No code as an option.The stairstep approach.Focus on one product or build multiple?Do new indy products inspire trust?Be mindful of the customers you choose.Links from today's show:
Client Portal
Feature Flux
The Bootstrapped Founder
Reform
Close
Castos
Rob Walling
Tiny Seed
Calm -
How much are you willing to risk when it comes to building your business? It's something we discuss at length today. With Laura squarely on one side of the field and Nathan on the other, is there any middle ground?
Funding for indie businesses. Is it an option? Is it a good option to reduce risk? After hearing of Llama Life's recent funding, we dove into the topic.
https://llamalife.co/
https://twitter.com/threehourcoffee
https://deployempathy.com/
https://www.reform.app/ -
Laura talks about how she grew her large audience back in the day and how one blog post (A Simple Web Developer’s Color Guide) for Smashing Magazine triggered a series of events that changed everything.
Nathan talks about how he was thrown into freelance life thanks to the 2008 crash and later went on to build Nusii, a proposal SaaS for design agencies. His MVP cost $3000 and was awful!
One thing that doesn't seem to have changed is that content still seems to rule when it comes to building a business. Both Laura and Nathan used content from the start.
Sometimes being careful doesn't pay...at least in the case of Nathan who built Nusii even though all of his customer development interviewees told him they wouldn't use it!
What happened to forums, comment sections on blogs and design feedback sites?
Links:
https://www.bidsketch.com
https://zipmessage.com/
https://kickassfreelancing.com/
https://client-portal.io/
https://featureflux.com/
https://blogstatic.io/ -
Laura launches a new look for Client Portal and Nathan gets a senior developer onboard to help him build Feature Flux.
Is content still the way to market a new product? How to get access to your competitor's marketing strategies.Content creation is hard! The dangers of shiny object syndrome.Laura gets back into freelance design work.Shiny Object Syndrome. How do you maintain focus on what matters?What are the best parts of starting a new project? Multiple bets or one main product? Which is best?Is procrastination a self-defence mechanism? Are we scared of failing?Design Academy
Client Portal
Feature Flux
Double Your Freelancing -
Expect more detailed summaries soon :)
Links from today's episode:
How to Build the Ultimate Productivity System (2022)
Pieter Levels: Making $2.7M A Year With No Employees
Building a second brain
Get in touch: [email protected]
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Hello and welcome to The Non-Tech Founder's podcast. Join us for fortnightly conversations about running a business as a non-technical founder. Laura and Nathan will navigate the developer-dominated world of entrepreneurship, bootstrapping and beyond.
In this first episode, we give a quick intro to why we're doing this, a little about who we are and our backgrounds and what we're up to right now!
About Laura.
Laura is the founder of 3 products: Client Portal (a super simple way to store your clients’ deliverables), Design Academy (a design course for developers), and Project Pack (sets of templates and documents for freelancers and agencies). Occasionally, she still takes on design projects.About Nathan.
Nathan is a UX designer by trade but has been creating his own products since 2013. Founder of Nusii (Online proposal software. Sold in 2019), author of What the UX! and Develop Your UX (a super simple course that teaches the basics of UX to developers) and currently building Feature Flux (Design version control for product teams).You can find them here.
Laura's Twitter.
Nathan's Twitter.Drop us a line here: [email protected]
