The 3 Aspects of a Great Conference Talk

When I started public speaking in 2008 I was really bad. Nervous. Content didn’t land. Often times I didn’t “get” my audience. I spoke a few times in 2008/2009, but it wasn’t until 2010 when I made strides towards getting better. As I did it I stumbled upon a framework of how I view publicRead More → The post The 3 Aspects of a Great Conference Talk first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 30 September 2019 | 1:57 pm

How to Deal With Public Criticism

Every once in a while I receive an email from a reader/podcast listener that goes a little something like: I made a change to my [UX/UI/positioning/pricing/terms] and it seemed to go well. But out of my 900 customers, 3 wrote in with scathing emails (1 even raged at me on Twitter). It had a hugeRead More → The post How to Deal With Public Criticism first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 20 June 2019 | 10:09 am

Roadblocks vs. Speed bumps

I co-host a podcast that focuses on bootstrapping software startups. Last week as my co-host and I dug into some struggles he’s running into getting his product to escape velocity, I started saying a phrase I hadn’t used before: It sounds like you’re taking speed bumps and turning them into roadblocks. As a founder youRead More → The post Roadblocks vs. Speed bumps first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 17 June 2019 | 9:39 am

TinySeed Applications Open January 18th

Two-and-a-half months ago Einar Vollset and I announced TinySeed, the first startup accelerator designed for bootstrappers. The response was overwhelming. Hundreds and hundreds of tweets, re-tweets, likes, Hacker News upvotes, email responses…it was immediately obvious that there is pent up demand for this kind of alternative early-stage startup funding. Previously On..TinySeed To catch you up, here’s a briefRead More → The post TinySeed Applications Open January 18th first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 8 January 2019 | 8:45 am

My Next Act: The First Startup Accelerator for Bootstrappers

When you hear the term startup accelerator you likely think of YCombinator, TechStars or 500 Startups. Accelerators traditionally cater to “unicorns” – companies that have the potential to be worth at least a billion dollars. This focus has made them successful in launching startups like DropBox, AirBnB, Stripe and Instacart. But what about founders whoRead More → The post My Next Act: The First Startup Accelerator for Bootstrappers first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 12 October 2018 | 9:30 am

3 Emails Every Early-Stage SaaS Should Be Sending

This article is a guest post by Christoph Engelhardt of SaaSEmailMarketing.net. Today I’m going to show you 3 emails that can change the trajectory of your SaaS business. The emails I’m highlighting here are easy to set up and pack a punch – ideal for early-stage products. You’ll learn how to: increase your signup conversions by 15%Read More → The post 3 Emails Every Early-Stage SaaS Should Be Sending first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 20 December 2016 | 11:00 am

How to Force Yourself to Ship (Even When It’s Hard)

It’s been a week and a half since we launched Drip’s biggest feature in 18 months, called Workflows. Had we not committed to a deadline, in public, 2-weeks prior to the ship date (when we published this post on Drip and emailed a bazillion people), I believe we’d still be adding finishing touches. It’s scary to ship. And it’sRead More → The post How to Force Yourself to Ship (Even When It’s Hard) first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 9 February 2016 | 7:00 am

What I Learned Buying, Growing, and Selling My Startup

In early 2011 I was looking for my next thing. Long ago I learned that when I’m not learning I’m not happy. And in early 2011, aside from hosting our first successful MicroConf, I wasn’t doing many things that scared me. Which told me I needed a next thing. My book was selling well. I had aRead More → The post What I Learned Buying, Growing, and Selling My Startup first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 2 December 2015 | 10:36 am

The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping

Between this blog, my podcast, MicroConf and the TinySeed, I’ve had the privilege of watching hundreds of entrepreneurs launch products over the past decade (even into the thousands, depending on how you count). After a while, I started to notice a pattern emerging among the pool of bootstrappers who were able to successfully replace their income, buy back their time,Read More → The post The Stair Step Method of Bootstrapping first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 26 March 2015 | 9:30 am

How I Created 4 Startup Explainer Videos for $11

When I was writing the copy for the home page of Drip, I ran into a bit of a challenge: the idea of marketing automation is still new to a lot of people, so not everyone is aware of how email marketing (much less marketing automation) can help them. One of the easiest ways I’ve foundRead More → The post How I Created 4 Startup Explainer Videos for $11 first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 17 February 2015 | 10:20 am

SketchNotes of My Talk: “How to Make More Money from Your Business”

In October I spoke at Dan & Ian’s DCBKK event in Bangkok, Thailand about how to make more money from your business. Through the mad illustration skills of one Maggie Appleton, here are SketchNotes summarizing my entire talk in a single image (click the image for a hi-res version). The post SketchNotes of My Talk: “How to Make More Money from Your Business” first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 13 November 2014 | 3:37 pm

The Biggest Gamble of Your Career

I’m in the midst of the biggest gamble of my career. The thing is, every chance you take feels like your biggest gamble while you’re taking it. When I left salaried employment for consulting in 2006 it felt like a big gamble. When I left consulting for product in 2008 with a wife, kid and a mortgage, it feltRead More → The post The Biggest Gamble of Your Career first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 31 July 2014 | 11:00 am

Building a SaaS Business You Can Sell

This is a guest post by Thomas Smale from FE International, a website brokerage with an emphasis on SaaS apps. At FE International we speak to website owners on a daily basis who are looking to sell their businesses. Unfortunately, many of these businesses are not sellable for a number of very avoidable reasons. PlanningRead More → The post Building a SaaS Business You Can Sell first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 2 April 2014 | 8:02 am

Growth Hacking Without Venture Capital

This article is a guest post from Bronson Taylor. Bronson is a co-founder and host of Growth Hacker TV, the only educational platform focused exclusively on helping startups grow by acquiring, retaining, and monetizing users. They have over 60 episodes, with guests from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, DropBox, and many more. Image above from Toban Black. FoundersRead More → The post Growth Hacking Without Venture Capital first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 25 June 2013 | 10:00 am

How I Grew My Startup’s Revenue 50% And Saved $60k Through Partnerships

Photo by b1ue5ky This article is a guest post from Eric Tarn. Eric is a co-founder of Onepager, a simple website builder which helps individuals and small businesses get beautiful sites up quickly and easily. When you’re part of a startup, you’re usually working with a smaller team and budget to reach big goals. WhileRead More → The post How I Grew My Startup’s Revenue 50% And Saved $60k Through Partnerships first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 13 March 2013 | 10:00 am

Case Study: 13 Pre-Launch Traffic Strategies for Startups (Part 3 of 3)

This article is a guest post by Dan Norris, founder of Informly. In this 3 part series I’m running through 13 pre-launch traffic strategies (actually it’s turned into 14) I am using for getting attention and building an audience and a list for my reporting app Informly. In part 1, I went into detail aboutRead More → The post Case Study: 13 Pre-Launch Traffic Strategies for Startups (Part 3 of 3) first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 6 November 2012 | 9:00 am

Case Study: 13 Pre-Launch Traffic Strategies for Startups (Part 2 of 3)

This article is a guest post by Dan Norris, founder of Informly. In this 3 part series (part 1 here) I’m running through 13 pre-launch traffic strategies I am using for getting attention and building an audience and a list for my web app Informly. In part 1, I went into detail about my onsite contentRead More → The post Case Study: 13 Pre-Launch Traffic Strategies for Startups (Part 2 of 3) first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 23 October 2012 | 10:00 am

Case Study: 13 Pre-Launch Traffic Strategies for Startups (Part 1 of 3)

This article is a guest post by Dan Norris, founder of Informly. Part 1 (of 3) – Introduction and Onsite Content Experienced entrepreneurs will tell you that no traffic is free. Even if you aren’t paying money for something you are paying in time (which is worth something) and once you try to scale it, youRead More → The post Case Study: 13 Pre-Launch Traffic Strategies for Startups (Part 1 of 3) first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 16 October 2012 | 10:00 am

Tell Everyone Your Startup Idea

This artice is a guest post from Joel Gascoigne. Joel is is the founder of Buffer, a smarter way to share great articles with friends and followers. He Tweets at @joelgascoigne and writes regularly on his blog about startups, life, learning and happiness. I was speaking at an event last week about the lessons I’ve learned along my startup journey, mostlyRead More → The post Tell Everyone Your Startup Idea first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 31 July 2012 | 10:00 am

How a Seemingly Well-Planned Server Move Crashed, Burned, and Rose from the Ashes

Photo by hisperati About 8 months ago I acquired a small startup called HitTail. You can read more about the acquisition here. When the deal closed, the app was in bad shape. Within 3 weeks I had to move the entire operation, including a large database, to new servers. This required my first all-nighter in aRead More → The post How a Seemingly Well-Planned Server Move Crashed, Burned, and Rose from the Ashes first appeared on Rob Walling - Serial Entrepreneur.

Posted on: 6 June 2012 | 2:24 pm