The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies...
Episode 753 | TinySeed Tales s4e3: Co-Founder Conflicts + Renaming a Business
In this episode of TinySeed Tales, Rob Walling reconnects with Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hammerstone, as she shares the latest developments in their startup journey.
Colleen opens up about the emotional challenges of co-founder conflicts with Aaron, highlighting the importance of communication and alignment in their partnership. They also discuss the significant pivot from their initial product offering to the newly rebranded Hello Query, a SaaS solution focused on internal reporting for teams.
Topics we cover:
(0:59) – Breaking up with a co-founder
(7:39) – How could this conversation have been different?
(9:49) – Navigating a major pivot
(14:37) – Changing the name
(16:56) – Getting closer to finding product-market-fit
(19:39) – Competing in a competitive market
Links from the Show:
SaaS Institute
TinySeed
Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger) | X
Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger.bsky.social) | Bluesky
Aaron Francis (@aarondfrancis) | X
Aaron Francis (@aaronfrancis.com) | Bluesky
MicroConf Recap, Episode 59 – The Hammerstone Podcast
Hello Query
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!
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Episode 752 | The State of SEO in 2025
In episode 752, Rob Walling interviews Lars Lofgren to discuss the current state of SEO. Lars shares insights on how SEO has drastically changed, especially with the rise of AI and the volatility brought on by Google’s evolving algorithm. They cover the challenges of ranking for terms, the impact of AI content, and the rise of "parasite SEO."
Topics we cover:
(2:16) – SEO traffic that generates $7.2M annual revenue
(4:54) – Changes in Google’s algorithm
(9:46) – How to approach SEO as a bootstrapper
(15:45) – SEO has changed considerably
(19:48) – AI and SEO
(25:54) – The advent of AI Overviews
(31:19) – Parasite SEO and the importance of brands
Links from the Show:
Get Your Tickets for MicroConf US by Jan 31st
Larslofgren.com
Lars Lofgren (@LarsLofgren) | X
Lars Lofgren at MicroConf
TinySeed.com
MicroConf YouTube Channel
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!
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Episode 751 | TinySeed Tales s4e2: From Developer to Manager
In this episode of TinySeed Tales, Rob Walling catches up with Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hammerstone, about the progress her team has made since their initial check-in.
Colleen describes the tough decision to focus on one product stack, and their recent pivot toward building a reporting MVP. They also discuss Colleen’s shift into a more managerial role.
Topics we cover:
(2:10) – Motivations behind building additional functionality
(7:07) – Repositioning the reporting dashboard
(10:08) – Focusing in on the successful part of the product
(14:30) – How shifting focus affects the team dynamic
(16:19) – ”Hiring is horrible”
(22:20) – What has management been like?
(26:11) – Growing as a manager
Links from the Show:
Invest with TinySeed
Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger) | X
Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger.bsky.social) | Bluesky
Refine by Hammerstone
Hello Query
Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, Tahl Raz
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!
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Episode 750 | Making Your First Hire, Testing Prices, And More Listener Questions (with Laura Roeder)
In episode 750, Rob Walling is joined by Laura Roeder, founder of Paperbell, to answer intermediate listener questions. They discuss making your first hire with limited funds, testing pricing models with existing customer bases, and more. Laura also provides some great advice on content marketing, drawing from her past experience at MeetEdgar.
Topics we cover:
(3:14) – Building a team before you can afford your first, full time hire
(11:11) – Testing pricing with existing customer bases
(19:00) – What type of content should you focus on?
(25:20) – Growing a pipeline of leads with limited resources
(31:00) – Who are your 100 best customers?
Links from the Show:
SaaS Institute
TinySeed
TinySeed Tales is Back: S4E1
Lauraroeder.com
Laura Roeder (@lauraroeder.bsky.social) | Bluesky
Paperbell
Episode 473 | Managing Annual Subscriptions, Low-price vs. High, Being a Non-Developer Founder, and More Listener Questions with Laura Roeder
Exactly How I Cold Emailed My Way to A Life-Changing Exit (And You Can Too) by Laura Roeder
The SaaS Playbook
Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
If I Started SaaS in 2024, Here’s My B2B Content Strategy for $1M ARR
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!
Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify
Welcome to Season 4 of TinySeed Tales, where we follow the founders of one SaaS startup throughout a few years as they share their struggles, victories, and failures.
In the first episode of Season 4, Rob introduces us to Colleen Schnettler, the cofounder of Hammerstone. Colleen is a self-taught Rails developer, and this season will follow how Hammerstone eventually becomes Hello Query – an AI-powered chatbot that runs custom reporting on your data. Colleen is one of 27 startup founders from TinySeed’s Fall 2022 accelerator batch.
Topics we cover:
(2:16) – TinySeed Tales Season 4 with Colleen Schnettler
(3:57) – Custom reporting in Laravel and Rails
(7:05) – Becoming an “atypical founder”
(14:11) – Entrepreneurship as a military spouse
(16:17) – Motivations for joining TinySeed
(19:15) – A recent low point, and high point in the business
(25:00) – Big plans and risky moves ahead
Links from the Show:
TinySeed Applications open on February 10th
Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger) | X
Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger.bsky.social) | Bluesky
Refine by Hammerstone
Hello Query
Software Social Podcast
TinySeed Tales | Season 1 | Castos
TinySeed Tales | Season 2 | Gather
TinySeed Tales | Season 3 | Cloudforecast
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!
Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify
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Más podcasts de Economía y empresaMás podcasts de Economía y empresa
The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.