Out of Beta

Peter reviews his go-to-market tests for Q4 and makes a product decision. Matt views his work, and the future of Summit, through the lenses of process and responsibility. The Flywheel Company - prior episode of Out of Beta discussing the early version of Matt's process diagram

Peter rejoins the podcast as his paternity leave winds down. Matt invests in product improvements for Summit, and shares his reasons for joining Indie.vc’s scout program. Both founders share the metrics that will measure their success for the rest of the year.

Matt sits down with Patrick Campbell, CEO ProfitWell, to deconstruct how the business operates.  From team composition to customer acquisition, revenue generation, upsells, margins, and expansion, here's everything you've always wanted to know about how one of the most successful bootstrapped SaaS businesses works.

Matt and Peter ponder the future of the podcast, and the remainder of 2020 for Summit and Branch. Matt wrestles with positioning. Peter selects a handful of customer acquisition channels to test in Q4. Intercom on Product: The Intersection of Company and Product Strategy

Matt updates Summit's onboarding to fix the blank slate and move users closer to the free tier threshold. Peter studies traction channels and prepares to grow Branch. Tweet: "State the pain you’re solving in 6 words or less."

With Summit signing up its 10th paid customer and Branch slowly finding product-user fit, both Matt and Peter are thinking about their next big bets. Matt prepares to develop the Summit language, while Peter considers a future hire to scale the education of Branch’s users.

As Summit and Branch begin to work, Matt and Peter must remain focused on their next objectives.

While Matt is enjoying fly fishing and white water rafting in Colorado, Peter records with Simon Bennett from Snapshooter. It turns out Branch and Snapshooter has quite a few things in common. Simon on Twitter Snapshooter Matt on Twitter Peter on Twitter Branch Summit  

The momentum is slowly building as both Matt and Peter have startied to add customers.

Peter figures out how to conquer Branch's activation problems. Meanwhile, Matt squashes bugs after the successful release of Summit 2.0.

Matt builds Excel-like charts into Summit and shares feedback from his earliest users. Peter is confident that activation is the zero in the Branch equation, but why?

With Matt almost ready to ship Summit v2, and Peter back from vacation, the duo reflects on what makes starting up so very difficult.

Peter reflects on the costs and risks of his go-to-market strategy. Meanwhile, Matt prepares to turn the ignition switch on Summit 2.0. Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm on Twitter Summit Data Feeds on Loom (Video)

Peter's consistent efforts with potential partners begins to pay off, or so he thinks. Summit v2 draws closer to release, raising excitement - and anxiety, for Matt. Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm on Twitter Summit 2 - Short Demo Video (Loom)

Matt stares down the final stretch of the Summit rewrite. Branch’s go-to-market strategy begins to bear fruit for Peter.    Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm on Twitter

Peter takes a deep breath and Matt's code Just Works. The two discuss the startup grind, getting to critical mass, and infusing delight into product development. Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm On Twitter Mastery and delight in “How To Train Your Dragon”

Brief updates on Summit and Branch. Our hearts are with those suffering under police brutality and racism in the U.S. and around the world.   #BlackLivesMatter A couple of ways to get involved and support change: Minnesota Freedom Fund - cash bail relief for pretrial freedom. The Innocence Project - putting an end to wrongful convictions.

Peter builds trust with two hosts ready to distribute Branch.  Matt's inner manager ekes out a partnership call while his maker begins the descent from peak effort.  The two discuss the dangers of distributing a weak product. Insight by ⁦a16z⁩ Partner Alex Rampell Branch Summit Matt on Twitter Peter on Twitter

"Rewrite!" by DHH (Business of Software 2015) Summit Branch Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm on Twitter

Matt ventures ever-deeper into the forest of rebuilding Summit; a friendly voice challenges the purpose of his quest. Peter celebrates the successful release of Branch's teams feature, opening the doors to his ideal customers. Matt on Twitter Peter on Twitter

Matt nears the completion of the first half of the Summit frontend rebuild. Elsewhere, Peter has abandoned Scotland to hunker down with family in Denmark for a new life chapter. Matt and Peter answer a listener question about the timing and application of freemium. Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm on Twitter Summit Branch Articles and resources mentioned in this episode: Why $9/mo is Better than...

Peter wins the TinySeed #failwhale prize of the day, and COVID-19 continues to affect sales. Matt completes his first week of rebuilding the Summit frontend and wins back an active user. Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm on Twitter

Peter updates Branch's pricing model based on feedback from his ideal customers. How should he prioritize his time between so many active threads? After his cool-down week, Matt leaps into the fire of a front-end rebuild for Summit using Vue, GraphQL and Tailwind. Articles referenced in this episode: "The Value Metric" by Patrick Campbell "Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits" by Ben...

After a quiet Easter week, Peter’s ready to work on team access for Branch. Meanwhile, Matt survives an intense week for Summit, shipping a major improvement to its trendcasting engine and updating investors on business progress. Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm on Twitter

Peter shapes Branch for agencies, preparing to add access for teams, while cultivating partnerships with hosting companies. Matt stares down a week of deadlines and deliverables for Summit, including premium tier pricing analysis. Matt Wensing on Twitter Peter Suhm on Twitter