Above Board

On today’s episode Jack and Paul chat about using competitiveness to your advantage, the good and bad of video games, how we dealt with a very viral customer, the logic of a privacy-focused company like Fathom using a platform like Youtube and Jack’s upcoming Laracon talk. usefathom.com

On today’s show Jack and Paul talk about the reasons Fathom asks for a credit card up front, and how that impacts our growth. They also get into why people buy certain SaaS products. As an added bonus, Jack calculates how much it’d cost you to use Facebook is they removed any/all ads and targeting and charged their users instead. Spoiler: it’s a LOT less than you think. usefathom.com

On today's show Paul and Jack chat about bringing a privacy officer on board, why taking proper breaks are important (even if you run an indie business) and what we are considering for the future of Fathom Analytics (version 3). Jack makes a joke about steak-cations, which does not land well. usefathom.com

Jack and Paul dissect a few issues they've had with other companies and leadership at those companies, and then how those companies responded (both the good and the bad). usefathom.com

Jack and Paul answer questions from listeners today, including: our favourite pancake recipe, the tools/apps we use to collaborate, how we determine hiring vs bringing on cofounder vs freelancers, and our full design and development processes. We also touch on food and routines (because it's not an episode without Paul mentioning he's vegan). usefathom.com

Jack and Paul speak about having to fire a customer for the first time. It was tough, but it had to be done. They also discuss boundaries, tolerance and office politics. usefathom.com

We’re not trying to sell you anything right now, we’re only here to share our experiences making money working for ourselves. The techniques discussed in this podcast episode can help you generate millions of dollars. usefathom.com/podcast

Jack and Paul get into if Fathom should create and post videos to YouTube (which is obviously owned by Google). Are you a bad person if you watch YouTube? Are you a worse person if you upload videos to their service? usefathom.com

Joe Rogan recently signed an exclusivity deal worth $100M with Spotify which goes into effect sometime after September 2020. Is this a trend towards the end of podcasts being a free and open platform? Is this moving more towards how televisions shows have functioned with networks since the start? Are listeners going to suffer or benefit from deals like this? Jack and Paul debate the pros & con...

Jack and Paul discuss the pros and cons of supporting enterprise clients, along with a SPECIAL GUEST: Ben Orenstein from Tuple. How are thinking about working with bigger clients while still ensuring our smaller clients are happy and taken care of? usefathom.com

A lot of businesses put money before their customers’ happiness. We’ve all been there: we get a bill for a yearly subscription, but didn’t get any warning about the charge happening. And then, if we want to cancel, have to go through the onerous process of cancelling… sometimes via phone, to get the charge (hopefully) reserved. Jack and Paul dive into this topic, explain why Fathom doesn’t do this...

Jack and Paul talk about the benefits and problems involving taking venture capital for a software company, what we think about competitors copying us, and why “free markets” should potentially have some limits or at least some regulations. usefathom.com

Learn more at usefathom.com

Paul and Jack get brutally honest about the current pandemic, and it’s horrible effect on small businesses. Oh, and they also get into cruise ship bailouts, the Canadian government (and what they’re doing right), and building toilet paper roll forts while video conferencing.

Jack and Paul dive deep into what goes into a design (if you're a designer, like Paul), and talk about the value of design. Jack queries Paul about his process and approach, and how developers can learn a few tips to make their designs suck a little less. 

It's the end for Jack, as he has a heart to heart discussion about wrapping things up for good.

As you know, Jack and Paul are the cofounders of Fathom Analytics, a 50/50 split. What do they think about working as cofounders? Is it better to be a solo founder? What are benefits of only making half as much (and giving the rest to someone else)? Let's dive in on this nail-biting episode.

From content marketing, to paid ads, to social media, Jack and Paul dive into every single type of marketing they’ve done to promote Fathom. They talk about the effectiveness of each, as well as the difference between “marketing as brand awareness” vs “marketing as driving conversions”. Paul also drops a #thoughtleader bombshell, “Marketing is talking when you have something to say, not just when...

Jack and Paul ring in the new year with a hearty debate about how many hours you need to work per week. Is it as simple as “no more than 40”, or is this debate more nuanced?

https://usefathom.com

https://usefathom.com

Welcome to the Above Board Podcast. In this podcast Jack Ellis and Paul Jarvis will discuss all things Fathom Analytics (the product they co-own), ethics and business, and whatever else comes up as they build and sell their software product. Learn more at usefathom.com