Bootstrapped Web

Our obligatory take on Twitter in the Elon era.  Also: SEO, board meetings, and growth targets.  What are your thoughts on Twitter in the time of Elon? How do you run your board meetings? When it comes to growth targets, where do you focus your energy?  If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped Web, leave us a message here “The more Twitter is in everyone’s everyday live...

Jordan talks defining their category and stepping back into the sales demo seat. Brian launched a community strategy while big product plans are underway in Q4. If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped Web, leave us a message here . “The single, most important element was… record your demos.” – Jordan Powered By the Tweet This Plugin Tweet This Here are today’s conversa...

What tools do you use for sales and support? Which tools work best for project management? How do you know who to hire first if you’re a bootstrapped company? Brian and Jordan asked for your questions and Twitter delivered. Today, they are answering Twitter’s questions about what tools they use, and who to hire, and when.   If you have any questions, comments, or topic ideas for Bootstrapped Web,...

Brian and Jordan are back behind the mic and are powered by the chilly fall weather and some pretty strong cold brew. Are you ready for the most random Bootstrapped Web episode yet?  How do you navigate the Catch-22 that is operations versus growth? If you were to jump into a completely different niche or industry right now, what business would you start? Brian and Jordan are answering some of you...

What are the rocks in your life right now? How do you balance work and life? What are some good compartmentalizing tactics, so you can leave work at work? What are routines and habits that work for your schedule and team? Today, Brian and Jordan are talking about their daily routines and how they plan their days around work, their personal life, exercise, and with team members that are scattered a...

How do you figure out the next iteration of your business? What keeps you unemployable? Does your environment change your outlook on personal and professional goals? After a short but busy couple of weeks, Brian and Jordan are back to talk about updates in their businesses and their lives. Jordan is starting to settle into Chicago and has come up with some interesting revelations. Meanwhile, Brian...

How do you get rid of post-illness brain fog? How do you build company culture when you’re absent? What are your steps to shipping out features? There have been plenty of changes with Brian and Jordan since the last episode: moving and changing environments, changing energies, and changing up routines. Today, Brian and Jordan are talking about what they do to stay productive, how their teams are f...

What has happened in the venture funding world in the past couple of months? How do you handle repositioning? Can you lean too heavily on your product, features, and roadmaps? What do you do when one of your features falls flat? It’s the middle of the summer edition of Bootstrapped Web. Brian and Jordan are back behind the mic after surviving family vacations, COVID, and cancelled flights. Today,...

How do you avoid consistent churn with new products? What tools do you use to learn about your market? What influences the changes in your products? It has been a while but Brian and Jordan are back, and they’ve brought updates with Rally and ZipMessage. Jordan talks about his fundraising efforts. Brian talks about his customer research project and what he has learned through that process.  If you...

Brian and Jordan are both in flux between school, stressing over work, selling houses, and MicroConf. They summarize their chaotic couple of weeks and then do a deep dive on what content marketing will look like in 2022. Recently Aaron Francis (Tuple’s first marketer) talked about their $200,000 loan from Stripe and how he plans on publicly talking about how they will be spending that money. Brian...

How do you decide what features you should work on now? How do you stay unplugged during a vacation? What are the milestones and progress markers that tell you if you are on the right path?  As Brian comes back from a vacation and conference (and before Jordan leaves for his own), we’re catching up on the latest updates on ZipMessage and Rally. We’re also talking about how to best judge our own tr...

We have some big news to share before we go on a (much needed) two-week hiatus.  Brian talks about his sale of Productize, in addition to nearly every other business he has owned. Jordan talks about his latest tweet thread, responding to Moiz Ali’s criticisms of Shopify. We also talk about the power of audio, networking through podcasting, and marketing. “The relationship built through audio is so...

What do you get out of conferences? Do you mute competitors on Twitter? How to you utilize Twitter as a budding SaaS entrepreneur? After a brief hiatus, Brian and Jordan are back with some big news: Carthook was officially acquired! Jordan shares what details he can about the acquisition as well as the process and journey of the company. They also talk about the upcoming MicroConf and what confere...

How are you and your company changing with the times? Are you considering tokenizing your software company? Have you begun adopting web3 technology? Today, we’re talking about marketing, hiring developers and writers during “The Great Resignation,” and tokenizing. Token-based economics is the future of SaaS. Web3 tech isn’t just in the future, it’s happening right now. “I would aim for zero commer...

Brian and Jordan are having a great time as they ride good days, give great updates, and look forward to some exciting things in the near and far future.  In today’s unscripted and random episode, Brian and Jordan give us some great news in terms of business updates. They also talk about one of the bigger customer issues when it comes to running a SaaS company. Not to mention, a deep dive into the...

Brian has sold ProcessKit! He explains the surprisingly stress-free and smooth process. Jordan talks about his upcoming move to Chicago. Meanwhile, they also give updates on Rally’s marking and sales funnels, and prioritization at ZipMessage.  Today’s episode is filled with business updates, optimism, and great outlooks for 2022. Don’t forget to check out ZipMessage on ProductHunt ! “I prioritize...

Brian’s product, ZipMessage, is live today on Product Hunt the same day this episode airs—Tuesday, January 11th

Does experimentation affect your business and cause more stress within your leadership team? How are the communication levels within your team? How do you reach a niche market? Jordan and Brian talk about these questions and more on this episode of Bootstrapped Web.  Jordan talks about his hangups and why his need for idea exploration is causing difficulties with his leadership team. Meanwhile, Br...

What does traction feel like? How do you authentically build a network? Brian and Jordan talk about marketing, website updates, and the different phases of product/market fit. Jordan dives into the different and unique ways Rally is marketing. Brian updates us on ZipMessage momentum: website updates, premium enrollment, and crossing a customer milestone. Today’s episode is all about the different...

When launching a new SaaS business, what comes first? What features do you focus on? How do you keep an eye on your key metrics early on? How do you handle onboarding when you’re shuffling team members’ priorities? Brian and Jordan talk all about the newest updates with ZipMessage and Rally. From experimenting with free plans, website redesigns, and preparing themselves for an influx of activity,...

What is the difference between going to market and marketing? What mindset do you need to be in to accomplish your goals for both of these stages of business? In addition to answering these questions, Brian and Jordan dive into their marketing goals, content strategists, and updates on where they are with their Rally and ZipMessage. Jordan talks about Rally’s methodical blog posts , which will be...

Jordan shares some big news, 5.8 million dollars worth of news. At the feet of the news of Rally’s seed funding announcement, Brian and Jordan talk all about raising money for businesses. What are the mechanics of starting the funding journey? Which funding path should you take? What does it mean for a fund to lead a round?  Meanwhile, Brian gives updates on ZipMessage including marketing projects...

Bootstrapped Web is no longer bootstrapped, on either side! Jordan starts off this episode with his “coming out” strategy, which all starts with his initial three-post series on Rally . He also dives into Rally updates, comparing your start-up businesses, and the importance of developing a unique view of the market. Brian takes funding from Calm Fund (formerly Earnest Capital), which has been a mo...

Some news!  Brian has sold his business,  Audience Ops , to  JD Graffam !  And what better way to announce this transition than to bring JD on the show!   Jordan leads the way as Brian and JD talk through how this deal came together, the process from each of their perspectives, and the successful close and transition that’s now underway. If you’re thinking about pursuing an exit from your business...

Introduction: Do you work with a full-service accounting and admin company? How do you create markers on your business’s path to success? What unique marketing platforms and ideas do you use? Brian and Jordan are back behind the mic, during this horrendous heatwave. Today’s topics range from admin and accounting tasks they would rather avoid, their very professional podcasting process, Rally’s cur...