Open Threads

Ian Landsman of HelpSpot joins me to unpack all things Laravel ecosystem. Brian and Ian's conversation was recorded on November 3rd, 2023. (00:00) - The Laravel Ecosystem with Ian Landsman (00:34) - Ian returns to talk Laravel (04:20) - Laravel vs. Rails (06:51) - Developer ecosystem (08:55) - Upgrading Laravel (10:09) - Front-end frameworks for Laravel (16:29) - Young developers learning on today...

Colleen Schnettler, founder of HelloQuery , joins me for a wide-ranging discussion around the question of choosing the right product idea to commit to as an entrepreneur.  Brian and Colleen recorded this conversation on November 17th, 2023. (00:00) - Colleen Schnettler (01:02) - Twitter, Conference, and Podcast friends! (02:44) - Transitioning between between ideas (03:29) - Joining TinySeed (04:2...

Dru Riley, founder of Trends.vc joins me to talk about building his Newsletter and Community business and the systems and processes he’s used to grow it. Brian and Dru's conversation was recorded on November 20th, 2023. (00:00) - Systems to run & grow a newsletter business w/ Dru Riley (Trends.vc) (01:17) - Newsletter + Community (04:23) - Breakdown of revenue channels (07:18) - Launching a po...

Ian Landsman and his team at Userscape work on HelpSpot , a well-established SaaS product for customer support.  And after well over 10 years in business, they decided to embark on a full rebuild of their app. Brian and Ian's conversation was recorded on November 3rd, 2023. (00:00) - Rebuilding a SaaS with Ian Landsman (00:48) - Ian returns! (01:39) - Rebuild? Redesign? Relaunch? What is this? (02...

Open Threads is returning! This is a quick update where I (Brian Casel) give you a preview of what's to come in the upcoming weekly episodes of Open Threads.  Plus a note on some changes to the format, including an interesting use of "dynamic audio" in Open Threads.  Listen in to hear more. The next full episode will drop on Wednesday, December 13th, followed by new episodes every Wednesday throug...

Hey! Just want to let you know that I’ll be taking a break (for a bit) from recording new episodes of this Open Threads podcast. But don’t unsubscribe! I promise to come back to this feed with new conversations as soon as the opportunity arises. In the meantime, be sure to check out my other podcast, Bootstrapped Web , which my co-host Jordan and I continue to publish on a weekly(ish) basis. That...

Lemon Squeezy , the new platform for building SaaS businesses went through quite a few iterations before J.R. Farr and the Make Lemonade crew figured out what it is and who it’s for… And how to make people aware. Lots of gems in this conversation! Brian and J.R.'s conversation was recorded on February 13, 2023.

I invited Corbett back on the show when I noticed he’s been picking up steam on his Substack-based newsletter, Starting Things . Clearly, he’s in the exploration phase of his next entrepreneurial chapter. The perfect time for an Open Threads check-in :) Brian and Corbett's conversation was recorded on February 6, 2023.

Founder Summit was one of the best conferences I’ve attended because it’s built on the idea that a conference is really about the relationships, not the headline speakers. Tyler Tringas, founder of Calm Company Fund , takes us through how Founder Summit came together and where it’s going next. Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on January 30, 2023.

Harry Morton, founder of Lower Street , is back on the show today to take us inside the creative process behind big brand podcast productions. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill interview shows. This is what next-level podcasting looks like — and how Harry built an amazing agency business around it. Brian and Harry's conversation was recorded on January 23, 2023.

In 2020, after a hugely successful run building and exiting MOJO Marketplace, J.R. Farr announced the formation of a “dream team” new company known as Make Lemonade . What they’re making is truly impressive. We get into it! Brian and J.R's conversation was recorded on January 16, 2023.

After building, selling and exiting Fizzle, a community and content-based business, Corbett Barr decided to hit the reset button. How? By deleting all of his social media and past blog content to start with a clean slate. We explore what came next. Brian and Corbett's conversation was recorded on January 9, 2023.

From bootstrapping and selling a SaaS to… Starting a fund for bootstrapped SaaS companies. Tyler Tringas talks about that transition and what he’s learned since starting and growing Calm Company Fund . Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on January 2, 2023.

It’s strange how little we talk about the code side of building and running a software business. So Benedikt Deicke, technical co-founder of Userlist , joins me to geek out on Rails, front-end frameworks, software testing, and more. Brian and Benedikt's conversation was recorded on December 19, 2022.

I’m on a quest to geek out with all my founder friends who are also musicians. Harry Morton shares a love for the combo of tech + creativity in music production. We geeked out about pursuing careers in recording studios, synthesizers, making music as a hobby, and buying unnecessary music gear. Brian and Harry's conversation was recorded on December 12, 2022.

Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos , moved to France for 5 years but he and his family have moved back here to the States. We unpack life and business abroad vs. stateside and the many tradeoffs. Brian and Craig's conversation was recorded on December 5, 2022.

In SaaS, speed matters. A lot. Benedikt Deicke, co-founder of Userlist , joins me to chat about shipping speed and how we decide what to build next. It’s too easy to get these essentials wrong! Brian and Benedikt's conversation was recorded on November 28, 2022.

I could talk for days about music. So can Justin Jackson, cofounder of Transistor . So we geeked out on our favorite bands, documentaries, and how these experiences actually shape us as entrepreneurs (believe it or not!). Brian and Justin's conversation was recorded on November 21, 2022.

After exiting his 1st SaaS and shuttering all his social media profiles, Nathan Powell is back online with a new idea for a SaaS - Feature Flux . Let’s dig into it. Brian and Nathan's conversation was recorded on November 14, 2022.

The story of why Nathan Powell quit the internet for a while after exiting his SaaS business (and why he came back to start his new company, Feature Flux ). Brian and Nathan's conversation was recorded on November 7, 2022.

Tyler King, CEO and co-founder of Less Annoying CRM , is back on the show to talk about teams. Remote, in-house, culture, experience, and everything in between. Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on October 31, 2022.

Building in public ain’t all about the highlight reel. Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos , and I agree that there’s so much more to learn from our fails. The question is, how can we share them publicly in a helpful (and healthy) way? Brian and Craig's conversation was recorded on October 25, 2022.

Justin Jackson , co-founder of Transistor , joins me to share the story of how he started a snowboard shop in the late 90s and what, if any, parallels can be drawn to software businesses today. Brian and Justin's conversation was recorded on October 3, 2022.

Dan Rowden, founder of ilo , and I share our experiences running multiple products simultaneously vs focusing on one. Brian and Dan's conversation was recorded on September 26, 2022.

Tyler King, CEO and co-founder of Less Annoying CRM , joins me to commiserate on why marketing a SaaS is so damn hard in 2022. Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on September 19, 2022.