Summary:

Today’s episode promises to be the last or at least the last for a while. Both Sam and Chris are making changes that make continuing to devote energy and effort to a podcast impractical, at least for now.

What’s happening and what’s the reason for the change? In today’s episode, Sam and Chris share information about the changes both of them are making in their projects and what those changes mean for them. They discuss the future of the show and why this may be the last episode. Then they close out by discussing the things that each of them is into right now before saying goodbye.

Episode Highlights/Topics:

• Sam is pivoting from TextRetailer to AudienceTap
• Why AudienceTap instead of TextRetailer
• Whether Sam is building out a new Shopify
• Managing multiple platforms running at the same time
• Changes in Chris’s projects
• How the changes affected team structure and how the market is pivoting
• How marketing helps clarify the product side
• The future of the podcast
• Issues with transparency
• Trying new things and understanding that they’re not always forever
• The Yellowstone series
• New MacBook Pro
• What’s great about a new install

Resources/Links:

AudienceTap

Damon Chen Tweet

The golden era of being an open startup is gone

Yellowstone

Chris is back from his vacation, and today’s podcast episode begins with Chris and Sam discussing some of his experiences and highlights.

During this episode, Chris and Sam discuss their past week and the things that have been top of mind for them lately. They discuss a customer service issue that Chris dealt with and Sam’s custom fields, and they talk about the satisfaction of creating something that provides value to people.

Episode Highlights/Topics:

• Chris’s vacation experiences and highlights
• The customer service issue that Chris has been dealing with
• Whether it will be more common for customers to have a need for more customization down the line
• Portability for templates
• The satisfaction of providing value for customers with something you built
• Security concerns with SMS
• How marketing will be picking up in the next year
• How Sam’s week has been
• Zero-party data – what it is and how it’s collected
• Laying the foundation for custom fields and what the status is
• Revamping the design of the user interface
• Whether merchants can bring external data in
• How much segmentation Sam allows
• The portable battery charger that Chris is into
• The Eero Pro router that Sam is into

Resources/Links:

saaslife.fm

Sam Schrup on Twitter

Chris McAleenan on Twitter

TextRetailer

Textiful

PipeTech Hub/Project

Battery charger

Eero Pro

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup and Chris McAleenan talk about vacations, productivity, and how those two things intersect with each other.

It’s difficult to truly take time off, especially when you’re running your own business or working solo. Things sometimes just need to be done. On the other hand, sometimes you end up waiting in a holding pattern while things come together, and that can be a good time for a vacation and family time. Sam and Chris also talk about Linear, share updates on their businesses, and talk about what they’re into right now.

Episode Highlights/Topics:

• An overview of the last week
• Linear and 8 Dev Tools You’re Probably Not Using
• The features of Linear
• The fall changes in the weather
• Taking time completely off on vacation
• Business updates
• Feedback from newly onboarding customers
• Getting a communication channel going with customers
• Planning for next year
• Changes in the last year
• The challenges of the text messaging verification process
• New verification regulations and processes
• What Sam and Chris are into now

Resources/Links:

saaslife.fm

Sam Schrup on Twitter

Chris McAleenan on Twitter

TextRetailer

Textiful

PipeTech Hub/Project

8 Dev Tools You’re Probably Not Using

Linear

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup and Chris McAleenan talk about customers breaking things and the continuing saga between TextRetailer and Shopify ecosystem.

There’s nothing like customers interacting with your product because sometimes they’ll break it or give you insights on new features, cases, and new things that you need to tackle. Sam already has experience with the text-to-buy concept via TextRetailer, so he has gone from politely asking to begging Shopify for access to the Shop Pay wallet.

Highlights from this Episode:

• PipeTech: Tons of development, lots of progress, big performance improvements.
• Functional Testing: Who should do it and why - developers or actual customers?
• Surprise Deliverable: Sales demo with real customer data to envision using it.
• Why Shopify is very protective of entire checkout process, payment facilitation.
• Approval: Shopify authorizes use cases as sales channels/payment processing.
• Rebuild Hurdle: Initial app rejected because change requirements not met.
• TextRetailer vs. Postscript: One approved and other held to different standards.
• Text-to-Buy: Shopify forcing new concept, takes away TextRetailer’s uniqueness.

Links and Resources:

saaslife.fm

Sam Schrup on Twitter

Chris McAleenan on Twitter

TextRetailer

Textiful

PipeTech Project/Hub

Sewer Jetter

Waterproof Borescope

Adam Neumann (a16z says ‘WeBack’ to WeWork’s Neumann with its biggest check ever)

iPad Stand

Intro music by Monkey Warhol licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup and Chris McAleenan talk about hiring additional resources via agencies and freelancers to contribute to plenty of work. It may cost more money and time, but it’s worth it if they are capable. If not, just move on to the next one to scale and survive.

Highlights from this Episode:

• Upwork: Both Chris and Sam have hired additional resources to get work done.
• Vetting Process: Same job post but totally different pool of applicants to skim.
• Thumbs Up/Down: Must speak fluent English and thoughtfully answer questions.
• Interview: Top contenders invited, but number quickly falls, hire within 3 days.
• Tech Layoffs: Leads to more and better applicants in the marketplace.
• Supply Chain: Making sales may be simple, but what about parts to fulfill orders?
• Help/Support: Why manuals, webinars, and more are competitive advantage.
• Strategic Decision: Why Sam attempts to get TextRetailer into Shopify app store.

Links and Resources:

saaslife.fm

Sam Schrup on Twitter

Chris McAleenan on Twitter

TextRetailer

Textiful

PipeTech Hub/Project

Upwork

Alex Beller on Twitter

Intro music by Monkey Warhol licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Summary:

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup and Chris McAleenan talk about what it looks like for a bootstrapper to take paternity leave for a new baby or puppy sitting. Never a dull moment at home or work!

Highlights from this Episode:

• Demo Downtime: People were patient and willing to wait for Sam’s return.
• Work/Life Balance: First week back finds work just as exhausting as life at home.
• Stack Overflow Question: Chris likes to code, but hasn’t kept up his skill set.
• Mission Critical Dependency: What if something goes wrong while you’re gone?
• Edge Cases: Fixing issues takes time and holds you back from building features.
• Mental Shift: Actively cultivate mindset via previous experience, project patterns.
• Deliverable Size: Downloading large file on Google Drive isn’t a good experience.
• TextRetailer Website: Revamped and launched to drive customer engagement.
• Developer Resource: Sam’s hire made a widget to grow email and SMS lists.

Links and Resources:

saaslife.fm

Sam Schrup on Twitter

Chris McAleenan on Twitter

TextRetailer

Textiful

PipeTech Hub/Project

Kraken.io Image Optimizer

Stack Overflow

Userlist.io

Upwork

Basecamp

Linear

Braintree

Stripe

Monoprice Water Leak Sensor

Intro music by Monkey Warhol licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup and Chris McAleenan talk about navigating software, sites, and service providers to hire and expand teams. There’s a lot to do and build, but try your best and don’t sweat it to grow and scale!

Highlights from this Episode:

• Dialpad: Paying off administrative debt by using a phone call platform.
• Text/Multimedia Messaging (MMS): Ability for businesses to offer customer support.
• Downfall: Don’t give out your personal cell phone number—customers use it.
• Help Scout vs. Zendesk: Pros and cons of switching help site service providers.
• Marketing Site: Keep it up-to-date to highlight new features benefiting customers.
• Optimize Workflow: Offer development, staging, functional, and production sites.
• Checks and Balances: Make time to create processes for housekeeping tasks.
• Pop-up Project: When stepping away from business, possibly hire a contractor.
• Hire and Fire Slowly/Quickly? Produce and deliver deliverables to stay on track.
• Contractors vs. W-2 Workers: When, and where to hire based on core competencies.

Links and Resources:

saaslife.fm

Sam Schrup on Twitter

Chris McAleenan on Twitter

TextRetailer

Textiful

PipeTech Hub/Project

Dialpad

Help Scout

Zendesk

MicroConf

Upwork

ScrapingBee: Full-stack Marketer Job Listing

Intro music by Monkey Warhol licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup is super excited to share some big news, TextRetailer joins TinySeed as part of the Spring 2022 accelerator batches. Co-host Chris McAleenan offers Sam congratulations for not only TextRetailer becoming a TinySeed company, but for another addition due in May!

Highlights from this Episode:

• What is TinySeed? Startup accelerator designed specifically for SaaS founders.
• Why did Sam apply for TinySeed? Bootstrapped ethos and network of mentors.
• What program means for TextRetailer? Profitability and sustainable growth.
• TinySeed Topics: SaaS basics, such as establishing funnels, SEO, and pricing.
• More Big News: Shift in toll-free numbers going through verification process.
• Textiful: New and more than 3,000 existing toll-free numbers need to be verified.
• PipeTech: Churning through onboarding and busy with infrastructure projects.
• Big, New Features: Build in beta, add value, appeal to customers to win sales.

Links and Resources:

saaslife.fm

Sam Schrup on Twitter

Chris McAleenan on Twitter

TextRetailer

Textiful

PipeTech Hub/Project

Announcing TinySeed’s Spring 2022 Accelerator Batches

MicroConf

Esri

Intro music by Monkey Warhol licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).