Omer (00:11.840)
Welcome to another episode of the SaaS Podcast.
I'm your host, Omer Khan, and this is the show where I interview proven founders and industry experts who share their stories, strategies, and insights to help you build, launch, and grow your SaaS business.
Looking back at the last year, it's been an amazing journey.
This podcast started from nothing, basically, and over the last year, we've had some amazing guests on here, and I think together we've learned some incredible lessons along the way.
And the show's built a really loyal and fabulous audience who has really helped me through tons of feedback and just generally your support in.
In helping me to keep going and to strive to make this show better and better for you.
Now, for episode 100, I thought a lot about something special that I could do for this episode, and I thought about bringing back some guests.
I thought maybe I could find some really big, big guest to bring on.
But nothing really seemed right.
So I decided to make this episode about you, my audience.
Now, we spend a lot of time hearing about what other entrepreneurs did, but in this episode, I want to focus on helping you to be more successful.
So there's no guest today.
It's just you and me.
And I thought that with this episode, we could focus on trying to extract some actionable insights from the previous 99 episodes and give you something, hopefully, that you can take away and apply.
And we've talked a lot about in the past with guests about strategies and tactics, on where they came up with ideas, how they built the business and how they got traction, what they did to do drive their marketing efforts.
But today I want to talk a little bit about mindset.
What's the right mindset that you need to be successful?
So, as you know, at the end of each episode, we have the lightning round, and I ask guests a round of quick fire questions.
And one of those questions is about the best piece of business advice that each guest ever received.
And so I went through the last 99 episodes to pull out the next nuggets for you.
Now, we all know advice like focus, work hard, be persistent.
And each of us may or may not be applying those in our lives, depending on what each of those things means to each of us.
But generally, that advice is still a bit vague.
So I pulled out 10 things that I think go beyond the usual advice that we tend to hear or expect to hear.
And each one of these is a little more specific.
And I'm gonna dig into each one of those and tell you why I think it's valuable advice and why it might be something that you should think about doing more of if you're not already doing so.
So with that, let's get into this episode.
All right, so tip number one comes from Dan Norris, the co founder of WP Curve.
So let's listen to Dan talking about that.
Guest (03:39.270)
Oh, God, I should have read these questions beforehand.
I'm not very good at picking out the best advice.
I'm only good at picking out the worst advice.
But I think the best advice I can give is that you don't learn until you launch.
So I'm going to choose that even though it's my own quote.
Omer (03:56.870)
If you're not familiar with Dan's story, he had a string of business failures.
He did all the lean Startup validation stuff that you're supposed to do, but things just never seemed to work out.
His first business, as I recall, was a fabulous business plan where he never actually launched the business.
And the second business that he launched, it took him about three years to start generating six figures in annual revenue.
But the business wasn't profitable in year one.
And even after seven years in business, it wasn't profitable.
And he was only paying himself $40,000 a year.
Eventually he sold that business and had enough money to give himself 12 months to try again and again.
Most of the year.
It just looked like things were going nowhere.
And then eventually, out of desperation, as time and money were running out, he took sort of one last attempt, this kind of a Hail Mary pass, and, and focused on things that led to paying customers and ignored everything else.
And in seven days he launched a business called WP Live Ninja, which was basically a concierge MVP type service which offered unlimited small WordPress jobs 24 hours, seven days a week for $69 a month.
He had his first paying customer within a few days.
And after 10 months, WP Curve was doing over $15,000 in monthly recurring revenue.
And eventually that led to Dan publishing a book called the Seven Day Startup, which he sort of shares his experiences and provides insights to help other entrepreneurs.
But the key takeaway was you can do all this stuff.
You can have a great idea, you can do a ton of validation, you can go and do these customer development interviews, but at the end of the day, you really won't know what's going to happen until you launch that business.
And so the sooner you can get out and launch, the better.
And basically you want to make sure that obviously it's not like, you know, you have some crazy idea and you, you take your life savings and then go and launch and Then figure out it was a waste of time.
But as Dan shares in his book, there's a.
This, there's some very specific low risk, low investment steps that you can take to.
It's basically like doing validation, but instead of doing the validation before you launch, you're launching as quickly as possible and doing the validation afterwards.
So I think that that is really great advice for all of us.
And so that for me is advice number one from Dan Norris.
You don't learn until you launch.
Best advice number two comes from Trevor Owens, the co founder of Javelin and Lean Startup Machine.
So let's listen to Trevor talk about his advice.
Guest (07:16.170)
This is kind of a contradictory one because it's right in some right ways and wrong in other ways.
But someone once told me the only wrong reason to do something is for the money.
This is an advisor of mine who created a product that he really regrets because he thought it was going to make him a lot of money.
Omer (07:34.570)
Now as Trevor says, this one is a little contradictory.
One of the most common reasons cited for any business failing is that it runs out of money.
So you would think that it's logical to focus on the money and make decisions based on that.
Another example is Gallup, the research firm.
They studied two and a half thousand entrepreneurs to understand the actions and decisions they took to lead to creating successful businesses.
And this research went on for several years and involved hundreds of interviews.
And from that research they identified 10 specific talents that drive business success.
And the first talent on their list was business focus.
And they defined that as you make decisions based on observed or anticipated effect on profit.
So what's going on here?
Well, I think the reason why I think this advice from Trevor is important is because it's a reminder that although every business will fail if it doesn't make money, that can't be your primary driver.
And as entrepreneurs we have to focus primarily on creating value when which in return will generate money for us.
And I used to work for a company where every decision was driven by making money.
And the downside of that was that firstly you fail to make strategic investments that build long term success because anything that doesn't look like it's going to make money today is something that, that you just sort of ignore.
And a good example of a company that isn't doing this is Amazon.
And if you look at these guys, they really are focused on building a long term business, even if it means not making money in the short term.
Secondly, the downside of being driven by my money as a primary decision factor is that you dismiss ideas that help you to innovate and to create value for your customers unless you can see the short term revenue.
So I think that's a really, really good one here because it isn't that straightforward.
Yes, you need to make money, but don't, don't let that drive everything you do.
Focus primarily on value and make sure that that value helps you ultimately get to revenue and profitability.
Best advice number three comes from Paul Graham, the co founder of Y Combinator.
Now Paul isn't someone who I've had on my show yet, but I wanted to give him an honorary shout out because I think this advice is so important and it's something that I see many entrepreneurs struggling with.
If you haven't read Paul's famous essay titled do things that don't scale, then you should definitely read that and I'll include a link to that in the show.
Notes for this Episode why is it so important to do things that don't scale in the early days?
Well, in the early days you need to build your minimum viable product and it needs to do a solid job at solving a specific problem.
You need to nail that scenario for your users and customers.
And if you start thinking about scaling too early, you're going to create a lot more work for yourself and it's going to take much longer to launch your product.
When you have 10 customers, you need to focus on how your product will be able to support 100 users.
It doesn't have to be performant and support a million users or thousands of requests per second.
When you have no customers, you need to focus on making sure that your product will be able to support the first 10 users.
And often it's much easier and faster for you to do that manually in a non scalable way.
And that's okay.
You don't want to be building features that people don't necessarily care about, even though you think that they're important and they people will care.
And I think a good example of that comes from a Seattle based startup called Anthology.
They basically provided a service or they provide a service where they match tech professionals with potential companies who are looking to hire somebody.
And initially when they launched they sort of pitched the business as this algorithm that took both of these two sides and found these sort of ideal fits.
And it was kind of like kind of dating but with a potential job seeker and a employer.
But there was no algorithm.
And what was happening was they had a simple HTML form with which people were submitting their information.
And Tom, one of the co Founders was getting this information and manually he was figuring out how to match each person to the right organization.
And in the early days, that's okay.
And that helped them get a lot more traction a lot faster than if they'd spent six or 12 months trying to build the ideal algorithm.
So business best advice number three from Paul Graham D Do things that don't scale, especially early on.
Best business advice number four comes from Rob Walling, the founder of Drip.
So let's hear what Rob had to say about that.
Guest (13:27.580)
It's not to let someone else be at the media or tech blogs or the cool kids or whatever.
Set the agenda for your life to figure out why you're, why we're doing all of this, Figure out why you're doing all of this and, and stick to it.
Omer (13:42.540)
You know, it can sometimes feel like every startup entrepreneur wants to raise funding, relocate to somewhere like Silicon valley and work 80 hours a week in the hope of someday making millions.
And you know, there's nothing wrong with wanting to do that, but you shouldn't assume that that's what you also have to do.
You can also bootstrap a business without in any intention of ever raising venture capital funding.
You can focus on a micro niche market which probably won't make you millions, but could still give you a comfortable life.
Maybe you don't want to relocate to a tech hub like Silicon Valley and that's okay.
You can build your business from where you are right now and it's never been easier to do that.
And you don't have to work 80 to 100 hours a week.
You can build a profitable self funded business that lets you work for 40 hours or 50 hours so you can spend more time with family or traveling or whatever else it is that drives you.
I know family is very important to Rob, and with Drip, he's built a business that allows him to spend quality time with his wife and kids because that's what's important to him.
And that's why this advice resonates with me.
Don't just assume that you have to take a certain path.
Don't do, do what you think other people are expecting you to do.
Take the time to figure out what's important to you and your life, what's really going to make you happy, and then focus on building a business on your own terms.
So that's the best advice number four, don't let someone else set the agenda for your life.
Best business advice number five comes from Wade Foster, the co founder and CEO of Zapier and let's listen to Wade telling us his advice.
Guest (15:45.580)
This is where my quote comes from.
I mentioned before the call, a guy I used to work for named his company plus one.
And the reason was he wanted to make sure that today was one better than the day before.
And so I've kind of adapted that to say make today better than it was yesterday.
Omer (16:03.980)
The reason I like this particular advice is because no matter how big your vision or goal is, everything at the end of the day boils down to what action are you going to take today?
And if you have the mindset that you'll make each day better than the last one, then you'll continuously improve and make progress.
It reminds me of a great book I read a while ago called the Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.
You know, we live in a world of instant gratification.
Get the body you want in 90 days, lose 20 pounds in seven days, and so on.
And the Slight Edge is really a book which says success is going to come from taking small, daily actions every day, moving closer towards whatever your goal or your vision is.
And that's a really important point, because success doesn't happen overnight.
And if you've listened to any of the interviews on this podcast, you've probably realized that there are very few examples of people who had overnight success.
It took many people, years, maybe five or 10 years sometimes, to get to where they are today and where they're seen as being successful.
So meaningful success takes longer.
It's a marathon, not a sprint.
So instead of focusing on the destination, focus more on what you can do every single day.
Focus on the process, the journey.
And so that's why I like this particular advice.
Make today better than than it was yesterday.
Best business advice number six comes from Peter Coppinger, the co founder and CEO of Teamwork.
Let's hear Peter's advice.
Guest (18:09.779)
I definitely have to go back to what I said earlier on Dream Big.
I don't think people do that enough.
I think people.
I definitely meet a lot of entrepreneurs in Ireland who are thinking about the Irish market, and I keep telling them, forget about it.
It's too small.
Think big, think big.
Whatever you're thinking, tone, think bigger.
Omer (18:25.280)
The reason this piece of advice resonates with me is because it's a great reminder for all of us to challenge ourselves to believe that we can achieve more than we think we can.
And this isn't just about positive thinking that gets you nowhere.
A big vision is critical to any project.
Anything worthwhile, whether that's getting a man on the moon or Building a multi million dollar SaaS business or just bootstrapping a business that lets you live the kind of life that you want to live on your own terms.
But a vision also needs a plan and conviction and self belief that you can achieve that vision.
And I also asked Peter why he felt so confident that when he, when he comes up with these big bold ideas, why is he so confident that he can achieve them?
Here's what he had to say about that.
Guest (19:29.260)
I would work night and day on it, I'd plan it, I'd talk about it, I'd dream about it, eat and sleep it, just until we get to where I want it to be.
And I kind of try to instill that passion in everyone here.
You know, we want to make the best software in the world.
We don't want to make mediocre software.
We're not going to accept, okay?
We want to be the best, have the best offer in the industry.
Omer (19:49.190)
You know, I love Peter's conviction and self confidence.
And remember he and his co founder Daniel Mackey bootstrapped a $14 million SaaS business.
So he's walking the talk.
So what can you do to think bigger about what you are working on, what makes you excited and a little scared at the same time?
That's probably where your inspiring vision is waiting for you.
So think big and if you're thinking big, think bigger.
Best business advice number seven comes from Andrew Wilkinson, the founder and CEO of Metalab and Flow.
So let's listen to Andrew.
Guest (20:40.390)
I didn't have a quote earlier, but Richard Branson always says, screw it, let's do it.
I always really like that.
I think it's kind of wrong.
I think that you shouldn't always just do it.
But certainly when you're starting out, you kind of have to just say screw it, let's do it for just about everything so that you can learn.
And basically, I think a lot of people get caught up in just not starting.
They overanalyze, they get analysis paralysis and they spend three months researching and thinking an idea to death.
I've always just kind of just started and I've always connected with that idea.
Omer (21:17.070)
And so if that advice and attitude has worked for Richard Branson as well as Andrew, then it can also work for the rest of us.
Now as Andrew qualified, it's not about being reckless with your business.
But in the early days, especially in the early days, this attitude can really help you to get unstuck and take action.
I once heard someone say, you don't know what business you're in until you're in the business.
And that finally makes sense to me.
So if you're procrastinating with starting your business or you're struggling to get traction in the early days, maybe it's a good time to come up with a few new ideas and say screw it and just go and do it.
Get out of analysis paralysis, take action, do something to move your business forward and just see where it takes you.
All right, best business advice number eight comes from Tom Leong, the CEO and co founder of Anthology.
So let's listen to Tom's advice.
Yeah, you don't have to give up on yourself or on your company, but it's okay.
And it's required to give up on features or products or businesses or business models that aren't working.
Because generally if it is working and you do have fit, you'll know it.
The reason I like this piece of advice is that because we often hear advice like never give up or you'll.
You won't fail if you never give up.
But how long do you keep going if you have a poor idea that's struggling to get product market fit or you're struggling to get customers, surely you can't keep going on forever.
And so I like how Tom qualifies this by saying that you should never give up on yourself or your business.
But that doesn't mean you have to keep going with the same features, product or market.
Pivoting doesn't mean failing.
It doesn't mean giving up on yourself or your business.
It's just a different, different business that you start to go after.
And that's exactly what Tom did at Anthology or the previous businesses that they were working on.
They struggled for two years trying to get to product market fit, and they tried all kinds of things and they pivoted eight or nine times.
But when on the, I think it was on the 9th attempt, they achieved product market fit in one week.
And so that actually is a really interesting episode that you guys should check out.
And again, I'll include the link to that in the show notes.
But it's a hugely valuable lesson.
Don't give up on yourself or your business, but be realistic about the product or the market.
All right, best business advice number nine comes from Steli ft, the founder and CEO of Close IO.
So here's what Steli had to say.
Guest (25:01.630)
That all advice is nothing but limited life.
You know, limited life, life experience and overgeneralization.
Omer (25:10.160)
Now, I looked up this quote and I think the original attribution goes to Paul Buchheit, who created Gmail and co founded Friendfeed before it was acquired by Facebook.
It's an important reminder that whatever advice you get, including the advice in this episode, you have to take it with a pinch of salt.
It may be great advice for someone, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's great advice for you or that it's great advice for you at this time or the current circumstances or situation that you're in.
So whenever you get advice, take the time to objectively look at it within the context of what you're doing.
Don't follow blindly, and remember that any advice is nothing but limited life experience and overgeneralization.
The final best business advice or personal lesson is from me, and that is to trust your gut.
I'll be quite frank here.
I spent most of my life trying to seek the approval of other people and I've been incredibly dependent on getting advice from others both to help me figure out what to do and also to validate what I'm doing to make me feel better about my decisions.
But over the last year I've learned that I need to stop doing that.
And I have, to a large degree.
I left a comfortable mid six figure corporate job with a company that many people would consider their dream job to pursue my own dreams.
And for the first time in my life, I'm starting to move forward by trusting my own gut more and relying less on other people's advice, opinions or validations.
And I don't mean that in an arrogant way.
I simply mean that we often already know what we need to do if we listen to our own voice and trust our own gut.
But that can take some courage.
And I don't know where I'm going to end up with my own entrepreneurial journey and whether that's going to fail.
And maybe I'll have to go back to a corporate job one day.
But right now I don't really care about that.
What I care about is having the courage to keep pursuing my own dreams and listening to my own voice more.
Sure, I still want to learn from other the successes and failures of other people, and that's one of the reasons that I started this podcast.
But I no longer want or need other people's advice or opinion as a crutch to help me make decisions or move forward.
So if you're in a similar position, start trusting your own gut more.
Will you always be right?
No.
But I bet that both you and I know more about the path we need to take and the decisions that we need to make than maybe we're giving ourselves credit for.
So Best business advice number 10 is from me, and that is to trust your gut.
I hope you've enjoyed this episode and that it's given you some actionable insights or ideas that you can implement in your own business or life.
It's been an amazing journey over the last year, and frankly, I wasn't sure that I'd ever get to episode 100.
And there have been times during the last year when honestly, I just felt like stopping the podcast.
But all it took often was just an email to a tweet or an itunes review from one of you giving me some positive feedback and encouragement to keep going.
And that's not a plug this time to get you to submit an iTunes review.
I'm just saying that I truly appreciate the encouragement as well as the feedback many of you have given me on how to improve the show.
And I know some of you have listened to all 99 episodes, and if you're listening to this, that means you have made it all the way to 100 episodes with me, and I salute you for that.
But regardless of whether you've listened to 100 episodes or just one episode, I appreciate you taking the time to listen and I hope that we can continue on this journey together to maybe another hundred episodes.
Who knows?
Guest (29:59.810)
And.
