In episode 723, Rob Walling interviews Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author, about the significance of effective communication for founders. They discuss practical advice on recognizing different types of conversations, techniques for understanding and transitioning conversations, and how to quickly move past small talk in a conference setting.

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• 2:42 – What’s a “super communicator?”
• 4:35 – Getting better at being a great communicator
• 8:10 – Identifying the types of conversations you are having
• 11:31 – Transitioning between different types of conversations
• 16:51 – Advice for introverts engaging in deep conversations with new people
• 22:01 – How to quickly improve small talk
• 27:22 – Non-verbal communication has slightly different rules

• MicroConf Connect
• Charles Duhigg (@cduhigg) | X
• Charles Duhigg’s website
• Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg
• The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
• Smarter, Faster, Better by Charles Duhigg
• Crucial Conversations by Joseph Grenny et. al

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!

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In episode 722, Rob Walling interviews James Mooring, co-founder of Astalty, a SaaS serving Australia's NDIS market. James reveals how they bootstrapped from zero to seven figures in just 18 months and then they explore the strategic decisions, clever pricing, and deep industry knowledge that propelled Astalty's remarkable growth, proving their success was far more than just a lucky break.

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• 2:44 – NDIS software for providers of disability care
• 4:23 – Astalty’s rapid growth
• 6:34 – Finding success with a strong co-founder pairing
• 8:39 – Deciding to tailor the Astalty MVP
• 12:25 – Building a free Chrome extension, smart or lucky?
• 17:18 – Launching a paid plan and nailing the pricing
• 21:57 – Explosive word of mouth growth
• 25:19 – Selling at in-person events and in Facebook groups
• 31:02 – A clever way of raising prices
• 35:00 – Learning from fast iteration

• The SaaS Playbook
• TinySeed
• James Mooring | LinkedIn
• Astalty
• How Ben Chestnut Bootstrapped Mailchimp to a $12 Billion Exit
• Question & Answer with Jason Fried, Co-Founder, Basecamp – MicroConf Growth 2019

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!

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In episode 721, Rob Walling and Asia Orangio analyze the results of MicroConf’s 2024 State of Independent SaaS Report. They share their key takeaways including the impact of business models on growth, requiring credit cards for free trials, and how the number of founders affects performance. Additionally, they delve into growth by target markets and the data behind bootstrapped SaaS companies taking funding.

To get your copy of the full report, head to stateofindiesaas.com.

• 2:03 – The State of Independent SaaS Report
• 7:36 – Requiring a credit card upfront
• 10:27 – Three founders perform best
• 14:31 – Free trials and credit cards
• 19:11 – Average growth by target market
• 22:46 – Plans for outside funding
• 25:10 – Credit cards, trials, and churn
• 32:10 – Advertising channels that are working

• Download the State of Independent SaaS Report
• Subscribe to the MicroConf YouTube channel
• TinySeed
• Rob Walling (@RobWalling) | X
• Asia Orangio (@AsiaOrangio) | X
• DemandMaven

If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!

Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify