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 AudienceTapWhy AudienceTap instead of TextRetailerWhether Sam is building out a new ShopifyManaging multiple platforms running at the same timeChanges in Chris’s projectsHow the changes affected team structure and how the market is pivotingHow marketing helps clarify the product sideThe future of the podcastIssues with transparencyTrying new things and understanding that they’re not always foreverThe Yellowstone seriesNew MacBook ProWhat’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 highlightsThe customer service issue that Chris has been dealing withWhether it will be more common for customers to have a need for more customization down the linePortability for templatesThe satisfaction of providing value for customers with something you builtSecurity concerns with SMSHow marketing will be picking up in the next yearHow Sam’s week has beenZero-party data – what it is and how it’s collectedLaying the foundation for custom fields and what the status isRevamping the design of the user interfaceWhether merchants can bring external data inHow much segmentation Sam allowsThe portable battery charger that Chris is intoThe 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 UsingThe features of LinearThe fall changes in the weatherTaking time completely off on vacationBusiness updatesFeedback from newly onboarding customersGetting a communication channel going with customersPlanning for next yearChanges in the last yearThe challenges of the text messaging verification processNew verification regulations and processesWhat 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).

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup provides a recap of MicroConf’s talks/sessions, fun networking activities, and meeting like-minded founders. Chris McAleenan has never attended, but hopes to someday. Maybe the two will host their podcast live at the next one in Denver!   Highlights from this Episode: PipeTech: New client aligns with how services were designed, meant to be used.Data Import Process: Chris acts as hard-drive whisperer—don’t delete data, yet.Problems and Progress: How customers use platform changes UX, deliverables.Who attends MicroConf? Founders and small teams with bootstrapper mentality.MicroConf Talks: Give new ways to think about strategy and tactics to employ.Networking: Meet people you know, talked to, or have heard but never met.Sam’s Favorite MicroConf Talks: April Dunford: Buying software is difficult for companies and customers.Andrew Amann: Solve problems to maintain safety and humanity of Ukraine staff. Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Hub/Project Figma MicroConf MicroConf on YouTube Castos  The Art of Product Podcast  Bootstrapped Web  Rogue Startups Andrew Amann of NineTwoThree Venture Studios on LinkedIn Obviously Awesome by April Dunford What is MaP?   Intro music by

Would you rather be sick with a stomach bug or handle difficult conversations and complex concepts with customers? On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup and Chris McAleenan talk about how founders still need to get work done even when they want to take time off.   Highlights from this Episode: New Vision/Goal: Step away for a set amount of time and business continues.How? With help from coworkers who can handle some of a founder’s tasks.Customer Support Staff: Continues to successfully answer calls, emails, tickets.Real-time vs. Async Culture: There’s a place for both styles of work collaboration.Customer Expectations: How do you break bad news without losing their trust?Features/Functions: Transparency creates understanding, addresses concerns.SEO Strategy: Rather than build your own solution, use TextRetailer’s platform. Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Hub/Project Figma MicroConf Fellow Drops Wine Text The Dropout Super Pumped  WeWork WeCrashed  Ted Lasso Ozark 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 how everyone loves budgeting, especially to not lose focus on planning priorities and making progress when it comes to new integrations, hires, and products. Highlights from this Episode: Sam’s Strategy: Deeper integration with existing eCommerce platforms. MarketerHire: Sam hired a contractor comfortable with a small marketing budget.Experiments: What kind of marketing budget is needed to do things effectively?Chris’s New Product: PipeTech Inspection Interface (PII) Slice for sewers.Customers’ Needs: Do they strive for simplicity or all the bells and whistles? WWETT Show: Conversation with Chris leads to wanting to write plugin for app.Tools to Try: Summit is like Excel on steroids to build models and create results.  Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Hub/Project BigCommerce MarketerHire Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport (WWETT) Show Summit Foresight Finmark 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 give a lot of updates on their businesses, TextRetailer and PipeTech. It takes not being a bottleneck! They talk about everything from conferences and integrations to tools to use to track issues and music to improve focus, meditation, and sleep. Highlights from this Episode: PipeTech at Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport (WWETT).TextRetailer integration with ShipStation for merchants to manage orders.Areas of Improvement: Need to get better at systematic marketing to scale. Content: What to say, who to say it to, why say it, what’s most important to say.Deadlines: Would you rather have something done right or done right now?Customer Confusion: Chris clarifies what PipeTech project vs. application does.Names, Logos, New Hires: Necessary evils because they’re used in many ways.Views/Collections: New features to slice and dice data, build custom reports. Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Project WWETT Floor Plan ShipStation ShipBob ClickFunnels Creative Melon BigCommerce Designjoy Fiverr 99designs Linear Brain.fm Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History The Khan Dynasty 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 tasks, TinySeed, tradeshows, trends, and technology.  Sometimes, everything goes as planned. Other times, things fall apart. There may or may not be a lot of progress, and you may need to pivot to find funding as bootstrapped founders. Big things are coming down the pipe to build brand awareness! Highlights from this Episode: TextRetailer Update: Final week of first block of mini-goals for the year.Tasks: How Sam stays focused to complete everything within his control.Tracking Issues: Chris has been using Linear and loves it.TinySeed: Why Sam applied for accelerator program for bootstrapped founders.TinySeed Playbook: How to properly price app and better optimize business.Funding/Financing: Freedom to build business without paying money back.Raising Money: Is it the right direction, time to deploy funds for the company?PipeTech Project: Chris continues customer onboarding to jump on application.Tradeshow Goals: Talk strategy, see familiar faces, learn new technology/trends.Marketing News: Chris was able to acquire the domain name, pipetech.com. Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Project TinySeed Startups for the Rest of Us Podcast Rob Walling SimpleRink MicroConf GitHub Issues Linear Underground Construction Technology (UCT) Conference Pumper Cleaner Expo Intro music by

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup and Chris McAleenan talk about how growing a family changes impacts growing a business. As founders of startups, paternity leave isn’t always possible when you are your own boss and a one-man-show. Looking ahead, 2022 will be a year of change due to collaboration and shift to survival mode. It’s the year to get stuff done, expand, and accelerate progress.   Highlights from this Episode: Delivery Deadline: Sam doesn’t plan on building anything new for TextRetailer.Delivery Date: Once baby arrives in May, Sam will answer emails in wee hours.2021 Recap: Sam and Upwork contractor work on major infrastructure update.Chris started working with a UX designer to create utility service app.Hiring Process: How to use Upwork to get and vett contractors/experts.Best Practices: Takes opinions/experience to know what works and what doesn’t.2022 Plans:TextRetailer: Strategize and be cognizant of the company’s priorities.PipeTech: Get through backlog of customers that need to be onboarded.   Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Project Upwork Amazon Web Services (AWS) Figma Windows Tray App Electron The Art of Product Podcast, Episode 191 – Shaping Up with Adam Wathan Shape Up by Ryan Singer Shopify App Store Gjetost Norwegian Cheese 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 take some time to reflect on 2021. Highlights from this Episode: New TextRetailer Merchant: Sam shares news about onboarding My Beauty Text.Inbound Issues: Chris gets to focus on other priorities while things get done.Sales: Chris got two existing customers onboard with new PipeTech software.Marketing Strategies: Build upon long-standing relationships versus fresh leads.Tough Decision: Chris delayed an enterprise beta customer’s official launch.Balancing Act: Catering to customers versus what’s best for the business.Year in Review and Beyond: TextRetailer: Sam built MVP in two phases and shares metrics/stats.PipeTech Project: Chris focused on what needed to be done. Guiding Lights and Inflection Points: Sam focuses on ideal customers and features they want included.Chris decided to take on the risk to grow and take PipeTech to next level.Systematic Planning: Should resources focus on one priority? How to choose? Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Project My Beauty Text Retool Flow State Coffee by NooWave YouTube Repair Videos 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 celebrates an informal milestone and troubleshoots a unique issue with Canadian phone carriers. Chris McAleenan made a mistake and set the team temporarily off-track. Highlights from this Episode: Cyber Monday: TextRetailer’s first and best day for volume, number of orders. Challenge: Issue sending messages to Canadian phone carriers too quickly.Informal Milestone: Email inbox flooded with TextRetailer orders put in Slack.Milestone Mistake: Deviation, acceleration, customization for PipeTech Mobile.Disruption: Data not quite ready; delays customers waiting to pay for product.Strategy Shift: Only paying customers, no data migration/free trials due to value.Ultimate Goal: Faster customers are onboarded, faster the revenue comes in.Price Expectations: Costs driven by data storage, transcoding fees, bandwidth. Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Project Oura Ring   Intro music by Monkey Warhol licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Chris McAleenan shares specific updates and highlights progress made on the PipeTech Project. In the past week, he did not get in 40 hours of work, but did manage to find windows of time while being a family man. Sam Schrup understands the need to triage and focus on what’s most important. He’s well-rested and relaxed because TextRetailer released quick carts and merchants are starting to use them. Highlights from this Episode: Milestone: Core of PipeTech Project is “done.” Paying customers onboard soon.Product Positioning: PipeTech has a reputation and expectations to uphold Scope Creep: Features and expectations are deeper than traditional MVP/MSP.PipeTech Promise: Help customers supercharge and utilize their data. Extract, Load, Transform (ETL): Get data in and out of system to make decisions.Essentials Set: Greenfield data, gain customer feedback on features to set core.Asset vs. Inspection Data: Internal knowledge to normalize mapping, structure.  Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Project MongoDB Steve Blank’s Startup Tools TaxJar AWS Services Johnny Mnemonic 1995 Official Trailer MicroAcquire MicroMRR by MicroAcquire 12v Air Compressor 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 shares a major update for TextRetailer. He announced the launch of quick carts and other features within TextRetailer. Although he is exhausted, Sam is relieved and excited for what this means for the future of TextRetailer. Chris McAleenan is in a similar boat - heads down, building, building, building, and not taking too much time off from work to get stuff done. He will share specific updates and highlights on the next episode of saaslife.fm.  Highlights from this Episode: Lessons Learned and Launched: Separation of products from campaigns.Quick Carts Concept: Basically a Web-based checkout platform.Schema Updates/Migration Steps: Involved different versions and storing orders. Showstoppers: Version 1 of Shopify campaigns caused major issues post launch.Conversations: Quick carts preview motivated potential and current customers. Convenience Factor: Make it simple for customers to buy - basis of TextRetailer.TextRetailer Road Map: Revamp marketing site and quick carts experience.Rebrand and Rename? Text-forward product will continue to be main emphasis.Time to Outsource: Creative Mellen to take over WordPress marketing site.Dev Ops/Stack: Move TextRetailer into own environment, be more professional.   Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Project Creative Mellen LogRocket SavvyCal Fast AWS Workspaces MongoDB DigitalOcean   Intro music by Monkey Warhol licensed under

On this episode of saaslife.fm, Sam Schrup and Chris McAleenan celebrate a couple milestones - Chris’s 40th birthday and the one-year anniversary of TextRetailer.  It’s been a full year since Sam registered the TextRetailer.com domain name, he started coding last November, and the first paying customer came in May. Chris encourages Sam to do a year in review to indicate commits and other milestones.  Highlights from this Episode: Where did Sam hope to be by now with TextRetailer? Further than Textiful.Textiful vs. TextRetailer: Different projects, products, potential for growth/revenue.Sam’s Scope Creep: Build bigger product with better understanding of problem.Growing Pains: Hire, onboard, and transfer knowledge to focus on founder tasks.Founder Feelgoods: What doesn’t feel good - less money in Chris’ bank account.Chris’ Customer Expectations: All need core product but different needs/features.   Links and Resources:  saaslife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech ProjectGovernor Mike Parson on Twitter Missouri governor accuses journalist who warned state about cybersecurity flaw of criminal ‘hacking’ I hacked and rickrolled my entire high school district   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 tech debt. It can be good, especially when you have the time and resources to build a product the right way for new and existing customers to drive revenue.  Sam shares lessons learned from working with various types of merchants and different ways to provide offers to sell products to customers. Chris reiterates that to have a viable product, it needs to be sellable. People need to pay money for it. Highlights from this Episode: Epic Refactor: Expansion of where TextRetailer needs to go to grow.Challenge: Reinvent Shopify or put a version of TextRetailer on Shopify? Minimum Viable vs. Sellable Product: People need to pay you money for it.Proof of Concept: Actual customers need to use a product to validate it.Paying Customers: What do they expect and what can you learn from them?PipeTech’s Massive Data Migration: Needs to be dynamic to get right information.Main Goals: Need for flexibility and customization for merchants and customers.Good vs. Bad Debt: Necessary to take on deliberate tech debt to move quickly.   Links and Resources:  SaaSLife.fm Sam Schrup on Twitter Chris McAleenan on Twitter TextRetailer Textiful PipeTech Project CleanShot App Intro music by Monkey Warhol licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).