Tweets

@webby2001 @BryanBarletta “Younger people are just smarter” – Mark Zuckerberg

@GeoffTRoberts @TransistorFM @jonbuda Thanks Geoff!

@dohertyjf Thanks! 🙌

@MbyM 💯

@indie_worldwide Thanks for sharing it!

We want to thank everyone who helped us with @TransistorFM along the way: our customers, the podcast community, the indie SaaS community, our founder friends, and our families.

Thank you. ❤️

Over the next four years, we’ll focus on the things that got us here:

1. Understanding our customers better than anyone else
2. Building high-quality software
3. Offering exceptional customer support
4. Having a calm work environment

Every day, Jon and I wake up and feel incredibly lucky:

We get to work on a product we love (@TransistorFM), serve creative customers (podcasters), and work with people we like (@HelenRyles and @jsonperl).

Our weekly team Zoom calls have become the highlight of our week:

Throughout it all, we’ve guided @TransistorFM based on this belief:

“Good businesses have margin. Profit margin? Yes. But also margin for our time, emotional and physical health, relationships, sanity, and integrity.”

https://github.com/TransistorFM/handbook/blob/master/values.md

Since we went full-time on Transistor in 2019, we’ve accomplished so much:

http://Transistor.fm/changelog

What feels most impressive is that we’ve accomplished all of this with a small team. Jon and I were the only full-time people until 2021 when we hired @HelenRyles and @jsonperl.

@theDanielJLewis @TransistorFM @earthlingworks Thanks!

For funded startups, $20k MRR doesn’t mean much.

But, for indie entrepreneurs like us, this was a big deal.

Shortly after going full-time, I went on the @IndieHackers podcast and said this:

https://share.transistor.fm/s/7e7020f7

While it felt like we were a long way off from our goal, we kept shipping new features, helping customers with their podcasts, and spreading the word.

These actions compounded, and 12 months after our launch we achieved our goal: $20,000 MRR!

(4 years faster than expected)

What kept us going?

Two things:

1. Hearing from customers who loved using @TransistorFM for their podcasts

2. Encouragement from other startup founders, like @earthlingworks

We forecasted it would take us five years to get to $21,000 in monthly recurring revenue (enough for Jon and me to work on Transistor full-time).

Waiting 60 months for a paycheque felt ominous. It's easy to see why many self-funded founders experience burnout and have to quit.

We knew growing @TransistorFM would take time; this meant keeping our day jobs and working on Transistor on the side.

It wasn’t easy. There were many times where Jon and I were stretched thin.

I wrote this blog post at the time to express my feelings:

https://justinjackson.ca/bootstrap-reality

@thisiskp_ @TransistorFM @jonbuda Thank you! 🙌

It’s hard to communicate what it’s like to launch a new product to the public. It’s a mixture of relief, fear, and hope.

We were relieved, but at the same time we were anxious: would people like it? Would people sign up and use it?

And, would it one day support us full-time?

After getting home late, I stayed up until 12:01 am and posted it on @ProductHunt.

#transistor-fm" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.producthunt.com/products/transistor#transistor-fm

@TransistorFM was officially launched to the public!

I had to fly home on the 31st. This meant finalizing all the remaining pre-launch steps on airplanes and airports.

Up until that point, we’d only worked remotely.

To be in person felt special: working side-by-side, taking coffee breaks, and hanging out at night.

When we look back on everything we’ve done with @TransistorFM, these in-person moments are the most significant.

When I arrived at Jon’s apartment on July 27, the first thing we did was take this picture.

Over the next several days we worked on the final elements of Transistor: adding podcast analytics, finalizing our pricing, and updating our marketing site.

We sent an update to our mailing list, stating that we would launch on August 1st, 2018.

To our surprise, @JamesCridland at @Podnews announced our launch date on their site.

Having our launch date out in public meant the pressure was on: now we had to deliver!

@philipbrown @TransistorFM @jonbuda Thank you!

Six months later, we were nearly ready to open Transistor to the public, but we needed one last push to get it launch-ready.

I booked a flight to Chicago for the end of July. The plan was to stay at Jon’s apartment and get Transistor out the door.

In early 2018, we decided to make it official, and signed a partnership agreement.

From the outset, we had two main goals for @TransistorFM:

1. To build the best podcast hosting platform on the planet
2. To build a good life for us as business owners

Fast forward to late 2017: Jon and I started brainstorming ideas for podcast hosting.

Here’s one of our early planning docs:

Jon and I met in 2014 at @xoxo. Our friend @chasewreeves introduced us.

We chatted about podcasting, and hung out a bunch that week.

(Back then I had a beard, and Jon had none. We’ve switched since then. 😆)

@kylefox @TransistorFM @jonbuda Thank you! And thanks for all of @getRewardful’s help!

@valsopi @TransistorFM @jonbuda Thanks so much Val! (And thanks for being an early believer)

@takeitev @TransistorFM @jonbuda Thanks! That means so much to us. 🥰

I can't believe it: it's been 4 years since we launched @TransistorFM!

I wrote down my memories of building and launching that initial version with @jonbuda, and reflected on everything that's happened since we launched (it's changed our lives):

https://transistor.fm/anniversary/

🎯 These are great: https://twitter.com/DashBarkHuss/status/1554677045350760448

@BretFisher @vballben Hahaha amazing

@riteshchopra @MicroConf Thanks for sharing it! Glad it was helpful. 👍

@CharlieGrinnell 🙌

@CharlieGrinnell it was fun meeting you and hanging out today! 🙌

RT @riteshchopra: Watched a great talk by @mijustin at @MicroConf 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnWo6ex1C4E&t=1287s

He lists down some great discovery questi…

I shared that clip with @jonbuda in 2018 & said:

"It feels like there's definitely a parade in podcasting right now. The media's talking about it. Folks talk about podcasts in coffee shops. Businesses are using audio to build trust with audiences. We need to get in front of it!"

When it comes to finding good business opportunities, I like @Caterina's idea of "Find a parade and get in front of it."

(It's similar to "find a good wave, and paddle out to ride it).

@APinedaKeio Just read it! Really interesting exploration. Loved the “internal vs external” perspectives.

@DustinLeblanc @KeioStudiolab @notjustbikes Yeah, that’s a really good channel.

This one is good too:

https://youtu.be/wfm2xCKOCNk

@CasJam 🎯

I've been skimming this book for awhile, but I'm just now sitting down to read it properly.

And, wow, this intro is really resonating with me.

Jorge Almazán (@KeioStudiolab) encapsulates where urban design has missed the mark in the past, and the opportunity we have now.

RT @molly0xFFF: i feel a lot of empathy for the people writing letters to celsius, but... fuck this guy

@PiercePress @jonbuda @TransistorFM @buildyoursaas Software as a Service 👍

@phuctm97 Love this question.

@connor_lindsey @jonbuda @TransistorFM @buildyoursaas Interesting! This question has come up a few times now.

@jmckinven Nice! My wife and I really enjoy paddle boarding. We got out 4 days in a row this week!

@AjitKale007 We have 20,000+ podcasts on the platform, but customers paying $19/month can have multiple podcasts on their account.

@iChris @jonbuda @TransistorFM @buildyoursaas Never!

@nathanbarry @jonbuda @TransistorFM @buildyoursaas Thank you! 🥰

Around this time, 4 years ago, Jon and I were in his apartment in Chicago, getting ready to launch a new podcast hosting company!

https://twitter.com/mijustin/status/1023056086260232192

On Monday, @jonbuda and I are going to celebrate @TransistorFM's 4th anniversary by recording an episode of @buildyoursaas together.

What questions do you want us to cover on the podcast?

@AjitKale007 Transistor's ARR is lower than $5M.

The highest-value (and most under-estimated) feature you can add to your web app is PDF reports.

@swyx @TransistorFM How are you evaluating links that “do better;” clicks?

@swyx @TransistorFM What do you mean by “terrible twitter juju?”

@danshipper 🎯

Social media can be unhealthy (in general, and for productivity) but so can toxic relationships, alcohol consumption, lack of exercise, etc…

@swyx That’s an interesting idea! I’ll share it with the team at @TransistorFM 👍

@MartinMartinse7 @BelfiBB @TransistorFM @sertalpbilal I wrote a good guide on what constitutes a download/listen/play here: https://help.transistor.fm/article/22-what-constitutes-a-download

@nathanbarry @dvassallo @tylertringas 🎯

@coreyhainesco There are! That's a good idea (several people have requested it).

@deanyeong @TransistorFM 🙌

@dmathewwws @TransistorFM Thanks! People seem to really love it so far. 🥰

@hopburps @TransistorFM Lol. YES! 🎙️🤝🍺

@philalves_ Love it! 🙌

Love this new feature we just released on @TransistorFM: Podcast Achievement Badges! 🥳

https://transistor.fm/changelog/achievements/

RT @mijustin: Many SaaS for SMBs and makers experienced this phenomenon:

COVID “pulled forward” demand, and gave us a big revenue bump.

B…

Many SaaS for SMBs and makers experienced this phenomenon:

COVID “pulled forward” demand, and gave us a big revenue bump.

But the effect wasn’t permanent: the growth trend has largely averaged out.

If we’d followed our pre-COVID growth rate, we’d be at largely the same place.

@kylefox 🤣🤣🤣

Reading Tobi's letter to Shopify employees:

"We made the bet that [ecommerce] would permanently lap ahead by 5 to 10 years. It's clear that the bet didn't pay off.

What we see now is the mix reverting back to roughly the pre-Covid [trend]."

https://news.shopify.com/changes-to-shopifys-team

@mattragland It’s so true.

@sridatta @iamwil I've just added your show to my list here. 🙌

https://transistor.fm/dev-podcasts/

@peldi @successfulsw @balsamiq YES! @balsamiq has one of the best company newsletters I've seen.

I was just thinking: "I really need to emulate some of these elements in the @TransistorFM newsletter."

@sridatta @iamwil Awesome! 🙌

I enjoyed @peldi's "solopreneur" interview with @successfulsw in the @balsamiq newsletter. 👍

https://mailchi.mp/balsamiq/balsamiqs-spotlight-on-solopreneur-andy-brice?e=0a71629d7f

@dan_radin The "museums" item is interesting. What is it about the museum that stimulates creative thinking for you?

@KostjaPalovic What about long walks? Do those work for you too?

@valsopi Sometimes it’s gotta be silent, and I’ll go into a flow state.

Other times, it’s nice to have something external (music, podcast) that stimulates thought.

@CasJam That’s a good distinction 👍

@valsopi Music/podcasts or silence; which is better for you?

For me, my best creativity, ideas, and problem-solving come from:

- Rest
- Walks
- Therapy
- Reading
- Listening
- Boredom (long drives)
- Interesting conversations
- Connecting with interesting people
- Novel experiences (travel, retreats, conferences)

What works best for you?

@asmartbear For me, my best creativity, ideas, and problem-solving come from:

- Rest
- Walks
- Therapy
- Reading
- Listening
- Boredom (long drives)
- Interesting conversations
- Connecting with interesting people
- Novel experiences (travel, retreats, conferences)

RT @mijustin: Who’s started a podcast recently?

Reply to this tweet with a link to your show (and a brief description) so we can all check…

@deanyeong I really like the way you customized your podcast website! 😎

Also: thanks for the @TransistorFM shout out at the beginning of the episode! 🙌

https://deanyeong.transistor.fm/episodes/how-to-stop-worrying-about-money

@aarondfrancis I’m a regular listener and a big fan! 🙌

@automationtown Just listened to the trailer and loved it!

https://share.transistor.fm/s/9e7bb75d

The editing, production, and pacing = so good.

Adding this to my Overcast queue now. 👍

Who’s started a podcast recently?

Reply to this tweet with a link to your show (and a brief description) so we can all check it out!

👉

@nbashaw Really loving it.

Especially this “how to evaluate a market” segment:

https://overcast.fm/+7IlI4WOXA/23:34

@nbashaw I was sad, but then I realized you have a new podcast to replace Talk Therapy!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Love the new format (and that theme song!!)

https://overcast.fm/+7IlI4WOXA

@AndrewAskins @_rchase_ 🎯

@AndrewAskins @_rchase_ I cosign on this.

Most therapists are well positioned/trained to help founders process business/work challenges as well as personal issues.

@crisp_im @baptistejamin Great episode! Foks are really digging it.

RT @mijustin: The most significant action you can take in your career/entrepreneurial journey is to make micro-investments in yourself alon…

Whoa. @ChrisJBakke sold Laskie for ~$50M on $2.5M ARR?! 😮

https://www.indiehackers.com/post/built-my-last-co-to-2-5m-arr-became-profitable-in-2-5-years-sold-it-for-mid-8-figures-and-going-even-bigger-this-time-ama-afbc8f2eeb

Another example:

In 2014, Paul Jarvis, @studiofellow, and I started doing a weekly mastermind.

This short, weekly practice compounded (over time) into major breakthroughs for all three of us.

https://justinjackson.ca/mastermind

An example:

In 2012, I collaborated on a small podcast for product people with @kylefox.

Not only did I develop a rich friendship with Kyle, but I built relationships with many incredible people.

These relationships were hugely helpful when Jon and I started @TransistorFM.

@philipbrown 🥰

Good opportunities emerge out of the fabric of your life.

You weave the fabric over decades.

Find diverse threads, weave them into your life, and you'll be presented with diverse opportunities in the future.