The original podcast for bootstrapped and mostly bootstrapped startups, this show follow the stories of founders as they start, acquire, and grow SaaS companies. Hear when they fail, struggle, succeed, and take you with them through the tumultuous life of a SaaS founder. If you like Mixergy, This Week in Startups, or SaaStr, you’ll enjoy Startup for the Rest of Us.
https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/
Episode 688 | Growing Boot.dev From $6k to $110k in Monthly Revenue in 15 Months
In episode 688, Rob Walling interviews Lane Wagner, founder of Boot.dev. Boot.dev is a learning platform gamified to teach backend development. They discuss the journey of bootstrapping Boot.dev, its explosive growth, and its unique business model. Lane also shares challenges of running a B2C business, why he took some funding, and the significance of customer lifetime value over MRR in his business.
Topics we cover:- 2:38 – Boot.dev seeing incredible growth
- 3:35 – Growing on YouTube with partnerships
- 5:42 – Teaching Python and Go as a B2C business
- 7:49 – “This is not really SaaS”, considering JTBD
- 11:18 – The beginnings of Boot.dev, serving the backend niche
- 14:21 – Gaining the confidence to quit the day job
- 15:51 – Deciding to raise funding and “mostly” bootstrap
- 20:31 – Enduring hardship before turning the corner on growth
- 26:38 – Finding the right revenue metric for the business
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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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