Open Threads

After building, selling and exiting Fizzle, a community and content-based business, Corbett Barr decided to hit the reset button. How? By deleting all of his social media and past blog content to start with a clean slate. We explore what came next.

Brian and Corbett's conversation was recorded on January 9, 2023.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

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From bootstrapping and selling a SaaS to… Starting a fund for bootstrapped SaaS companies. Tyler Tringas talks about that transition and what he’s learned since starting and growing Calm Company Fund.

Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on January 2, 2023.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

It’s strange how little we talk about the code side of building and running a software business. So Benedikt Deicke, technical co-founder of Userlist, joins me to geek out on Rails, front-end frameworks, software testing, and more.

Brian and Benedikt's conversation was recorded on December 19, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

I’m on a quest to geek out with all my founder friends who are also musicians. Harry Morton shares a love for the combo of tech + creativity in music production. We geeked out about pursuing careers in recording studios, synthesizers, making music as a hobby, and buying unnecessary music gear.

Brian and Harry's conversation was recorded on December 12, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos, moved to France for 5 years but he and his family have moved back here to the States. We unpack life and business abroad vs. stateside and the many tradeoffs.

Brian and Craig's conversation was recorded on December 5, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

In SaaS, speed matters. A lot. Benedikt Deicke, co-founder of Userlist, joins me to chat about shipping speed and how we decide what to build next. It’s too easy to get these essentials wrong!

Brian and Benedikt's conversation was recorded on November 28, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

I could talk for days about music. So can Justin Jackson, cofounder of Transistor. So we geeked out on our favorite bands, documentaries, and how these experiences actually shape us as entrepreneurs (believe it or not!).

Brian and Justin's conversation was recorded on November 21, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

After exiting his 1st SaaS and shuttering all his social media profiles, Nathan Powell is back online with a new idea for a SaaS - Feature Flux. Let’s dig into it.

Brian and Nathan's conversation was recorded on November 14, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

The story of why Nathan Powell quit the internet for a while after exiting his SaaS business (and why he came back to start his new company, Feature Flux).

Brian and Nathan's conversation was recorded on November 7, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Tyler King, CEO and co-founder of Less Annoying CRM, is back on the show to talk about teams. Remote, in-house, culture, experience, and everything in between.

Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on October 31, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Building in public ain’t all about the highlight reel. Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos, and I agree that there’s so much more to learn from our fails. The question is, how can we share them publicly in a helpful (and healthy) way?

Brian and Craig's conversation was recorded on October 25, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Justin Jackson, co-founder of Transistor, joins me to share the story of how he started a snowboard shop in the late 90s and what, if any, parallels can be drawn to software businesses today.

Brian and Justin's conversation was recorded on October 3, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Dan Rowden, founder of ilo, and I share our experiences running multiple products simultaneously vs focusing on one.

Brian and Dan's conversation was recorded on September 26, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Tyler King, CEO and co-founder of Less Annoying CRM, joins me to commiserate on why marketing a SaaS is so damn hard in 2022.

Brian and Tyler's conversation was recorded on September 19, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Kalen Jordan, founder of Commercehero.io, joins me to talk about the next business idea.

Brian and Kalen's conversation was recorded on September 12, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Dan Rowden, founder of ilo.so, joins me to talk about Twitter in 2022

Brian and Dan's conversation was recorded on September 5, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Matt Gartland, partner and CEO of Smart Passive Income, joins me to talk about the business of community.

Brian and Matt's conversation was recorded on August 29, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Chris Lema joins me to talk about transitioning away from WordPress.

Brian and Chris's conversation was recorded on August 22, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Chris Lema, seasoned CEO, experienced product strategist, and respected business coach, joins me to talk about coaching as a profession.

Brian and Chris's conversation was recorded on August 15, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.

Ian Landsman, founder of Helpspot, joins me to talk all about news diets.

Brian and Ian's conversation was recorded on August 8, 2022.

Brian's update was recorded on March 8th, 2024.

Brian's Product Studio
My product studio, Instrumental Products, is where I partner with SaaS companies, creators, and founders to take product ideas from concept to launched.  Got something to ship?  Let's talk!

Brian's YouTube channel
Subscribe to my YouTube channel where I'm building products and showing the process.

Brian's Newsletter
Subscribe to my newsletter where I send my best ideas and stories from working on products.

This Podcast on YouTube
This podcast is on YouTube!  You can watch full episodes on video by subscribing to the FSF Podcast Channel on YouTube.