bootstrappers

In this episode of The Bootstrapped SaaS Operator, we’ve got Dave Freund talking about how he transitioned from a service agency to founding LeaseLeads.co, an apartment leasing AI software, in 2022. LeaseLeads.co currently has over 200 customers and doing $1 million in ARR.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ Working with freelancers vs hiring in-house.

~ Growing sales successfully with a discount strategy.

~ Transitioning from a service-based agency to a full SaaS business.

Timestamps

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:27) - What problem does LeaseLeads solve?
• (01:27) - Who's the typical customer of LeaseLeads?
• (02:15) - The founding story of LeaseLeads
• (04:18) - How Dave managed the transition from agency to SaaS
• (05:49) - How Dave bootstrapped LeaseLeads in its beginning
• (06:41) - Which growth stage is LeaseLeads at presently?
• (08:11) - Working with freelancers vs hiring in-house
• (09:17) - How LeaseLeads reached $1 million ARR
• (10:46) - LeaseLeads’ discount strategy
• (13:03) - LeaseLeads’ marketing channels
• (16:04) - Measuring the impact of trade shows
• (19:19) - Dave’s biggest challenge while running LeaseLeads
• (24:33) - Dave’s big vision for LeaseLeads
• (25:58) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

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Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Dave Freund

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-freund 

Mentioned In The Episode

LeaseLeads.co - Dave’s Startup

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EarlyNode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

On Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/earlynode

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@earlynode

On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earlynode

Nikolas Chapoupis

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikolas_chap

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

In this episode of The Bootstrapped SaaS Operator, Brennan Dunn, founder of RightMessage,  joins us with his exciting journey from an agency owner to a prolific content creator and then to a SaaS founder.

Tune in to learn more about:

~ What “creator habits” helped Brennan in his founder journey?
~ How to approach marketing if you have multiple ICPs?

~ The best way to bootstrap a SaaS company in 2023.

Timestamps

• (00:00) - Intro
• (00:08) - What problem does RightMessage solve?
• (00:31) - RightMessage's Best ICP.
• (01:04) - How Brennan navigates with multiple ICPs?
• (02:53) - Why RightMessage is going up market?
• (04:17) - How much traffic does a website need for RightMessage to work?
• (06:13) - How did Brennan initially start RightMessage?
• (09:02) - What mistakes Brennan and team made in the start?
• (11:30) - Why Brennan bought his partner out?
• (13:25) - How does Brennan handle pressure?
• (16:14) - What would Brennan do differently if he could start over?
• (19:47) - How's he planning to get to his goal for RightMessage?
• (24:14) - What does RightMessage users' journey look like?
• (27:45) - What creator habits helped Brennan in his founder journey?
• (30:24) - Outro

The SaaS Operator Newsletter

Get actionable insights from SaaS veterans to grow your MRR.

Join hundreds of PLG founders at: EarlyNode.com/Subscribe

Follow Brennan Dunn

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrennanDunn/

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brennandunn/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/brennandunn

Mentioned In The Episode

RightMessage - Brennan’s Current Startup

TinySeed - Bootstrappers-focused funding platform

ReactSquad.io - React.js Agency for Startups

EarlyNode

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earlynode

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EarlyNode

On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earlynode_crew/

On Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/earlynode

On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@earlynode

On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earlynode

Nikolas Chapoupis

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikolas_chap

On LinkedIn: https://de.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-chapoupis

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Alex MacCaw (@maccaw) talks living on a boat, quitting his own 7-figure company, starting over with a lifestyle business, whether free will exists, crowdfunding from your own customers, and gaining a foothold in a crowded market with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).

Emma Lawler (@emmaryanlawler) talks whether crypto is dead, VC vs bootstrapping, getting an MBA after a successful exit, why NYC beats SF, trading sleep for work, whether capitalism leads to perverse incentives, and how she plans to disrupt the App Store with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).

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Lane Wagner (@wagslane) talks hitting $26k/mo in revenue, why A.I. disruption is a good thing, the ethics of addictive products, surviving after a first year of no traction, why most business writing sucks, and how to grow revenue by making your product smaller with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).

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KP (@thisiskp_) talks about why building in public beats mere transparency, whether AI will be the end of no-code, why he's made more money from organizing community than anything else, and how he went from a 9-to-5 job to being a founder with multiple exits with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).

Marc Lou (@marc_louvion) talks living in Bali with a private chef, monetizing habit trackers, first date ideas, growing on Twitter, and building over 10 products in a year to finally reach ramen profitability with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).

Stas Kulesh (@stas_kulesh) talks about building internal tools as a great hack, why it takes 10 years to understand a new country, the challenging secret of enterprise sales, and slowly growing a SaaS business to $40k/month with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).

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