Episode 718 | When to Give Up, Open Source Competition, Painful Features, and More (with Derrick Reimer)

Startups For the Rest of Us

In episode 718, Rob Walling and Derrick Reimer tackle listener questions about giving up on ideas, competing in crowded markets, and developing painful features. They also chat about SavvyCal’s recent design refresh, finding founder-market fit, and whether Derrick has retired from podcasting.

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Topics we cover:

• 3:59 – Which feature felt harder and took longer than imagined?
• 9:14 – When is time to give up on a SaaS idea and move on?
• 17:51 – Finding customers in crowded markets with large incumbents
• 23:32 – Has Derrick officially retired from podcasting?
• 25:57 – Handling competitors that are copying differentiating product features
• 28:48 – Evaluating SavvyCal’s refreshed design
• 31:10 – Considering vertical vs. horizontal SaaS for SavvyCal
• 34:05 – Why did Derrick decide to pursue the idea for SavvyCal?
• 40:19 – Finding “founder-fit”

Links from the Show:

• The SaaS Playbook by Rob Walling
• TinySeed
• Derrick Remier (​​@derrickreimer) | X
• SavvyCal
• Group scheduling mode
• The Build In Public Podcast
• The Art of Product Podcast
• 8 B2B Marketing Strategies That Got My Startup to $10 Million (and 1 that FAILED)
• Finding My Next Bootstrapped Business Idea

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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