Episode 765 | TinySeed Tales s4e9: Making the hardest decision · Startups For the Rest of Us summary

Key takeaways

Entrepreneurship is filled with emotional highs and lows, especially when making the tough choice to shut down a business.
Co-founder relationships are crucial to the success of a startup; maintaining clear communication and alignment is key.
The importance of timely execution and understanding market demand can significantly influence the outcome of a startup.
Failures and setbacks serve as critical learning experiences that can provide valuable insights for future ventures.
Building a supportive network and community can help propel a founder's next project to success.

Summary

The Struggle to Find Traction

In the finale, Colleen reflects on her journey with Hello Query, highlighting the difficulty of acquiring customers and increasing revenue. Despite tripling her Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) to $540, she admits that this figure isn't sustainable for a business. The painfully slow process of finding customers has led her to question the viability of Hello Query, particularly after extensive marketing efforts produced minimal results. Colleen expresses exhaustion over the slow growth and reflects on her desire to avoid a long-term side project, emphasizing that she wants more than just incremental success.

The Tough Decision to Shut Down

Colleen faces the hard reality of potentially shutting down Hello Query, weighing the emotional toll of her attachment to the project against the practical considerations of opportunity cost. The discussion explores the fine line founders must walk when weighing the decision to continue or walk away from a struggling business. Colleen sums up her experience with the phrase 'it’s the hope that kills you,' encapsulating the mental struggle many founders face when hoping their efforts will eventually pay off.

Co-Founder Dynamics and Their Influence

The conversation touches on the impact of Colleen's split with her co-founder, Aaron, who held critical expertise in databases, leaving Colleen to start from scratch on much of the tech side. She acknowledges that while the partnership had its challenges, losing that collaborative energy and knowledge base was a significant setback for Hello Query. This reflection leads her to consider the importance of co-founder alignment and communication as lessons for her future endeavors.

Navigating Regrets and Learning from Experience

Colleen shares her regrets regarding co-founder dynamics and the overall operation of Hello Query. She discusses her learning moments, emphasizing the need for honesty and communication among partners in future projects. Colleen also reflects on the various strategic decisions made throughout her journey, pondering what she would have done differently, including shipping products faster and starting outreach sooner.

Looking Forward: New Beginnings and Opportunities

With Hello Query coming to a close, Colleen is optimistic about her future. She introduces her new venture, SaaS Marketing Gym, which has already seen early success and has allowed her to leverage the skills gained during her Hello Query journey. Colleen is excited about the potential of this business and acknowledges the importance of learning from past experiences while also embracing the new opportunities ahead.

Show notes

Is it time to shut down for good?

In this season finale of TinySeed Tales, Rob Walling sits down with Colleen Schnettler, founder of Hello Query, to reflect on her journey over the past few years.

Colleen candidly shares the challenges she faced while trying to grow her SaaS business, including the difficult decision to shut it down after struggling to find traction. Moving past a painful part in her founder journey, Colleen is excited about her new venture where she’s already seeing early success. Join us for this honest look into the final days of Hello Query and to hear Colleen's resilience in the startup world.

Topics we cover:

(1:07) – Difficulty in finding and onboarding customers
(5:32) – Why didn’t it work?
(9:29) – How did the co-founder split affect the business?
(13:11) – Founder regrets
(18:49) – Reflecting on the decision
(22:38) – Anything that you would have done differently?
(25:21) – Moving forward to founder coaching and marketing

Links from the Show:

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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Episode 765 | TinySeed Tales s4e9: Making the hardest decision