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The Slow, Deliberate Process of Making a SaaS Business Work with Jane Portman of Userlist

Episode #145

Jane Portman (@uibreakfast) is no stranger to making money online. Not only has she run a successful consultancy for nearly a decade, but she's also published 4 books and become a leading authority on UX and product design. So when Jane decided to start a SaaS company—Userlist— she was surprised to learn just slow and difficult the process can be. In this episode, Jane and I discuss the variables that makes companies faster or slower to grow, the importance of nailing your customer messaging so people understand what it is that you do, and her tips for how other founders can stick through the tough times to turn their side projects into successful SaaS businesses.

Show Notes

  1. 3

    I love the conversation around how anyone can be a teacher. You just have to know more than someone else by a level and be really good at communicating your knowledge. That’s what we are doing at LiveLearnings. Thanks for a crumb of validation!

    1. 1

      Thank you, glad we share that sentiment 😀

  2. 3

    Great episode!

    It was particularly interesting hearing about your continued efforts to get your positioning right.

    I'm currently trying to do the same. It's hard when you know why it's good, but have to nail it down to a simple statement that communicates the benefit of everything you've worked so hard to build.

    Did I hear you mention in the interview that you were working on an in-app widget? If so, what is it for?

    1. 2

      Thank you Dave 🙌 Indeed, that one-line positioning statement is so, so hard to nail.

      Yes, we're working hard to launch a new channel — in-app notifications (like those you see all the time, but without chat). E.g. you could send an in-app broadcast to announce a new feature, instead of emailing users about it. Or anything else based on their behavior.

  3. 1

    My favorite part of this interview is the candidness. I wrote more note here https://bhumimakes.com/podnotes-02-making-saas-business-work-ih-145/

  4. 1

    Great interview, super likeable person! If I didnt use intercom, I would def use userlist! :-)

  5. 1

    Half-way through listening, visiting the transcript to dig out the valuable sounding references that I've heard so far. I think the transcript's ‘Rob Roling [ph]’ is Rob Walling of https://robwalling.com and Startups for the Rest of Us.

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    This comment was deleted 3 years ago.

    1. 1

      Thank you Michael 💛