What if charging upfront actually converts better than free trials for your product? Jordan Gal sits down with Ruben Gamez, founder of SignWell and creator of BidSketch, for a tactical deep dive into SaaS fundamentals. Ruben built two successful products despite never finishing high school—a testament to execution over credentials. Should you charge upfront or offer free trials? The duo dissects data from both their companies, revealing counterintuitive truths about friction and conversion. "Everything that added friction... resulted in just more conversions later," Ruben explains about BidSketch, while SignWell required the opposite approach. They explore the grinding reality of competing in crowded markets, Google's AI disruption of SEO traffic, and Ruben's current transition from operator to owner at his 15-person company. Real strategies, zero fluff. How do you make pricing decisions from confidence instead of fear? In This Episode: (00:00) Catching Up with Ruben Gamez (02:34) Homeschooling in Portland: Academic Excellence vs Public School (08:56) From BidSketch to SignWell: The Accidental Pivot (12:22) Ignoring Advice: Why Ruben Built SignWell Anyway (19:46) Google's AI Disruption: The Future of SEO Traffic (26:35) The Friction Paradox: When More Steps Increase Conversions (30:47) Free Trials vs Freemium: What Actually Works (43:11) Making Business Decisions from Confidence Not Fear (46:58) Transitioning from CEO to Owner at SignWell Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Twitter/X: https://x.com/earthlingworks SignWell: https://signwell.com BidSketch: https://bidsketch.com Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Google's Ad-Phishing(00:00:34) - Homeschooling and the Oregon Public School System(00:05:30) - How Homeschool is Working for My Kids(00:05:58) - The Social Life of Wall Street(00:08:38) - Pushing the Right Pillow(00:09:04) - Signwall: The Journey From Bizketch to(00:13:23) - How to Get Customers to Use E-Signatures(00:15:14) - In the Elevator With Elon Musk(00:17:23) - Execution has been a challenge(00:19:10) - Is Google Going AI with Search?(00:24:16) - Is Google's AI-based Search Impact on Sites?(00:28:19) - Free Trials and Paid Upgrades(00:34:40) - Facebook Reconsidering The Reverse Trial(00:39:08) - PayPal's 7-(00:43:23) - How To Build a More Confident Business With Bit Sketch(00:46:53) - SignWall CEO on Transition From CEO to Owner(00:49:41) - Boogie Island
Are you building a business that fits your personality or following someone else's playbook? Jordan Gal hosts Jon Ewalt, founder of Roaster Tools, a comprehensive ERP system built specifically for specialty coffee roasters. After selling his Portland coffee roastery, Jon dove into software development nine years ago and has been "playing catch up" ever since. Now based in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Jon discusses the challenges of building desktop software with long development cycles while prioritizing personal time alongside business growth. How do you balance sustainable business practices with ambitious goals? Jordan and Jon explore the reality of mid-40s entrepreneurship, the value of a tight-knit founder community, and why Jon chose to move his family to Mexico for immersion Spanish education. Their decade-long friendship offers insights into building businesses aligned with your personality rather than chasing hockey stick growth. In This Episode: (00:00) From Coffee Roaster to Software Founder (01:39) Why We Moved Our Families to Different Countries (04:23) The Immigrant Experience and Core Memories (09:30) Launching Too Early: Playing Catch Up for Nine Years (18:45) Building Desktop Software vs Web Apps (25:30) The Founder Mastermind That Predicted Our Paths (33:56) Mid-40s and the Question of What's Next (38:21) Moving Up the Abstraction Layer in Business Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Jon Ewalt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonewalt/ Roaster Tools: https://www.roastertools.com/ Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Off-Site Podcast: The Place of Work(00:00:59) - Living as a Non-American in Mexico(00:06:19) - How To Raise An Immigrant Child(00:09:00) - How to Run a Coffee Company for 10 Years(00:13:03) - Tyler and Jordan on Their Differences(00:18:48) - Top Software Executives: How Do You Manage Your Team(00:25:19) - Roaster Company's Big Features(00:30:53) - Have You Had Any Negative Feedback From Your Partners?(00:33:09) - A Slack Group For Old People(00:38:52) - Have You Reached a Point Where You Can Exit Your Business?(00:39:59) - A Taste of Mexican food
Are you selling AI solutions or business outcomes? (One makes money, one doesn't.) Jordan Gal hosts Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos and an AI content creator deep into his "100 Days of AI" project, alongside Chris Gimmer, co-founder of Fathom Analytics who just launched Good Metrics, a privacy-first analytics platform. Should OpenAI go public at a trillion dollars? The trio debates whether we're witnessing a bubble or the beginning of something bigger. Craig reveals why ChatGPT is "the worst AI tool" for his work—blasphemy or insight? Chris shares the painful decision to delay his launch for months after infrastructure issues. They tackle working from home versus office space, the coming wave of household robots, and why selling AI solutions directly might be the wrong approach. When will you have a robot in your house? In This Episode: (00:00) Music, Mood, and Getting Into Work Mode (06:05) The Work From Home Versus Office Debate (12:32) OpenAI Going Public at a Trillion Dollars (20:09) Craig's 100 Days of AI and Why ChatGPT Isn't the Best (26:29) Chris Launches Good Metrics After Infrastructure Delays (34:56) When Will You Have a Robot in Your House? (35:33) Selling AI Solutions Versus Selling Business Outcomes (42:54) Vibe Running Your Company and Analytics Reality (48:10) Multi-Channel Attribution and Why Data Is Always Fuzzy Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Craig Hewitt - Twitter/X: https://x.com/TheCraigHewitt Chris Gimmer - Twitter/X: https://x.com/cgimmer Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - The Off-Site Podcast(00:00:44) - Off-Site Podcast(00:01:05) - What Kind Of Music Do You Listen To While Working?(00:06:05) - Working From Home(00:10:30) - Have You Really Need An Office?(00:12:32) - OpenAI Is Considering Going Public(00:14:34) - Semiconductor Bubble: Can We Still Ride It?(00:19:45) - ChatGPT: The Worst AI Tool in the Market(00:22:15) - ChatGPT vs. Google Sheets: The Race for AI(00:25:13) - Clickhouse's Early-Access Launch(00:26:32) - Facebook to Offer Early Access to its Website(00:27:39) - Rosie: Do We Just Launch the Product?(00:32:47) - Startups: First Impressions(00:34:56) - Are You Ready for Your Robot Home?(00:35:29) - Chris: Should I Do a Case Study on AI Agents?(00:41:11) - Will Businesses Integrate AI Into Their Analytics?(00:48:10) - How To Tell Where New Customers Are Coming From?
Could sharing your most shameful moment actually accelerate your career? Jordan Gal teams up with fellow entrepreneurs to discuss work and life beyond business. In this episode, Jordan sits down with returning guest Christian Genco,a software engineer and entrepreneur navigating the challenges of scaling products while maintaining focus. Christian recently welcomed his second child and shares insights on balancing creative work with reactive demands. What's the real cost of constant interruptions on engineering productivity? The conversation explores vulnerability as a business asset, the concept of "Sanskara" (emotional wounds from Sanskrit that block growth), and practical strategies from 37signals' Shape Up methodology. Christian opens up about getting fired from a startup and how sharing that vulnerability created unexpected opportunities. Can founders really separate engineering focus from customer chaos? In This Episode: (00:00) How Sharing Shame Creates Unexpected Business Opportunities (05:48) Christian Announces His Second Child (13:52) The Creative Satisfaction Problem in Business (24:52) Managing Reactive Engineering vs Deep Creative Work (42:19) Founder Intentions and Life Philosophy Beyond Money (56:22) The Engineering Productivity Challenge Every Startup Faces (59:37) 37signals' Approach to Protecting Engineering Focus Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Christian Genco X: https://x.com/cgenco 37signals (company) - basecamp.comRosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Off-Site Podcast(00:01:52) - Why I Talk About My Mistakes on My Podcast(00:05:48) - Baby Luca's First Birthday(00:08:39) - What Do You Need To Know For A 3-Year-Old(00:10:54) - Has Having a Baby Impact Your Worklife?(00:14:40) - Sponsoring an AI startup(00:15:05) - How to Focus On Work and Family(00:16:50) - "You Ruined My Wedding!"(00:18:46) - How to Stop Reacting to Customer Support Emails(00:23:51) - Patrick Collison on His Personal(00:28:28) - The Secret to A Nice House(00:31:10) - How to Let Go Of Envy(00:34:47) - "I Can't Control My Own Life"(00:38:12) - The Lean Startup on Postmortem(00:42:42) - A Boss Had a Fight With His Employee Over Communication(00:47:32) - How To Deal With Conflict In Your Relationship(00:51:03) - How to Manage Expectations in the Software Development Process(00:56:30) - How to Manage a Non-Technical Team(00:59:37) - Software Development: The Hill Chart
Could a single technical person who enjoys talking to customers really build a ten million dollar business alone? Host Jordan Gal sits down with Jesse Hanley, founder of Bento, an email marketing platform, for an exploration of contrasting entrepreneurial approaches. Jesse operates solo from Fukuoka, Japan, building Bento into a single-digit-millions business through patience and deliberate choices. What drives a founder to stay lean while his company scales? The conversation traces back to 2012 when Jordan first met Jesse during his supplement store days, revealing how both founders evolved from those scrappy beginnings. They dissect everything from the arbitrage of living abroad to managing investor expectations versus staying bootstrap. Jesse's commitment to doing support on Twitter after years in business isn't masochism—it's strategy. In This Episode: (00:00) How Jordan and Jesse First Connected in 2012 (08:41) Why 2015 Was a Unique Era for Building Products (10:18) Building Bento Through Grief and Finding Focus (13:15) The Reality of Living and Working in Japan (16:04) Customer Support as Long-Term Reputation Building (24:07) Living Without Financial Goals or Ambition (29:00) The Evolving Email Marketing Landscape (42:29) Staying Solo While Scaling to Millions Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Jesse Hanley: https://x.com/jessethanley Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/ Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Crazy Start to Cardhook(00:04:04) - Ron Wright on The Right to Travel(00:04:24) - Cardhook on Full-Page Payout(00:05:55) - In the Elevator of the 2015s(00:08:41) - In the Elevator With Bento(00:10:49) - Living in Japan(00:13:45) - The Patience of a Startup Founder(00:19:55) - How to Live a Happy Life(00:20:13) - How Much of an Impact Does Your Environment Have on You?(00:23:56) - Bento CEO on Working On His Own Email(00:29:07) - Marketing and Email: The Future of Email(00:34:39) - Have you considered doing letter drops?(00:36:05) - Where's the Company's Growth Coming From?(00:40:47) - The Paying Channel Challenge(00:42:13) - Bento on the Challenges(00:46:59) - Rosie Is to Mailchimp as Klaviyo Is(00:50:16) - What is your day to day?(00:52:31) - On Managing the Company(00:55:19) - Ideas for hiring a full-time employee(01:00:19) - How To Build a Software Company With Just One Person(01:03:10) - Six is a great team size for startups(01:08:10) - Bento on Managing Investor Expectations(01:13:40) - In the Elevator With Steve Jobs(01:14:03) - Priority Stack vs Valuation(01:19:47) - Catching up with Steve Jobs
What price are entrepreneurs willing to pay for presence? Jordan Gal, founder and host of Offsite, reconnects with Henry Poydar, CEO of Steady, to discuss the personal and professional transitions of being an empty nester entrepreneur. Henry, who recently dropped off his twin boys at college, reflects on the emotional journey while pivoting Steady from a per-user pricing model to team-based pricing for their AI copilot for teamwork. "You get 18 summers with your kids, and then it's over," Henry shares about the transition. The conversation explores how both founders chose entrepreneurship precisely for family flexibility, with Jordan questioning whether true work-life balance exists or if it's about accepting trade-offs. In This Episode: (00:00) Empty Nester Entrepreneur Reality (05:53) The Entrepreneurial Path to Family Balance (08:25) Trading Career Greatness for Presence (12:05) Rosie's Seven-Day Trial Strategy Shift (18:36) The Psychology of Phone Coverage (25:21) Steady's Team-Based Pricing Revolution (33:04) Building Customer Advisory Relationships (42:59) Pilots vs Trials in Enterprise Sales (54:02) SimpliSafe Marketing Masterclass Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Henry Poydar Twitter: https://x.com/henrypoydar Steady AI: https://steady.app Tiny Seed accelerator: https://tinyseed.com MicroConf conference: https://microconf.com Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/ Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Off-Site Podcast: When You Should Have Started a Business(00:00:45) - Steve Jobs on Working in the Summer(00:01:33) - On The Drop Off of Kids(00:04:25) - Coming soon: The Balance Between Work and Family(00:08:31) - How We're Redoing Our Minutes Onboarding(00:13:46) - The Secret to Good Trials(00:15:29) - The Value of Out-Of-Office Training(00:18:44) - How to Start a Business With a Baby(00:20:39) - Management Persona 6: Stories for Collaboration(00:25:22) - Reasons We're Optimizing Pricing(00:31:31) - What Is the Leverage of Your Business?(00:35:27) - Are You Still Using Agents in Your Sales?(00:37:32) - The Percentage of AI Pilots Are Failing(00:39:17) - What is an AI Agent?(00:40:46) - Pilots: The Need to Connect With Your Team(00:44:40) - Initiating AI in the Workforce(00:47:45) - Reaching Out to Your Customers(00:52:28) - How to Build a Million-Revenue Startup with a Marketing Plan(00:57:05) - Separation of Marketing and Integrations
Are you still hiring humans when AI could 10x your output for a fraction of the cost?Jordan Gal hosts entrepreneur Christian Genco on the Offsite podcast, where they dive deep into optimizing personal performance for business success. Christian, a solo developer building File Inbox, shares his recent breakthrough with sleep onset insomnia through a carefully crafted supplement cocktail including melatonin and creatine. "I can create these tools now where I'm hunting," Christian explains about his transition from managing human teams to leveraging AI agents for development work. The conversation explores how small, nimble companies can demand extreme leverage through AI while legacy Fortune 100 companies struggle with outdated processes. How do entrepreneurs maintain focus during chaotic news cycles while building sanctuary spaces for meaningful work? In This Episode: (00:00) Sleep Onset Insomnia and Supplement Solutions (08:54) Creating Human Movement in Digital Work (12:00) Managing News Cycles and Mental Health (18:11) Building Work Sanctuary Spaces (24:43) Team Dynamics and Growth Velocity (34:03) AI Replacing Traditional Business Teams (46:09) Demanding Extreme Leverage from AI Tools (50:20) Direct Outreach Strategy for Competitor Customers Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources:Christian Genco: https://x.com/cgencoJordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Small Business Offsite: A Legacy Company vs. a Small Business(00:00:57) - How To Pronounce Christian's Last Name(00:01:31) - A string of good days for Andy(00:01:54) - Sleep Quality Improvement(00:06:38) - Workaholics on a Desk(00:11:49) - How Do You Contain The News Cycle(00:16:14) - Work Is a Sanctuary for Political Discussions(00:20:35) - Philosophically, The Separate spheres(00:24:36) - Feeling more involved in the company's culture(00:28:40) - WSJD Live: Revenue growth is lagging(00:34:44) - Tim Ferriss on His Team(00:35:08) - How to Manage People On a Solo Company(00:44:33) - How to Build a Virtual Sales Team(00:50:08) - How To Design a Lead List for Wetransfer(00:56:41) - How to Find the Right Message for Your Customers(01:00:17) - How to Build a Strategic Survey(01:03:41) - Should You Be Able To Carry A Concealed Pistol?(01:05:59) - Happy Holidays!
Jordan Gal hosts Craig Hewitt, founder of Castos, in a raw conversation about entrepreneurial stress and competition. Craig's deep expertise in podcasting and YouTube content creation shines as he shares his "100 Days of AI" experiment—publishing daily videos to build authority in the AI space. The discussion reveals how both founders are pivoting from traditional SaaS playbooks toward distribution-first strategies. "The most important thing on YouTube is the packaging," Craig explains, detailing his shift from $19/month models to higher-value consulting. They explore AI tools like Manus for scaling outreach and debate whether conventional marketing still works. How do you compete when everyone has access to the same AI tools? In This Episode: (00:00) Better Than Yesterday But Still Stressed (04:10) The Great Lock-In of September to December 2025 (08:57) Email Marketing Project with Mark Thomas (15:46) YouTube Strategy and the 100 Days of AI Experiment (26:10) Confronting the Reality of AI Competition (36:05) Building Integrations in Hours with Claude Agents (46:01) The Opportunity in Corporate AI Training (53:20) Positioning for the Coming Job Market Disruption Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Craig Hewitt: https://x.com/TheCraigHewitt Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/ Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - The most important thing on YouTube(00:00:20) - Off-Site Podcast: How To Get Out Of Recession(00:03:20) - What is it about stress in the year?(00:06:09) - Summer Business: Will It Slow Down?(00:08:25) - How to Send More Emails(00:12:13) - How To Avoid Legal Issues With Text Messages(00:14:25) - How to Do a Podcast and a Video Every Day(00:18:17) - How To Make a Video on YouTube(00:20:59) - How to Make a Scriptment on Screen(00:22:04) - Jordan on Making His Own Ad(00:24:00) - The Competition in AI Voice(00:29:17) - How to Get More Out of Content Marketing than B2C Marketing(00:31:36) - How to Cheat at AI-based Deals(00:33:50) - Kastos Integrations: The Right Partner for AI?(00:39:14) - Onboarding and the Drop Off Points(00:40:57) - A Hundred Day Project: Building an Audience(00:42:20) - B2B AI Training(00:46:34) - The Future of Small Law Firms(00:49:19) - How to Build a Billion-Dollar Business With AI
Should you build your audience before you build your product? Jordan Gal reconnects with Brian Casel for their first Bootstrapped Web reunion in eight months, diving deep into the realities of scaling SaaS businesses. Jordan shares Rosie's rapid growth to $1M ARR in eight months, followed by painful plateau challenges when advertising optimization went wrong. "Bad data is worse than no data," he reflects on lessons learned from over-relying on analytics. Brian discusses his pivot to Builder Methods, a creator-first approach focusing on building with AI, growing his YouTube channel from 2,000 to 12,000 subscribers. How do you balance YouTube content creation with monetization? Both founders explore the tension between data-driven decisions and gut instincts while building sustainable, profitable businesses. In This Episode: (00:00) Catching Up After Eight Months Apart (05:33) Croatia Travel and European Vacation Wisdom (10:31) Mixed Results and Growth Challenges in 2025 (16:00) When Advertising Data Leads You Astray (25:05) The Creator-First Approach to Building Business (35:15) YouTube Growth from 2,000 to 12,000 Subscribers (46:50) Finding Product-Market Fit Through Customer Stories (58:19) Surveys and Data Collection Strategies Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Brian Casel: https://x.com/CasJam Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/ Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Off-Site Podcast(00:00:44) - Bootstrapped Web: REQUEST FOR REQUEST!!(00:01:54) - Summer Fun: Margate, New Jersey(00:03:41) - Did You Guys Chase C crabs on the Beach?(00:04:38) - How's the summer going?(00:05:32) - A Girl's First Vacation(00:09:50) - How We're Feeling About 2019(00:16:20) - How To Manage the Sales funnel(00:18:52) - Post-Holidays Thoughts(00:21:00) - Building a Business with AI on YouTube(00:28:09) - Bobbie Methods: Future of Courses and Sessions(00:35:25) - How to Build a Startup with a Payload(00:42:23) - Reasons We Should Stop Advertising(00:47:59) - AI Voice for Oil Changes(00:53:51) - For Businesses, No Apps for Your Phone(00:54:26) - Lessons on How to Build with AI(01:01:50) - Rosie's New Homepage
Is the "bootstrap or die" mentality actually killing your business growth potential? Jordan Gal hosts entrepreneur Jesse Schoberg, co-founder of Drop-In Blog, a headless blogging platform that seamlessly integrates blogs into existing websites. Jesse, a nomadic founder currently between Bangkok and Europe, shares his journey from bootstrap mentality to embracing enterprise sales. After hitting a growth plateau at seven figures, Drop-In Blog pivoted their positioning and hired full-time marketing staff in Eastern Europe. "After a plateau for about a year, all of a sudden doing a demo doesn't sound so bad," Jesse admits, about his evolution from credit-cards-only to enterprise contracts. The conversation explores remote team building, the global talent arbitrage, and how Jesse discovered AI-powered SEO as their hook for LinkedIn growth. How do founders know when it's time to abandon their original playbook? In This Episode: (00:00) Mark Zuckerberg Yacht Dreams and Global Nomad Life (02:38) Building Remote Teams in Eastern Europe vs America (06:38) The White Collar Manufacturing Revolution (14:34) Drop-In Blog Business Model and 10-Year Journey (25:02) Hitting the Seven Figure Growth Plateau (31:02) The Integrations Game and Partnership Strategy (39:05) Board Meetings and Business Accountability Systems (50:03) From Bootstrap Mentality to Enterprise Sales (55:21) AI SEO Strategy and Getting Mentioned by ChatGPT Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Jesse Schoberg: https://x.com/JesseSchoberg Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/ Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Off-Site Podcast(00:00:53) - Mark Zuckerberg In The Dream(00:02:15) - Summer Vacation: Where Are You Working?(00:02:53) - How to grow a team in Eastern Europe(00:09:24) - How to start a support team in the Philippines or Latin America(00:13:00) - Drop in Blog: How long have you been doing it?(00:14:18) - The New Shopify Homepage(00:18:38) - How to make a Framer site in 2 Minutes(00:23:04) - Reveal: We're Experimenting With Enterprise Channels(00:28:52) - How to Integrate with a Website Platform(00:31:02) - IBM on AI Voice Integrations(00:37:39) - Jesse Hanley on His New DM(00:39:07) - Getting Back on the Board(00:41:25) - What Happened at the Oracle Board Meeting(00:43:00) - Have You Had To Make Changes At Your Company?(00:44:56) - Let's Push the Website Live!(00:50:37) - How to get mentioned in AI on LinkedIn(00:56:15) - How to Stay Remarkably relevant in an AI World(00:58:49) - Jesse on Riffing With Kendrick
What happens when you achieve your goal but lose your purpose?Jordan Gal sits down with his brother Assaf just two weeks after Assaf closed the sale of his six-location Crunch Fitness franchise empire. After 13 years building a 200-employee operation across Brooklyn, Bronx, and Queens, Assaf shares the emotional reality of transitioning from entrepreneurship to uncertainty. "Every day when you have a thing, you have a North Star, you have a purpose," Assaf reflects. "And now it feels like there's nothing." The conversation explores the ten-month deal process, the weight of managing 200 employees, and the challenge of finding what's next. What does freedom actually feel like when you've spent over a decade grinding? How do you process relief, guilt, and the search for new purpose? In This Episode: (00:00) The Business Sale That Just Closed Two Weeks Ago (09:57) From Relief to Emotional Goodbye with 200 Employees (14:17) Why Some Exits Don't Feel Like Going to Disneyland (19:44) The Invisible Hand of Capital and Which Game You're Playing (26:41) Airplanes, Perspective, and Seeing the Bigger Picture (36:49) The Ocean of Capital That Needs to Find Returns (45:44) Why Everything Has Warts and Nothing Is Perfect (48:18) Italy, Tuscany, and Deciding Not to Be in the Race Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources:LinkedIn: Assaf Gal https://www.linkedin.com/in/assafgal/ Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - The Search for Destiny(00:00:21) - Off-Site Podcast(00:01:02) - An Entrepreneur Discusses His Exit(00:03:05) - How a Franchisee Became a Crunch Fitness Franchisee(00:04:31) - In the Elevator With Entrepreneurs(00:07:07) - Have You Got What it Takes to Become a Franchisee?(00:09:53) - The Pain of a Deal(00:11:15) - Why I Didn't Share My Exit With Anyone(00:16:18) - Want to Start a Business? Here You Are(00:18:34) - What about the Crunch Fitness Franchise?(00:22:36) - Allergic to my scar tissue(00:23:14) - Do You Think You Know the Future?(00:28:26) - Flying Business on a Plane(00:31:02) - In the Elevator With Adam Smith(00:32:26) - Franchisee Incentives: Aligning With Management(00:35:27) - Steve Jobs on Venture Capital and Software(00:41:49) - Ideas for Expansion(00:45:37) - Israel Football Player on the World(00:49:31) - Jon Favreau on His Time Off(00:51:17) - A Week On Vacation With The Team
Is the era of grinding and hustling finally over for smart founders?Jordan Gal hosts fellow entrepreneur Christian Genco in this candid conversation about the "two wolves" battling inside every founder. Genco, creator of File Inbox and seasoned bootstrapper, brings 12+ years of SaaS experience to discuss the eternal tension between "enough" wealth versus relentless growth. Both founders dig into their personal motivations, from Gal's immigrant drive to "slay the dragon" to Genco's struggle between minimalist philosophy and capitalist ambition. What drives someone to want "millions of dollars post-tax in a personal bank account"? How do you balance family life with business obsession? The conversation reveals the raw psychology behind entrepreneurial success and the frameworks top founders use to navigate major decisions. In This Episode: (00:00) The Two Wolves Inside Every Entrepreneur (13:00) Shoveling Coal vs Strategic Thinking (23:00) How Fatherhood Changes Business Ambition (31:00) File Inbox: The 12-Year Dragon Hunt (44:00) AI Revolution in Marketing and Automation (52:00) The Era of the Idea Guy (59:00) Zuckerberg's Hundred Million Dollar Chess Game Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Christian Genco: https://x.com/cgenco File Inbox: fileinbox.com Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Off-Site Podcast: The American Wolf(00:00:41) - Christian Genko on The First Time He Met Jordan(00:01:26) - In the Elevator With Carthook(00:04:39) - Why Do I Need a Million-Dollar Budget?(00:10:21) - The Workaholic's Challenge(00:14:12) - Pushing a Direction Change(00:18:49) - Have You Learned to Find Time for Yourself?(00:22:59) - How to Limit Yourself to Limited Focus(00:27:43) - Having a Team at Work(00:31:06) - Slack's Ad Spending Slow Down(00:35:50) - How Much Advertising Should We Spend?(00:40:12) - Should You Diversify Into Other Channels?(00:41:23) - The Bullseye Method for Going To Market(00:44:30) - Go to Market: The Claude Model(00:50:27) - The Future of SaaS Is in the Ideas(00:52:52) - Zuckerberg's OpenAI Battle(00:59:20) - Facebook's Next Evolving Paradigm(01:02:07) - Drop In: File Inbox(01:02:44) - Offsite: Where Everything Clicks
What's the real reason traditional SEO and content marketing are dead? Jordan chats with Chris Gimmer, who's bootstrapping GoodMetrics.io and co-founded Snappa.com, and Craig Hewitt, CEO of Castos podcasting platform, about the current state of customer acquisition. Gimmer explains building Good Metrics as an alternative to Google Analytics, while Hewitt reveals how hiring marketer Mark Thomas increased trials by 30%. The conversation digs into AI's impact on marketing automation, with Gimmer noting that Python scripts can identify potential customers on Twitter and Reddit. "Nothing is working for us" in terms of new acquisition channels, admits Hewitt. How are seasoned entrepreneurs adapting their strategies when traditional marketing playbooks fail? The trio also discusses AI-powered SEO strategies and the challenges of scaling beyond paid advertising in today's saturated market. In This Episode: (00:00) Welcome and Introductions - What Are You Working On? (01:16) Chris Gimmer's Good Metrics Beta Launch Journey (03:11) Craig Hewitt's 30% Trial Increase with Strategic Marketing (05:20) The Future of AI SEO and Content Distribution (12:41) Why Nothing Works in Customer Acquisition Anymore (24:04) Vibe Coding and AI Automation for Lead Generation (40:04) The Reality of Building Without Traditional Channels (50:35) Parenting as Entrepreneur Fathers - Travel and Life Balance Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Christopher Gimmer: https://x.com/cgimmer Craig Hewitt: https://x.com/TheCraigHewitt Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/ Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Chapters (00:00:00) - Off-Site Podcast(00:01:05) - What Are You Up To?(00:01:59) - Good Metrics: Complex Products Worth Building(00:03:11) - Mark Thomas on How To Boost Startup Marketing(00:04:51) - Is AI SEO Even Worth Its Name?(00:07:28) - Top of the Filament Content Is Dead in AI SEO(00:10:55) - ChatGPT, Meta, and(00:13:53) - How to Get People to Pay for Your Startup(00:15:05) - Top of the Funnel vs. Bottom of the Filament(00:18:22) - How To Get 100% Attribution From Your Analytics Tool(00:23:49) - Vibe Coding: Will AI Affect Your Job?(00:26:17) - How AI Is Affecting the Workflow of Our Team(00:29:51) - How to Come Up With Ideas for the Company(00:36:03) - Do We Need a New 'Influencer' Strategy?(00:37:18) - In the Elevator With Chris Snappa(00:39:19) - We're In A Place Where Nothing Works(00:41:35) - How to Market to Facebook, Twitter, and Google Analytics(00:43:50) - Paid Acquisition: Should We Stay in or Exit?(00:49:49) - Facebook Live: Investing in Bitcoin(00:50:35) - How to Travel With a Child(00:51:42) - How Active Do You Think About Parenting?(00:56:30) - Should I Homeschool or Go to Public School?(00:59:36) - PODCAST: The Friendships(01:00:14) - Dietrich
What if the greatest human technology isn't AI or the internet, but something much simpler?Host Jordan Gal welcomes serial entrepreneur Henry Poydar, founder and CEO of Steady, an AI-powered coordination intelligence platform. Henry has had extensive experience with multiple exits and backing from notable investors, including the founder of Red Hat. The conversation explores Henry's philosophy that "the greatest human technology is a story" and his belief that authentic storytelling must never drift between personal, investor, and sales narratives. What makes storytelling so crucial for entrepreneurs? How do you maintain authenticity while scaling your message? The discussion spans personal reflections on parenting and family dynamics to deep dives into AI pricing models, competitive positioning, and the challenges of category creation. Henry shares insights on building high-performing remote teams through trust, shared context, and balanced autonomy. Topics include the evolution of San Francisco's tech culture, the tension between outcome-based versus user-based pricing in AI, and concerns about career paths in an increasingly automated world. Jordan and Henry examine how middle children develop natural storytelling abilities and debate the future impact of AI on entry-level careers. In This Episode: (00:00) The Greatest Human Technology Is A Story (12:42) San Francisco's Tech Culture Transformation (20:24) Competing Like New York Bankers in Silicon Valley (28:23) Where Are You in Your Storytelling Journey (35:03) Creating Shared Context for Remote Teams (43:01) Middle Child Dynamics and Natural Storytelling (50:16) Pricing Challenges in the AI Era (57:40) Labor Replacement and the Future of Careers (1:01:40) Learning to Think vs Rote Memorization (1:03:17) This Is Water and Reaching for the Stars Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast, where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Henry Poydar: https://x.com/henrypoydarSteady: Chapters (00:00:00) - Off-Site Podcast(00:00:49) - How To Parent Your Teenage Son On The Last Day of School(00:05:35) - What Parents Need You To Know About Parenting(00:09:09) - What Makes a Family Camp?(00:12:29) - Good Goals, Good Reasons to Work Hard(00:12:42) - San Francisco(00:14:54) - Having just relocated from New York to San Francisco,(00:18:39) - Living in San Francisco vs. New York(00:24:25) - The Hard Job of Running an AI Startup(00:27:19) - Amazon's Alexa: The Voice Competitor(00:27:47) - In the Elevator With Elon(00:31:35) - Tell a Crazy Story(00:35:46) - Tell a Story With Your Work(00:37:42) - Tellers on Accountability and autonomy(00:41:55) - How to Manage a Middle Child(00:47:50) - In the Elevator With Rich People(00:49:44) - What are you working on right now?(00:52:57) - Pricing for Website Software(00:54:58) - Is AI Threatening Your Workflow?(01:01:37) - The early part of the developer career(01:05:05) - Amino on Twitter
How do you balance honesty with effective marketing in 2025? Welcome to the inaugural episode of the Offsite podcast. Host Jordan Gal, founder of Rosie AI, teams up with seasoned entrepreneurs Rob Walling and Aaron Francis for our first episode. Rob Walling, founder of TinySeed and host of Startups for the Rest of Us, brings 15 years of podcasting experience and deep SaaS expertise. Aaron Francis runs Try Hard Studios and co-hosts Mostly Technical, focusing on screencast education and course creation. Both guests offer contrasting perspectives on building sustainable businesses - Rob through his venture fund and content empire, Aaron through his personality-driven education business. The trio dives deep into the realities of running different business models, from Jordan's VC-backed growth strategy to Aaron's bootstrapped course business to Rob's venture fund operations. They explore the psychological challenges of founder life, including comparison traps and social media facades. "What I find myself and others like yourselves is that it does hold us back in our marketing because we are too shy, too real, too careful," Jordan observes. How do successful entrepreneurs balance authenticity with effective marketing? What's the real difference between income-focused and outcome-focused business strategies? In This Episode: (00:00) Welcome to the Offsite Podcast (01:13) How Rob Walling Helped Jordan Break Into Tech (06:14) What Rob and Aaron Are Working on This Week (14:18) The Psychology of Comparison and Competition (21:57) Why Authenticity Can Hold Back Your Marketing (24:49) Jordan's Board Meeting Experience as a VC-Backed Founder (32:04) The Challenge of Running Non-SaaS Business Models (38:31) How to Make a Podcast Good - Expert Advice Share with someone who would benefit, like and subscribe to hear all of our future episodes! About the Show Jordan Gal, founder and CEO of Rosie AI, hosts the Offsite Podcast where he teams up with rotating entrepreneur friends to explore what's happening in their work and beyond. After successfully building and selling CartHook, Jordan now leads a VC-backed company while sharing candid insights about the realities of startup life. The show combines real-time business updates with deeper conversations about founder psychology, growth strategies, and the personal side of entrepreneurship that rarely gets discussed publicly. Resources: Rob: https://x.com/robwalling Aaron: https://x.com/aarondfrancis Jordan Gal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordangal/ Rosie AI: https://heyrosie.com/ Startups for the Rest of Us Podcast (Rob Walling) Mostly Technical Podcast (Aaron Francis & Ian Landsman) Chapters (00:00:00) - Off Site Podcast: Being Candid in Your Marketing(00:01:42) - Aaron Rubin on How To Make His Podcast Good(00:05:52) - What Are You Working On This Week?(00:06:14) - Kevin Wagstaff Bootstrapped a Startup, Then Sold 49%(00:08:11) - Seven Startup Ideas I Would Never Build(00:10:16) - "My Job Is... Podcasting."(00:11:55) - Teaching at Try Hard Studios(00:17:26) - In the Elevator With Rob and Anar(00:21:18) - Facebook's CEO: The $3 Billion(00:21:57) - Bootstrappers: Too Shy, Too Real for Marketing(00:24:44) - Don't Attend Board Meetings(00:27:34) - Tiny Seed Board Meetings(00:33:40) - MicroConf CEO on the Future of the Business(00:38:28) - How to Make a Podcast Good(00:43:10) - No More Updates on Startups(00:46:40) - Does It Hurt to Talk About Your Business?(00:47:17) - On Aaron and Jordan's Disclosures