Trial to Paid – SaaS Journeys to $1K MRR and Beyond

Shervin Koushan (AnyTracker): $800 MRR from 10K Freemium Users – Time to Experiment With Pricing?

Rob Morgan — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 12:03:19 +0100

In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Shervin Koushan discusses the development and success of his versatile app, AnyTracker, which allows users to track various metrics from any website. Shervin outlines his guiding principles for creating successful apps and shares how his personal coding journey from high school to studying robotics at university influenced his work. He highlights the app's broad appeal, user growth, and revenue model, while also touching on business challenges and future aspirations. Shervin emphasises the importance of continuous improvement, user feedback, and the potential to tap into new markets. The episode provides valuable insights for aspiring app developers and entrepreneurs.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:16 Guiding Principles for Building Products
01:10 Shervin's Coding Journey
02:52 The Creation of AnyTracker
06:38 How AnyTracker Works
10:49 Market and User Insights
17:59 Business Model and Pricing
18:53 Revenue Insights and Pricing Strategies
19:43 Freemium Model and User Base
21:20 Marketing Efforts and User Acquisition
24:34 Lessons Learned and Future Plans
28:11 Scaling and Monetization Goals
30:31 Partnerships and Team Dynamics
32:03 Balancing Day Job and Side Projects
32:57 Final Thoughts and Advice for Founders

Shervin's Links

AnyTracker: https://anytracker.app
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/shervin-koushan-907917192/
X: https://x.com/koushanshervin
Instagram: https://instagram.com/_shervinkoushan_

Rob's Links

Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan
X: https://x.com/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)

Martin Rue (LangSesh): From Engineering Manager to Purpose-Driven SaaS Nomad

Rob Morgan — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 20:49:10 +0100

In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Rob Morgan welcomes Martin Rue, the founder of LangSesh, to discuss his journey from a lifelong passion for languages and software engineering to creating an innovative language learning tool. Martin shares his guiding principles for building products, the importance of honesty and doing meaningful work, and his unique path as a digital nomad in Southeast Asia. The conversation delves into LangSesh's development, including challenges, technological choices, and the essential feedback loop with users. Martin also emphasises the significance of aligning personal interests with entrepreneurial projects, fostering a fulfilling and sustainable work-life balance. This episode is packed with insights on innovation, user-centered design, and maintaining motivation in the startup world.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction
00:17 Guiding Principles in Product Design
01:06 The Importance of Helping Others
02:31 Building for Yourself and Finding Your Market
03:21 Discussing LangSesh
03:49 Early Coding Journey
08:14 The Fascination with Languages
13:05 Discovering Esperanto
20:03 Entrepreneurial Journey and Side Projects
25:11 Challenges and Lessons Learned
27:46 Transition to Digital Nomad Life
31:49 Cutting Costs and Saving Time: Our Move to Vietnam
33:32 Living Off Savings: The Reality of Our Journey
35:11 The Ups and Downs of Life in Vietnam
39:23 Introducing LangSesh: A New Language Learning Tool
40:34 LangSesh Features and User Experience
43:40 Challenges and Iterations: Improving LangSesh
49:01 The Journey of Building LangSesh
57:45 Validating and Launching LangSesh
01:05:06 Feedback and Iteration
01:06:13 Shipping Updates and Pricing Changes
01:08:09 Challenges and Early Signals
01:10:02 Marketing and Community Engagement
01:14:24 Tech Stack and Development Philosophy
01:19:53 Wins and Learnings
01:26:13 Future Vision and Advice for Founders
01:35:09 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

Martin's Links

LangSesh: https://langsesh.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/martinrue/
X: https://x.com/martinrue

Rob's Links

Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan
X: https://x.com/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)

Jerad Maplethorpe (Hypertxt): From $3K to $2K MRR and Back Again – What I Learned From Churn

Rob Morgan — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 17:08:19 +0100

In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Rob Morgan chats with Jerad Maplethorpe, founder of Hypertxt, an AI-driven SEO article writing tool. Jerad shares his journey from ideating and building projects to focusing on creating profitable businesses. He delves into his guiding principles, his background in writing and web development, and the evolution of Hypertext. The conversation covers the successes and challenges Jerad faced, including targeting the right audience, pricing strategies, and the importance of user feedback. Despite facing hurdles such as churn and shifting user behaviour, Jerad highlights his ongoing passion for building products and his current work on a new tool aimed at simplifying the creation of newsletters. The episode is packed with valuable insights for aspiring founders, especially those interested in bootstrapping and indie hacking.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Welcoming Jerad
00:18 Guiding Principles in Business
01:19 Discussing SaaS Product Hypertext
01:43 Jerad's Background and College Days
03:12 Early Web Development and Projects
05:12 First Successful Product: Narrow
08:11 Challenges and Lessons Learned
09:19 Introduction to Hypertext
10:49 Target Audience and User Experience
23:18 Validation and Market Fit
25:58 Competitors and Market Position
31:27 Business Progress and Future Plans
39:42 Understanding Customer Profiles
40:01 The Benefits of Structured AI Tools
42:10 Challenges in Marketing and Conversion
42:49 Initial Trials and Marketing Strategies
46:38 Building and Iterating the Product
50:39 Tech Stack and Development Insights
52:28 Key Wins and Learning from Failures
01:01:27 Future Plans and Philosophies
01:07:45 Advice for Aspiring Founders

Jerad's Links

Hypertxt: https://hypertxt.ai
NewsletterOps: https://newsletterops.ai
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/maplethorpe/
X: https://x.com/maplethorpej

Rob's Links

Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)

Mo Rassam (LiGo): From "Chief Failure Officer" to $5K MRR Helping B2B Teams Win on LinkedIn With AI

Rob Morgan — Thu, 19 Jun 2025 20:09:05 +0100

In this episode of the Trial to Paid podcast, Rob Morgan chats with Mo Rassam, co-founder of LiGo, about the journey of building and growing AI-powered products and businesses. Mo shares guiding principles that have helped in shaping his career and startups, particularly around leveraging AI for automation and maintaining lean operations.

The conversation touches upon the inception of LiGo, a full-stack LinkedIn automation tool aimed at optimizing LinkedIn content for various user segments like founders, agency owners, and independent consultants. Mo also delves into the evolution of his programming passion, initial coding experiences, and his venture into artificial intelligence and product development.

The episode covers the significance of rapid prototyping, validation processes, SEO strategies using AI, and the challenges of differentiating LiGo in a competitive market. Mo emphasizes the importance of starting early in the tech field, the necessity of building quality products, and effectively leveraging multiple acquisition channels including Medium and Reddit.

Lastly, future aspirations for LiGo and the broader company vision are outlined, providing listeners with valuable insights into startup growth and AI integration.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction

00:14 Guiding Principles in Business

00:55 The Philosophy of AI in Business

02:54 Journey into Coding and Early Career

07:29 Founding Antimatter and Transition to LiGo

10:41 Developing LiGo: Challenges and Strategies

12:51 LiGo's Target Audience and Market Fit

15:58 Product Features and Compliance

24:49 Business Progress and Future Plans

30:26 SEO and User Acquisition Strategies

31:00 Addressing Customer Churn and Product Stickiness

33:24 Paid Acquisition Experiments

35:00 Building the MVP and Team Dynamics

38:55 Effective Marketing Channels

46:12 Challenges with LinkedIn

50:02 Future Goals and Vision

59:00 Advice for Aspiring Founders

Mo's Links

LiGo: https://ligo.ertiqah.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/muhammad-rassam/

Rob's Links

Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)

Bill Yang (Rybbit): From “Too Dumb to Code” to $1.6K in 35 Days

Rob Morgan — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 15:49:31 +0100

In the very first episode of Trial to Paid, Rob Morgan chats with Bill Yang, the indie hacker behind Rybbit — a privacy-focused, open-source web analytics platform that hit $1.6K in revenue just 35 days after launch.

Bill shares how he went from thinking he was “too dumb to code” in high school to building a high-traffic gaming analytics site (1.5M sessions/month) and then leveraging that experience to launch Rybbit. We dive into his origin story, why he chose open source, how he engineered a viral launch with zero ad spend, and what he’s learned along the way — including smart moves like embedding a live demo directly into his landing page.

If you're into indie hacking, open source, or bootstrapping SaaS from scratch, this one’s packed with real talk and tactical insights.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Trial to Paid Podcast

00:21 Guiding Principles for Building Products

03:45 The Journey to Becoming a Coder

12:30 Early Entrepreneurial Ventures

14:24 Building Tomato.gg

19:10 Introducing Rybbit: A Google Analytics Alternative

23:36 Rybbit's Market Position and Competitors

28:18 Differentiating Through Design

29:18 Building the Marketing Site

30:08 Using AI Tools in Development

30:56 Launching the Product

33:10 Technical Stack and Frameworks

35:14 Open Source Strategy

42:50 Marketing and Promotion

50:12 Reflections and Future Plans

57:31 Advice for Aspiring Developers

Bill's Links

Rybbit: https://rybbit.io
Tomato.gg: https://tomato.gg
X: https://x.com/yang_frog
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-yang-/

Rob's Links

Trial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.io
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan

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Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)