Rob Morgan

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.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Welcoming Jerad00:18 Guiding Principles in Business01:19 Discussing SaaS Product Hypertext01:43 Jerad's Background and College Days03:12 Early Web Development and Projects05:12 First Successful Product: Narrow08:11 Challenges and Lessons Learned09:19 Introduction to Hypertext10:49 Target Audience and User Experience23:18 Validation and Market Fit25:58 Competitors and Market Position31:27 Business Progress and Future Plans39:42 Understanding Customer Profiles40:01 The Benefits of Structured AI Tools42:10 Challenges in Marketing and Conversion42:49 Initial Trials and Marketing Strategies46:38 Building and Iterating the Product50:39 Tech Stack and Development Insights52:28 Key Wins and Learning from Failures01:01:27 Future Plans and Philosophies01:07:45 Advice for Aspiring FoundersJerad's LinksHypertxt: https://hypertxt.aiNewsletterOps: https://newsletterops.aiLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/maplethorpe/X: https://x.com/maplethorpej Rob's LinksTrial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.ioLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan-----Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)

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.Chapters00:00 Welcome and Introduction00:14 Guiding Principles in Business00:55 The Philosophy of AI in Business02:54 Journey into Coding and Early Career07:29 Founding Antimatter and Transition to LiGo10:41 Developing LiGo: Challenges and Strategies12:51 LiGo's Target Audience and Market Fit15:58 Product Features and Compliance24:49 Business Progress and Future Plans30:26 SEO and User Acquisition Strategies31:00 Addressing Customer Churn and Product Stickiness33:24 Paid Acquisition Experiments35:00 Building the MVP and Team Dynamics38:55 Effective Marketing Channels46:12 Challenges with LinkedIn50:02 Future Goals and Vision59:00 Advice for Aspiring FoundersMo's LinksLiGo: https://ligo.ertiqah.comLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/muhammad-rassam/Rob's LinksTrial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.ioLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan-----Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)

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.Chapters00:00 Welcome to the Trial to Paid Podcast00:21 Guiding Principles for Building Products03:45 The Journey to Becoming a Coder12:30 Early Entrepreneurial Ventures14:24 Building Tomato.gg19:10 Introducing Rybbit: A Google Analytics Alternative23:36 Rybbit's Market Position and Competitors28:18 Differentiating Through Design29:18 Building the Marketing Site30:08 Using AI Tools in Development30:56 Launching the Product33:10 Technical Stack and Frameworks35:14 Open Source Strategy42:50 Marketing and Promotion50:12 Reflections and Future Plans57:31 Advice for Aspiring DevelopersBill's LinksRybbit: https://rybbit.ioTomato.gg: https://tomato.ggX: https://x.com/yang_frogLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-yang-/Rob's LinksTrial to Paid: https://trialtopaid.ioLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rbdmorgan-----Music: "Nightfall" by OlexandrMusic (https://soundcloud.com/olexandrmusic)