Justin Jackson

Brian is wondering: how do you manage a popular open source project? Justin went to Toronto and introduced his son to Adam Wathan, Wes Bos, Steve Schoger, and Caleb Porzio. Why does the same amount of effort produce wildly different results? And... is everyone getting tired of all this copycat content that's optimized for algorithms?  Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Sam Sulek YouTube Channel Builder Methods Workshop Justin’s Toronto Hangout Marketing is a Transfer of Enthusiasm Agent OS GitHub Project Open Source Contribution Guidelines (Litestream) 37signals Book Royalties Revenue Effort vs Outcome Blog Post 1,000 True Fans Omarchy 2.0 Wes Bos Downie - YouTube Video Downloader for macOS

Justin's been using Stripe Sigma to learn a lot more about the history of revenue at Transistor. He had a phone call with Jason Cohen about how to get what you want out of your business. And Brian talks through the same frameworks to figure out what might work best for Builder Methods including exploration of courses, cohorts, community, and more. Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Jason Cohen: About the author Mostly Technical ChartMogul | CRM & Subscription Analytics built for B2B SaaS growth Message from Paddle Kit: Email-First Operating System for Creators (formerly ConvertKit) Build Your SaaS | The “charge more” debate Average Podcast Downloads: Podcast Measurement and Growth Finding Fulfillment Agent OS | A free open-source system to train smart AI coding agents The PULL framework - by Rob Snyder Jay Clouse - Creator Science Learn Laravel | Laracasts Wes Bos Learn Ruby on Rails | GoRails

Justin is wondering whether AI customer support is worth it. Brian is navigating the emotional rollercoaster of YouTube. He's wondering whether he should pursue sponsorships as a revenue stream. Brian introduces Agent OS, a new development tool designed to streamline coding processes when working with AI tooling (which got a big reaction during the live stream). Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Bento Transistor’s new customer service page Agent OS Agent OS on GitHub Brian’s YouTube Colin and Samir interview by Jay Clouse Colin and Samir Jay Clouse’s revenue breakdown Wes Bos Syntax.fm

AI and programming is a hot topic, and it feels like Brian⁩ has found that "founder/audience" fit where his interests align with a wave of audience interest. He and Justin discuss their process for making YouTube videos. Justin also asks: "how do we ensure that our worst tendencies don’t bloom" when we're making products? (Founder retreats and masterminds come up). The big topic: Brian's not loving SaaS (anymore). Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company Builder Methods The Panel Podcast (@panelpodcast.com) | TikTok Descript: Edit Videos & Podcasts Like a Doc | AI Video Editor DaVinci Resolve | Blackmagic Design Dithering Daring Fireball Shawn Blanc: Focus Like a Boss calf + clover creamery Daniel Pink Tally Profit First - Mike Michalowicz Mike Michalowicz – How the author of Profit First stays lean by licensing his ideas Apple in China Justin’s BlueSky post on Steve Jobs The Pull Framework Bowling drawing Marketing help for programmers, software companies, and SaaS Checklist idea for marketing page Profit first professionals

It's Justin's turn in the hot seat to talk about what he's got in his buckets: which projects make the most money? Which take the most time? Where is he focused on breaking new ground? How does Transistor, The Podcast Standards Projects, and other projects he's got going all fit together? Plus: what kind of grit, desire, and resilience do you need to actually build a company that works? Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Illustration: Justin's buckets Instrumental Components - Brian's new product Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company Builder Methods Instrumental Components HEY – A delightfully fresh take on email + calendar, from 37signals Superhuman | The most productive email app ever made Shortwave | Download Readwise Podcast Standards Project | Advocating for open podcasting ProjectionLab - Modern Financial & Retirement Planning Tools Tiny | We buy wonderful businesses Going independent (2016 year in review) Here are some other podcasts we like For next week: Andrew Wilkinson's tweet about AI

Brian Casel shares a first look at BuilderMethods.com. Brian dig into how he's going to grow an email list from scratch, and we had a great chat about what makes an email newsletter awesome. The bulk of our chat was about honestly assessing the resources, time, and energy Brian is putting into each project, and how much revenue each project is producing. (Check out Justin's diagram here) Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Instrumental Components - Brian's new product Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company Builder Methods Instrumental Components Audience Ops Justin’s “Bob Ross” strategy diagram Marketing for Devs Curated Mailbrew A Book Apart Web framework popularity Hitenism Aaron Francis Newsletter Tangle Product market fit collapse Why Justin pivoted businesses in 2018

Brian's walking through the new website and idea he's launching and getting Justin's feedback on what he thinks will work and what could use refining, the struggle of creating video content in 2025, keeping course content fresh, whether another podcast is the best use of time, and whether targeting junior or professional software developers is the best route to go. Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Instrumental Components - Brian's new product Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company Amazon S3 Mux HTTP Live Streaming Delivering 15TB of 4K video with Cloudflare R2 for $2.18 How About Tomorrow? Cloudflare Stream FFmpeg How Vibe Coding Goes PRO buildermethods.com Descript ScreenFlow Telestream Blog Stephen Robles Mostly Technical CRUSH Your Backlog With Background Agents in Cursor No, AI Won’t Turn Everyone Into App Developers

Big episode! Brian shares the results of his launch of Instrumental Components (sales numbers, and how he's feeling). He also talks about his next project: helping devs and teams navigate how to use AI in software development and design. This episode was recorded live, with tons of folks joining us in the "panel" chat. Adam Wathan ended up joining us last-minute to talk about how he's changed is mind on AI and coding, and how AI is affecting Tailwind's business. Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Instrumental Components - Brian's new product Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company Integrate Open AI and Anthropic APIs into your Rails applications (video) Rob Walling's Stair Step approach Vercel's new V0 AI tool Thorsten Ball's article: How to build an agent Mostly Technical | 85: Screencasting.com Launch Failure The Steve Ballmer Interview: The Complete History and Strategy TaskMaster AI Solutions Claude Code Overview AI Video Editor Figma AI Creativity Rand Fishkin on Marketing

Justin just got back from a big trip to London UK for the podcast industry conference, and honestly, it's got him thinking about some big thoughts about the podcasting medium. This episode starts out with an honest chat between Brian and Justin: 'How are you feeling about the podcast so far?' Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode The Podcast Show Instrumental Components - Brian's new product Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company

Justin and Brian talk about how Brian's launch for Instrumental Components went. "Some things are way harder now that I'm older." Brian describes some of the technical challenges faced during the launch. There's also a meaty section about how much AI to use in software development (and how Brian uses it). At the end, Justin provides some feedback on Brian's pricing and marketing strategy. Timestamps: Tell us what you think! 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Aaron Francis' tweet Adam Wathan How About Tomorrow? The REWORK Podcast Replit Statamic Gravity Forms Tailwind UI Components Radical Design Course Instrumental Components - Brian's new product Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company

Justin is wrestling with strategic decisions for Transistor after hitting his initial "success goal," while Brian is two weeks away from launching a new Rails components product and grappling with how to reach his target audience. Timestamps: Tell us what you think! 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Podcast Movement: The World’s Largest Podcasting Community | Events, Resources & More! Justin Jackson – SaaS, bootstrapping, marketing Jordan Gal Voice AI Marketing Automation Customer Engagement Email-First OS AI Video Editing AI Code Editor .NET & JavaScript Libraries Instrumental Products - Brian's company Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company

Jordan Gal is breaking the mold with his new startup Rosie. He's targeting non-technical small business owners using consumer-style marketing rather than the B2B approaches most SaaS use. He talks about the opportunities and risks with AI-based startups, and how he's waiting for the "dam to break." Timestamps: Tell us what you think! 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Rosie - AI Call Answering Service Jordan Gal - Portland, Oregon, rallyon.com | about.me Post Purchase Offers Brian Casel Bootstrapped Web Wireframing Tools Instrumental Products - Brian's company Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company

Adam Wathan sat down with Justin and Brian to talk about the challenge of staying motivated with your own business, even when you've "made it." However successful you think a well-known product or founder might be, the truth is everyone's dealing with stresses and challenges and things that don't work and figuring out what to do next. That's what this episode is about. The discussion also touches on the potential of video content and YouTube as a way of getting in motion and regaining motivation. Timestamps: Tell us what you think! 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Tailwind CSS - Adam's company Tailwind's YouTube channel Instrumental Products - Brian's company Clarity Flow - Brian's SaaS product Transistor.fm - Justin's company

Marie Poulin and Aaron Francis join us to discuss the realities of building creator-driven businesses. We talked a lot about YouTube (they describe how each got traction there) and their current video making process. They also challenged conventional wisdom about sticking to one niche. For them, pivoting between projects keeps them fresh and prevents burnout, even when the traditional wisdom is to "just focus." Chapters: Tell us what you think! 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode 💼 Notion Mastery 💪 Try Hard Studios Marie's YouTube channel Aaron's YouTube channel Screencasting.com - Aaron's upcoming project ChatGPT lists Marie as #1 Notion influencer 🧰 Instrumental Products 🎤 Transistor podcast hosting

Peldi is the founder of Balsamiq and pioneered transparent business building in 2007. In this episode, he came to the Panel looking advice on "build in public." We invited Jay Clouse, of Creator Science, on to share his wisdom. Jay had tons of practical suggestions for SaaS founders looking to build community and build in public in an authentic way. Chapters: Tell us what you think! 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 🦋 Links mentioned in this episode Instrumental Products Creator Science Balsamiq Mockups Transistor podcast hosting

Is web development still a good career choice in 2025? What's the future of open source? Justin and Brian dive deep with Taylor Otwell (Laravel) and Caleb Porzio (Livewire, Alpine.js, Flux) about the state of web dev, building a business on open source, and the anxiety of managing competition. Chapters: Tell us what you think! 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode 🚀 Laravel 🧑‍💻 Laravel is hiring 🐙 Livewire 🎸 Alpine.js ✨ Flux 🏗️ Instrumental Rails Components 🎙️ Transistor podcast hosting

Is bootstrapping a SaaS dead in 2025? How will AI affect software development as an industry? What's working when it comes to marketing? Justin Jackson (Transistor.fm) and Brian Casel (Instrumental Products) are joined by Colleen Schnettler (SaaS Marketing Gym) and Tyler King (Less Annoying CRM) to debate our predictions for the new year. CHAPTERS: 0:00 - What to expect 3:25 - Is SaaS Getting Harder in 2025? 5:16 - Bootstrapped SaaS is past its prime 8:32 - "Can you really build a good product with AI?" 12:00 - "No-Code is in trouble, AI makes product discovery harder, SaaS goldrush is over." 14:17 - What kind of business should you start in 2025? 16:34 - AI can't replace the craft and expertise required to launch a good product 19:06 - Is it harder to go from Zero to One? 20:23 - Marketing predictions - what's going to work this year? 27:58 - "Nothing works. Marketing is bullshit." – Tyler King 30:43 - People want to interact with real humans (Reddit, podcasts, YouTube) 32:14 - Organic search is still big (but AI is sending some traffic) 34:20 - How you can win against AI and other competitors: customer support 36:33 - A bootstrapper's advantage is that they're small and they care 39:27 - Question for the listener: have you had a good customer support experience with AI chatbots? 40:27 - Another tactic that might work: get people on the phone! 42:07 - Should we all short Tesla stock? 45:19 - Our plans for 2025 Tell us what you think! 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video message 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com 📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Find us on Bluesky: Colleen Schnettler – @leenyburger.bsky.social Tyler King – @tylerking.app Justin Jackson – @justinjackson.ca Brian Castle – @briancasel.com Links mentioned in the episode: 🧰 Instrumental Products 🏋️‍♀️ SaaS Marketing Gym 📂 Simple File Upload 📇 Less Annoying CRM 🎙️ Startup to Last Podcast 🎤 Transistor podcast hosting Subscribe to The Panel for weekly discussions with smart founders about building better products and better lives:

When it comes to bootstrapping and building software, there's rarely one correct answer. The secret to building better products, profitable companies, and a better life is knowing how to find the best answer for you. That’s the purpose of The Panel podcast. Join hosts Justin (Transistor.fm) and Brian Casel (Instrumental Products) in each episode as they bring together a panel of founders, software developers, and friends to discuss hot topics like: - What's really working in SaaS marketing - The impact of AI on product development - Open source vs closed source business models - Niche markets vs broad markets - One-time vs recurring revenue models - Age and experience perspectives in tech Timestamps: 0:00 The story - why we wanted to start this show 2:03 Meet your hosts - Justin Jackson & Brian Casel 2:45 Topics we'll cover  3:32 The power of different perspectives 4:18 We need your help 5:05 We'll be doing video and audio 🔗 Join our waiting list at https://panelpodcast.com