RS360: Kill the Hippo

If you're building a SaaS company, one of the hardest questions you'll face isn't how to build a product. It's what to build next. In this episode of Rogue Startups, Craig Hewitt talks with Steve McLeod, founder of Feature Upvote and author of Kill the Hippo, about product strategy, customer research, and why the loudest customer isn't always the one you should listen to. Steve shares lessons from interviewing successful bootstrapped SaaS founders, explains why talking directly with customers beats relying on surveys and feature voting alone, and discusses how companies can avoid building the wrong features. Craig and Steve also explore Steve's journey writing Kill the Hippo, Feature Upvote's successful pivot into the gaming industry, the realities of running a mature SaaS business, and how AI is changing product development and customer acquisition. They close with an honest conversation about the future of bootstrapped SaaS and why today's founders face a very different landscape than they did just a decade ago. Whether you're launching your first startup or leading an established software company, this episode is full of practical advice on product management, customer feedback, ideal customer profiles (ICP), founder decision-making, and sustainable SaaS growth. In this episode: 00:00 Why Building the Right Product Matters 01:43 Why Steve Wrote Kill the Hippo 03:09 The Pivot That Changed Feature Upvote 04:36 Why the Most Popular Feature Is Usually Wrong 06:26 Talk to Customers, Not Just Surveys 08:19 Finding Your Real Ideal Customer 13:05 How Kill the Hippo Came Together 16:59 Why Steve Wanted to Write a Book 19:04 The Reality of Being a Solo Founder 21:06 Are Product Prioritization Frameworks Worth It? 23:54 Hiring People Who Think Like Your Customers 27:45 Building for Future Customers Without Losing Today's 29:24 Product Strategy for Mature SaaS Companies 31:26 Avoiding the "Abandoned Product" Trap 34:00 How Mature SaaS Teams Ship New Features 36:19 Build Features That Make Customers Say "Wow" 38:20 Is SaaS Really Dead? 42:35 The Golden Age of Bootstrapped SaaS Resources and Links: - Feature Upvote: https://featureupvote.com/ - Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-mcleod-fuv/ - Castos Free Tools: castos.com/tools - Email me: [email protected] - Find me on Twitter: @TheCraigHewitt - Craig on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/craig-hewitt-78386a66 If you feel Rogue Startups has benefited you and might benefit someone else, please share it with them. If you have a chance, give Rogue Startups a review on iTunes. Chapters (00:00:00) - Knowing What Product to Build in the SaaS Age (00:01:45) - Writing a Book About Pivoting (00:04:14) - How to Decide What to Build Next (00:10:27) - Have You Changed Your ICP? (00:12:37) - Writing The Bootstrap Book (00:16:26) - What are you hoping the book does for you? (00:18:08) - In the Elevator With a Co-founder (00:23:10) - The Importance of Talking to Customers (00:27:54) - How Do You Keep Your Product From Getting Stuck? (00:30:04) - A Design for Less Annoying CRM (00:32:24) - How To Evolve a Matured Product (00:34:47) - The Need for a 'Wow' (00:36:25) - SaaS and the future of podcast (00:40:56) - Bootstrapped SaaS: The Golden Age is Over (00:42:40) - Kill the Hippo