MicroConf retweeted
A LOT of people have been asking when my MicroConf talk on SaaS moats would go live.
๐ฅ Itโs here, along with Einarโs talk.
Think of them as parts one and two of the same question: What makes a SaaS business defensible when AI makes software so easy to build?
Our first two talks from MicroConf Europe in Reykjavรญk are now out!
@robwalling covers which SaaS moats still hold up in the age of AI.
@einarvollset picks up from there: if anyone can copy your features in hours, where does defensibility come from?
Links in ๐งต:
Not really interested in SaaS but this talk by @robwalling from @MicroConf gives good insight abou the future of software and business around it
youtu.be/KpILHX2D-AA?is=UGn7โฆ
Our first two talks from MicroConf Europe in Reykjavรญk are now out!
@robwalling covers which SaaS moats still hold up in the age of AI.
@einarvollset picks up from there: if anyone can copy your features in hours, where does defensibility come from?
Links in ๐งต:
Next, @einarvollset: stop selling the tool, sell the outcome.
Move into labor budgets, and build a product with a learning loop that a newer frontier model canโt just catch up to.
He also gives five tests for a compounding AI worker.
youtu.be/81j1sV32Wng
Slides, Q&A, talk recordings and the Field Guide are all in one place:
microconf.com/moats
More Reykjavik videos to come over the next few weeks!
MicroConf retweeted
๐ I'm taking pre-orders for my new book starting today:
๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ: ๐๐ต๐ฐ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ข๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐
Sixteen years ago, I wrote ๐๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ, ๐๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ for developers with a day job and an itch to build something of their own.
Since then, my books have sold more than 100,000 copies.
๐ค A lot has changed since 2010. AI lets you build software in an afternoon that once took months.
But it doesnโt stop you from building something nobody wants.
It just lets you do it faster.
๐ธ Finding a problem people will pay to solve. Talking to customers when youโd rather be coding. Getting strangers to give you money.
Those parts still take work. And another weekend of prompting doesn't make them go away.
So I wrote the book Iโd hand a founder starting from zero today:
โ
Sixteen more years of launches, wins, and expensive mistakes
โ
More than 240 SaaS investments
โ
Everything Iโd tell you before you disappear into a month-long building spree
Derek Sivers wrote the foreword. His verdict:
โThis is now the ultimate current authority on the subject, updated for a very different world.โ
๐ฅ Available for pre-order today (and get several bonuses only if you pre-order). Grab your copy at the link below ๐
Whether you buy a copy, give this a RT, or both, I appreciate your support ๐๐ป
MicroConf Europe 2026 in Reykjavรญk, in 81 seconds.
Talks hit YouTube next Monday!
First up: @robwalling and @einarvollset on SaaS moats, and how to protect what you've built from AI and position your company to come out ahead.
Then SEO, Claude skills for marketing, and more.
Subscribe and you'll get notified the day each talk is released: youtube.com/@microconf?sub_cโฆ
MicroConf US Austin, Apr 18-20.
Positioning, copy, onboarding and scaling from:
- @asmartbear (WP Engine)
- Nick Francis (Help Scout)
- @copyhackers
- @apierriPMM (FletchPMM)
- @RamliJohn (Delight Path)
- @robwalling (@tinyseedfund)
Prices go up Friday! microconf.com/us-flagship
Most founders treat motivation as a feeling: do I feel like doing this today?
Clinical psychologist @drsherrywalling says it runs deeper. It's the drive that keeps you doing the reps regardless of how you feel.
Here's how she breaks it down ๐งต
The catch: your business needs different motivators as it grows.
Ben Chestnut started as a craftsperson, but it would have been hard to stay one all the way to Mailchimp's $12B exit.
When your daily work stops matching what drives you, that's where burnout takes seed.
Her fixes: hire people with different archetypes, feed your core drive outside the business, do the inner work, celebrate small wins, and protect your sleep.
If motivation has felt thin lately, the full talk is worth your time.
โถ๏ธ youtu.be/lw8ZrlqmKXQ
MicroConf retweeted
Replying to @skpnky
the moats are still kinda the same:
- you have access to proprietary data
- costs of entry (often regulated industries)
check out this @MicroConf speech: youtube.com/watch?v=8cSCJtPOโฆ
MicroConf retweeted
Conversion Factory swag out in the wild spotted at @MicroConf last week
$83,334
Couldn't get to Reykjavik? You'll still get the talks.
Every MicroConf Europe session was recorded, and they go up on YouTube free.
Subscribe and they'll land in your feed as they publish. youtube.com/@microconf
We're going back to Dubrovnik ๐ญ๐ท
MicroConf Europe 2027 is Oct 3-5 at the Dubrovnik Hotel Palace, right on the Adriatic. It's our favorite place to hold this event, and this will be our fourth time there.
Early-bird tickets are open now:
microconf.com/europe
Once your SaaS starts making money, you're done... right? Nope! Even when things are going smoothly, you'll still have to make sure your SaaS doesn't stall at these 7 plateaus: youtube.com/watch?v=Sv1IO5mmโฆ












