Justin Jackson co-founded Transistor.fm with Jon Buda. They documented their entire startup journey publicly on the "Build your SaaS" podcast.

Years of Building in Public

Justin spent years investing in the bootstrap community and podcasting community before Transistor. He ran MegaMaker, a community for makers, and built an audience sharing his journey.

Finding the Right Partner

After trying many solo projects, Justin teamed up with Jon Buda, a developer who had built podcast tools before. Their skills complemented each other perfectly.

Documenting the Journey

They documented every step - the wins and struggles - on their podcast. This transparency built trust with potential customers and the indie hacker community.

The Calm Company Philosophy

By August 2019, both founders quit their full-time jobs. Today, Transistor serves over 34,000 podcasts with a team of 6 people. Justin calls it a "calm company" - profitable, purposeful, and designed to improve team members' lives.

Key Philosophy

"Being a contributing member of a community for years and years had this huge benefit later on. Those were not wasted years."