Curated for your stage · Updated June 2026The short list of MicroConf resources for pre-revenue or idea-stage founders
MicroConf exists because bootstrapping a SaaS without the right people around you is brutally lonely and unnecessarily slow. Here's everything in our network that can help you grow and find peers before you have paying customers.
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17,743
1-2
founders on the listemails per week90+
countries reachedSaaS Launchpad
Rob’s books
listen · Startups for the rest of us Advice and information aimed at your level from the longest-running bootstrapped SaaS podcast.
Rob Walling, MicroConf’s co-founder, has hosted Startups For The Rest Of Us since 2010.
If you haven't launched yet, your biggest risk isn't failing, it's spending months building something nobody wants. Choosing an idea worth your time, figuring out whether anyone will actually pay, and finding your first handful of customers before you've written much code will make everything else get easier.
Selected episodes of SFTROU we think you should listen to:
How to Find Your Early Customer Profile (ECP)
with Maja Voje, author of Go to Market Strategist · May 2025 · 30:15
The 2/20/200 Validation Framework
Rob Walling · March 2026 · 31:47
How to Launch a Million Dollar Business (with Noah Kagan)
with Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo · Jan 2024 · 44:41
Hosted by Rob Walling since 2010
→ 15M+ downloads.
→ 800+ episodes.
watch · MicroConf + robwalling YouTubeLive conference talks and interviews to help you go from idea to launch
@MicroConf
Our newer channel posting recordings from recent events. At your stage, the most useful ones are the advanced tracks, scaling-stage talks, and founder interviews.
@RobWalling
Rob's personal channel. Skews earlier-stage tactical, but his deep-dives on pricing, hiring, and exit-stage thinking apply at any scale.
Every MicroConf talk we've recorded is on YouTube, plus interviews and content from Rob's channel. These three are where we'd send a founder at your stage first:
find your peers · microconf private communityNetwork and problem-solve with current bootstrapped and indie founders
Every MicroConf conference recording, private Connect-only events, local meetups, and a multi-topic forum. All hosted on Circle.
The questions you're working through (when to take outside capital, how to structure a leadership comp plan, whether to entertain that acquisition conversation, when to push for a price increase that might cost you 10% of your customers) are questions most founders never get to ask, and the peers who can answer them are rare.
MicroConf Connect is our private community of bootstrapped SaaS founders with over 40 members operating at $1M ARR and above. All applications are hand-vetted by the MicroConf team.
$49
/month, or $499/year
“I’ve gotten more actionable advice in Connect than I ever expected — it’s like having a mastermind group on demand.”
— Josh, SaaS founder & Launchpad alum
Come together · MicroConf flagship conferences2.5 days in-person with bootstrapped and indie founders across the spectrum
MicroConf events are intentionally small, limited to a few hundred bootstrapped founders, no enterprise sales reps, no VCs hunting for deals. At your stage, the value is the density of high-level operators in one room — 32% of our attendees at MicroConf US were at $1M+ ARR and above.
upcoming:
September 21-23, 2026MicroConf Europe 2026: Reykjavik, Iceland
Exit Data · State of indie SaaS reportWhat does running a real bootstrapped business actually look like?
Every few years, we survey hundreds of bootstrapped founders about revenue, team size, churn, and what's working. At your stage, the State of Indie SaaS reports answer the questions you can't ask anywhere else; particularly around exits.
20%
of bootstrapped SaaS exits happen at $1M–$3M ARR. Only 11% wait until $7M+.
2024 State of Indie SaaS, p.60 — Run rate prior to company being sold
29%
of bootstrapped SaaS acquirers are other companies. Only 10% are funds; 21% are individuals.
2024 State of Indie SaaS, p.59 — Entity that purchases previous company
60%
of exits price at 1x–3x forward-looking ARR. 7x+ multiples are the exception, not the rule.
2024 State of Indie SaaS, p.61 — Previous company exit multiple
37%
of founders sold with teams of just 2–5 employees. Only 10% had 51+ at exit.
2024 State of Indie SaaS, p.62 — Previous company number of employees
Exit figures pull from the 21% of respondents who have sold a company, not the $1M+ ARR cohort specifically. Data collected late 2023; refresh when the next report is released.
Already in the network?
Many founders at your stage are already in Connect, in a mastermind, or in SaaS Institute. If that's you, this is the page to bookmark for everything else — the books, the podcast back-catalog, upcoming events, and the M&A partner.
Want to see our other pages for other revenue levels? Choose below:
($83,333+ MRR)($0-833 MRR)($833-8,333 MRR)($8,333-83,333 MRR)