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