My name is Tiago and I am a full time Indie Maker.
I build startups without any external investment and my goal is to perfect my entrepreneurial craft and reach $1M ARR (Annual Recurrent Revenue)
Join me as I narrate my story and interview other entrepreneurs.
#375 - AI First Company & How One Small Tweak Turned Podsqueeze's Growth Around
After a long absence, I'm back with a packed episode. I reflect on why I've been away and what's changed—both in my life and in how I think about entrepreneurship. I challenge the unicorn fairy tales we've been sold as founders, the idea that we need to change the world or go big or go home, and share why I now believe the real game is about distribution and conversion metrics. I talk about how we've shifted our mindset from being a single-product company to building a cluster of products under our umbrella company, User Quest, all powered by SEO as our core distribution channel. I dive deep into how we've transformed into an AI-first company, automating everything from product development to weekly performance analysis to inbox management with our own internal AI agent, Svetlana. And finally, I share the one small but powerful change we made to Podsqueeze's trial flow that actually reversed our growth and has us trending upward again for the first time in years.
Links and mentions:
Twitter: https://x.com/wbetiago
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiago-ferreira-48562095/
Podsqueeze: https://podsqueeze.com
Flarecut: https://flarecut.com
Halston from Tiny Acquisitions: https://x.com/haltouny
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome back & what happened
01:10 Why I stopped sharing (and why I'm back)
02:58 Debunking the unicorn myth
08:41 What actually makes a product work: distribution and conversions
09:58 Myth two: you don't have to go all in on one thing
11:18 Building a cluster of companies under User Quest
13:43 Turning into an AI-first company
16:16 The three phases of a product launch
20:58 How we use AI to build products faster
22:01 Automating weekly performance analysis with AI
24:27 Meet Svetlana, our internal AI agent
25:36 The one thing that changed Podsqueeze's growth
27:58 The lesson: remove friction from your user flow
29:04 Closing thoughts & how to reach me
9 Mar 2026
#374 - Managing a Business While In Parental Leave
In this episode, I catch you up on the latest life and business updates. I reflect on the privilege and challenges of being an indie entrepreneur, especially as my co-founder João becomes a new father and takes parental leave. I discuss how we’re managing business operations at Podsqueeze with just one active founder, and share thoughts about the perks and compromises of the indie hacker lifestyle.
Links and mentions:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiago-ferreira-48562095/
Twitter: https://x.com/wbetiago
Podsqueeze – https://podsqueeze.com
WeTransfer – https://wetransfer.com
Meetup – https://www.meetup.com
Evernote – https://evernote.com
Bending Spoons – https://bendingspoons.com
AppSumo – https://appsumo.com
HubSpot – https://hubspot.com
G2G (Reddit accounts) – https://www.g2g.com
Startup Stories (Pat Walls) – [YouTube channel reference]
Audio Announcer, Flarecut (other projects mentioned)
Timestamps:
01:10 Catching up, recording in Lisbon, and life updates
05:30 Joel’s parental leave and how we manage as a small team
07:50 Indie perks: flexibility, travel, and lifestyle challenges when kids arrive
10:55 Handling business solo and what changes when you’re down a founder
14:10 Methods and “cookbooks” for indie founders; audience-first, SEO, content, etc.
15:40 My “three phases” framework: launch, growth, plateau
18:20 Bending Spoons and the idea of managing multiple products
20:40 How AI changes indie hacking and lean bootstrapping
21:30 The grind of phase one, community tools, and growth difficulties
23:55 Automations, AI processes, and where human attention is still crucial
26:35 Where marketing and distribution bottlenecks are for us now
28:25 Content creation as a missing skillset and finding the right partners
30:50 Final thoughts: building indie businesses, inviting feedback, and a call to action
26 Jan 2026
#373 - Saying No, Even to Yourself: Avoiding Founder Burnout
In this episode, I speak about the importance of saying no—not just to others, but also to myself and my own ideas. I reflect on feeling overwhelmed by work and the many projects that compete for my attention, and I realize the need to prioritize tasks that directly contribute to my business’s financial success. I question the role of this podcast in that equation and consider whether I should continue it, make it more sustainable, or shift focus. I share honest thoughts on burnout, the pursuit of financial freedom, and the risk of becoming a slave to my own ambitions. I also reach out to you for feedback on supporting the show, perhaps with a Buy Me a Coffee page, or whether you’d like to hear more interviews and guest episodes. Let me know what resonates with you and how you deal with these challenges as an entrepreneur!
Links and mentions:
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiago-ferreira-48562095/
Twitter: https://x.com/wbetiago
Email: tiago@podsqueeze.com
Podsqueeze: https://podsqueeze.com
Timestamps:
01:10 – The power of saying no: to others and myself
03:45 – Feeling overwhelmed and the hidden cost of too many side projects
05:20 – Connecting tasks to revenue and questioning the podcast’s sustainability
07:55 – Burnout, financial pressure, and being a slave to my own ambitions
10:30 – New strategies: stricter prioritization and potential podcast changes
12:10 – Call for feedback: Would you support the podcast or enjoy more interviews?
Who has been a guest on Wannabe Entrepreneur
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Rob Walling
ChatGPT
Dmytro Krasun
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
29,116
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
27 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 76 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
88
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
85
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