p/relay-10
The SaaS world's second brain: the community for founders
James Gill
Relay — A diverse, context-rich second brain for SaaS startups
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There’s no one way to build a SaaS business, but most advice makes it seem frustratingly so. 😬 Relay is fixing this via candid, context-rich AMAs, interviews, and 100s of discussions with a diverse set of founders — across geos, markets, and philosophies.
Replies
James Gill
When the folks at Chargebee asked me to share Relay on ProductHunt, I was excited, but also a little confused: surely it’s already been on ProductHunt? How could a resource and community this valuable not already have been shared here? I have participated in Relay as a reader, an asker of questions, and an answerer, and there’s something special about what’s happening here. The team running Relay are truly some of the most humble and wonderful human beings I’ve met on the web, and the level of transparency and quality of conversation going on, particularly in SaaS founder AMAs is unparalleled in my view. If you’re building a SaaS business or thinking about starting one, add Relay to your regular sites to visit. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. And thanks to the Relay team for trusting me to share this!
Akash Sharma 💭
@jamesjgill 💛💛💛 James, a big, big fan here! Thank youu, as ever, for your support! I don't think Relay would be what it is today if it wasn't for your early votes of generous and kind confidence. Aand we've been grateful to have documented the admirably thoughtful founding path you've charted with GoSquared, across Relay's existence! Thanks so much, again, for all that you do! 🌻
Krish | ChargeBee
@jamesjgill Thank you so much, James! For hunting us and for being so incredibly supportive throughout this journey of building Relay. We owe a lot of what Relay is and is becoming to the generosity and spirit of founders like you.
Astha Rattan 🌊
@jamesjgill Thanks so, so much James! Always the kindest. :))
Sridhar
Congratulations Krish, Astha and the Relay team!! Thanks for putting together this fantastic learning resource.
Akash Sharma 💭
@goodals Thank you, Sridhar! Glad you've found Relay helpful. 🙌🏾
Astha Rattan 🌊
@goodals Thank you so much, Sridhar! :))
Akash Sharma 💭
Helloo, PH! 🙂 Elated about the launch! Relay is incomparably, unmistakably, among the most earnest compendiums of founder thought you’d likely come across. Week by week, in great detail and breadth, we are constantly reminded of the many, many admirable ways the startup challenge gets taken up by SaaS founders around the world. Upending the assumed binaries of the industry in the process. Hope you’d find it as meaningful. Keen on hearing your thoughts!
Sofia Quintero
This is such a wonderful resource! Big fan of what the team has done here! ❤️🔥
Akash Sharma 💭
@sofiaqt At Relay, we're biiig fans of your work and your inspiring journey, Sofia! 🌼 Thanks for the kind note, for pouring hours into that first AMA back in 2020, and for drafting some rarely-seen reflections on the perennially messy/rewarding business of starting up! That first session literally kicked off Relay in earnest! So, thank you! 🙌🏾
Krish | ChargeBee
@sofiaqt Thank you so much, Sofia!
Astha Rattan 🌊
@sofiaqt Thanks so much, Sofia! :))
Johan Steneros
Awesome. Will apply.
Akash Sharma 💭
@jsteneros Yay! Thanks, Johan!
Astha Rattan 🌊
@jsteneros Thanks! Looking forward to it. :))
Krish | ChargeBee
@jsteneros Awesome. See you on Relay soon!
Ashley Porciuncula
What a great tool! Congratulations on the launch!
Akash Sharma 💭
@ashleymarinep Thank you, Ashley! 🌼
Astha Rattan 🌊
@ashleymarinep Thank you! :))
Adi Patil
Congratulations on the launch! This is so cool. It is amazing to see founders sharing their stories in-depth and helping us understand how every startup story is unique. I personally also enjoy how the format invites us to spend our attention and time on a journey of learning that is richly rewarding. Excited to see this launch and for the world to consume this treasure trove. :)
Astha Rattan 🌊
@iamadipatil Thank you so, so much! How incredibly kind of you. 💛
Krish | ChargeBee
@iamadipatil Thank you, Adi! Very glad to read this. :)
Akash Sharma 💭
@iamadipatil Thankss, Adi!
Krishna
Thank you @ytvinay :)
Nishant Arora
I love the AMAs (even read up on the past ones) and really like how it's not generic fluff knowledge you find at other places. Congratulations on the launch @astharattan and team.
Akash Sharma 💭
@astharattan @nshntarora Thanks so much, Nishant!
Krish | ChargeBee
@astharattan @nshntarora Thank you so much, Nishant! :)
Astha Rattan 🌊
@nshntarora Thanks so, so much Nishant!
Anirudh
I stumbled upon one of the AMA through search results and was so surprised to see so many interviews, content from SaaS founders. Most of the content put out were from SaaS founders itself - hence all valuable, actionable content. I hope this site never goes down, thanks for the initiative!
Krish | ChargeBee
@anirudhmurali Thank you much Anirudh! So glad to hear that it has been useful for you. Really appreciate the kind words.
Akash Sharma 💭
@anirudhmurali Delighted to hear it, Anirudh, thankss!
Astha Rattan 🌊
@anirudhmurali Thanks so much, Anirudh! Your comment made my day. 😇
Prateek Sharma
Been a fan of Relay for a while. I am glad that this public launch will get Relay to more people in the world!
Akash Sharma 💭
@prateeks Thank you, Prateek! :))
Astha Rattan 🌊
@prateeks Thank you so much, Prateek! :))
Vivek Khandelwal
Super happy to see Relay on PH. For the longest time, my default for most founder level and operational challenges was - The Review by FirstRound. Relay is and remains the only other legit alternative. It does a better job because it serves only founders and the level of transparency and candidness is humbling. My favorite place to go to for deep reading and analysis.
Akash Sharma 💭
@vivekk Thankss so much, Vivek! That's magisterial, up-at-the-highest-echelon company to be in. Means a lot to us! 💛
Krish | ChargeBee
@vivekk Thank you so much for such a kind note, Vivek!
Astha Rattan 🌊
@vivekk Thank you so, so much Vivek. Super kind!
Kair Käsper
So many lessons to learn from, so little time. :P As a founder I can really appreciate the compact and straightforward format of Relay. Keep on doing what you're doing!
Akash Sharma 💭
@kairkasper Thanks so much, Kair! Was great to document your lessons on early-stage growth drawn from Pipedrive and Klaus! :))
Krish | ChargeBee
@kairkasper Thank you so much, Kair! Really appreciate your support.
Astha Rattan 🌊
@kairkasper Thank you!!
Divyansh Saini
I've been on 10s of Relay AMAs participating with the best of the founders globally. I love Relay for it's depth, the consolidation of resources that makes it the best anti library for SaaS resources on the internet. If you are a fellow founder, it's a no-brainer to sign up and unlock access that helps you on a rather hard and confusing journey.
Krish | ChargeBee
@navydish Thank you so much for such a kind evaluation, Divyansh! Really appreciate all your support.
Astha Rattan 🌊
@navydish Thanks so much, Divyansh! Always the kindest. ✨
Akash Sharma 💭
@navydish @cbkrish Thanks Divyansh! Just hoping to capture the thought and rigour of founders like you! Really appreciate your support.
Jane Portman
Congrats on the launch team 💛 Suppose we did our work like the snow, quietly, quietly, leaving nothing out. — Wendell Berry
Akash Sharma 💭
@uibreakfast Awww, thankss so much, Jane! 💛 Days Each one is a gift, no doubt, mysteriously placed in your waking hand or set upon your forehead moments before you open your eyes. — Billy Collins :))
Krish | ChargeBee
@uibreakfast Thanks so much, Jane! Appreciate your constant, earnest support. :)
Astha Rattan 🌊
@uibreakfast Thank you so much, Jane!
Vinay Seshadri
So excited about Relay's launch! Thoughtfully crafted and curated insights from founders who have been deep in the trenches and are passing the baton on to the next generation. Looking forward to more!
Astha Rattan 🌊
@ytvinay Thanks so much, Vinay! Means a lot coming from you. :))
Krish | ChargeBee
@ytvinay Thank you, Vinay!!
Akash Sharma 💭
@ytvinay Thank you, Vinay! Aaand we're looking forward to gathering more founder stories! :))
Krishna
Thank you :) @ytvinay
Josh Ho
Congrats on the launch Relay peeps! Such amazing answers for founders in there. You all do such a great job surfacing this treasure trove of knowledge!
Akash Sharma 💭
@jlogic Thanks so much, Josh! 🙏🏽 Glad to have hosted you for an amazing Relay AMA last month. Here’s just one among the many reflective gems you’d shared: “I’d say I’ve gone through life trying to be well-rounded and not have flaws. Liked by all from a personal and product perspective. It’s the typical “trying to be something for everyone”. (UberNote was that). It’s when I’ve leaned into strengths is when I’ve found the most success. I’ll never get 100% away from trying to be well-rounded as that is in my core being, it’s what makes me the founder I am today… but reminding myself to keep doubling down on strengths will get me further.” :))
Krish | ChargeBee
@jlogic Thanks so much, Josh!
Astha Rattan 🌊
@jlogic Thank you so much, Josh! You are the kindest. :))
Matthew John
One of the best forums to learn from founders who share their journey candidly. Great work team! 🙏
Stanislav Dimitrov
Congrats on the launch! Big fan of what you are doing!
Akash Sharma 💭
@stanislav_dim Thanks so much, Stanislav! Appreciate your support. 🙌🏾
Astha Rattan 🌊
@stanislav_dim Thanks so much. Too kind!
Krish | ChargeBee
@stanislav_dim Thank you very much!
Krishna
Thank you @stanislav_dim :)
Divya Ganesan
So excited about the official launch of Relay. If one were to look for a community of business builders and operators that’s truly human and vulnerable, laden with insights and perspectives, this is the place. And if you ever wish to read thematic perspectives from the collective brains of different founders, The Baton by Relay is the fortnightly newsletter you should be signing up for that would land on your inbox diligently every first & third Wednesday. Congratulations @astharattan @mrakashsharma and @cbkrish!
Astha Rattan 🌊
@mrakashsharma @cbkrish @dee_gee__ Thank you so much, Divya! Super appreciate your constant support.💛
Krish | ChargeBee
Akash Sharma 💭
@astharattan @cbkrish @dee_gee__ Incredibly kind summing up, Divya! Thank you! :))
Krish | ChargeBee
Thank you, @jamesjgill, for the hunt and for your amazing support! :)) Hey PH, I’m Krish, one of the co-founders at Chargebee. Incredibly excited to share Relay — a diverse, community-driven second brain for SaaS founders or, as someone recently put it, their go-to anti-library. Curated with an immense love for SaaS and a singular belief that there’s no one way to build a business. Tl;dr, on Relay, you can find: 🙌 Exhaustively (and endearingly) context-driven AMAs where founders reflect on past choices, paradoxes, hard-won points-of-view, and the uniquely inspiring journeys they’ve crafted. ✨ Incisive interviews where up-and-coming founders question standard playbooks, share how they adapt inventively based on constraints, and document the think and feel of starting up today. All rooted in fostering a thoughtful, cross-path dialogue — between bootstrapped and VC folks and those who’ve been both, exceptionally lean teams and big ones, those who got acquired and those who never want to exit, and other such distinctions — across founding philosophies. 😇 And now, a little backstory for the PH curious: “Whatever else anything is,” to invoke You’ve Got Mail’s Kathleen Kelly, “it ought to begin by being personal.” More than a decade ago now, a good bunch of our first ahas on starting up came straight from New York City via Joel Spolsky’s irreverent, always insightful blog posts on building software businesses. FogBugz (the venture Joel was documenting back then) was very different from how Chargebee has turned out, in a lot of ways. Even Joel’s background, plus the constraints and challenges he was dealing with, were certainly different from ours. Yet, those very distinctions helped us make sense of some of our early decisions. Because Joel’s reflections were always context-driven and never abstract/prescriptive. That allowed us to model insights onto our own goals. And we’ve carried that lens ever since as we’ve sought helpful advice from many different founders around the world. We wanted to build Relay because we believe that kind of access for founders is either hard to discover, scattered across crowded forums or increasingly troubled by: 1) an ever-strong presence of camps that precisely dictate how companies must/must not be built, the paths founders can/cannot pursue, and what is/isn’t deemed a success, 2) and within these camps, for inexplicable reasons, we keep hearing from the same set of names again and again. What if, as Referral Rock’s Josh Ho noted recently, we were “open to all roads”? What if we could learn from the unheard struggles and inner battles that have dotted the very public wins of senior founders? What if we were privy to refreshing insights from the 100s of SaaS founders starting out each year and not just the loudest 20? It gladdens me to write that we’ve had the privilege of documenting many such diverse and thoughtful founder journeys: To circle back to FogBugz, Trello’s @michaelpryor recounted how “none of it is easy.” ProdPad’s Janna Bastow challenged her past self, “it’s remiss to assume that the best thing I could have done was to solve the problem closest to me.” Having bootstrapped her first venture and now on the VC-path, MagicBell’s @unamashana reminded us that capital (institutional or from customers) is a tool at a founder’s disposal and not a way of life. Wethos’ @rachren1 boldly questioned the very premise of subscriptions in SaaS. Bento’s Jesse Hanley explained how he takes on industry giants as a one-person team. Butter’s @jakob_knutzen1 informed us of an inherent flaw of the highly-valued PMF survey, discovering it by building first (as so many of us do now) for non-native English speakers. The list goes on! Well, guess I’ll stop here to admit we’re big believers in Relay’s mission and I’d go as far as saying that the current SaaS downturn wouldn’t seem as menacing if we were deliberately picking our company-building blocks from a diverse set of founders. Thanks so much for checking us out! I’d love to hear what you think of Relay in the comments — and if you’re a SaaS founder interested in joining, please request your invite here: https://form.typeform.com/to/Tpw...
Varun Kodnani
@jamesjgill @michaelpryor @hanamohan @rachren1 @jakob_knutzen1 @cbkrish Thanks for the backstory and congrats on the launch!
Krish | ChargeBee
@varun_kodnani Thank you so much, Varun! Thanks for reading along. :))