Episode 759 | TinySeed Tales s4e6: Does AI + Pivot = Success?

Startups For the Rest of Us

Rob Walling

Management, Entrepreneurship, Business, Marketing

4.8 • 792 Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of TinySeed Tales, Rob Walling speaks with Colleen Schnettler, co-founder of Hello Query, as she shares her latest startup journey pivot. After reigniting her “shipping muscle” while briefly dabbling in an AI-based project, Colleen refocuses on her newest pivot of Hello Query. She shares the challenges of determining the market viability of an AI-assisted SQL report builder. She stands at a crossroads, torn between catering to internal BI teams or exploring marketing analytics. Topics we cover: (1:25) – Reflecting on the co-founder breakup (2:42) – Trying a scratch-your-own-itch project (6:27) – Unfair advantages inform another pivot (15:07) – Respecting the “emotional runway” (19:23) – Marketing insights vs. an internal BI tool (23:01) – The curse of the audience Links from the Show: Applications for TinySeed are Open Through Feb 23rd Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger) | X Colleen Schnettler (@leenyburger.bsky.social) | Bluesky Hello Query If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you! Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Spotify

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's Tiny Seed Tales, Season 4, Episode 6, where we continue hearing Colleen Schnettler's
0:05.8	startup journey, and we ask ourselves, does AI plus a pivot equal success?
0:11.0	Before we get into the episode, applications for our next batch of Tiny Seed companies are open
0:17.0	from now until February 23rd. If you want to be part of a world-class accelerator,
0:23.3	receive the perfect amount of funding, mentorship, advice, and community. Head to tini-c.com
0:29.1	slash apply. And now let's dive into the episode. It's just good to remember, like,
0:34.7	for most people, that don't quit, it eventually works out.
0:38.8	Like most people, if you look at these success stories and you really dig into them,
0:43.9	like most people that don't quit, it eventually works out.
0:48.4	Welcome back to Tiny Seat Tales, a series where I follow a founder through the wild
0:52.4	roller coaster of building their startup.
0:58.4	I'm your host, Rob Walling, a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Tiny Seed,
1:01.2	the first startup accelerator designed for bootstrappers.
1:06.9	Today, in episode six of this season of Tiny Seed Tales, we're diving back into Colleen's journey.
1:11.8	It's been a whirlwind since we last checked in with twists, turns, and moments of uncertainty. But that's what makes her story so captivating. It's a tale of resilience,
1:16.7	ambition, and the pursuit of something bigger. So buckle up and join me as we explore the latest
1:22.2	chapter in Colleen's adventure. In last week's episode, Colleen and her co-founder Erin had decided to go their separate ways,
1:29.5	and Colleen seemed to be quite stressed.
1:33.0	So right after we recorded, and we recorded so quickly on the heels of the co-founder breakup,
1:40.4	I was pretty upset.
1:43.1	Like, you're absolutely right.
1:43.8	There was a lot of stress. There was a lot of stress.
	...

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