Justin Jackson

Justin Jackson is the co-founder and CEO of Transistor.fm, a podcast hosting platform serving over 36,000 podcasters. He's been podcasting since the mid-2000s, volunteers with the Podcast Standards Project, and writes and speaks regularly about marketing, indie SaaS, and the future of open podcasting.

He's been building businesses since high school, organizing events and printing t-shirts. In my early 20s, I started a skateboard and snowboard shop.

In 2008, he started working in tech, and eventually became a Product Manager for MyMailout, and later a Product Marketing Manager for Sprintly.

A turning point came in 2012 when Kyle Fox invited him to co-host a podcast called Product People. "That show changed everything for me," Justin said, "it helped connect me with people in tech and startups that helped propel me into building my own products."

One of those connections was Jon Buda, whom he met at Portland's XOXO Festival in 2014. After years of friendship and collaboration, they launched Transistor together in August 2018.

The two co-founders documented their entire startup journey publicly on the "Build your SaaS" podcast, sharing both the wins and struggles of building a bootstrapped business.

By August 2019, both founders had quit their full-time jobs to focus on Transistor exclusively. Today, the company serves over 38,000 podcasts with a team of six people.

What sets Justin and Jon apart is their commitment to building what Jackson calls a "calm company" – profitable, purposeful, and designed to improve the lives of both customers and team members. Rather than pursuing aggressive growth, Transistor often says no to big customers whose demands would compromise their focus on indie podcasters.

Justin writes regularly on his blog about entrepreneurship, technology, and life. When he's not working on Transistor, you might find him snowboarding, paddleboarding, or organizing the monthly Geek Beers meetup in Vernon.

You can connect with Justin on:
🦋 Bluesky
💼 LinkedIn
🐘 Mastodon
🧵 Threads