Building Tech That Helps Small Businesses Grow | Toni Hopponen

In this episode of The Founder’s Instinct, host Shaheer Khan sits down with Toni Hopponen, Founder of LandingRabbit, for a conversation on building a tech business that helps small businesses grow. Toni shares his journey from building and selling Flockler to launching LandingRabbit, and explains why founders should spend more time speaking to customers, understanding real workflows, and validating problems before building too much too soon. The conversation also explores SEO, content marketing, AI, automation, small business growth, and what it really takes to build practical technology that solves real problems. Key topics covered: Toni’s entrepreneurial journey Building and selling Flockler Why LandingRabbit was created Building products for small businesses Customer conversations and validation SEO and content marketing for growth AI and automation for smaller teams Lessons for founders building practical tech 01:36 - Intro 03:31 - Toni’s leap into entrepreneurship 09:49 - Why building for small businesses is fundamentally different 18:04 - SEO, content marketing, and multi-channel distribution 25:39 - The MVP approach to marketing on a tight budget 31:56 - How AI and automation are changing business operations 43:05 - Final advice Hosted by Shaheer Khan. Follow The Founder’s Instinct for honest conversations with founders, CEOs, and operators on what it really takes to build, lead, and scale companies. #TheFoundersInstinct #ToniHopponen #LandingRabbit #SmallBusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship