How to Build a Successful SaaS Company

You'll never "feel" ready to scale your company. That's where most founders get stuck. They wait for readiness to happen: - The product to be "perfect" - The team to be "fully staffed" - The systems to feel "strong enough" But here's the hard reality I've learned working with 50+ scaling companies: scaling isn't something you ease into. It's something you decide to do. Founders who wait to "feel ready" never do. They wait. They stall. And they get outpaced by companies who made the call to scale before they felt comfortable. I see this pattern every week: 🚨 Stuck founders... - Binge "growth hacks" - Throw $50K/month at ads - Panic-hire 3-4 salespeople And yes, it works... For about a quarter. Then reality hits: → Tech debt balloons 300% → Customer satisfaction drops 40% → Server crashes during peak traffic → Manual processes collapse under load → Growth transforms into expensive churn The real move isn't waiting until you feel ready... or trying to duct tape growth with marketing spend. The only way to scale without breaking your company is getting your tech infrastructure ahead of your ambition. Here's what actually works: 1. Decide to scale 2. Build to handle it 3. Then hit the gas As a fractional CIO, I just helped a SaaS client go from 500 to 2,000 users in six months. The difference between their success and others I've seen struggle? They built the foundation first. Before the growth surge, we: → Automated their customer onboarding (reduced manual work by 80%) → Implemented proper database architecture (eliminated those 3am "server down" calls) → Set up monitoring and alerts (caught issues before customers did) That means professionalizing your: → Systems (before they break under load) → Processes (before bottlenecks cripple momentum) → Tech stack (before technical debt suffocates growth) I've seen companies go from $1M to $10M in 18 months using this approach. And I've watched others stall at $2M for years waiting to "feel ready." It's not about feelings. It's about decisions and strategic preparation. Standing at that line between founder-led startup and scalable business? Don't wait for a feeling. Decide. What's your biggest tech bottleneck right now? Let me know below 👇

If only I could get a nickel for everytime I have told someone that SaaS growth is not just about spray & pray! This whole document which I have dropped below consists of 100+ hours of consultation calls I have taken with B2B brand owners. 1. Hypersonalisation And it all starts with triggers & relevancy. You gonna cold pitch? Sorry fam, but you gotta tell why. You can't write articles about what you do. It's all about service <<< results. Personalize with first liner as the trigger + mid liner as why the pitch is relevant for the reciever. 2. Mapping Map your customer journey. Learn about customer experience. • Why they chose your service? • Their span of activity • What made them choose you over your competitor? 3. Multi-channel outreach system IG gurus tell you to focus on one channel. And hey, I am not saying no to that. But the approach to multi-channel is to test & find where your ICP resides. Fan out slowly & steadily. Your never know where your next lead is coming from. 4. Sales cycle Many of the SaaS owners I have worked with did not track their sales cycle. This is one of the most important pointer where you can increase the conversion rate + LTV of a user. 5. Automation >> Manual Will save you a lot of time. Plus, elevate the power of AI & increase your conversions + retention. 6. Systems & processes As I said, DO NOT go for the spray & pray method. Have a strategic move. A system in place will help you track if you are at the right track. Also, with A/B tests combined, I know exactly which strategy can work in 90 days or less. 7. Research Research your ICP. Have their pointers in place. Know the triggers & outcome. With the right research, you will have the foot in the door (or be on the better side of the door) before your competitor! Damn! I did not know I will write this much. But, a lot has still not been poured over here. Let me know if I can help you in any way.🫶🏻

On this Whiteboard Wednesday, I had the good fortune of spending time with the founder of a large e-com SaaS company who completely transformed my thinking about building successful software businesses. The critical insight? We're witnessing the end of the standalone tool era in SaaS. While you could previously build a substantial SaaS company with just a great tool, today's successful companies must evolve into platforms with data advantages. AI is democratizing app development at unprecedented rates. This doesn't mean companies will suddenly build their own internal tools (maintenance burden remains prohibitively high), but it does mean exponentially more competition from specialized third-party developers. More competition → price pressure → cap on growth potential for pure tools. The formula I now see with perfect clarity: → Build a platform with unique data advantages → Those advantages must accrue from your applications → Market specific apps, not the underlying platform This framework was transformative for us at FERMÀT. I was confusing everyone—customers and investors alike—by trying to merge platform and applications into a single conceptual entity. Now we position ourselves differently: we have multiple applications (landing page building, behavior insights, offer testing, virtual PDPs, custom carts) all powered by our core shopper behavior data platform. Your platform isn't what customers will talk about. They will talk about the individual applications that solve their problems. What frameworks have completely reshaped your strategic thinking recently? Sometimes the most valuable insights come from separating what you've been desperately trying to force together.

Q3 is coming to a close and there are now 3 months left in 2023. Here are 7 things I recommend SaaS Founders/CEOs to do to kickstart growth and finish this year successfully: 1. Math never lies. Look at your numbers and DIAGNOSE: Traffic to Lead rate, Lead to Opportunity rate, and Win Rate. Focus on improving the one that sucks the most. 2. Revamp your Ideal Customer Profile based on your revenue data. What segment of the market was your win rate higher? Could you double down on that segment of the market and generate more pipeline there? 3. Level-up your Messaging. If you have lots of traffic, but the leads aren't converting or the deals are dragging, chances are your Manifesto isn't driving enough urgency. 4. Try a new Channel to reach your audience. It's okay to experiment. OR cut the under-performing channels and double down on what's working. 5. Out-teach the competition. If you're looking to differentiate yourself from your competitors, figure out what transformation your customers need and teach them how to accomplish it. Your customers will love you more for it and buy your SaaS solution to achieve that transformation. 6. Find your most regrettable lost deals from the year. Hit them back up, send them some love, and make it easier for them to say YES this time around. 7. Find your happiest customers and ask them for a referral. Referral opportunities have a 70% higher conversion rate. When following these simple principles, I've seen founders accelerate their growth and reach their EOY goals. 📈 If you're a SaaS Founder/CEO looking to learn how to implement these principles into your GTM machine, grab a complimentary copy of my 5-Point SaaS Growth Strategy Guide. Follow the link in the comments below. If you don't see my comment with the link then just choose "Recent Comments" in the dropdown👇

In 2015 I joined a startup doing $500k in ARR. 7 years later that same startup was doing $250M+ in ARR. Here are the 7 valuable lessons I learned that are worth your time: 𝟭// 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻. So have a conviction about the problem that your product solves. The internet (and potential customers) reward conviction. So put your stake in the ground: • The problem • How your product solves the problem • Why your business is the best at solving the problem And get crazy about honing in on this every day. 𝟮 // 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗥𝗢𝗜. This will help you get through tough climates like today. When businesses cut spending the first products they cut are "nice-to-haves". Don't wait until your customer is wanting to churn to prove ROI. Do it early. Do it often. Don't be the "nice-to-have". 𝟯// 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Be okay with that. Treat every day like an experiment. Try things out. See what works and what doesn't. Make course corrections along the way. 𝟰 // 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. You need to build a great team. The best startups are not about a great idea, they are about great recruiting. Find and hire the best people you can. They will be your secret weapon. 𝟱// 𝗡𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲. They only care if you can get sh*t done. I sat through 100s of interviews. Not once did I care about if someone went to Harvard or not. 𝟲// 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 #𝟭 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲. Don't get it twisted y'all. So many SaaS buzzword metrics out there. There's 1 thing that should always go up and to the right... REVENUE. Companies don't run on email opens and clicks. 𝟳// 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 "𝗕𝘂𝗧 𝗪𝗲'𝗩𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗪𝗮𝗬𝘀 𝗗𝗼𝗡𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗜𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝗬" This is the company killer. You need to have the conviction to do things differently. The only way a small company can win is by being scrappy and nimble. By doing things differently. Don't get caught in the trap of doing things "just because". Do them because they make sense and will help you grow. So there you have it. If you're working on a startup, keep these 7 lessons in mind: 1. Your business is a piece of software with an opinion. 2. Your business needs to have a clear ROI. 3. Treat everything like an experiment. 4. Startups are not about a great idea, they are about great recruiting. 5. No one cares where you went to college. 6. Your #1 metric is revenue. 7. Avoid "BuT We'Ve AlWaYs DoNe It ThIs WaY" What am I missing?