Founder’s Squad
Helping bootstrapped SaaS startups grow to scale and achieve dream exits.
Two Seasoned Entrepreneurs on Product/Founder Fit, Switching Gears, and Why Self-Awareness Is a Business Skill
When we acquired the Cross Sell Shopify app, the product hit all of our typical buying criteria. It’s a well-built SaaS product that customers love with a history of growth and more potential.
Our acquisition story for Cross Sell, however, was a bit different than our usual “founded by bootstrapper, bought by SureSwift.” While Cross Sell was initially founded by a bootstrapper, the product had already been through an acquisition back in 2017.
SureSwift Acquires Cross Sell, a Shopify App
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve brought the Cross Sell Shopify app into our SaaS portfolio, and will be continuing 5-star support for its 3,000 store owners. Cross Sell takes the popular “you might also like…” feature and puts the shop owner in the driver seat of curating which products to sell, to whom, when.
Webinar: What Bootstrapped Founders Should Know About Google Analytics
About half of the products we review (and even ones we buy) don’t have analytics set up in a way that will help a Founder make optimal business and content decisions. No matter what stage of growth your business is in, chances are your analytics account could use a tune up and a little TLC. We’re hosting a free, live webinar to help you fix that.
Extending Our Mission
Our mission has always been to improve the lives of the founders we buy from, our investors, and our team. Now, we’re thrilled to say that we can extend that mission to the broader global community of entrepreneurs as well.
Webinar: What Bootstrapped Founders Should Know About SaaS Valuation
Maybe you’re ready to move onto your next project—or you’re just curious about what kind of opportunities are out there as you grow your business. Regardless of which category you fall into, the valuation and acquisition process can feel confusing and stressful, especially if you’ve never sold a business before. We’re launching a new free, live webinar on SaaS valuation each month to demystify the topic and help you plan.
Sprint with Us (and 30+ Bootstrapped Founders) in October
Most of us know that bootstrapping could feel isolated even when co-working spaces, spontaneous coffee meetups, and in-person conferences and events were a thing. But we can’t just put our businesses on hold until things are “back to normal.” So what do we all do until then to keep innovating, and building our networks with people who have been through the business challenges we’re facing?
SureSwift Acquires Plug in Useful Shopify Apps
We’re beyond excited to bring two additional Shopify apps, their related services, and the 37,000+ store owners they serve into our SaaS portfolio. Founded by Daniel Sim in 2011, Plug in Useful’s apps help Shopify merchants and developers work smarter.
The Launch Is Just the Beginning: An Interview with SaaS Business Builder, Moritz Dausinger
Moritz was one of SureSwift’s earliest founders. In 2016 he sold us Mailparser, which automatically extracts data from emails to automate repetitive business and admin tasks. Then in 2018 he sold us its sister startup, Docparser, which extracts data from PDFs. And those two acquisitions weren’t even his first. He’d previously co-founded and sold a SaaS ticketing startup to a Paris competitor.
How SaaS Founders Can Take Care of Their Customers, Teams, and Companies During Coronavirus
With the strength of the economy over the last 5+ years, many bootstrapped SaaS Founders have never run a business during a recession, let alone a black swan event like the novel coronavirus pandemic we’re currently facing. With recurring revenue, high margins, and an online business model, it’s easy to think you won’t see much of an impact. Here’s why that’s a mistake, and what you can do to take care of your customers and your team right now.
One Founder’s Journey From Bootstrapping in Indianapolis to Raising VC Funding in Silicon Valley and Back
Jell Founder, Ade Olonoh, has had a nearly life-long passion for programming and entrepreneurship. He fell in love with programming in a QBasic class back in High School, and paid for his College degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics by writing Perl code. Shortly after graduating, he started not one, but two companies. And that’s just the early part of his bio. Recently we chatted with Ade about his many experiences as a founder, from bootstrapping early startups in Indianapolis, to raising capital in Silicon Valley, and his recent sale of daily standup software, Jell, to SureSwift.