Founder’s Squad
Helping bootstrapped SaaS startups grow to scale and achieve dream exits.
How an Opera Singer and a Software Engineer Built a $55k/mo SaaS Ed Tech Business from the Ground Up
Back in 2017 Danielle Simpson had an unlikely bio for a SaaS founder. She was an opera singer auditioning for roles and side hustling as an online ESL teacher. This is the story of how she and her partner, Arvid Kahl, built FeedbackPanda from the ground up, and how they knew it was time to sell.
SureSwift Acquires Ed Tech Startup FeedbackPanda
We’re stoked to announce a new addition to our portfolio with the acquisition of FeedbackPanda, an Ed Tech SaaS business, which was founded by Danielle Simpson and Arvid Kahl in 2017.
How a Passion for Craft Spirits Turned into a Six-Figures-a-Month Subscription Box Startup
Mack McConnell built Taster’s Club from an idea into six figures of MRR over the course of several years. We caught him recently between trips to exotic locales to chat a bit about how he started and grew the business, why he ultimately decided to sell it, and what he’s up to now.
How a Former Software VP Transformed an Idea into a Portfolio of 30+ Online Businesses in 4 Years
A little over four years ago, SureSwift was just a couple of co-founders with an idea. Today it’s a rapidly growing portfolio of more than 30 online businesses, managed by a fully remote team of 80 people working across 14 timezones. Hear from co-founder and CEO, Kevin McArdle, about how we got from there to here.
What Makes a Great Startup Founder?
Great leaders come in many different forms, with different backgrounds, strengths, and areas of expertise. But some patterns do start to emerge when you look at a big sample of successful founders — especially in the bootstrapped business model. Being in the acquisition business we’ve had the distinct advantage of purchasing more than 30 companies and reviewing hundreds more from behind the scenes. These are a few things we’ve noticed along the way.
Why We’re Investing In a New Model of Startup Business Funding with Earnest Capital
There are a lot of great businesses out there that can benefit thousands of potential future employees and customers that need some help getting off the ground. But the typical funding paths and assistance available to startups don’t work for the vast majority of founders.
Hiring Your First Employee
Hiring your first employee is an exciting, and potentially stressful time for any business. But if you’ve never hired or managed anyone before, how do you find the right people for your team? We’ve got all the details for you including where to post your jobs, how to filter applications, interview questions, and more.
16 of the Best Books for Bootstrapping Entrepreneurs
We came up with this list of 15 of the best books for bootstrapping entrepreneurs by asking our own team of founders for their personal favorites. From classics to new releases (and even a little inspiration outside of the business section) we’ve got something for every entrepreneur’s reading list.
These App Developers Were Running Two Successful SaaS Startups When They Decided to Sell One
When Tristan Gamilis and Nicholas Firth-McCoy launched their SaaS startup, Paydirt, they were also running a website and app development company, and a second startup. Eventually they faced the question many entrepreneurs will: Which business ventures to dedicate their attention to? And what to do with the rest?
Content Maximizing: An Exciting New SaaS Marketing Strategy
A lot of SaaS startups have a blog as part of their marketing strategy. On most blogs, a few posts will outperform the rest of your content combined. Instead of spending time, energy, and money refreshing outdated and poor performing articles, learn how to identify your top-performing content, and maximize the heck out of the results.