<p>In episode 732, Rob Walling interviews Jeff, a mostly anonymous and retired founder, about his mostly bootstrapped business and subsequent exits. Jeff shares how he started the company in 2003 and how he persevered in the early, lonely years to achieve traction in the business. They also discuss finding fulfillment after a huge, life-changing exit.</p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Topics we cover:&nbsp;</strong></h2>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>2:17 – Jeff, the retired SaaS founder you haven’t heard of</li>
<li>3:32 – Refreshing the bank balance after multiple exits</li>
<li>5:26 – ARR multiples across several exits</li>
<li>8:11 – “Accidentally” SaaS, growing the business in the early days</li>
<li>11:35 – Getting through the toughest moments in the journey</li>
<li>16:31 – Why did the business work?</li>
<li>20:14 – “Short term generous, long term greedy”</li>
<li>24:32 – Staying busy after an exit</li>
<li>32:09 – Giving back to founders</li>
</ul>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Links from the Show:</strong>&nbsp;</h2>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://microconf.com/courses/saas-launchpad" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Purchase The SaaS Launchpad</a> before September 30th to get access to a live Q&A with Rob</li>
<li><a href="https://tinyseed.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">TinySeed</a></li>
<li><a href="https://x.com/RetiredFounder" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Retired Founder (@RetiredFounder) | X</a></li>
<li><a href="https://retiredfounder.com/contact" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Contact Retired Founder</a></li>
<li><a href="https://btfl.org/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Beyond The Finish Line</a></li>
</ul>
<p>If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please <a href="https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/contact" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">submit your question</a> for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!</p>
<p>Subscribe & Review: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/startups-for-the-rest-of-us/id366931951" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">iTunes</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2Ww2e4JNO2cfxWC2ImR7DJ" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Spotify</a></p>


Rob Walling

Episode 732 | Lessons Learned Bootstrapping to a $615M Exit

<p>In episode 732, Rob Walling interviews Jeff, a mostly anonymous and retired founder, about his mostly bootstrapped business and subsequent exits. Jeff shares how he started the company in 2003 and how he persevered in the early, lonely years to achieve traction in the business. They also discuss finding fulfillment after a huge, life-changing exit. [&hellip;]</p>
