I was crushed, but I'm back again...

I had just gotten crushed back in 2019 when my SaaS co-founder left me hanging to work his marketing agency... and we were feeling heat from our competitors who had just taken 90% of our users.

I felt defeated at the time. Then, I joined my co-founder's marketing agency as a sales rep. We grew. Then I was promoted to sales manager. We doubled in revenue. Then the owner launched another business and left the marketing agency to slowly deteriorate.

Then a miracle happened.

He had to make payroll with his own funds, and out of nowhere laid off 10 of 30 team members. Including me.

And this is where my entrepreneurial journey starts again!

I learned a ton about leadership, managing teams, hiring, sales, sales management, systems and processes, the role of a sales manager and marketing manager, and the importance of what a CEO should actually be doing to help keep the company on course to greater success. Understanding organizational charts, how to manage, delegate, build team morale, creating compensation structures that actually work, etc

I got a thorough education in managing people, creating culture, and I absolutely loved it. I also started a few classes of an MBA program at one point and learned some good info for someone who might be an executive in a large and established corporation. But for start-ups, some things help, but nothing beats experience, being in the right circles, and reading a ton of books on whatever topic I need to learn. I do intend to get a really damn good EMBA later in life, but I want to get it from a school like Wharton or Kellog.

Now, I'm married, no kids yet, and I have no job. I have savings, and my wife's work pays our living expenses. She's extremely supportive of me starting a company because she knows this is what I eat, sleep, and dream about.. and she wants to live a really damn good life lol

All that being said, I'm in search of my next venture. I'm thinking about getting my last SaaS going again. But, I don't want to do it all by myself. I want solid partners who know their functional area well.

Firstly, a mentor who's got a SaaS exit or two under their belt would be very helpful.

Second, we'll need a software engineer who can design UIs decently well but is stronger on full-stack web development, very strong grasp of OO design principles and is willing to work for sweat equity. I think the ideal would be someone with an engineering degree who's made it to a senior developer level.

A third partner I'm thinking of is someone who is an experienced digital marketer. Someone who understands how to do market research, how to design a campaign across a thoughtful marketing mix, write ad copy, and can run ads on whichever platform we need.

My contributions would be to function as CEO, supporting each function while also handling the boring stuff, networking, and forming any other partnerships that make sense.

I don't intend to raise seed rounds or venture capital from investors. If we find an opportunity that would make strategic sense with VC backing I'd consider that, but I'm not sure I want the pressure of investors looking for a return. I've never raised money before, but the reality of it may not be as bad as it sounds. With my background in sales, I feel confident I can raise money if needed.

My personal goal is to have $50M invested for a passive income. That means this project and the next should aim really high. It might take a number of exits to get there. But it also means that the payoff should be very reasonable for our partners as well.

If you know someone interested, or you are interested, please reach out to me. We can talk over the phone or zoom.