SAAS Operators

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we sat down with Bar Bruhis, Kno’s General Manager, to look at how actual operators today are stepping in when a founder stops running the day to day but stays in the driver's seat. We talk about how accountability increases when the founder steps back, how and why Bar specifically is pushing execution while Jeremiah maintains the long-term vision...

In this episode of The SaaS Operators Podcast, Rishabh, Jeremiah, and Jack talk about what it takes to operate in challenging conditions. We talk about Stamped’s inception, tech debt, layoffs, and the challenge of building while staying profitable. Jeremiah shares the realities of inheriting a legacy codebase built by one man savant, competing against lean players like Judge.me, and making tradeof...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we sat down with Laura Lalonde, founder and CEO of Gridbank, to unpack how she built a global marketplace for authentic, phone-shot content. Laura shares how her experience running creative for a gaming company spending millions per month on advertising led her to spot the demand for real, user-shot video before it was mainstream. She describes how Gr...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we talked to Oliver Brocato, founder of Bustem.com and former founder of Tabs Chocolate, to unpack how he turned a pain point from his ecommerce days into a fast-growing SaaS business, protecting brands from copycats, counterfeiters, and scammers. Oliver breaks down how Bustem detects and removes bad actors across the internet, how most brands lose 5–...

In this episode of The SaaS Operators Podcast, we sat down with Tomer Tagrin, Founder & CEO of Yotpo, to talk about how he built a billion-dollar company, and navigated one of the boldest pivots in SaaS. Tomer tells the story about how Yotpo shut down its high growth email and SMS products to focus on reviews, loyalty, and AI, and how he’s rebuilding the company to be AI-native from the ground...

In this episode of The SaaS Operators Podcast ,  we sat down with Bennett Spooner, Co-founder of OperatorOS, to explore how he’s turning an automation agency into something that looks and feels like software. Bennett shares how his team built a customer service automation system that handles up to 90% of support without humans, and why Foreplay’s API is at the center of how he's productizing a...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we sat down with PJ Celis, founder of Judge.me, to unpack how he bootstrapped one of Shopify’s most dominant apps to $13M ARR without raising a single dollar. PJ shares the counterintuitive strategy behind Judge.me’s rise, why he built a company that drives prices down, creates consumer surplus, and wins by aligning perfectly with Shopify’s incentives...

In this episode of The SaaS Operators Podcast, we dig into what it takes to scale a Shopify Plus SaaS when the market is no longer surging. Stuart Chaney, founder of Rivo, joins us to talk about the ceiling on Shopify’s TAM, the realities of platform risk, and why he keeps all his chips on Shopify despite the threat of sudden policy changes. We break down agentic coding with LLM guardrails, the gr...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we talk about the changing landscape for ecommerce. We start with why venture-backed founders are leaving Shopify, unpacking the brutal math of cash conversion cycles and the near-impossible path to a true venture-scale outcome. From there the conversation moves into the “barbell effect” where tiny teams and massive enterprises thrive while the middle...

In this episode of The SAAS Operators Podcast, we sit down with Drew Fallon, founder of Iris, to unpack his story moving from brand side to building finance software. Drew shares how Iris grew from a scrappy $500 a month product to a multi-million ARR platform helping brands forecast working capital and scale with confidence. We dig into the real differences between e-commerce and SAAS, the people...

In this episode of the SAAS Operators Podcast, we talk about the different games founders decide to play, and different definitions of success. Why the pursuit of money is the most noble thing you can do, and what happens when the next million doesn't meaningfully improve your life. The boys talk about different incentives, like status and legacy and how art and fashion can be tools for levera...

In this episode of the SAAS Operators Podcast, we’re joined by Eli Weiss for a conversation about competition, focus, and culture in SAAS. We start with Judge.me, Yotpo, and Eli’s perspective on why competitors make you better, even when you want them to lose. From Olipop vs. Poppy to Shein and Temu, the group unpacks how competitors expand categories, legitimize markets, and drive product innovat...

In this episode of The SAAS Operators Podcast, we sat down with Jacob Posel to talk about his journey navigating the earliest stage of building a SAAS business and how he is thinking about AI, distribution and product-market fit. Jacob shares why chasing the “biggest opportunity” is not enough without obsession. How his background in marketing and advertising gives him an edge. He explains why ste...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we sat down with Jason Lemkin who explains how AI and Shopify have completely reshaped the landscape, eliminating lifestyle businesses and forcing founders to adapt or get steamrolled. He describes how defensibility in B2B SaaS is eroding, success in the Shopify ecosystem, and why hitting $10M ARR no longer guarantees a path to $100M.Jason Lemkin shar...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we’re joined by Dan Pantelo, founder of Marpipe, for a deep dive into SaaS growth strategy, pricing, and go-to-market plays. We kick off with Judge.me’s $12M ARR business, debating whether it’s a massive success or still untapped potential, and explore why moving upmarket is often easier than defending the bottom. Rishabh shares how a $500/month SMB v...

In this episode of The SaaS Operators Podcast, we dive into the tradeoffs of venture capital, bootstrapping, and the gray area in between. Josh Perk, Founder & CEO of Vector, joins the crew to talk about building a YC-backed company and why his $130K AWS bill makes bootstrapping impossible. The conversation covers how Vector is taking on giants like 6sense and Demandbase with contact-based mar...

In this episode of The SaaS Operators, we dive into Prime Day data, shifting consumer behavior, and what it signals about the broader slowdown in e-commerce. Jeremiah breaks down why Prime Day underperformed and why Amazon is no longer the discovery engine it once was. We explore how DTC brands are getting squeezed and why the winners are pulling further ahead. Rishabh raises tough questions aroun...

In this episode of the SAAS Operators Podcast, Sean Frank, The CEO of Ridge and one of the hosts of the Operators podcast joins us for a frank conversation state of ecommerce on Shopify, Amazon and how SAAS is adapting. From pricing, to surviving market conditions, we talk about the tradeoffs between usage, seat-based and flat-rate pricing. Sean shares why Ridge is scaling through new product cate...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we sat down with Niels Klement, CMO at  Perspective.co , to talk about how they bootstrapped their way to $10M ARR almost all in Germany, primarily through paid ads. Niels breaks down how webinar funnels let them acquire customers profitably on the front end, why they collect annual revenue up front, and how they’ve avoided raising capital by staying...

In this episode of the SAAS Operators Podcast, we sat down with Amit RG, the founder of RichPanel, to unpack how he built a profitable, efficient SaaS business serving e-commerce brands. Amit shares why he turned down Y Combinator and a Series A after raising and the choice to stay lean. We talk about why advertising hasn't worked for Richpanel, and how their $2K Automation Success Kit drives...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we sat down with Stephen Hakami, the founder of Wiza, to talk about his journey bootstrapping Wiza to $10M+ ARR and what happens when you hit an inflection point. Stephen shares why he's now considering raising capital after years of profitable growth, and has shifted from a profit-first mindset to a platform play that focuses on enterprise value....

In this episode of the SAAS Operators Podcast, we talk about product launches, market expansion and building a system for reliable growth. Zach shares what he learnt from Foreplay’s latest product launch for Lens, including lessons around pricing, bundling and execution. The boys explores the difference between adding new customers vs. deepening value for existing ones, and why stacking launches c...

In this episode of the SaaS Operators podcast, we unpack how FERMAT raised a $45 million. Rishabh breaks down why they went raised more than they initially planned to, how market pull forced their hand, and the exact process he used to close the round in just 10 days. We also get into ad efficiency, pricing psychology, why most brands under-segment their websites, and how generative AI is already...

In this episode of the SAAS Operators Podcast, we get into the realities of trust in business. What it means to break it, rebuild it, and keep moving. The boys open with stories of personal betrayal and reconciliation, then shift into platform tradeoffs, debating whether Shopify’s distribution is worth the cost. We talk about customer behavior across different ecosystems, how to think about pricin...

In this episode of the SAAS Operators Podcast, the boys are joined by Cory Gill, founder of Alia. After a brief discussion on the pursuit of money and happiness and the stigma around being successful financially, they dive into the impact of fees on developer ecosystems. They talk about the long-term effects of market pressures and how to navigate cost pressures and efficiencies. The episode ends...