Learnings from a Second-Time SaaS Founder.

In the latest episode of the Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast , we interview Joe Lewin , founder of Foundy.com . Joe shares his insights and experiences as a second-time SaaS entrepreneur. Host Joran Hofman leads the conversation, which delves into Joe's journey, the challenges he faced, and the strategies he employed to build a scalable and impactful business.

Key Learnings

1. Inspiration and Early Goals - Joe Lewin discusses how his university dissertation on Elon Musk inspired his entrepreneurial journey. His current goal with Foundy is to create a highly scalable and automated business with a significant impact.
2. Motivation and Enjoyment - Joe emphasizes the importance of enjoying the entrepreneurial process, including solving challenges and creating efficient workflows that lead to happier customers.
3. Genesis of Foundy - The idea for Foundy was born out of the frustrations Joe experienced while selling his first company. He aimed to streamline this process and create a more efficient deal management tool.
4. Entrepreneurial Naivety and Humility - Joe highlights the balance between optimism about potential success and staying grounded by acknowledging and managing risks.
5. Funding Challenges and Lessons - Joe recounts the setbacks he faced when investors withdrew at the last minute, leading him to pivot and focus on profitability rather than relying heavily on venture capital.
6. Current Funding and Profitability Goals - Foundy has successfully raised over $1.5 million in two rounds of funding and aims to achieve profitability and cash flow break-even shortly.

For a deeper dive into Joe Lewin's experiences and insights, you can listen to the full episode here:

• Spotify
• Reditus
• Apple Podcast

Key Timecodes

• (0:44) Introduction to Joe Lewin and Foundy
• (1:21) Joe’s Background and the Inception of Foundy
• (1:27) Motivation Behind Starting Foundy
• (1:59) Foundy’s Start Date and Current ARR
• (2:08) Business Model Pivot and Revenue Breakdown
• (3:07) Current Team Size and Use of AI Assistants
• (4:15) End Goal for Foundy
• (4:48) What Keeps Joe Motivated?
• (6:04) Early Stages of Foundy and Getting the Idea Validated
• (6:54) Initial Uncertainties and Risks Faced
• (7:29) Experiencing Rock Bottom and Overcoming Challenges
• (8:43) Fundraising Challenges and Pivots
• (11:08) Advice for First-Time Founders
• (12:27) Key Growth Strategies for Foundy
• (12:27) Importance of Referrals and Organic Content
• (17:16) Processes and Frameworks Used in Foundy
• (17:29) Deep Dive into Automation and Efficiency Tools
• (19:02) Biggest Failures and Lessons Learned
• (19:15) Importance of Pivoting and Refining the Business Model
• (20:40) Foundy’s SaaS Model and Subscription Approach
• (23:00) Optimizing for Profitability While Raising Funds
• (23:12) Importance of Healthy, Sustainable Growth
• (25:46) Advice for Growing from 0 to 10K MRR
• (26:55) Importance of Domain Expertise and Problem Validation
• (28:18) Advice for Scaling to 10 Million ARR

Full podcast recording with Joe Lewin

More information:

• LinkedIn profile guest: Joe Lewin
• Linkedin profile host: Joran Hofman
• LinkedIn podcast page: Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast
• Podcast website: Grow Your B2B SaaS Podcast
• Websites: Foundy / Reditus