Fully Vested

D2

5.0 (4)
ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Most media outlets focus on startups with skyrocketing valuations, massive series ABC raise figures, and frightening cap tables, giving future founders the impression that the only way to build a business is to raise money from VC's every 12-18 months until you sell. We’ve created Fully Vested to celebrate the founders who follow a different path, and the investors that back them.

06/09/2024

From $1M in funding to $80M in revenue - Josh Payne

Josh founded product discovery platform StackCommerce, growing it to $80M in revenue off only $1M in investment. These days he’s at it again, with his new company Onward - tripling to $6M in ARR this year already. We caught up with Josh today to discuss bootstrapping, life as a founder, and angel investing.

47 min
09/04/2024

The $1B AUM Fund Backing Bootstrapped Businesses - with Hillel Zidel

Hillel Zidel is the co-managing partner of Kennet Partners - a growth equity fund founded in 1997, that exclusively focuses on backing bootstrapped software businesses at the growth stage. Kennet is an absolute juggernaut in their space, with $1B AUM and 5 deployed fund vintages under their belt. We caught up with Hillel to find out more about Kennet's outlook on venture investing, the lessons they've learned over the years, and put to rest many of the common misconceptions around bootstrap investing.

45 min
20/02/2024

The pivot that led to a reported $300M exit - with Alex Macdonald

Many know Alex Macdonald as a successful investor and exited founder. What you might not know, is that these successes were the compounding result of lessons learnt during his early career in the turnarounds space - where he was responsible for rescuing distressed companies and returning them to profitability. Applications of these lessons are visible across his career - notably in his decision to pivot his venture-backed business, Velocity Black, in pursuit of building something self-sustaining and cashflow positive. That decision proved to be a good one, resulting in their acquisition in 2023 for a reported $300M. Alex joined us to talk through his impressive career and the maxims that shape his thinking. He also shares a trove of advice for founders building right now.

58 min
07/11/2023

Buying SaaS Businesses with Dirk Sahlmer

Dirk Sahlmer is the Head of Origination at SaaS Group - a holding company which acquires Bootstrapped SaaS businesses between $1-10M ARR, giving founders the opportunity to exit. They currently have 17 portfolio companies with a combined $50M in ARR. Dirk took the time to share some of his insights on the SaaS market and what it takes to sell your business.

45 min
21/08/2023

Anna Talerico on Bootstrapping, Venture Capital, and Acquisitions

Its a rare opportunity to speak with someone who has seen the business world through so many different frames. Anna Talerico has acted as a bootstrapped founder, partner at a venture capital firm, a professional executive, and has overseen multiple acquisitions along the way. We learnt a ton from Anna, and we’re sure you will to.

54 min
12/07/2023

Bootstrapping ButcherBox to $600m/y with Mike Salguero

Most venture-backed startups never crack $1M/y in revenue. A few manage to get past $10M, and only a small handful hit $100M. Beyond that, we're talking about a tiny group of world-class founders. Mike Salguero is firmly in that group. ButcherBox generates $600m/y in revenue - the crazy part is, he's done it without raising a cent of venture capital. We caught up with Mike to chat about the early days of ButcherBox, growth strategies, and many of his personal philosophies when it comes to company building.

50 min
06/03/2023

Disrupting the elevator industry with Augustin Celier - SHP #8

Augustin is a serial entrepreneur who has built companies within e-commerce, search, and SaaS. His most recent company was a predictive maintenance platform with a mission of disrupting a massive industry you might not have thought about before - elevators. Uptime raised over €9m, and had set Augustin and his team on a journey filled with ups, downs, and a particularly interesting end, which any founder out there building should listen to and learn from.

48 min
11/01/2023

Adriane Schwager on bootstrapping GrowthAssistant to $6m ARR in under 2 years - SHP #7

Adrian Schwager is the cofounder and CEO of Growth Assistant. She and her Co-founder, Jesse Pujji, have bootstrapped the business to $6m ARR within 21 months. We caught up with Adrian to discuss her background, the origins of the business, and some of the lessons she’s learnt along the way.

34 min

5

out of 5

4 Ratings

Most media outlets focus on startups with skyrocketing valuations, massive series ABC raise figures, and frightening cap tables, giving future founders the impression that the only way to build a business is to raise money from VC's every 12-18 months until you sell. We’ve created Fully Vested to celebrate the founders who follow a different path, and the investors that back them.

Creator

D2
Years Active

2022 - 2024
Episodes

14
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© D2
Show Website

Fully Vested