Practical Founders Podcast

#1: Self-funded spinoff to software growth powerhouse - Todd Watson of Showit


Listen Later

Todd Watson is the owner and CEO of Showit, a popular no-code website builder and platform for designers and photographers. Todd is a native of Phoenix, Arizona where he started as a videographer before joining a friend in 2006 to create a scrappy software business that made inexpensive photo-presenting and sharing tools for photographers.

The Showit company was created when Todd took one of their two products and half the small team in 2010 to spin off Showit as an independent business. The small revenue from the small customer base and his own savings allowed them to rewrite Showit for the cloud and then continue their fanatic customer focus to keep growing every year.

Now Showit is used by 35,000 designers, photographers, and small businesses as their website platform using its elegant “Photoshop-like” no-code visual builder. The Showit company is growing quickly every year and is profitable, yet Todd has no interest in taking outside funding or selling his beloved company.

In this episode, you’ll hear how Todd and the Showit team:

  • Spun off Showit from a small software company, then rewrote the software from old Flash technology to new cloud software
  • Serve and love their customers to create a fanatically loyal community that is expanding quickly without expensive marketing
  • Recruit, engage, and empower their employees in creative ways that no funded software company ever would
  • Never think about external funding or selling the company despite the company’s extraordinary value and potential
  • Started with a fanatic niche focus on an underserved community and then expanded its market as the community grew

Check out all our episodes, articles, and resources at https://practicalfounders.com.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Practical Founders PodcastBy Greg Head

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

26 ratings


More shows like Practical Founders Podcast

View all
This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis

This Week in Startups

1,270 Listeners

Startups For the Rest of Us by Rob Walling

Startups For the Rest of Us

691 Listeners

a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

a16z Podcast

1,006 Listeners

The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship by Omer Khan

The SaaS Podcast - SaaS, Startups, Growth Hacking & Entrepreneurship

181 Listeners

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

507 Listeners

Built to Sell Radio by John Warrillow

Built to Sell Radio

209 Listeners

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

172 Listeners

Founders by David Senra

Founders

1,847 Listeners

Masters of Scale by WaitWhat

Masters of Scale

3,963 Listeners

Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

Y Combinator Startup Podcast

207 Listeners

REWORK by 37signals

REWORK

208 Listeners

My First Million by Hubspot Media

My First Million

2,614 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

8,756 Listeners

The Startup Ideas Podcast by Greg Isenberg

The Startup Ideas Podcast

182 Listeners

Never Enough by Andrew Wilkinson

Never Enough

58 Listeners