In this episode, I sit down with Pascal Levy-Garboua, a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and the founder of Noosa Labs. After making 140 venture capital investments, including seven unicorns, Pascal shifted his focus to acquiring and scaling small, profitable SaaS businesses under Noosa Labs. His next goal? Building a $50 million ARR portfolio with a 50% EBITDA margin.

We dive into his journey—from bootstrapping and navigating trade-offs to executing four acquisitions in his first year. Pascal shares invaluable lessons on structuring deals, managing high-cost debt, and the realities of scaling through acquisitions. He also explains how his experience as a VC has shaped his unique approach to investing in and operating SaaS businesses.

If you're interested in entrepreneurship, acquisitions, or building a portfolio of profitable SaaS companies, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

Please enjoy this conversation with Pascal Levy-Garboua., founder of Noosa Labs.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:00:18 - A career in technology

00:05:33 - Finding fulfillment: Enjoying work for the first time

00:10:13 - Bootstrapping a business and key trade-offs

00:13:34 - Completing four acquisitions in the first year

00:18:53 - Key lessons from the first four acquisitions

00:28:54 - What he would do differently if he could redo those acquisitions

00:32:17 - Underestimating the challenges of the journey

00:34:56 - Defining a North Star for capital allocation

00:42:25 - Managing high-cost debt

00:50:34 - Understanding what founders can’t or don’t want to do

00:52:07 - Personal growth as an acquirer and investor

00:54:02 - Typical deal structures and key considerations

01:01:20 - How making 140 VC investments, including seven in unicorn companies, shaped Pascal as a SaaS investor

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Pascal on Twitter: https://x.com/2pasc

This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.