SaaS District

Stuart Faught is the Founder and CEO of MiniHorse, where he helps first-time founders transition from corporate life to software business ownership through Ready-to-Scale™ SaaS business opportunities. A strong believer in the potential of vertical SaaS, Stuart focuses on helping entrepreneurs acquire and grow software businesses as long-term assets.

Stuart has built and sold more than 20 SaaS businesses, gaining extensive firsthand experience across the full journey of building, operating, and exiting software companies. He is also the Co-Founder of Covington, a Revenue Intelligence platform for oral surgery groups. Based just north of Los Angeles, Stuart lives with his wife and four children and continues to connect with entrepreneurs interested in acquiring and growing SaaS businesses.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:29 - What Makes a Small SaaS Attractive to Buyers
• 07:32 - Why Small SaaS Is a Great Path for First Time Founders
• 09:57 - Why Vertical SaaS Wins
• 13:45 - Growing SaaS From $0 to $500K ARR
• 19:56 - Why Stuart Built MiniHorse
• 24:00 - Profile of a Successful Franchise Founder
• 26:24 - Stuart's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 27:38 - Stuart's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
• 29:02 - Stuart's Biggest Challenges at MiniHorse
• 29:44 - Instrumental Resources For Stuart's Success
• 31:26 - What Does Success Mean for Stuart Today
• 33:12 - Get In Touch With Stuart

Get In Touch With Stuart:

Stuart's LinkedIn

MiniHorse Website

Mentions:

John Richards

Andrew Gazdecki

Books:

Goals! How to Get Everything You Want by Brian Tracy

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Keith Gillispie is the founder of REI Automated, a platform that helps real estate investors build businesses powered by systems instead of constant chaos.

He has helped hundreds of investors close more deals, generate millions in equity, and create true operational freedom through automation, using a practical, no-nonsense approach grounded in real-world experience.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 06:37 - Keith's Early Investing Lessons
• 15:58 - Why Most New Investors Fail
• 21:57 - When Chaos Starts Killing Momentum
• 24:54 - How to Find the First Deal
• 29:00 - The Mindset Traps Holding Investors Back
• 38:14 - Keith's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 40:32 - Keith's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
• 42:42 - Keith's Biggest Challenges at REI Automated
• 45:19 - Instrumental Resources For Keith's Success
• 47:50 - What Does Success Mean for Keith Today
• 49:50 - Get In Touch With Keith

Get In Touch With Keith

REI Automated Website

Keith Gillespie on Facebook

Books:

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

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Leo Poitevin is the founder of Astrak, a SEO agency that helps ambitious companies build sustainable organic growth through SEO strategy, content production, and link-building. Working with businesses in competitive industries such as eCommerce, high-intent services, and complex SEO niches, he focuses on creating long-term visibility that translates into measurable business results.

Before launching Astrak, Leo led SEO initiatives for international companies and helped brands improve their search visibility and organic performance. Leo also shares practical insights on SEO and link-building through his YouTube channel, where he helps marketers and founders better understand what drives sustainable search growth.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 02:01 - From SEO Expert to Agency Founder
• 05:00 - The Rise of AI Visibility and GEO
• 10:12 - Why AI Recommends Some Brands Over Others
• 17:50 - Adapting SaaS Growth for the AI Era
• 23:44 - Building Trust and Authority in an AI-First Internet
• 33:52 - Growing Organically Without Paid Ads
• 37:07 - Leo's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 37:30 - Leo's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
• 38:09 - Leo's Biggest Challenges at Astrak
• 39:08 - Instrumental Resources For Leo's Success
• 39:57 - What Does Success Mean for Leo Today
• 40:55 - Get In Touch With Leo

Get In Touch With Leo:

Leo LinkedIn

Astrak Website

Mentions:

Alex Hormozi

My First Million Podcast

Books:

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

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Krzysztof Szymko is the founder of Enterploy, a recruitment and talent partner that helps SaaS companies across the United States and Europe build and scale teams in Poland. Leveraging more than a decade of recruitment experience in the SaaS sector, Enterploy connects growing businesses with top talent across Tech, Engineering, Marketing, and Operations, helping companies access the expertise they need to scale efficiently.

With a background in technical recruiting and over 12 years of experience in SaaS, Krzysztof has built Development, Sales, Marketing, and Operations teams from the ground up, along with the HR and recruitment processes required to support rapid growth. He works closely with founders and C-level executives to develop people and hiring strategies that align directly with business goals, ensuring every hiring decision contributes to long-term company success.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:42 - Building a Startup From the Ground Floor
• 09:17 - The First Hires That Shaped Ziflow
• 16:48 - Building at Startup Speed Without Breaking the Team
• 23:03 - The Hiring Mistakes That Come With Hypergrowth
• 27:21 - What Founders Get Wrong About Hiring in Poland
• 32:24 - The Hiring Advice Krzysztof Wishes He Had Earlier
• 35:07 - Krzysztof's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 35:32 - Krzysztof's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
• 37:13 - Krzysztof's Biggest Challenges at Enterploy
• 38:09 - Instrumental Resources For Krzysztof's Success
• 39:31 - What Does Success Mean for Krzysztof Today
• 40:36 - Get In Touch With Krzysztof

Get In Touch With Krzysztof:

Krzysztof's Email

Krzysztof's LinkedIn

Enterploy Website

Mentions:

Agnieszka Szydłowska

Mat Atkinson

Anthony Welgemoed

Alex Hormozi

Books:

The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch

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Julio Martínez is the Co-Founder and CEO of Abacum, an AI-native FP&A platform built to help finance teams drive efficient growth and deliver real business impact. With Abacum, he focuses on turning finance into a strategic function by giving teams real-time visibility into their KPIs, automating reporting, and enabling better forecasting, planning, and decision-making across the organization.

Before founding Abacum, Julio spent over two decades across finance and technology, beginning his career in investment banking in New York, São Paulo, Zurich, and London. He later transitioned into tech, where he launched multiple fintech products and deepened his focus on building solutions for modern finance teams. Originally from Spain and now based in New York, Julio brings a global perspective and a practical, operator-driven mindset to helping companies scale with greater clarity and control.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:52 - From Investment Banking to SaaS Finance
• 05:36 - Why Abacum Was Built
• 10:07 - Turning Finance Into a Growth Driver
• 13:38 - AI Trends in the Office of the CFO
• 18:16 - How AI Is Changing Forecasting and Planning
• 23:20 - The Biggest Financial Planning Mistakes in SaaS
• 27:32 - Building a Strategic Finance Function
• 32:57 - Julio's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 33:29 - Julio's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
• 35:20 - Julio's Biggest Challenges at Abacum
• 36:22 - Instrumental Resources For Julio's Success
• 40:04 - What Does Success Mean for Julio Today
• 41:42 - Get In Touch With Julio

Get In Touch With Julio:

Julio's LinkedIn

Abacum Website

Books:

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Amp It Up by Frank Slootman

The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh

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Janina is the CMO of Flipsnack, where she leads marketing across product marketing, go-to-market strategy, content, sales enablement, and growth. She specializes in building scalable marketing systems that connect customer insights with business outcomes, ensuring marketing serves as a true growth driver rather than simply a support function.

With a strong focus on clarity and execution, Janina helps align marketing, sales, and product teams around clear positioning, messaging, and customer value. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy and execution, translating how customers actually use products into effective go-to-market plans, stronger team alignment, and sustainable growth.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:40 - From Flipbooks to a Full Content Platform
• 03:45 - Finding the Right ICP
• 07:18 - When Customer Feedback Changes Positioning
• 10:25 - When Customer Requests Shape Your Product Roadmap
• 11:49 - Roadmap Decisions vs Messaging Decisions
• 14:09 - Winning Channels and Failed Experiments
• 17:30 - Prioritizing GTM Across Multiple Markets
• 21:30 - Janina's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 21:58 - Janina's Piece Of Advice For Her Younger Self
• 22:58 - Janina's Biggest Challenges at Flipsnack
• 24:14 - Instrumental Resources For Janina's Success
• 27:12 - What Does Success Mean for Janina Today
• 28:06 - Get In Touch With Janina

Get In Touch With Janina:

Janina's LinkedIn

Flipsnack Website

Mentions:

April Dunford

Emily Kramer

Kieran Flanagan

Books:

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini

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Cem Atik is the Co-Founder and CMO of Harucon Ventures, where he works with fast-growing eCommerce brands that are becoming harder to run as they scale. His focus is on helping companies navigate the stage where revenue increases but margins tighten, decisions slow down, and operational pressure starts to build.

At Harucon Ventures, Cem helps rebuild the systems behind these businesses so growth becomes efficient, scalable, and controllable. His work centers on turning complex, high-growth environments into structured operations that are better positioned for long-term scale and eventual exit.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:39 - When Revenue Growth Becomes a Problem
• 06:48 - Scaling Revenue vs Scaling Profit
• 10:00 - Why Margins Shrink as Brands Grow
• 13:40 - The Warning Signs of Inefficient Scaling
• 15:57 - Turning Growth Into Profitability
• 20:46 - How AI Is Reshaping Acquisitions and Operational Efficiency
• 24:07 - Shifting From Chasing Revenue to Building a Scalable Business
• 27:07 - Cem's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 28:03 - Cem's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
• 28:48 - Cem's Biggest Challenges at Harucon Ventures
• 30:31 - Instrumental Resources For Cem's Success
• 32:32 - What Does Success Mean for Cem Today
• 33:34 - Get In Touch With Cem

Get In Touch With Cem:

Cem's LinkedIn

Harucon Ventures Website

Books:

Pitch Anything by Oren Klaff

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Jon Mest is the CEO of ChatRank and JustReachOut, where he operates at the intersection of data, growth, and marketing. Throughout his career, he has worked across companies like Thomas Weisel Partners, 1010data, and Sika Health, building a strong foundation in using data to drive scalable growth strategies.

At ChatRank, Jon is focused on helping businesses win in the era of AI-driven search, where relevance and quality matter more than ad spend. He also leads JustReachOut, a PR platform that enables companies to secure media coverage through targeted outreach, analytics, and proven frameworks. With a background in applied mathematics from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Wharton School, Jon brings a data-driven perspective to helping businesses amplify their visibility and compete more effectively in evolving digital landscapes.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:24 - Jon's Journey Through Data, Growth, and Startups
• 03:16 - Building ChatRank and JustReachOut
• 05:21 - How AI Is Reshaping Startup Teams
• 07:55 - Why Jon Chose Bootstrapping Over Venture Capital
• 10:51 - Building the Product You Actually Need
• 14:35 - How AI Search Is Changing Brand Discovery
• 16:56 - The New Rules for Startup Growth in 2026
• 21:38 - Building an AI-First Startup Team
• 26:26 - Jon's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 27:23 - Jon's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
• 28:55 - Jon's Biggest Challenges at ChatRank and JustReachOut
• 31:03 - Instrumental Resources For Jon's Success
• 33:46 - What Does Success Mean for Jon Today
• 35:37 - Get In Touch With Jon

Get In Touch With Jon:

Jon's Email

ChatRank Website

Mentions:

Joe Delgado

Yelp

G2

Trustpilot

Healthgrades

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Anthony Saniger is a board member at Beauty Rep and a consumer-focused brand builder with over 17 years of experience across the beauty, fashion, and wellness industries. He brings a strong blend of strategic vision and creative execution, helping brands grow by building meaningful connections with their audiences and positioning themselves effectively in competitive markets.

Anthony actively invests in and advises brands across CPG, beauty, and hospitality, using his entrepreneurial perspective to drive growth, innovation, and long-term brand value.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 01:27 - From Consumer Brands to Beauty Rep
• 03:57 - Fixing Inefficiencies in Traditional B2B
• 07:07 - Centralizing Vendor Management and Timing
• 09:14 - The Challenge of Building a Two-Sided Marketplace
• 11:23 - Designing B2B Products That Drive Revenue
• 13:09 - What Companies Still Get Wrong About Marketplaces
• 15:34 - Entering Niche Industries and Uncovering Inefficiencies
• 17:27 - Exploring Potential in Aesthetic and Longevity Industries
• 18:56 - Anthony's Favorite Activity To Get Into a Flow State
• 19:30 - Anthony's Piece Of Advice For His Younger Self
• 20:25 - Anthony's Biggest Challenges at Beauty Rep
• 22:00 - Instrumental Resources For Anthony's Success
• 23:26 - What Does Success Mean for Anthony Today
• 25:40 - Get In Touch With Anthony

Get in touch with Anthony:

Beauty Rep Website

Anthony's LinkedIn

Mentions:

Keri Concannon

Olivia Schmid

Brené Brown

ZO Skin Health, Inc.

Books:

"Delivering Happiness" by Tony Hsieh

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Carl Lenocker is the Chief Unicorn at Rockstar Unicorn Consulting and a top-tier Customer Success executive with over 20 years of experience operating in high-stakes, revenue-critical environments. He has built his career managing and protecting multi-million dollar relationships, focusing on executive-level conversations where outcomes matter more than optics and where revenue is either secured or quietly lost.

Known for his no-fluff, field-tested approach, Carl teaches Customer Success professionals to think and act like revenue owners, not support teams. He is also the author of Success Plan for Life, where he applies the same principles used to protect enterprise accounts to career growth, wealth building, and long-term leverage, helping leaders earn trust, de-risk renewals, and break through professional ceilings.

In this episode we cover:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 03:08 - Carl's Journey in Customer Success
• 06:16 - Mindset Shift From Support to Revenue Ownership
• 09:11 - Building Relationships and Overcoming Fears
• 12:18 - Navigating Remote Interactions and Building Trust
• 15:05 - The Impact of AI on Customer Success Roles
• 18:17 - Lessons Beyond Business and Success Plan for Life
• 21:09 - The Power of Planning for Success
• 24:19 - Wealth Accumulation and Legacy Thinking
• 26:18 - Personal Growth and Life Goals
• 27:04 - Choosing the Right Partner
• 29:00 - Navigating Career Growth and Challenges
• 31:07 - Influential Resources for Success
• 33:26 - Defining Success at Midlife

Get in touch with Carl:

Carl's LinkedIn

Rockstar Unicorn Consulting

Books:

"Success Plan for Life" by Carl Lenocker

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki

"Awaken the Giant Within" by Tony Robbins

"Power Questions" by Andrew Sobel

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How To Value Your SaaS Company