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SaaS Founder Kick-off


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Most SaaS founders chase the wrong signals. They obsess over user metrics and feature requests while missing the one indicator that actually predicts billion-dollar outcomes: unprecedented demand that feels unmanageable. 

Chris Tottman learned this the hard way after building Message Labs from accidental discovery to £150M exit and then watching hundreds of startups as co-founder of Notion Capital. 

He has decoded the difference between startups that scale and those that burn through millions while still searching for product-market fit. This isn't typical VC wisdom, but it's hard-earned intelligence from someone who's lived through both the creative chaos of building breakthrough companies and the systematic discipline of scaling them.


Talking points include:

  • How Message Labs went from a free feature to £150M subscription business in 8 years.
  • Why 90% of companies never escape the discovery phase (and the signals that separate winners from wannabes).
  • The "agentic revolution" reshaping SaaS development and what it means for human collaboration.


Listen to find out more about:

  • Why AI will struggle to replace humanity's "masters of collaboration" advantage
  • The mathematical system behind social media growth (hint: it's simpler than you think)
  • How Notion Capital spots the next unicorns before they know they're unicorns


Key segments of this podcast and where you can tune in to go direct: 

[00:02:15] The birth of Europe's first major SaaS company - how Message Labs emerged from chaos

[00:05:30] The 90% revenue miss and why indirect sales strategies fail 

[00:12:00] How to know when you've truly achieved product-market fit 


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