A story about betting on what's coming—not what's working

This episode is for SaaS founders questioning whether their current traction is real momentum—or just comfortable motion.

Traction can be the most dangerous thing in a startup.

Andrei Pitis, CEO of Genezio, built a serverless developer platform with real users and real momentum. Then he killed it. Andrei Pitis built Vector Watch, a smartwatch with 30-day battery life, and sold it to Fitbit. With Genezio, he did something harder—killed a working product because he spotted a shift most founders missed.

And this inspired me to invite Andrei to my podcast. We explore why reading the future matters more than optimizing the present—and how that belief shaped a company pivot that produced 5-10x growth in months. Andrei shares candid insights about saying no to big customer money, choosing conversations over search terms, and why the best products are sculptures, not feature lists.

We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Acknowledge you cannot please everyone – Master the art of curiosity

Andrei's journey proves that remarkable companies don't optimize what exists—they spot what's coming and build for it before the market catches up.

Here's one of Andrei's quotes that captures his philosophy on building products:

"A good product is not about the features that you put in. It's more about the things that you take out. Like a block of stone—you make a sculpture. You take out a lot of the stone, and you are left with something that appeals to certain kinds of people."

By listening to this episode, you'll learn:

• Why walking away from traction can be the boldest growth decision a founder makes
• What separates reading trends from following them in fast-moving markets
• Why saying no to big customer money protects long-term product value
• How building for global from day one shapes competitive advantage

For more information about the guest from this week:

Guest: Andrei Pitis, CEO & Founder at Genezio

Website: genezio.com

A story about choosing margins over momentum—and letting investors call you wrong

This episode is for SaaS CEOs stuck around 20% EBITDA and wondering what it actually takes to double it without cutting their way there.

Most SaaS companies treat 20% EBITDA as a healthy number. Georgi Petrov targets 50.

Georgi, CEO of Uxify, has founded four companies in 15 years with two exits—including one to WP Engine. He doesn't get there by cutting. He gets there by building differently from day one: small teams with high ownership, self-service at premium prices, and a refusal to add cost before it earns its place.

And this inspired me to invite Georgi to my podcast. We explore why targeting 50% EBITDA changes every hiring decision, every pricing decision, and every partnership decision a founder makes. Georgi shares hard-won lessons on why small teams outperform large ones, why focus beats optionality, and why selling business outcomes—not product features—makes premium self-service pricing work.

We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Acknowledge you cannot please everyone – Focus on the essence

Georgi's journey proves that starting from profit forces every decision to earn its place.

Here's one of Georgi's quotes that captures how he actually gets to 50% EBITDA:

"Most of the high-leverage decisions that we made turn out to be not so good decisions. We find the good somewhere in the middle. Not having a support team sounds like a high-leverage decision, but that's ultimately bad, because customers need 24/7 support. So, ultimately, expand the support team, but do it in a smarter way, and that's how we end up. If we're super able to leverage a lot, very likely we can achieve much more than 50%, but I think you end up somewhere about 50% ultimately."

By listening to this episode, you'll learn:

• Why profitability shapes better decisions than fundraising ever will
• What self-service at premium prices requires to actually work
• Why the biggest partners rarely deliver the biggest results
• When adding people stops creating productivity and starts destroying it

For more information about the guest from this week:

Guest: Georgi Petrov, CEO of Uxify

Website: uxify.com

A story about users competitors can't steal

This episode is for SaaS founders wondering why their users like the product but don't love it.

Second movers usually copy the leader's playbook.

Pete Hunt, CEO of Dagster Labs, took a different path. He joined as Head of Engineering in 2022, became CEO ten months later, and inherited a company that was #3 or #4 in a crowded category. Today they're #2 overall—and #1 for greenfield deployments.

The difference? Pete built a product with values so clear that choosing it feels like choosing sides.

And this inspired me to invite Pete to my podcast. We explore what happens when users choose you for reasons competitors can't copy. Pete shares why being #2 means you have to be 10x more aggressive, why relabeling a version number created an inflection point without changing code, and what broke when his sales forecasts started slipping.

You'll discover why the real challenge wasn't preserving his culture—it was changing it.

We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Acknowledge you cannot please everyone – Master the art of curiosity

Pete's journey proves that remarkable companies don't just build tools—they build tribes.

Here's one of Pete's quotes that captures his contrarian belief about technical buyers:

"These technical folks connect with the values of the product in an emotional way. It's a very powerful thing. People would choose JavaScript frameworks based on their values—something that becomes their identity. People say brand marketing doesn't work on developers. I just think it's completely wrong.

By listening to this episode, you'll learn:

• Why healthy pipeline numbers lie
• Why crossing the chasm meant changing culture, not preserving it
• What a version number change did that new features couldn't
• Why sales teams hold onto deals they should kill

For more information about the guest from this week:

Guest: Pete Hunt, CEO of Dagster Labs

Website: dagster.io