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Eden Shirley on Disrupting Yourself, Surviving Crisis, and Building a Culture of Warriors
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Episode Summary
Eden Shirley, founder and CEO of AutoGuru, shares how he turned a near-collapse during COVID-19 into a high-growth B2B success story with FleetGuru. Eden breaks down how AutoGuru evolved from a consumer marketplace for car servicing into a powerful SaaS platform processing over 35,000 fleet transactions a month across Australia and New Zealand. He explains how strategic product pivots, a relentless focus on financial discipline, and embracing embedded payments technology unlocked new revenue streams and transformed the business model.
He reveals hard-won lessons on surviving financial crises, why raising startup capital before you need it is critical, and how founders can successfully scale by empowering their teams. This episode covers everything from navigating startup funding challenges and investor management to building a scalable B2B SaaS platform and leading through market uncertainty. If you’re exploring business model transformation, growth strategies for SaaS startups, or the leap from founder-led operations to sustainable leadership, this conversation is packed with actionable insights for long-term business resilience.
Time Stamps
02:04 – The adolescent startup mindset: Why AutoGuru still feels like day one
09:55 – COVID hits: Facing near collapse and the “Great Pivot”
17:07 – The real story behind raising capital during a crisis
23:35 – Bootstrapping vs. raising, why timing is everything
27:10 – Building a culture of warriors: How Eden kept his team together
35:00 – The B2B pivot: Launching FleetGuru and unlocking hypergrowth
42:33 – Processing $1M a day: Scaling B2B transactions and embedded payments
46:00 – Letting go of control: Transitioning from founder-led to scalable leadership
53:00 – Managing investor pressure and recapitalizing the business
59:10 – Health, burnout, and the personal cost of startup life
01:03:00 – Building a global-ready SaaS platform: The leap to New Zealand
01:10:00 – Growing from 50 to 100 employees: How Eden is planning for scale
01:18:11 – Why optimism is critical at the scale-up stage
01:22:41 – The key metrics every founder should track (and why revenue per employee matters)
01:29:00 – What’s next for Eden: The exit vision and building a global business
Resources
🚗 AutoGuru – Australia’s leading car servicing marketplace - https://www.autoguru.com.au/
👥 Connect with Eden Shirley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edenshirley
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