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1 You Are Your Longest Relationship: Artist DaQuane Cherry on Psoriasis, Art, and Self-Care 32:12
Episode 776 | How Bootstrapping Led to a Life-Changing $90M SaaS Exit
Manage episode 485212437 series 2455819
What’s it take to bootstrap a niche SaaS to $90M without raising a dime?
In this episode, Kevin Wagstaff joins Rob Walling to share how he and his brother bootstrapped Spectora from a scrappy MVP to a $90M valuation. It’s a masterclass in finding traction in unsexy markets, building with empathy, and making smart bets like embedded payments.
Topics we cover:
- (4:39) – The surreal moment Kevin and his brother became multimillionaires
- (9:14) – Why a mobile-first approach won in an outdated, overlooked niche
- (17:39) – How adding payments created a second revenue stream and bigger valuation
- (20:36) – The early hustle: trade shows, 6 AM demos, and Facebook group tactics
Links from the Show:
- SaaS Launchpad Course
- MicroConf
- Kevin Wagstaff | LinkedIn
- Kevin Wagstaff (@KevinWagstaff3) | X
- Spectora
- Kevin’s Built to Sell Radio Episode
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!
439 episodes
Manage episode 485212437 series 2455819
What’s it take to bootstrap a niche SaaS to $90M without raising a dime?
In this episode, Kevin Wagstaff joins Rob Walling to share how he and his brother bootstrapped Spectora from a scrappy MVP to a $90M valuation. It’s a masterclass in finding traction in unsexy markets, building with empathy, and making smart bets like embedded payments.
Topics we cover:
- (4:39) – The surreal moment Kevin and his brother became multimillionaires
- (9:14) – Why a mobile-first approach won in an outdated, overlooked niche
- (17:39) – How adding payments created a second revenue stream and bigger valuation
- (20:36) – The early hustle: trade shows, 6 AM demos, and Facebook group tactics
Links from the Show:
- SaaS Launchpad Course
- MicroConf
- Kevin Wagstaff | LinkedIn
- Kevin Wagstaff (@KevinWagstaff3) | X
- Spectora
- Kevin’s Built to Sell Radio Episode
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you!
439 episodes
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1 Episode 784 | The Wealth Ladder: Six Levels of Financial Freedom 31:26

1 Episode 783 | Bootstrapping ScrapingBee to $5M ARR and an 8-Figure Exit 40:31

1 Episode 782 | Why I Succeeded: My 10 Best Entrepreneurial Decisions 27:46

1 Episode 781 | A Founder's Regret List: 12 Mistakes I’ll Never Make Again 39:39

1 Episode 780 | "I'll Never Sell My Company" and Other Myths Founders Tell Themselves 42:28

1 Episode 779 | 10 Myths Most SaaS Founders Believe 44:32

1 Episode 778 | Pricing Pilot Projects, Niching Down, Skipping Stairsteps, and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure) 39:08

1 Episode 777 | Why Retiring Might Be the Worst Goal for Entrepreneurs 28:45

1 Episode 776 | How Bootstrapping Led to a Life-Changing $90M SaaS Exit 50:46

1 Episode 775 | A.I. Coding Tools, User Experience, Racking Your Own Servers, and More Listener Questions (with Derrick Reimer) 54:22

1 Episode 774 | How a Non-Technical Founder Bootstrapped to Millions in Revenue 37:09

1 Episode 773 | How to Find Your Early Customer Profile (ECP) 30:15

1 Episode 772 | A Highly Effective Framework for SaaS Positioning 35:24

1 Episode 771 | What Changes As You Grow, AI Agents, Patents, and More Listener Questions (with Craig Hewitt) 38:48

1 Episode 770 | Revenue vs. Profit, Asking for Permission, and Mike Tyson (A Rob Solo Adventure) 25:05

1 Episode 769 | Key Insights from MicroConf 2025 in New Orleans 30:53

1 Episode 768 | Reacting to Controversial Startup Advice 29:36

1 Episode 767 | Finding Your ICP, Prioritizing Feature Requests, Pricing, and More Product-Focused Listener Questions 42:43

1 Episode 766 | Close.com's Amazing Run to $40M ARR (with Steli Efti) 37:13

1 Episode 765 | TinySeed Tales s4e9: Making the hardest decision 28:20

1 Episode 764 | Finding Hockey Stick Growth with an A.I. Wrapper (with Jordan Gal) 39:53

1 Episode 763 | TinySeed Tales s4e8: One Last Pivot 15:20

1 Episode 762 | Doing Great Work, Hierarchy of SaaS Skills, and Public Deadlines (A Rob Solo Adventure) 25:05

1 Episode 761 | TinySeed Tales s4e7: Identifying Pain Points 20:34

1 Episode 760 | White-Labeling, Founder Mindset, and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure) 32:38

1 Episode 759 | TinySeed Tales s4e6: Does AI + Pivot = Success? 27:10

1 Episode 758 | Do Free Trials Suck?, What Moves the Needle, and More Listener Questions (with Derrick Reimer) 45:09

1 Episode 757 | TinySeed Tales s4e5: Founder Breakups, Crushing Failures, and the Future 15:24

1 Episode 756 | Why Great Product Management Is Critical for Your Startup 43:10

1 Episode 755 | TinySeed Tales s4e4: Customer Interviews + Pivoting 15:47

1 Episode 754 | Broken Freemium, SaaS Plateaus, and More Listener Questions (A Rob Solo Adventure) 25:22

1 Episode 753 | TinySeed Tales s4e3: Co-Founder Conflicts + Renaming a Business 23:10


1 Episode 751 | TinySeed Tales s4e2: From Developer to Manager 30:34

1 Episode 750 | Making Your First Hire, Testing Prices, And More Listener Questions (with Laura Roeder) 36:28

1 Episode 749 | TinySeed Tales s4e1: Introducing Hammerstone.dev 26:08

1 Episode 748 | The Ins and Outs of Startup Investing 38:43

1 Episode 747 | Evolving SaaS Customer Success Over 7 Years (with Jane Portman) 35:54

1 Episode 746 | 9 Startup Predictions for 2025 22:25

1 Episode 745 | Reflecting on 2024: Revisiting My Predictions, The Best Episodes, My Favorite Frameworks, and More (A Rob Solo Adventure) 27:21

1 Episode 744 | Bluesky, TinySeed is Raising, YC Backs Competitors, and More Hot Take Tuesday Topics 33:57

1 Episode 743 | How to Sell Your Business Without Regret 36:42

1 Episode 742 | Normalizing Hard Things, Facing Your Biggest Threat, and Making it Fast (A Rob Solo Adventure) 28:21

1 Episode 741 | What Actually is Product Led Growth? (with Wes Bush) 31:48

1 Episode 740 | My New Book! The Entrepreneur's Guide to Selling Your Business Without Regret 29:49
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