If you still love working in and on your business every day, would you sell it when it grows and becomes more valuable? Why not “Build and Hold?”
Most practical SaaS founders love what they do, despite the long hours and the hard years.
We love building great products, solving tricky problems, growing successful businesses, and doing hard things with amazing team members.
Why not keep doing what you love for another 10 or 20 years?
Raj Bhaskar is a successful two-time practical software founder with one exit.
In 2000, he started his first software company, VisualHOMES, to provide comprehensive financial management software to public housing agencies.
With no outside funding, the business grew to serve 65 regional providers serving 2 million residents before Yardi Systems acquired the company in 2010.
Two years after he left Yardi, Raj and his brother launched Hurdlr to reach the broader small business market with simpler accounting and tax management software than Quickbooks.
They started by selling their online accounting software to small businesses. Eventually, they returned to their original vision to build embedded (white label) accounting that works inside other software.
Hurdlr is still growing steadily and has served over 1.3 million small businesses in its 13-year history. Raj invested his own money for many years with just a little outside investment.
“I ran my previous software business for 10 years before I sold it. And Hurdlr is now over 10 years old. I’ve seen inflection points in markets, and our market is finally ready. That’s the part we didn’t have any control over.
“These days, I’m talking about the next 10 years and the next 10 years after that. The next decade and two decades from now, because I think we’re just getting started.
“There is no finish line. This is the starting line where we now have all these assets and need to let more people know we exist.
“It’s crazy to say after 10 years that this is just the beginning. So I could say probably 20 years from now, looking backward, OK, these are the phases, but I’m in new territory and I know this will be a sustainable and growing business for a long time.”
Raj loves his work and has no intention of selling the business anytime soon.
The company is now “lifetime profitable” and growing quickly with 25 employees.
I can relate, as can many SaaS founders I know. We love doing what we do every day even though we don’t “have to.” Isn’t that success?
Build and Hold is just one way to do it. It isn’t the only way for every founder.
Check out this revealing interview with Raj Bhaskar, founder and CEO of Hurdlr.
