In the short run, brilliant strategic moves and flawless execution can work wonders.
Most SaaS companies don’t die because of bad strategy or “timing.” They die because of one big fatal mistake.
The founders I know who win in the long run aren’t always the most brilliant or even the luckiest.
They’re the ones who stay alive long enough for compounding to work.
Charlie Munger said the first rule of compounding is simple: don’t interrupt it.
Simon Swords founded Fundipedia after starting in a backyard shed in England, building bespoke software.
Originally a custom development shop, his firm built a data governance platform for major buy-side asset managers, including HSBC, Barclays, and Legal & General.
Over time, Fundipedia evolved into a high-retention enterprise SaaS platform with strong net revenue retention and Rule of 40 performance.
Simon navigated long consultative sales cycles, regulatory tailwinds, and a tightly networked financial services market to build a durable, recurring-revenue engine.
After turning down an initial offer to buy the company, Simon grew ARR further and ultimately sold in 2025 at approximately 10x ARR to FE fundinfo, a larger player in the fund management software market.
During the acquisition negotiations, Simon used ChatGPT extensively to learn about the steps, terms, and typical pitfalls in the M&A process.
It was a long and very difficult journey to grow the company, overcoming difficult obstacles and challenges, but they kept going, as Simon describes:
“The most important thing is not to make a mistake that kills you or the business. While you’re in the arena and you’ve not been taken out yet, dragged off by the hyenas or lions, whatever they used back in the Roman days, you’ve still got a chance to make something magical happen.
“You do something stupid, kill the business, kill your reputation, you’re done. Entrepreneurs hate the word luck. I do feel lucky. I am lucky. Of course, I’m lucky. I have to be lucky. You make your own luck.
“But I’ll tell you what I didn’t do. I didn’t make a mistake that killed me or the business, and the entire way through. Even when I was going through hell, never, no matter how neurotic or anxious or all the negative kind of traits you can imagine would have flown through me. I never made a mistake that killed the business.”
Simon humbly shares his challenges and frustrations as a founder, along with the grit to keep going when things looked bleak.
Check out this revealing interview with Simon Swords on the Practical Founders Podcast.
