There’s an explosion of small teams building new software for larger companies. This isn’t the first time that has happened.
Very small teams can build serious software much faster now, with the help of LLMs and the modern cloud tech stack.
15 years ago, in the early days of the modern cloud, Salesforce shipped its platform that let very small teams develop enterprise apps quickly, handling the database, user mgt., security, and more.
Savvy and agile teams have an advantage again, especially in the US, with so many buyers who are early adopters.
Rupert Mayer is the founder and former CEO of IPfolio, a vertical SaaS platform built for corporate intellectual property teams to manage patents, trademarks, renewals, and innovation workflows.
Originally from Austria, Rupert stumbled into IP software while helping a patent law firm solve Y2K risks, then moved to Silicon Valley to build a modern cloud-based product on Salesforce for smaller in-house IP teams.
IPfolio started as a lightweight alternative to legacy enterprise systems but gradually moved upmarket as customers like Dropbox, Square, GoPro, and Alphabet companies adopted the platform.
Built largely on Salesforce with a lean team, the company grew steadily, signed six-figure enterprise contracts, and expanded to roughly 40 employees while serving increasingly complex global enterprises.
After raising a small strategic investment to scale faster, IPfolio grew too quickly and burned through capital chasing larger enterprise deals that took longer to close.
Rupert ultimately sold the company in 2019 to a strategic partner, stayed through multiple acquisitions, and helped position IPfolio as the flagship product inside a much larger global company.
“The US innovation culture, especially in Silicon Valley, is very different from the business culture in Europe. I think it’s just the willingness to take risks.
“When I approached big companies to buy IP Folio, the early version, I did not have big names to go out with. I was a nobody. I walked into what was, at the time, already a public company in Silicon Valley.
“We were two people plus a developer. And I thought that was it. This public company will never sell to or buy from this no-name, solo startup. And they said, This is great, we’d love to buy from you because 15 years ago, this company was basically just three people in the garage, and someone trusted them and bought their product.”
Rupert is a crazy entrepreneur-builder who left Europe and started a bootstrapped software company in Silicon Valley. He’s still in Berkeley now.
And he’s building again—this time in climate tech with Bright Saver. He’s going for impact now on the early wave of a big new market.
Check out this innovative interview with Rupert Mayer on the Practical Founders Podcast.
