The Remarkable SaaS Podcast

A story about choosing the harder fight on purpose.
This episode is for SaaS founders wondering why adding more features to their niche product isn't creating the edge it used to.
Most niche SaaS races to add features—and wonders why margins shrink.
Martin Gourdeau, CEO of Vacation Tracker, took a different path. After running Workleap as President and GM, he took a year off to study what's actually changing in software—then chose a 22-person bootstrapped company over another large stage.
And he didn't pick Vacation Tracker by accident. He picked it because he believes the next wave of software will be won by a very different kind of company.
And this inspired me to invite Martin to my podcast. We explore what he saw in that year off—and why it shaped a very different bet on what wins next. Martin shares why a small bootstrapped company now has an edge most large companies will never get back, why he changed the one number that decides when his whole team gets a raise, and what kind of SaaS he thinks AI will quietly destroy.
We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Aim to be different, not just better – Create NEW value possibilities
Martin's journey proves that the next wave of remarkable software companies won't look like the last.
Here's something Martin observed that explains where he thinks the real opportunity sits:
"High performers are notoriously bad at managing their energy levels because of this obsession to perform."
By listening to this episode, you'll learn:
Why most SaaS companies are competing in the wrong layer
Why ARR-per-head changes the behavior of every employee
What high performers get wrong about their own energy
Why delegation to agents is the skill most leaders lack
For more information about the guest from this week:
Guest: Martin Gourdeau, CEO of Vacation Tracker
Website: https://vacationtracker.io

A story about asking the question many CEOs avoid—and finding real money.
This episode is for SaaS CEOs with a nagging feeling that their growth isn't compounding the way it should.
Most CEOs chase market size. And miss what actually matters.
Chad Gaydos, CEO of Procurify, took a different path. With 30 years across SAP, Skillsoft, Talkdesk, and Total Expert, he's learned that growth isn't about how big the market is—it's about how well you fit it. When he took the CEO seat in January 2025, he asked a question most operators skip: Is there a real use case here—or just a big number?
And this inspired me to invite Chad to my podcast. We explore why use-case fit—not market size—is what actually compounds growth. Chad shares why his first move was repositioning the entire company, why the product was being sold to the wrong customers, and why saying yes to the wrong customer is more expensive than saying no.
We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Master the art of curiosity – Acknowledge you cannot please everyone
Chad's journey proves that remarkable companies don't grow by chasing markets—they grow by reading them differently than everyone else.
Here's one of Chad's quotes that captures how he reads markets:
"What drew me wasn't procurement per se. It was really what was going on in this last category of the Office of the CFO. I felt like it hadn't been written yet."
By listening to this episode, you'll learn:
Why use-case fit beats TAM size
What happens when pricing finally matches the value you deliver
When the first 90 days demand subtraction, not addition
How to make hard decisions without committee paralysis
For more information about the guest from this week:
Guest: Chad Gaydos, CEO of Procurify
Website: https://www.procurify.com

A story about an opinionated founder, the customers he turns away, and the ones who stay.
This episode is for SaaS founders quietly wondering whether trying to be a fit for every buyer is what's slowing them down.
Most founders think the goal is to be a fit for as many buyers as possible. Burak Karakan, Co-founder and CEO of Bruin, runs his company on the opposite belief. A former engineering manager at HelloFresh, he built an opinionated product — and he's at peace with the buyers who walk away because of it.
And this inspired me to invite Burak to my podcast. We explore why being opinionated on purpose creates focus, speed, and the right kind of customer base. Burak shares his thinking on the question that qualifies a buyer in five minutes, why he hires juniors over seniors right now, and what happened when his team stopped tracking competitors altogether. You'll discover why he turns down deals that other founders would take.
We also zoom in on three of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Acknowledge you cannot please everyone – Aim to be different, not just better – Master the art of curiosity
Burak's journey proves that remarkable companies don't try to be a fit for everyone — they hold their position, and the right customers find them because of it.
Here's one of Burak's quotes that captures his thinking:
"It's unbelievable to me that engineers think they are there just to build stuff. No, you're there to solve problems, and sometimes solving that problem will especially require you to not build something."
By listening to this episode, you'll learn:
Why opinionated products attract better customers than agreeable ones
What question reveals whether a buyer is a real fit in five minutes
When ignoring your competitors becomes your sharpest strategic move
Why hiring juniors right now beats hiring seniors
For more information about the guest from this week:
Guest: Burak Karakan, Co-founder & CEO of Bruin
Website: https://getbruin.com

A story about rebuilding how a company runs from the ground up.
This podcast is for SaaS founders wondering whether the playbook they've been running is still enough to keep their edge.
Most software CEOs scale by hiring. Few question that.
Tim Barker, CEO of Attain IP, walked away from the obvious next move. After scaling Salesforce in EMEA, leading DataSift through Twitter's data shutdown, and running a public mental health platform for five years, he turned down PE roles and board seats to start over. New company, new market — white-box AI for patent attorneys. But the real bet wasn't the market. It was the build: five people, no functional org, agents doing the work a department used to. That's the choice I wanted to understand.
This inspired me to invite Tim to my podcast. We dig into how the operating model of a software company gets rebuilt when one person can run what used to take a department. Tim shares his thinking on why products should be bought not sold, why trust is now a measurable input, and why the obvious next move is rarely the remarkable one.
We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies:
Sell the idea, not the product
Master the art of curiosity
Tim's story proves that remarkable companies don't follow the obvious playbook—they question the foundations everyone else takes for granted and build what works now.
Here's one of Tim's quotes that captures how his definition of a winning product has shifted:
"There's no MVP in our world, in our vocabulary. It's replaced by the minimum magical product. Magical products drive word of mouth, and our North Star is: once I've used it, I'm never going back."
By listening to this episode, you'll learn:
Why systems beat super prompts in any AI-first business
What separates products people buy from products you have to sell
Why trust is a measurable input, not just a brand value
Why uncomfortable choices teach faster than comfortable ones
For more information about the guest from this week:
Guest: Tim Barker, CEO at Attain IP
Website: attainip.ai

A story about questioning the play itself—not the execution.
For SaaS founders quietly wondering whether their next round will fix what the last one didn't.
Most founders who fail try harder the next time.
Amos Bar-Joseph, co-founder and CEO of Swan, took a different path. Three-time founder. Two prior B2B startups built on the unicorn growth-at-all-costs playbook—both ended in failure. On the third one, he didn't tighten his execution. He rejected the play—and reached seven figures in ARR in just nine weeks.
And this inspired me to invite Amos to my podcast. We explore why questioning the playbook creates a different kind of edge. Amos shares the thinking behind scaling talent first, not headcount—why mental capacity is the bottleneck, why knowledge has to become software, why meetings and alignment calls are the real cost of scale.
We also zoom in on three of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: – Aim to be different, not just better – Master the art of curiosity – Focus on the essence
Amos's journey proves that remarkable companies don't follow consensus—they question what everyone else accepts and walk away from it.
Here's one of Amos's quotes that captures his philosophy on how a business should be built:
"We're scaling our talent inside the company so we can discover what does it look like the 100x version of an engineer, the 100x product, the 100x seller, the 100x marketeer. [...] A business that is designed from the ground up to scale its employees, not a business that employees are designed to scale the business."
By listening to this episode, you'll learn:
Why convention is the fastest path to mediocrity in software
What changes when revenue per employee becomes your North Star metric
Why mental capacity is the real bottleneck, not headcount
Why knowledge has to live in the system, not the team
For more information about the guest from this week:
Guest: Amos Bar-Joseph, Co-founder & CEO of Swan
Website: https://www.getswan.com