Foreword
In 1993, I co-founded my first Software as a Service business — though nobody had yet invented that term. I was carrying a laptop from office to office in downtown Austin, plugging into fax machine phone lines to demo a legislative tracking platform over a 54Kb dial-up connection. I sold almost as much AOL in those days as I sold actual software subscriptions.
What followed was a nearly thirty-year entrepreneurial journey through the full emotional spectrum of building software businesses. I've been in management at several SaaS startups, stood at the helm while turning around a struggling platform, and led teams through the painful process of migrating legacy software to the cloud. Along the way I managed development, customer service, sales, and marketing teams; helped raise capital; and negotiated the terms of two international mergers.
None of these services are household names, but many grew into strong businesses generating millions in annual revenues. For every success, however, there is a string of failures. I have spent many nights wondering whether our service would come back online. I have dealt with the loss of customer data. I have watched revenues shrink due to poor packaging and pricing decisions. I negotiated with the FBI to protect client confidentiality. I have suffered through third-party development companies that missed deadlines, overcharged, and underdelivered. I have been part of marketing and sales efforts that were, in a word, disastrous.
Does any of this sound familiar? If so, this book is my attempt to tell you there is a light at the end of the tunnel — and it does not have to be a train.
What I've learned is that starting a SaaS service, or transitioning legacy software to a SaaS model, is more science than art. There are systematic steps to be taken. There is no quick fix, no silver bullet. What there is, is a process — one that demands dedication and honest, sometimes brutal, self-reflection, which will inevitably require some hard choices.
There are thousands of books on how to improve your business skills. This is not one of them. I did not write it to make you a better leader, a better recruiter, or a better closer. I wrote it to share a process that works for anyone charged with moving a business forward by leveraging Cloud technology. Think of it as a
guide, and therefore a quick read — a framework from which to navigate your own SaaS journey.
Throughout the book, I draw on my experience working with entrepreneurs, business owners, practice managers, and other leaders who have reached the same realization: their target market will leave them behind if they don't harness the power of the Internet to create a platform that empowers their people and serves those they exist to help.
I want to thank the thousands of mentors, co-workers, partners, and clients who have helped me better understand what it takes to conceive, design, and implement a successful SaaS business. No idea or organization is ever better than the people tasked with making it run — and I have been blessed to work alongside some remarkably talented people.
Finally, my deepest passion is coaching football. For over forty-five years I have been playing, officiating, or coaching the game in Texas. To understand Texas football coaches, you have to understand the power of story. Some coaches excel at player development, others at strategy or team management, but all of us are fluent in what I call "Coach Speak" — the art of using humor and story to drive a point home. I hope this book meets you where you are in your journey and brings some clarity to whatever bedlam you may be experiencing in your business.