When Founders Started Taking Pay

Dan MacDonald is the founder and CEO of BIS Safety Software, based in Edmonton, Canada. He didn't start in safety or software—he came from retail and leadership training before an unexpected pivot led him into online safety systems. That shift eventually became a long-term bet on a "un-sexy" problem that companies can't ignore.

Today, BIS Safety serves more than 2.5 million users across high-risk industries like construction, mining, transportation, and energy. The company generates roughly $25M CAD in annual revenue, employs about 200 people globally, and runs one of the stickiest SaaS platforms you'll find—with less than 1% annual logo churn.

After nearly 20 years of bootstrapped growth, Dan is beginning a staged exit, starting with a minority secondary sale and planning a control transaction in a few years. Along the way, he shares hard-earned lessons about product obsession, compounding customer retention, and why steady execution beats hype.

Key Takeaways

• Extreme Retention Matters — Less than 1% annual churn created compounding growth without aggressive sales spending.
• Product Over Sales — BIS focused on usability and depth first, letting word-of-mouth drive most early growth.
• Customer-Funded Start — Early customers paid to build the first LMS, avoiding dilution and premature fundraising.
• Long Bootstrap Reality — The first decade involved no salary, deep personal risk, and constant financial pressure.
• Enterprise Power, End User Simplicity — Power users get depth, while users see an interface designed to feel effortless.

Quote from Dan MacDonald, Founder and CEO of BIS Safety Software

"So at that time when I started the business, there was an awakening kind of moment of realization. It hit me big. I'm reading hundreds of business books and reading about Bill Hewlett, Dave Packard, Sam Walton, and many others.

"I'm listening to the things they're saying, the ways they're thinking, And all I'm thinking is, my God, they think like me, they're just like me, they're normal people, they're just like me. And that was kind of the first awakening realization to say, they're not superhuman!

That gave me the confidence to build the business and believe in the future. I never thought there's a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow it was never about the money. It was just some burning thing inside me that just I need to do this.I was just driven to do to do this. I felt like it was just this is what I'm meant to do."

Links

• Dan MacDonald on LinkedIn
• BIS Safety Software on LinkedIn
• BIS Safety Software website

This podcast is sponsored by Lighter Capital.

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