HoldCo Builders How I Built a Portfolio of 6 SaaS Businesses With 170+ Employees | Philippe Willi Interview
"There is an ultimate way to build a group of software companies without having to follow the typical VC growth playbook."
Philippe Willi is building a SaaS holding company TrekkSoft in Switzerland.
He buys SaaS companies all day but never sells them.
Philippe's story is different:
He started a VC-backed SaaS, but wasn't able to grow it fast enough…
Then he pitched investors not to grow that one SaaS, but to acquire other SaaS companies instead.
The investors said it was a VERY stupid idea, but decided to do it anyway…
Today they have a team of 170+ employees and 6 portfolio companies.
The great story of TrekkSoft.
Important note: Philippe is a big fan of Mark Leonard, the founder of Constellation Software. They have met twice. Mark even visited Philippe and his family at their home in Switzerland.
Lots of great stories and lessons in this episode.
Enjoy!
Show notes:
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:28 - Early days and life before Trekksoft
00:05:19 - First and second acquisition
00:09:54 - Investors: “Building a portfolio of software companies is a VERY stupid idea…”
00:15:34 - Diversified portfolio vs the circle of competence
00:21:22 - How do investors get their capital - IPO? A secondary transaction? Private equity?
00:23:05 - One business unit can save the whole group in difficult times
00:24:39 - Synergies around the portfolio and Philippe's beliefs about it
00:26:13 - First few steps post-acquisition while being an operational type founder
00:30:37 - The story and lessons learned from meeting (twice!) with Mark Leonard, founder of the $50B software behemoth
00:39:30 - Growing organically or through M&A
00:44:18 - Rule of 40
00:49:46 - Key-man-risk across the entire portfolio
Follow Mikk/PrivatEquityGuy on Twitter: https://x.com/PrivatEquityGuy
Philippe on Twitter: https://x.com/philippewilli
This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.