Why Saying No Helped Them Scale From Freelancers to Global Clients - Angelo Zanetti, Elemental

In this episode of The Founder Files, we’re joined by Angelo Zanetti, co-founder of Elemental, a custom software development agency that’s quietly grown into a global force serving clients across South Africa, Europe, and the UK.Angelo takes us through the 20-year journey from two self-taught devs to a 25-person team, navigating everything from messy pivots to failed products and bold repositioning. But beneath the surface is a rare founder philosophy: simplify complexity, serve with excellence, and grow by focus; not by fluff.We dive into:• How Elemental grew from freelancers to a full agency• Their bold move from subcontractors to owning the client journey• Defining their ideal clients and niching down• Why they shut down a growing marketing division to focus• Winning international clients without meetings• How AI is shifting dev work—and how they’re adapting• What founders should know before building their own productThis episode is packed with real founder insight, from one of the most grounded voices in the dev world.----------Book a curiosity call with Cameron: https://www.metavolve.co/curiosity-callThis episode is brought to you by Metavolve.Metavolve is a team of focused experts committed to helping entrepreneurs like you scale their businesses successfully. Reach out to our team to learn more: https://metavolve.co/----------To support The Founder Files:🔔 Subscribe and turn post notifications on⭐ Leave a comment to let us know your thoughts💭 Share your thoughts on Linkedin and tag Cameron Coutts🔗 Connect with Angelo:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelozanetti/🔗 Connect with Cameron:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefounderfilespodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-metavolve/----------00:00 Introduction04:26 Elemental’s business model explained06:14 Elemental’s reach: Market & scale today08:07 How Elemental attracts overseas business09:51 The role of AI in Elemental’s workflow13:11 The hidden complexity behind clean code17:29 Why clear positioning changed everything24:12 Why Elemental pivoted and what It changed27:46 How Elemental identified their ideal clients29:42 Refining our ICP to scale smarter41:47 What changed after we repositioned48:59 Why cutting marketing made us more profitable54:54 Lessons from a failed side hustle01:09:06 What’s the most pressing obstacle in this phase of the journey?01:16:18 What does the future look like for Elemental?01:23:30 With hindsight in hand, would you make the same decisions?