ProductLed Podcast ProductLed 100 - The Solo-Founder Playbook: How to Run a $1M ARR SaaS with 1 person
ProductLed 100 - The Solo-Founder Playbook: How to Run a $1M ARR SaaS with 1 person
Most founders believe scaling requires a massive headcount, co-founders, and VC funding. They think success is measured by the size of the team, not the efficiency of the revenue.
In this episode of the ProductLed 100 series, Wes Bush sits down with Vincent Jong (Founder of Poolside Ventures) and Esben Friis-Jensen (Co-Founder of Userflow) to discuss the emerging era of the "One-Person Company" - businesses designed to generate millions in revenue with just a single operator.
Vincent reveals his strategy for building a portfolio of lean, highly profitable SaaS companies like MeetBot. Together with Esben, they break down how AI tools like Lovable and Cursor have removed the technical barrier to entry, why "speed" is the new competitive moat against incumbents like Calendly, and the exact skill sets required to thrive as a solo builder.
Whether you are a developer looking to launch your own venture or a founder trying to maximize efficiency, this episode offers a blueprint for building high-revenue, low-headcount businesses that are built to last forever.
Key Highlights:
- 01:36: Why Vincent stopped looking for co-founders and started building alone
- 03:09: The AI Tech Stack: How tools like Lovable and Cursor replace engineering teams
- 06:07: Why building the product is the easy part (and selling is the hard part)
- 13:17: Disrupting a Red Ocean: Why MeetBot entered the crowded scheduling market
- 16:53: The Economics of Infinite Runway: Operating a SaaS for a few hundred dollars a month
- 20:31: Speed vs. Scale: How one-person teams outmaneuver incumbents
- 27:21: The "Launch Early" myth vs. the new bar for MVP quality
- 37:44: Vincent’s advice: Don’t quit your job. Build on weekends
Resources:
📅 MeetBot: The API-first scheduling solution
💼 Connect with Vincent Jong on LinkedIn
💼 Connect with Wes Bush on LinkedIn