SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders

From $500K to $1.5M ARR: Bootstrapping VR SaaS for Trade Skills

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Dec 31, 2025

Sabari Nair, co-founder and CEO of Skillveri, shares his journey scaling a VR vocational training platform to $1.5M ARR, now serving over 100 schools. He discusses how a shift from hardware to SaaS and immersive training is revolutionizing skilled labor education. Sabari reveals the secret behind their $350K contracts and how reseller partnerships outperform direct sales. With a roadmap for $10M ARR and a unique hybrid revenue model, he highlights the importance of demos and objective skill grading in a competitive market.

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INSIGHT

SaaS Beats Legacy One-Time Simulators

Skillveri sells VR training as a SaaS starting at $4,000/year and powers up to five headsets per license.
This undercuts legacy $35K one-time simulation vendors and creates recurring revenue advantage.

INSIGHT

Device-Tied Licenses Scale Classroom Use

Skillveri serves about 100 U.S. schools with ~500 installs, averaging five devices per school.
Licenses tie to devices, not users, enabling unlimited student usage per device and gamified competition.

INSIGHT

Clear Path From 100 To 2,000+ Schools

Skillveri projects $1.5M ARR from ~100 U.S. schools and 250 global customers.
The TAM includes ~26,000 U.S. CTE schools and 1,000 community colleges, enabling a path to $10M ARR.

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Sabari Nair, co-founder and CEO of Skillveri, joins Nathan to break down how he's scaling a VR-powered vocational training platform to $1.5M ARR today, serving 100+ schools in the U.S., with $350K enterprise contracts — and why he believes immersive training plus SaaS pricing is the future of skilled labor education.

In this episode, Sabari explains how Skillveri combines VR software subscriptions, hardware add-ons, and a reseller-led GTM motion to win in a category traditionally dominated by $30K+ one-time simulation vendors.

You'll learn:

— How Skillveri sells VR training software starting at $4K/year per school

— Why their largest customer pays $350K annually (and how they plan to reach $1M contracts)

— The SaaS + hardware hybrid model driving 60% recurring revenue

— Why schools (not industry) are the wedge into a massive skills market

— How reseller partnerships replaced direct sales across the U.S.

— The commission structure that motivates resellers without killing margins

— Why in-person demos beat cold pitches for immersive tech

— How VR + mixed reality creates objective skill grading (welding, painting, more)

— The COVID pivot that forced a full reset — and buying out investors at a discount

— Why Sabari turned down a $4M all-cash acquisition offer

— The roadmap to $10M ARR by expanding to 2,000+ schools

Sabari started the company in 2012 building hardware, pivoted hard into software during the pandemic, bought out early investors in 2021, and rebuilt the business into a capital-efficient SaaS with hardware upsells. Today, Skillveri runs on a lean team, supports Meta Quest and Pico headsets, and is redefining how skilled trades are taught globally.

Whether you're a B2B SaaS founder, hardware-plus-software operator, investor exploring edtech, or operator designing reseller GTM motions, this episode is a masterclass in enterprise pricing, channel strategy, and scaling immersive technology without burning cash.

Connect with Sabari:

Skillveri.com

Connect with Nathan:

FounderPath.com