The Remarkable SaaS Podcast #356 - Geordy Murphy, CEO of Fobesoft, on building resilience through market downturns
This podcast interview focuses on building remarkable software that creates sustainable competitive advantage. My guest is Geordy Murphy, CEO of Fobesoft.
After three decades as a successful restaurateur who owned one of San Francisco's top four restaurants, Geordy sold his business and relocated to Florida. Despite having no software background, he identified a critical gap in the market while cycling one morning in 2014.
Inspired by Steve Jobs' philosophy that "if you can identify a problem and solve that problem, you have opportunity," Geordy founded Fobesoft with a vision to change how restaurants manage finance. What started as a self-funded venture with manual data entry evolved through persistence, strategic pivoting during COVID, and finding the right technology partnerships.
And this inspired me, and hence I invited Geordy to my podcast. We explore the counterintuitive approach he took to scaling a vertical SaaS business when everything seemed to collapse. While many companies cut back during COVID, Geordy doubled down on technology investments after securing angel funding. His journey reveals how industry expertise combined with technological innovation created a solution that convinces the moment people see it. His methods challenge conventional wisdom about rapid customer acquisition and demonstrate how focused simplicity beats feature complexity, especially in specialized verticals.
Here is a quote that captures one of Geordy's most striking business lessons:
"Years ago, I read an article that when there's a downturn, so many companies start cutting, cutting, cutting. But the ones that survive and come out when the economy comes back up are those that didn't cut. They spend a little more, look for another opportunity - and that puts you ahead of all the competition."
By listening to this podcast you will learn:
- How deep vertical expertise can compensate for lack of software industry experience when building a SaaS company
- Why doubling down on product quality during market downturns positions you for accelerated growth afterwards
- How to create a systematic "customer journey" that increases retention after experiencing rapid growth challenges
- Why understanding your ideal customer profile prevents wasting resources on prospects that can't benefit from your solution
For more information about the guest from this week:
Website: fobesoft.com