EO How He Turned 7 Years of Failure Into $760M in Exits and a $1.1B Unicorn | G2, Godard Abel | EO
Nov 25, 2025
Godard Abel, a serial B2B SaaS entrepreneur and co-founder/CEO of G2, shares his rollercoaster journey from near bankruptcy to building a billion-dollar company. He discusses the emotional challenges of layoffs and the necessity of finding product-market fit, which took seven years for him. Godard emphasizes the importance of perseverance, emotional fortitude, and the lessons learned from previous failures. He also shares insights on how G2 supports buyers and helps startups gain validation through reviews.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Dot‑Com Boom Then Bust
- Godard Abel started Big Machines in 2000 and quickly grew to 70 people with $20M raised during the .com boom.
- After the dot-com bust the company burned through most funding and scaled down to 20 people to survive on organic growth.
Hire Only After You Have Product‑Market Fit
- Scale hiring to match product-market fit and avoid hiring costly senior roles too early.
- Focus on founder-led selling and drive to profitability if funding dries up.
Partnerships Led To Breakthrough
- Big Machines found product‑market fit around 2007 after partnering with Salesforce and Oracle.
- Thirteen years after founding, Oracle acquired Big Machines for $400M.
