Build, launch, and scale your SaaS with real strategies from founders who’ve actually done it.
Honest conversations about what’s working in SaaS growth, recurring revenue, and building products people want.
The SaaS Podcast shares in-depth interviews with proven SaaS founders and entrepreneurs, where we unpack the real stories behind the wins, failures, pivots, and lessons learned along the way.
You’ll discover practical insights you can use to get traction, reach product-market fit, grow your MRR, and scale your SaaS — including how to leverage AI without the hype.
Hosted by Omer Khan — SaaS founder, advisor, and creator of SaaS Club — helping thousands of founders build and grow successful software businesses.
New episodes weekly. Follow the show and start leveling up your SaaS.
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Build, launch, and scale your SaaS with real strategies from founders who’ve actually done it.
Honest conversations about what’s working in SaaS growth, recurring revenue, and building products people want.
The SaaS Podcast shares in-depth interviews with proven SaaS founders and entrepreneurs, where we unpack the real stories behind the wins, failures, pivots, and lessons learned along the way.
You’ll discover practical insights you can use to get traction, reach product-market fit, grow your MRR, and scale your SaaS — including how to leverage AI without the hype.
Hosted by Omer Khan — SaaS founder, advisor, and creator of SaaS Club — helping thousands of founders build and grow successful software businesses.
New episodes weekly. Follow the show and start leveling up your SaaS.
SaaS Growth Strategy: From $0 to $100M ARR | Proof
The SaaS Podcast: Build, Launch & Scale Your SaaS
46 minutes
3 months ago
SaaS Growth Strategy: From $0 to $100M ARR | Proof
Pat Kinsel went from years of painful struggle at Notarize to building Proof, a SaaS platform approaching $100M ARR with 230 employees and $260M raised.
In this episode, Pat explains how a notary error during his first startup exit sparked the idea, why he validated demand with a simple landing page before building, how he endured years of slow traction and false signals, and what changed when he expanded beyond notarization to transaction security.
🔑 Key Lessons
💡 Validation Strategy: How Pat validated demand with a simple landing page and Google ads before writing code.
💰 Surviving Negative Margins: Why losing money on every transaction nearly killed the company and how they fixed unit economics.
📈 The COVID Spike: What really happened when demand spiked 100x overnight and why many of those customers churned later.
🏛️ Regulatory Moat: How he spent years lobbying to change state laws, turning red tape into a massive competitive advantage.
🔄 The Pivot: Why he rebranded from "Notarize" to "Proof" to expand TAM beyond just digital notary services.
📖 Chapters
Introduction & About Pat Kinsel
Validating Demand: Landing Page & Google Ads
Losing Money, Struggling for Profitability
Lobbying to Change Notary Laws
Origin Story: Where the Idea Came From
Early Investment Experience & Industry Connections
Initial Research & Testing (Unbounce Landing Page)
Building the MVP: Mobile App for Online Notary
Early B2C Go-to-Market Strategy
Recruiting the First Notaries
Educating and Acquiring Consumers
Marketing Tactics: Google Ads, SEO, Channel Partners
Long, Slow Early Growth and Doubts
Breaking Even & Gross Margin Challenges
Lobbying Strategy & Industry Support
COVID-19 Impact: Exploding Demand
Shift to Enterprise Customers During COVID
Post-COVID Reality Check & Refocusing
Expanding Beyond Notarization: The Proof Platform
Enterprise Transaction Security & Deepfakes
Technical/Engineering Moat & Compliance
Lightning Round
This episode is brought to you by:
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📫 Mailtrap → Get 20% off with code THESAASPODCAST
Resources:
🎧 Full Show Notes: saasclub.io/452
🎤 Subscribe to the Podcast: saasclub.io/subscribe
💌 Get weekly 5-minute SaaS insights: saasclub.io/email
💡 Join the SaaS Club founder community: saasclub.co/plus
The SaaS Podcast: Build, Launch & Scale Your SaaS
Build, launch, and scale your SaaS with real strategies from founders who’ve actually done it.
Honest conversations about what’s working in SaaS growth, recurring revenue, and building products people want.
The SaaS Podcast shares in-depth interviews with proven SaaS founders and entrepreneurs, where we unpack the real stories behind the wins, failures, pivots, and lessons learned along the way.
You’ll discover practical insights you can use to get traction, reach product-market fit, grow your MRR, and scale your SaaS — including how to leverage AI without the hype.
Hosted by Omer Khan — SaaS founder, advisor, and creator of SaaS Club — helping thousands of founders build and grow successful software businesses.
New episodes weekly. Follow the show and start leveling up your SaaS.
