Evan Teshima: Bootstrapping ForeUP to a Massive SaaS Exit and the $400k Chess Game cover art

Evan Teshima: Bootstrapping ForeUP to a Massive SaaS Exit and the $400k Chess Game

Evan Teshima: Bootstrapping ForeUP to a Massive SaaS Exit and the $400k Chess Game

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 In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, we sit down with Evan Teshima, founder and former CEO of ForeUP, a massive bootstrapped success story in the golf tech SaaS space. Evan shares his incredible journey from meeting John in a BYU classroom, enduring 5-7 rapid pivots during an accelerator program, navigating a near-death convertible note crisis resolved by a $400,000 chess game and desperate calls to family, scaling to over 2,300 golf courses with only $200k in outside capital, and ultimately achieving a huge acquisition with tax-free gains. Hear war stories, lessons on founder-led sales, customer-funded growth, and the true reward of the entrepreneurial grind (including retirement on a beach in Hawaii!).

(00:00:44) Met John in school, he was my teacher
(00:13:59) My first idea was a toilet seat controlled by a lever
(00:16:25) I literally stood up... mark my words, this is gonna be the best company
(00:19:39) Literally you pivoted somewhere between five and seven major times in about three months
(00:24:43) My stinking point of sale is a POS... This thing sucks
(00:25:22) Literally the software looked like Oregon Trail
(00:28:46) Judy Flint... she was our first customer
(00:31:31) Now we'll buy it
(00:37:08) They raised $200,000 and no more equity investment after that? Yes, period.
(00:38:13) The hotels that we went to were the most janky hotels
(00:42:56) If there's anything that we did right it was founder led sales
(00:47:00) This note's coming due... valuation will drop from 1.5 to 500,000
(00:50:19) Per that paragraph, I'm notifying you of my intent to convert right now
(00:53:14) Got some pretty nasty phone calls when they received those checks
(00:55:03) I had to do the hardest thing of my life. I called my mom
(00:58:29) Do you know what I thought? I go this guy's really good at golf...There's no way he's good at chess. So what happened?
(00:59:55) Close to 400 grand
(01:02:45) Was that an inflection point? Was that a tipping point for ForeUP, like getting Brendan in the CTO role? It was.
(01:07:48) You built it to 10 million dollars in revenue basically off of... for a huge exit
(01:08:03) The first 10 million for each of us tax was tax free
(01:15:39) I'm on the beach with an umbrella drink in my hand right now
(01:23:43) There was a company out there... raised $40 million... Had to fire. Sell.
(01:24:13) Enjoy the journey

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