Titans of SaaS

By: SaaS Academy
  • Summary

  • Titans of SaaS explores the origin stories, breakthroughs, and hard-won lessons behind today’s most successful SaaS startups. Hosted by Johnny Page and created by SaaS Academy, each episode features raw, insightful conversations with founders who turned bold ideas into thriving companies - generating millions in revenue and reshaping the way we live and work. Learn how they built it, scaled it, and evolved as leaders - so you can do the same. This isn’t just about SaaS. It’s about building something that matters.
    Copyright 2025 SaaS Academy
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Episodes
  • How His Company Nearly Died - And What Saved It | David Cristello
    Apr 29 2025

    Join Johnny Page as he sits down with David Cristello, founder of Jetpack Workflow, to unpack how he went from hating business to scaling a multi-million dollar SaaS company for accountants. David shares the story behind his first $2,500 pre-sale, the dangers of easy funding, and how he rebuilt his business by falling back in love with solving customer pain. This is a masterclass in resilience, customer discovery, and building a business that lasts.

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    Timestamps

    00:00 – Meet David Cristello

    03:41 – Discovering Entrepreneurship by Accident

    07:16 – The Hunt for a Painful Problem

    11:29 – When No One Wants Your First Idea

    15:04 – Cracking the Accounting Market

    18:59 – How a $2,500 Pre-Sale Changed Everything

    22:58 – Building the First Version (and Learning the Hard Way)

    27:34 – The Rise (and Trap) of Fast Facebook Growth

    34:01 – Escaping the Money Trap and Rebuilding

    41:33 – Success Leaves Clues: Mastering Customer Secrets and Staying Profitable

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    Join 30,000+ founders to get exclusive insights and tactics every week with the SaaS Summit newsletter: www.saasacademy.com/jointhesummit

    Where to find Johnny Page

    ➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnypage/

    ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnypage13/

    ➤ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnnypage1/

    ➤ Website: https://www.thejohnnypage.com/

    Where to find Titans of SaaS

    ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titansofsaas/

    ➤ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@titansofsaas/

    ➤ Website: https://www.saasacademy.com/podcast/

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    48 mins
  • From “That’ll Never Work” to $7M ARR | Tyler Smith
    Apr 22 2025

    Tyler Smith never planned to be a founder - but a moment of frustration led to a product that now serves over 10,000 customers. In this episode, Johnny sits down with the accidental entrepreneur behind Text in Church, a SaaS platform that turned follow-up chaos into connection at scale. From running a photography company to managing $7M in ARR and pulling off three acquisitions in six months, Tyler shares how he built a category-defining company through grit, education, and service.

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    Timestamps

    00:00 – Meet Tyler Smith

    1:38 The Accidental Entrepreneur

    3:31 The Spark for Text in Church

    4:36 The “Southwest Airlines” Epiphany

    6:14 Scaling Beyond a Personal Favor

    8:11 Churches Don’t Want Tools - They Want Outcomes

    10:21 Why Education Became Their Best Marketing

    12:13 Pricing, Trials, and the Power of Loyalty

    14:10 How Acquisitions Became a Growth Engine

    17:59 From Fear to Confidence: Building the M&A Muscle

    20:26 Sitting in Satisfaction… Then Finding the Next Gear

    24:22 Success Leaves Clues: 6 Big Lessons from Tyler’s Journey

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    Join 30,000+ founders to get exclusive insights and tactics every week with the SaaS Summit newsletter: www.saasacademy.com/jointhesummit

    Where to find Johnny Page

    ➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnypage/

    ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnypage13/

    ➤ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnnypage1/

    ➤ Website: https://www.thejohnnypage.com/

    Where to find Titans of SaaS

    ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titansofsaas/

    ➤ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@titansofsaas/

    ➤ Website: https://www.saasacademy.com/podcast/

    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
  • How an Ex-DJ Built a $4M SaaS in His Parents' Garage | Roby Peñacastro
    Apr 15 2025

    Roby Peñacastro was a broke DJ in a mariachi suit touring Europe when he stumbled into the tech world. After landing a job at Google, he started a side project in his parents’ garage to help his brother manage WhatsApp leads. That side project became Leadsales - a conversational commerce platform now doing $3.7M ARR and backed by Silicon Valley’s SkyDeck accelerator. In this episode, Roby shares how he went from bootstrapping the MVP on credit cards to pitching on Shark Tank Mexico, reducing churn from 30% to 4%, and building a SaaS company with global ambition - all from a small town in Mexico.

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    Timestamps

    00:00 – Meet Roby Peñacastro

    04:46 – Why He Left College and Landed a Job at Google

    07:24 – The Side Project That Started in His Parents’ Garage

    10:11 – Getting His First Customer for $83

    11:06 – Bootstrapping with Credit Cards and Bonuses

    13:37 – The Co-Founder Who Quit on the Spot After a Single Demo

    16:23 – Leaving Google and Taking the Leap

    17:18 – Getting Into SkyDeck with Just Two Months of Runway

    19:10 – From Shark Tank Mexico to $3.7M ARR

    27:28 – Success Leaves Clues: Betting Big on Retention Over Growth

    --

    Join 30,000+ founders to get exclusive insights and tactics every week with the SaaS Summit newsletter: www.saasacademy.com/jointhesummit

    Where to find Johnny Page

    ➤ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnypage/

    ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnypage13/

    ➤ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@johnnypage1/

    ➤ Website: https://www.thejohnnypage.com/

    Where to find Titans of SaaS

    ➤ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titansofsaas/

    ➤ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@titansofsaas/

    ➤ Website: https://www.saasacademy.com/podcast/

    Show More Show Less
    35 mins

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