Rob Walling

So one of Craig's questions is, how would you advise thinking about the mix of custom-built versus white-label components? And for me, white-label is a risk, there's platform risk, and it's a form of, I guess, technical debt, because it's something that long-term, I mean, if I'm going to become a 10 million ARR, 20 million ARR SaaS company, I have to undo this at some point.

So one of Craig's questions is, how would you advise thinking about the mix of custom-built versus white-label components? And for me, white-label is a risk, there's platform risk, and it's a form of, I guess, technical debt, because it's something that long-term, I mean, if I'm going to become a 10 million ARR, 20 million ARR SaaS company, I have to undo this at some point.

Much like if I'm going to become a 10 or 20 million ARR SaaS company, at a certain point I have to go back and fix some of the crappy code that I wrote in the early days when I was trying to get to an MVP. These are different, but they're similarities. And so I would, the mix and the way I would think about it is I want as much of my custom code that I own that is my custom IP as possible.

Much like if I'm going to become a 10 or 20 million ARR SaaS company, at a certain point I have to go back and fix some of the crappy code that I wrote in the early days when I was trying to get to an MVP. These are different, but they're similarities. And so I would, the mix and the way I would think about it is I want as much of my custom code that I own that is my custom IP as possible.

as possible, as makes sense. But of course, there's a balance here. If I can get to $250,000 or $500,000 annual recurring revenue much faster by using white label, I want to probably consider that. And then Craig asks, does the optimal mix vary based on growth stage? And I think it does.

as possible, as makes sense. But of course, there's a balance here. If I can get to $250,000 or $500,000 annual recurring revenue much faster by using white label, I want to probably consider that. And then Craig asks, does the optimal mix vary based on growth stage? And I think it does.

I mean, there are people that are building 100% in no code trying to get to 10K a month so they can quit the day job so they can then rebuild it with code. And I would never want to be running a million dollar SaaS company that was in no code, personally. I'd be so worried about the brittleness and the scalability and... you know, platform risk and just all those things.

I mean, there are people that are building 100% in no code trying to get to 10K a month so they can quit the day job so they can then rebuild it with code. And I would never want to be running a million dollar SaaS company that was in no code, personally. I'd be so worried about the brittleness and the scalability and... you know, platform risk and just all those things.

So it really does, to me, depend on the growth stage. One of the reasons is the further along you get, the more valuable it is. And if I have an asset, let's just say you're at a million or two million ARR and throw out a 5X ARR multiple because you're growing fast, you're talking $5 to $10 million business. That's when, I mean, stuff's real at that point.

So it really does, to me, depend on the growth stage. One of the reasons is the further along you get, the more valuable it is. And if I have an asset, let's just say you're at a million or two million ARR and throw out a 5X ARR multiple because you're growing fast, you're talking $5 to $10 million business. That's when, I mean, stuff's real at that point.

So that's when I start getting nervous around these kinds of dependencies, the technical debt, the platform risk that I'm talking about. When I'm supporting myself and team members, I'm paying people's mortgages, I have something worth millions of dollars, it makes me more and more nervous.

So that's when I start getting nervous around these kinds of dependencies, the technical debt, the platform risk that I'm talking about. When I'm supporting myself and team members, I'm paying people's mortgages, I have something worth millions of dollars, it makes me more and more nervous.

Then Craig asks, is there an inflection point at which we should consider prioritizing migration away from these white label components? I mean, I would do it one at a time over time. And maybe you never replace all of them. You know, you go with the least risky one last. And the one that is performing really well for you and it's inexpensive and they're just, it's easy street.

Then Craig asks, is there an inflection point at which we should consider prioritizing migration away from these white label components? I mean, I would do it one at a time over time. And maybe you never replace all of them. You know, you go with the least risky one last. And the one that is performing really well for you and it's inexpensive and they're just, it's easy street.

You know, what are the factors there? Jacking the price up, there's bugs, there's reliability issues. You know, these are all the things that can contribute to that. And so I would probably start thinking about it around a half a million ARR, maybe a million. And I would have a list probably in priority order of what I thought we should do.

You know, what are the factors there? Jacking the price up, there's bugs, there's reliability issues. You know, these are all the things that can contribute to that. And so I would probably start thinking about it around a half a million ARR, maybe a million. And I would have a list probably in priority order of what I thought we should do.

And then you put that into your roadmap at a certain point. Do you do one every quarter or one every six months? Depends on what else you're trying to ship. And then lastly, Craig's question is, if we were to sell the company one day, does a reliance on other SaaS for specific capabilities impact our valuation versus a fully custom solution? It depends.

And then you put that into your roadmap at a certain point. Do you do one every quarter or one every six months? Depends on what else you're trying to ship. And then lastly, Craig's question is, if we were to sell the company one day, does a reliance on other SaaS for specific capabilities impact our valuation versus a fully custom solution? It depends.

It depends on, is it 10% of your functionality? Is it 80% of your functionality? There's a big difference. And are they causing you any problems, right? That platform risk will probably be factored in, but only if it is, again, more than just a small bit of your functionality. And if you have 10 modules,

It depends on, is it 10% of your functionality? Is it 80% of your functionality? There's a big difference. And are they causing you any problems, right? That platform risk will probably be factored in, but only if it is, again, more than just a small bit of your functionality. And if you have 10 modules,