Practical Founders Podcast

<p dir="ltr">Shailesh Hegde is the CEO of <a href= "https://www.hubilo.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Hubilo</a>, a Bangalore-based webinar software company that initially started during COVID as virtual events tech and raised $150M in VC funding before the market shifted. Originally joining as head of product, he stepped into the CEO role during a chaotic downturn and led the company through a full strategic reset after returning all the remaining capital to investors. </p> <p dir="ltr">When the virtual events boom collapsed, Shailesh and the team rebuilt Hubilo into a mid-market webinar platform serving B2B marketing teams. They shifted from large in-person event organizers to marketers running frequent webinars, emphasizing differentiated AI-driven content repurposing. Hubilo stabilized revenue, rebuilt its GTM motion, and reached a 50/50 split between new webinar revenue and legacy customers. </p> <p dir="ltr">Earlier this year, Hubilo was acquired by BrandLive, a U.S. enterprise video platform seeking a complementary webinar product. About 80% of Hubilo's team moved over, and Shailesh now leads product integration and customer continuity during the transition. He shares hard lessons on pivots, returning capital, leading through uncertainty, and executing a practical exit when the original VC-scale vision is no longer realistic. </p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Refounder Mindset</strong> – Shailesh stepped into the CEO role and reframed the mission from hypergrowth to survival, focus, and a practical exit.</li> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>New ICP Reality</strong> – Moving from event organizers to B2B marketers required a complete repositioning and GTM rebuild that took longer than expected.</li> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>AI as Differentiator</strong> – Hubilo used AI-generated content and repurposing tools to stand out in a crowded webinar category with entrenched incumbents.</li> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Practical GTM</strong> – LinkedIn thought leadership, SEO content, and product-led demos outperformed outbound or expensive Google ads in this competitive space.</li> <li><strong>Strategic Fit Wins</strong> – BrandLive acquired Hubilo for complementary capabilities, product acceleration, and access to a strong India-based engineering team.</li> </ul> <p dir="ltr"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Quote from Shailesh Hegde, CEO of Hubilo</span></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"Now that I just sold our company, I'm thinking about what's next for me. It comes down to, Will I be able to find a viable problem that people are willing to pay for and will I be able to use sort of all of this experience that I have in order to solve it really well and kick off a company off the ground? </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"Now is probably the best time to start a company where there's so much action, there's so much happening in AI, and it's super exciting to be in this space. It's also a great time to not have like revenue pressure on your shoulders and just think out loud, have open conversations and just be free, before you really dive in and choose a focus.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"The same types of business pressures will come back as you start a company. But now is a great time to just help with transition, make sure the team is good, but at the same time, start thinking about the types of problems I want to solve in the future with a new startup."</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong style= "font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> <span style= "font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> Links</span></strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaileshhegde/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shailesh Hegde on LinkedIn</a></li> <li dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/company/hubilo/?originalSubdomain=in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hubilo on LinkedIn</a></li> <li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.hubilo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hubilo website</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.brandlive.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Brandlive website</a></li> </ul> <p><strong id= "docs-internal-guid-5d94471a-7fff-0954-12f6-a253480f5363"></strong></p> <h2><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Podcast Sponsor – Fraction</span></h2> <p>This podcast is sponsored by <a href= "https://www.hirefraction.com/?utm_source=practicalfounders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fraction</a>. Fraction gives you access to senior US-based engineers and CTOs — without full-time costs or hiring risks. Get 10 to 30 hours per week from vetted and experienced US-based talent.</p> <p>Find your next fractional senior engineer or CTO at <a href= "https://www.hirefraction.com/?utm_source=practicalfounders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fraction.work.</a> You can start with a one-week, risk-free trial to test it out.</p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Practical Founders Podcast</strong></span></p> <p class="p1">Tune into the <a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/podcast"><span class="s1">Practical Founders Podcast</span></a> for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalFounders"><span class= "s1">YouTube channel</span></a>.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at </strong><a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/newsletter"><span class= "s1"><strong>practicalfounders.com.</strong></span></a></p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups</strong></span></p> <p>Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A <a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/peer-groups/">Practical Founders Peer Group</a> is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by <a href="https://practicalfounders.com/greg-head/">Greg Head</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Gaurav Bhasin is the founder and managing director of <a href="https://www.alliedadvisers.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Allied Advisers</a>, an M&A advisory firm whose principals have completed over 100 sell-side transactions for software and tech founders. After two decades in investment banking and tech M&A, Gaurav is a sell-side advisor to B2B software founders who have built successful businesses and want to explore selling their companies.</p> <p dir="ltr">Allied Advisers typically works with founders selling their businesses for $20M–$200M, helping them prepare materials, run a competitive process, and negotiate terms.</p> <p dir="ltr">We discuss how today's M&A market looks very different from the 2021 bubble. Valuations have normalized, deal timelines have increased, and buyers are more disciplined. But the demand for profitable, steadily growing SaaS companies is stronger than ever.</p> <p dir="ltr">Gaurav breaks down strategic and private equity buyers, what metrics matter most, how AI influences valuations, and why most founders underestimate the emotional and operational effort required to sell. For practical founders thinking about an exit in the next few years, this episode provides clear expectations and tactical guidance.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"><strong>Profitable Growth Wins</strong> — Buyers prefer SaaS companies growing 20–50% with real profits over faster revenue growth fueled by burn.</li> <li dir="ltr"><strong>Metrics Drive Valuation</strong> — Net retention above 110%, gross retention above 90%, and >75% gross margins increase valuation and buyer interest.</li> <li dir="ltr"><strong>Run a Real Process</strong> — A single buyer gives you no leverage. Multiple qualified buyers improve pricing, terms, and closing certainty.</li> <li><strong>AI Is Lipstick — But Real</strong> — You don't need to be AI-native. Practical AI that improves product, margin, or GTM still increases buyer interest.</li> </ul> <ul> <li data-start="1453" data-end="1525"> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Quote from Gaurav Bhasin, founder and managing director of Allied Advisers</span></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"The good news for SaaS founders is that the private equity community has raised about $1.5 trillion of capital, and more is being raised. And they also have access to debt. So there's $7 trillion of dry powder to do deals. Private equity is not paid to sit on the cash. And they love recurring revenue software. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"Private equity investors will typically move much faster than strategic buyers. Strategics will take a while. You need a business unit sponsor to buy into the vision, and then they will push the corporate to do the deal. But with the private equity, they will look at your financial metrics and if you fit in, they can move pretty fast. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"The one caveat with private equity compared to strategic is they generally pay a little bit less than the strategics because strategics have established distribution and GTM for higher growth, so private equity will index more on the financials."</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong style= "font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> <span style= "font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> Links</span></strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaurav-bhasin-ba75601/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Gaurav Bhasin on LinkedIn</a></li> <li dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/company/allied-advisers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Allied Advisers on LinkedIn</a></li> <li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.alliedadvisers.com/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Allied Advisers website</a></li> <li><a href= "https://bb16eba0-3d94-42d1-abcb-976c9f7f05be.usrfiles.com/ugd/bb16eb_ced30256e0534565a67acdb8aef4747e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2025 Vertical SaaS Report - Allied Advisers</a></li> </ul> <p><strong id= "docs-internal-guid-5d94471a-7fff-0954-12f6-a253480f5363"></strong></p> <h2><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Podcast Sponsor – Fraction</span></h2> <p>This podcast is sponsored by <a href= "https://www.hirefraction.com/?utm_source=practicalfounders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fraction</a>. Fraction gives you access to senior US-based engineers and CTOs — without full-time costs or hiring risks. Get 10 to 30 hours per week from vetted and experienced US-based talent.</p> <p>Find your next fractional senior engineer or CTO at <a href= "https://www.hirefraction.com/?utm_source=practicalfounders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fraction.work.</a> You can start with a one-week, risk-free trial to test it out.</p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Practical Founders Podcast</strong></span></p> <p class="p1">Tune into the <a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/podcast"><span class="s1">Practical Founders Podcast</span></a> for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalFounders"><span class= "s1">YouTube channel</span></a>.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at </strong><a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/newsletter"><span class= "s1"><strong>practicalfounders.com.</strong></span></a></p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups</strong></span></p> <p>Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A <a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/peer-groups/">Practical Founders Peer Group</a> is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by <a href="https://practicalfounders.com/greg-head/">Greg Head</a>.</p>

<p>Natalie Barbu is the founder and CEO of <a href= "https://getrella.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rella</a>, a SaaS platform built to streamline collaboration and workflows for social media teams and agencies. She began as a YouTube creator, grew a following of over 300,000, and then identified the fragmentation of the creator tools market — which led her to build Rella 1.0. </p> <p>With some small seed funding, the first Rella version focused on content creators and made no revenue with a freemium model. With $25K in the bank and no revenue, the four cofounders thought they would shut it down. But a viral video focused on social media teams immediately created paid users and revenue for a new Rella product.</p> <p>"Rella 2.0" now offers all-in-one content planning, scheduling, collaboration boards, billing & analytics, an AI content strategist, and all in one workspace — for social media teams. In just 12 months, they went from having no revenue, no funding, and a hard pivot relaunch to almost $3M in ARR run-rate revenue — with only four co-founder employees.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Charge Early:</strong> They learned the hard way that free users don't convert — monetization early was non-negotiable.</li> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Lean Teams Win:</strong> A small, focused team aligned tightly with a mission beats trying to scale prematurely.</li> <li dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>Community Is Fuel:</strong> Natalie shared behind-the-scenes of the product with early users — built trust + word-of-mouth.</li> <li><strong>Pivot Smart:</strong> They transitioned from creator workflow tools to a full SaaS platform after validating demand. <strong id= "docs-internal-guid-d96b4d73-7fff-07d2-c82f-fa21d6587473"></strong></li> </ul> <p dir="ltr" role="presentation"><strong>This Interview Is Perfect For</strong></p> <ul> <li>SaaS founders pivoting after a stalled product</li> <li>Founders learning how to find product-market fit </li> <li>Teams deciding when to hire or stay lean </li> <li>Builders designing tools for marketing and content teams</li> </ul> <p dir="ltr"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Quote from Natalie Barbu, founder and CEO of Rella</span></strong></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"It was about two years before we decided to pay ourselves. I was still making money from my social media. So that's how I supported myself. And then my co-founders had to find side things, which I know a lot of people say, you have to be a hundred percent all in and invested in it. </em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"But when you're not making money, you need to find a way to support yourself. So yeah, they had some side gigs that they were working on while still working full-time on Rella.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>"Once we started making more money with Rella 2.0, we all bumped ourselves up and got some raises since we could afford it, which has been such an accomplishment. It's money that we're actually making from our customers and our users and the income that we're generating."</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong style= "font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> <span style= "font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> Links</span></strong></p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliebarbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Natalie Barbu on LinkedIn</a></li> <li dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.linkedin.com/company/rellasocial/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rella on LinkedIn</a></li> <li dir="ltr"><a href="https://getrella.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Rella website -</a> Use this 10% Discount Code for Rella -  practical</li> </ul> <p><strong id= "docs-internal-guid-5d94471a-7fff-0954-12f6-a253480f5363"></strong></p> <h2><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Podcast Sponsor – Cypress Growth Capital</span></h2> <p>This podcast is sponsored by <a href= "https://www.cypressgrowthcapital.com/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Cypress Growth Capital</a>, an alternative to equity, royalty-based growth capital provides funding in exchange for a fixed percentage of your company's future monthly revenues. Learn more at <a href="https://www.cypressgrowthcapital.com/" target= "_blank" rel= "noopener">https://www.cypressgrowthcapital.com/</a></p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>The Practical Founders Podcast</strong></span></p> <p class="p1">Tune into the <a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/podcast"><span class="s1">Practical Founders Podcast</span></a> for weekly in-depth interviews with founders who have built valuable software companies without big funding. Subscribe to the Practical Founders Podcast using your favorite podcast app or view on our <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/@PracticalFounders"><span class= "s1">YouTube channel</span></a>.</p> <p class="p1"><strong>Get the weekly Practical Founders newsletter and podcast updates at </strong><a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/newsletter"><span class= "s1"><strong>practicalfounders.com.</strong></span></a></p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Practical Founders CEO Peer Groups</strong></span></p> <p>Be part of a committed and confidential group of practical founders creating valuable software companies without big VC funding.  A <a href= "https://practicalfounders.com/peer-groups/">Practical Founders Peer Group</a> is a committed and confidential group of founders/CEOs who want to help you succeed on your terms. Each Practical Founders Peer Group is personally curated and moderated by <a href="https://practicalfounders.com/greg-head/">Greg Head</a>.</p>