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
  • 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/

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    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/

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    35 mins
  • He Got Fired From His Own Startup... Then Built a Nine-Figure Company | Cody Barbo
    Apr 15 2025

    What do you do when you get fired from the company you built? Cody Barbo, founder and CEO of Trust & Will, turned that moment into fuel. In this episode, Cody shares the rollercoaster path from losing his startup to building a nine-figure SaaS company that’s rewriting estate planning across the U.S. You’ll hear how a coffee chat sparked the idea, how Cody and his co-founders lobbied 13 states to change the law, and how they grew from $0 to millions in ARR - all without a legal background. If you’ve ever doubted your ability to bounce back, build big, or break into a “boring” industry, this one’s for you.

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    Timestamps

    00:00 – Meet Cody Barbo

    01:36 – Two Failed Startups and a Firing That Changed Everything

    04:45 – Rebuilding From Rock Bottom (And Going Viral Doing It)

    06:19 – The Coffee Conversation That Sparked Trust & Will

    08:22 – Launching a Legal Tech Company With Zero Legal Experience

    10:45 – Why They Had to Change State Laws to Succeed

    13:03 – The Early Growth Playbook: Micro-Influencers, FB Ads, and Grit

    15:06 – From Direct-to-Consumer to Billion-Dollar B2B Partnerships

    20:58 – Scaling the Team, Redefining Leadership, and Letting Go

    22:53 – The IPO Vision (And Who Cody Has to Become to Pull It Off)

    27:40 – Success Leaves Clues: Resilience, Reinvention, and a Relentless Vision

    --

    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
    37 mins

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