The End of Peak SaaS & How to Build Outcome-Based Software | Andres Klaric - E710
"Current SaaS pricing doesn't have accountability. We are entering an era in which software can actually produce outcomes, and by definition, that means accountability. If I'm telling you I'm going to get you from A to B, that's an outcome. The operating system should not necessarily be the profit pool as it is today; the real profit pools should actually be in those accountability outcomes. As an industry, we need to have the courage to reflect that in our pricing."
"When we first started, the original idea was refinancing auto loans. We were originating loans on behalf of banks and credit unions, but we kept getting the same repetitive question from the lenders we were selling to: 'Who built your system?' We eventually realized that they didn't even care about the loans; they wanted to buy the secret sauce. And that was the system. That's when we decided to pivot and become a B2B software-as-a-service."
"I saw bravery in its maximum expression in my parents. They packed up and left Bolivia to give us a better future, basically sacrificing their entire lives and spending the last 30 years working to provide us with something better. They decided to let their kids go figure it out, have bigger dreams than they had, and build new lives. That was the transformational process that catapulted us into where we are today."
Andres Klaric, a Bolivian-born entrepreneur and Harvard Business School graduate, joins Jeremy Au to discuss his transition from a demanding decade-long career in private equity to building a high-growth B2B SaaS startup. Andres shares the genesis of his company, which began as a consumer auto-refinancing platform before customer demand led them to pivot into a B2B Loan Origination System (LOS). They dive deep into the challenges of modernizing legacy financial software, the courage required to shift from traditional SaaS consumption pricing to outcome-based accountability models, and how the pandemic acted as a catalyst for his entrepreneurial leap. Finally, Andres reflects on the ultimate expression of bravery: his parents' sacrifice in immigrating from Bolivia to secure a better future, and how that inspires his approach to being a present father while scaling a startup.
00:00 - Catching Up & The Traditional Finance to MBA Pipeline
03:25 - Leaving Private Equity & The Pandemic as a Catalyst
06:39 - The Original Startup Idea: Auto Loan Refinancing
08:33 - The Pivot: From Selling Loans to Selling the "Secret Sauce"
10:50 - Navigating a Company Pivot & Reorganizing the Team
13:40 - Disrupting Legacy FinTech & Loan Origination Systems (LOS)
19:55 - The Future of SaaS: Outcome-Based Accountability Pricing
29:20 - The Enduring Importance of In-Person Enterprise Sales
35:00 - The Bravery of Immigration: Leaving Bolivia for a Better Future
39:20 - Balancing Startup Leadership with Fatherhood
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aHsI3gj1c0&list=PLl9u6ECOP8_7scb97PE3whKu4yJVizIOd
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/269t7nsTl9Fcz5Anv4h6n3
Keywords: B2B SaaS, FinTech, Loan Origination System (LOS), Startup Pivot, Outcome-Based Pricing, Private Equity to Entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School (HBS), Immigration Journey, Bolivia, Founder Fatherhood
