“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.”
I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer on December 2023, two months after I sold ServiceMonster. I’m now forty-nine years old. This is a twenty-three-year-old injury from my last fight with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2000. The radiation from that treatment caused my thyroid cancer and now I’m fighting to recover. Hopefully I‘ll keep kicking the can down the road until it’s not the cancer that kills me.
Now I’m forced to wonder how much road I have left. I’m lucky though. I feel as if I’ve crossed a major finish line. My family will now thrive even without my sustained professional efforts. It took me twenty years to build ServiceMonster into an eight-figure business. I could easily retire but that fills me with anxiety. I was dedicated to the long game and before my most recent diagnosis, I planned to do the same with new ideas. Now I’m rethinking that strategy.
Now What
I could build a few more companies. I certainly have the knowledge now that I lacked then. Not to mention the resources and connections, but the game has changed for me. It’s becoming more likely I’ll not see the next twenty years. The long game suddenly means something much different to me. It’s now about passing the torch. To help plant the trees whose shade I’ll never see. I’m learning to be ok with that.
Playing the long game requires patience, vision, and discipline. You focus on long-term goals and objectives rather than seeking immediate gains or shortcuts. Shortcuts that usually lead to a damaged reputation, lack of sustainability, and missed opportunities. When you play the short game you’re begging for cash, not solving problems. It’s thirsty and it shows. As Rajesh Ram outline in this video; Land, Expand, Explode: How to Win the Long-Game in SaaS
Fortunately, my vision for SaaS Labs aligns with this new philosophy. The platform aims to democratize access to high-quality SaaS knowledge and resources, making it easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to navigate the complex landscape of starting and scaling a SaaS business. Through SaaS Labs, I plan to offer tailored mentorship programs, provide direct access to a network of experienced founders and venture capitalists, and curate exclusive content that addresses the unique challenges faced by SaaS startups. This initiative aims to help emerging leaders avoid common pitfalls and accelerate their growth by leveraging the lessons I’ve learned over two decades in the industry. Even without active promotion, I have met a handful of amazing founders and continue to maintain my relationships with other Venture Capitalists. Instead of building the next ServiceMonster for myself, I plan to leverage my twenty years as a successful SaaS founder to help new leaders avoid the costly mistakes I’ve made by either making the wrong move or not moving fast enough on a given opportunity.
No Shortcuts
But no, I can promise you I’ll not be selling courses or writing business books to sell you (though I have been writing a fantasy novel for years). You’ll get my general SaaS knowledge for free on my social media. And as always, I’m happy to spend some time with you, for free, to see if there is any way I can help you ensure the trees you’re planning grow strong and healthy.
