How Todd Saunders Built a $30M Vertical SaaS in Flooring (and Sold It) | Verticals Ep 5

A VC and a Founder intellectually spar on Vertical Tech & AI, covering the latest news, unpacking in-depth business strategies, and interviewing world-class leaders in the space. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

 

In this episode, Luke Sophinos and Nic Poulos sit down with Todd Saunders, Founder & CEO of Broadloom (acquired by Syncly), to dig into how he built and sold a $30M ARR vertical SaaS company in the flooring industry, and the unconventional playbooks that made it possible.

 

We cover:

• Going from Google to niche SMB software, why “boring” is the new billion-dollar opportunity

• The explosive pivot: ad-tech collapse → vertical SaaS focus → COVID demand boom

• How community becomes a moat: conferences, Facebook groups, and content-led GTM

• The Broadloom monopoly playbook: roll-ups, channel partners, and owning distribution

• Transactional revenue vs SaaS revenue, and what PE is really willing to pay for

• The truth about exits: cap tables, PE math, runway, and why most vertical outcomes look nothing like TechCrunch

 

If you’re building in SaaS, AI, or a service-based business in an “unsexy” industry, this one’s for you.

 

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