From Developer to 7-Figure Founder: Scaling Smarter, Not Harder | Karl Hughes | Unfinished Business Podcast

Most people don’t leave a stable engineering job and build a $2.5M company in two years, but Karl Hughes isn’t most people. In this episode of Unfinished Business, David Sliman gets into the real behind-the-scenes of growing Draft.dev, building a business portfolio, and scaling without losing your mind (or your weekends).

Karl shares how he went from software engineer to founder, built a remote-first content agency serving high-growth developer tools companies, and is now acquiring service businesses with smart systems and serious clarity. If you're tired of hustle advice that skips the process, this episode delivers the real strategy.

 

Key Takeaways:

• Start small, grow smart – Why the best first business is the one that buys you freedom.
• Cold email isn’t your strategy, it’s your trap – How Karl scaled by building trust, not blasting inboxes.
• Scaling isn’t sexy, it’s systems – The real talk on hiring, delegation, and letting go of control.
  
  

🎙️ Podcast Quote:
"Every entrepreneur uses their unfair advantage. The best ones lean into it hard." – Karl Hughes

 

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Connect with Karl Hughes:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karllhughes/ 
• Website: https://draft.dev 
• Business Portfolio: https://www.karllhughes.com
• Podcast: The Business of Open Source

Connect with David Sliman

• Website: http://salesproformance.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidslimansalespro/
• Linktr: https://linktr.ee/salesproformance 
• YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SalesProformancePCS
• Email: GoPro@SalesProformance.com 

 

This episode is brought to you by Unfinished Business, where we dive deep into the journeys of people who are reshaping what success looks like. Make sure to tune in for more episodes that’ll inspire your own entrepreneurial path!

Developed by Titan Media Worx – making podcasting easy and professional. Learn more about our video editing services and how we can help you grow! Visit our website: https://titanmediaworx.com/ 

 

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