How Levelset Built and Sold a Vertical SaaS Company for $500M | Ep 13

In this episode of Verticals, Luke Sophinos and Nic Poulos sit down with Scott Wolf, founder and former CEO of Levelset, to unpack what it really takes to build and exit a vertical SaaS company, including Levelset’s ~$500M acquisition by Procore.   Scott’s background is unusually eclectic: entrepreneurial roots, early software tinkering, a short stint as a lawyer, and a front-row seat to the construction ecosystem post-Hurricane Katrina , all of which collided into the insight that became Levelset. He scaled the business from a side project doing ~$200k in revenue to tens of millions in ARR, then navigated a fast, high-stakes M&A process that closed at the height of the 2021 market.   This conversation cuts through M&A mythology and focuses on operator reality: how acquirers think, how founders should think about timing and leverage, why the best companies are bought not sold, and what founders get wrong when they fixate on the same buyer segment (general contractors) in construction tech.   Whether you’re pre-product, scaling a vertical SaaS business, or simply trying to understand how real outcomes happen in construction tech, this episode offers a practical, founder-first playbook grounded in lived experience, not theory.     We cover: The origin story: why liens and construction payment disputes created a massive software wedge How Levelset went from transactional to SaaS, and what changed the growth curve Why selling to suppliers and subs (not GCs) created differentiation and enterprise scale contracts Construction tech “dead ends” and where Scott sees opportunity beyond the GC workflow How Procore first approached the category (and why they couldn’t build it in-house) What it looks like when an acquirer is “in heat”, speed, leverage, and market-making The founder decision: duty to stakeholders, timing the cycle, and why exits happen when they do Scott’s advice to founders: excellence first, M&A second   If you’re a founder, operator, or investor building or backing vertical SaaS, especially in construction or the built world, this is a must-listen guide to how great companies get built, differentiated, and ultimately acquired.   New episodes drop every Wednesday.