Selling a SaaS Business: $150M Exit Then Failure

Hampus Jakobsson co-founded TAT and sold it to BlackBerry for $150 million. Then he started a new SaaS company called Brisk - and it failed completely. Selling a SaaS business made him wealthy, but the failure taught him more about building products. In this episode, Hampus shares how six friends built a mobile UI company into a $150 million startup acquisition, why his next company failed despite money and experience, and what he looks for across 80+ angel investments. The contrast is striking. TAT succeeded because device manufacturers needed mobile UI software and TAT had unique technology - the SaaS exit came naturally. Brisk failed because the team built technology they thought was cool rather than solving a validated customer problem. Selling a startup is the reward for real product-market fit, not just good engineering. Hampus Jakobsson is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and venture partner at BlueYard Capital who has invested in over 80 companies after selling a SaaS business for $150M. 🔑 Key Lessons 🎯 Selling a SaaS business does not guarantee your next startup succeeds: Hampus had $150M exit experience, money, and talent when he started Brisk - but still failed because the team built what they found interesting rather than what customers needed. 📉 Skipping customer validation kills startups faster than bad technology: Brisk spent four years engineering a "smarter" sales tool without confirming teams wanted it. Talking to customers earlier would have saved years of wasted effort. 🚀 Use consulting revenue to fund early product development: TAT survived its early years by taking consulting projects alongside core product work. Services revenue kept the company alive on the path to a SaaS exit. 🧠 Real product-market fit feels urgent, not polite: Hampus learned that positive conversations do not mean product-market fit. When prospects are politely interested but not desperate, selling a SaaS business on that foundation is impossible. 🤝 Invest in founders who obsess over customer problems: After investing in 80+ companies, Hampus says the best returns come from founders with deep domain expertise who talk to customers constantly. 💰 Shared founding teams need aligned motivation beyond money: TAT's six co-founders started from genuine friendship in the computer arts scene. That alignment carried them eight years to a $150 million startup acquisition. Chapters Introduction What gets Hampus out of bed every day Favorite motivational quote How six friends started TAT from the computer arts scene Building mobile UI software for Motorola, Samsung, Nokia TAT's path to selling a SaaS business for $150M Life after the exit - adjusting to wealth and identity Starting Brisk - the SaaS product for sales teams Why Brisk failed - building cool tech vs. solving real pain The mistake of not talking to enough customers Lessons from failure versus lessons from success Becoming an angel investor and joining BlueYard Capital What Hampus looks for in founders and startups Lightning round Wrap-up and contact information Resources Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/192 Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email