Ways to Wealth EP70: From Freelancer to Founder, with Will Schmidt

In this episode of the Ways to Wealth Podcast, Charlie is joined by Will Schmidt!Will is the co-founder and operator of Orchid, a New Zealand-based software development agency focused on bespoke systems for businesses and start-ups. After beginning his career as a freelancer, Will acquired Orchid from its original founders and has grown the team from 2 to over 10 staff.In this conversation, Will shares his entrepreneurial journey—from bootstrapping, to scaling a client-first software business, to exiting his SaaS product FreightLegend for over $100K. He reflects on the early grind of freelancing, the pivotal decision to acquire rather than build from scratch, and how client quality and word-of-mouth referrals have been his primary growth levers.Key topics include the impact of AI tools like GitHub Copilot on development workflows, why quality engineering is still essential, and how to raise kids to thrive in a tech-saturated world. Will also unpacks his investment strategy (favouring index funds) and how he balances business growth with family life and long-term wealth planning.A grounded, practical episode for developers, technical founders, and anyone looking to scale sustainably in the software space.Find out more about ‘Orchid’ here:www.orchid.co.nzWatch all episodes of the Ways to Wealth Podcast here:www.eccuity.com/podcasts#WaysToWealth #Start-Ups #TechEntrepreneur #SoftwareDevelopment #SaaSExit #AIandDevelopment #IndexInvesting #WealthBuilding #FreelancerToFounder #OrchidTech #Bootstrapping #NZBusiness