Starting Over: How and Why One Founder Is Building Software Without Raising After His Last Company Crashed

For founders building software who are debating whether to raise money, stack services, or do both, this talk is a honest look at what happens when you get that balance wrong. After riding one venture-backed rocket ship into the ground, Brad almost repeated the same playbook before choosing a different path: using services to fund a new product, without pretending services were just a bridge to “real” software revenue.

You’ll hear why so many teams fall into the services trap—either giving away work to drive adoption or quietly becoming a services company that still acts like a SaaS startup—and how to spot the early warning signs in your own business. You’ll walk away with a clearer way to think about funding your product, setting expectations with your team and customers, and deciding whether you’re actually building a software company or something else entirely.