The SaaS Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: Vertical SaaS: $0 to $10M ARR With Flat Pricing for Everyone
Podcast: The SaaS Podcast – AI, Growth & Product-Market Fit for SaaS Founders
Host: Omer Khan
Guest: Hewitt Tomlin, Co-Founder of TeamBuildr
Date: March 26, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features Hewitt Tomlin, co-founder of TeamBuildr, a SaaS company that serves strength and conditioning coaches. Bootstrapped from scratch, TeamBuildr reached $10M ARR with a 45-person team without any external funding. What makes their journey unique is their flat pricing model—they charge NFL teams the same as high school teams—and their strategic focus on supporting (not replacing) coaches in an AI-dominated industry.

Hewitt shares his founder story: from iterating on product-market fit, to fighting inertia in an Excel-dominated vertical, and making unconventional choices about pricing, go-to-market, and the integration of AI.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Founding TeamBuildr: From Social App Ideas to SaaS for Coaches

• TeamBuildr’s origins sprouted in the early smartphone era: Hewitt and his co-founder James started by aiming to build a social app for athletes, inspired by the college Facebook era ([03:00]).
• The pivotal moment: a conversation with their campus strength coach revealed a bigger need for workflow and delivery tools for coaches, not for social networking ([04:38], [09:48]).
  • Quote:
    “He didn't know it at the time and we didn’t know it, but he kind of pivoted us to being like a true B2B SaaS company, which was a really good thing because I don’t know if I have the appetite for being anything other than a B2B SaaS company.” – Hewitt ([05:44])
• Key lesson: flexibility without ego — the founders were open to shifting product direction based on genuine user needs ([09:48]).
  • Quote:
    “James and I have uniquely never brought a lot of ego to the table with each other ... we always make room for each other and give each other time and space and respect for any thought or conviction.” – Hewitt ([10:34])

2. Early Validation, User Relationships, and Finding the First Dollar

• The team spent about a year iterating on an MVP before earning their first dollar ([12:23]).
• Hewitt emphasizes that the first dedicated users were far more valuable than early revenue ([13:00]).
• He took a high-touch approach to free early users—never just sending a password but building real relationships and seeking critical feedback ([14:29]).
  • Quote:
    “I wasn't looking to send over a login and a password. I was looking to build a relationship with the person.” – Hewitt ([15:26])
• He admits he didn’t set early expectations about future pricing and asserts that careful listening—not building exactly what customers request, but digging for root problems—is key ([17:07]).
  • Quote:
    “Our job is to peel the layer back... They're only talking about a missing feature because they don't know how to express to you how their problem can be solved.” – Hewitt ([18:30])

3. Breaking Through in an Old-School Market

• Strength & conditioning was a late adopter of SaaS; most coaches were entrenched in Excel-based workflows refined over years ([22:42]).
  • Quote:
    “The hardest thing that I had to do was try to talk someone out of using a long-standing Excel based process because it was like trading in long-standing institutional knowledge for a very novel product.” – Hewitt ([23:44])
• Huddle (HUDL) digitized sports coaching earlier, paving some of the market’s willingness for SaaS ([24:54]).
• Hewitt based TeamBuildr’s initial packaging, pricing, and sales approach on what they saw working for Huddle to reduce complexity ([25:09]).

4. Slow, Upward Trajectory: The Bootstrapped SaaS Climb

• Timeline to $1M ARR: 5 years. Growth was always up and to the right, but slow; Hewitt bootstrapped and worked full-time elsewhere for the first 3 years ([27:57]).
  • 0–100k ARR: part-time while working elsewhere
  • Quit job once hitting 100k, scaled to 500k and then $1M+
• Product-market fit was the difference: “We unlocked product-market fit at a pretty early stage and we rode it all the way up to a million and beyond.” ([29:00])
• Hewitt’s indicator for product-market fit: inbound leads rather than cold calls ([30:21]).
  • Quote:
    “When people came to the TeamBuildr website and filled out a form asking for a call, a demo, the best one, a quote—that’s when product-market fit is being achieved.” – Hewitt ([30:24])
• Shift from heavy outbound to inbound marketing as the user base and reputation grew ([31:38], [32:40]).

5. Flat Pricing and Volume: Serving High Schools to NFL Teams the Same Way

• TeamBuildr serves half its customers in high schools. The core insight: the strength coach’s job function is similar from high school to NFL, enabling a one-size-fits-all product ([34:12]).
• Flat pricing: High schools, colleges, pro teams (e.g., Tennessee Titans) pay the same. The approach was pragmatic (fit for a bootstrapper), leverages big logos as social proof, and reinforces reputation for wholesomeness/integrity ([36:46], [37:38]).
  • Quote:
    “The solution looks pretty similar and the price point looks pretty similar. And that, I think, feels integrity. Again, not morally, ethically, but just in terms of being whole. And that has been really good for reputation.” – Hewitt ([39:10])

6. AI: Enhancing, Not Replacing, Human Coaches

• The biggest competitor (Volt) is betting on AI-generated workouts aimed to replace human coaches; Hewitt’s approach is the opposite: AI should empower coaches, not replace them ([40:02], [40:45]).
  • Quote:
    “My job as the CEO... is not to go out there and just start building on top of novel technologies to be first to market. … My job is to listen.” – Hewitt ([41:05])
• TeamBuildr invests in AI for internal productivity (e.g., Copilot for developers), but is careful not to tack on AI features for the sake of trendiness; only if it creates genuine user value ([42:58], [43:59]).
• Customers aren’t clamoring for AI yet—if anything, they rely on TeamBuildr to interpret tech trends for them and look to the company for guidance ([44:57]).
  • Quote:
    “In fact, I think my customers expect me... to provide the guidance on how AI is going to impact their profession.” – Hewitt ([45:01])
  • Hewitt is inspired by the idea of “man working alongside machine” (Industrial Revolution analogy) and wants AI to make the strength coaching profession unrecognizable (in a positive way) in decades to come ([45:40]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On early product pivot:
  “We were honored by the fact that someone was letting us into what a real job looked like... we just understood the gravity of what was able to be optimized...” – Hewitt ([09:48])
• On product-market fit:
  “When people were coming to me, when I was no longer the one making the cold calls, sending out the emails, just begging people to do a demo…” – Hewitt ([30:21])
• On pricing and reputation:
  “There is this dynamic of social proof... and then in return, we could use their logos as social proof with the market that really matters.” – Hewitt ([36:20])
• On advice to entrepreneurs:
  “Start with the end in mind regarding an exit. ...there's something really fulfilling about building a business because you love what you do and you love the customer, and that can be way more important than having an exit planned.” ([48:21])

Lightning Round Highlights ([48:15])

• Business advice Hewitt disagrees with: Don’t always start with the exit in mind ([48:21])
• Book recommendation: Do More Faster by Feld & Cohen ([48:44])
• Skill most improved: Listening (“Good salesmen are the best listeners.”) ([49:02])
• Productivity habit: Breathing, grounding, and energy awareness ([49:22])
• Business idea (if time/money were no object): New ventures in golf industry innovation ([49:48])
• Fun fact: Obsession with cacti—dozens at home and even a cactus tattoo ([50:16])
• Passion outside SaaS: Raising a family—hard but deeply fulfilling ([50:40])

Important Timestamps

• [02:50] – Origin Story, Early Pivot
• [06:17] – Team/Revenue Snapshot & Structure
• [09:48] – Coach Conversation & Product Pivot
• [12:23] – First MVP and Making the First Dollar
• [14:29] – Building Relationship with Early Users
• [17:07] – Transition from Free Trial to Paid Users
• [22:42] – Early Market (Excel Dominance)
• [27:57] – Years to First $1M ARR and Bootstrapping Realities
• [30:21] – Signs of Product-Market Fit
• [31:38] – Outbound vs. Inbound Marketing
• [34:12] – High School Segment and Volume Strategy
• [36:46] – Flat Pricing Model and Rationale
• [40:45] – Approach to AI: Augmenting Humans, Not Replacing
• [44:57] – Customers’ Attitude Toward AI
• [48:15] – Lightning Round: Advice, Books, Habits, Passions

Tone and Language

The episode reflects Hewitt’s humility, thoughtfulness, and commitment to customer-centered, principle-led entrepreneurship. His responses are candid, introspective, and packed with specific tactical lessons for other SaaS founders—especially those bootstrapping or building vertical SaaS.

Final Thoughts

This episode is a masterclass in patient, principled SaaS growth. Hewitt’s journey with TeamBuildr offers powerful lessons on finding product-market fit through deep listening, how to stake your growth on customer relationship-building, and why the “boring” verticals and flat pricing models can compound to unexpected success—especially if you stay true to the needs of your core users in a world fascinated by shiny new tech like AI.