#10: From scrappy software entrepreneur to savvy SaaS CEO - Thomas Brown

Thomas Brown creatively bootstrapped his software company and ran it as a very small "lifestyle" business before committing to growing his SaaS business with a larger team. Thomas was an independent insurance claims adjuster in the 1990s in New Orleans, Louisiana before quitting his job to start one of the first insurance claims management software companies called ClickClaims. It grew slowly and profitably as a very small company for over 10 years before Thomas sought help from advisors to see how he could grow to the next level and learn to be a real CEO of a bigger SaaS company. E-Claim is now a steadily growing vertical SaaS business with 18 employees and over $4 million in ARR. They have helped independent insurance adjusters and insurance carriers process over 2 million claims with their ClickClaims product since he started the company in 1999. "I know this sounds cliche, but I didn't get into this for the money. I got into it because I'm a guy from South Louisiana who's been through a bunch of hurricanes and knows the horrors that people go through. And I wanted to make it better. So you reach a point in the business where you start to think about not what it means for you, but what it means for others. What can you do for your employees and their careers? What other charities can I go and support with this money someday? And then you think about it, and you say, you know, hell, I want to double it, because I could do a lot of good with a lot more money." In this episode, Thomas explains: How he started his company and built a software solution after experiencing a massive industry problem himself How he grew a $4M+ ARR SaaS company without funding with just 50 customers Which creative side businesses he started to generate enough cash to build and start his software company How trusted business advisors helped him gain the knowledge and the confidence to be the SaaS CEO and team leader required to keep growing his company Why he is inspired to make a bigger impact with his employees and in his community by continuing to grow his business