Founder · Operator · Advisor
Ben Richards
Bootstrapped founder with an 8-figure exit. I build revenue engines and help founders avoid costly scaling mistakes across SaaS, AI, and tech.
- Bootstrapped SaaS → #1 in ANZ → 8-figure exit
- Closed a 7-year, 7-figure enterprise deal vs a multi-billion-dollar incumbent
- Built a 100+ rep reseller channel that grew to 70% of revenue, zero fixed sales cost
- 15+ years working with C-suite teams at some of the largest organisations globally
Who I work with
Founders at the inflection points where execution mistakes compound.
I work with founders and leadership teams at the points where most external advice doesn't go deep enough to help.
Typically that means:
- Pre-GTM
- defining ICP, positioning, pricing, and the early revenue model before you scale spend
- Scale
- moving from founder-led sales to a repeatable commercial engine
- Expansion
- entering enterprise, new geographies, or new channels
- Pre-exit
- building the commercial story and traction that materially shifts valuation
Most of my work is with B2B SaaS, AI, and tech-enabled businesses up to roughly $5M ARR — though stage matters less than the nature of the decision.
What I do
A few areas where I tend to add the most value.
I focus on the commercial side of building a business — finding revenue, winning enterprise customers, building channels, and getting the business into shape for what comes next. Most of my work falls into one of these four areas:
Enterprise & Channel Sales
Closing enterprise deals against incumbents, breaking into procurement, and building reseller and partner motions that scale revenue without scaling headcount.
Additional Revenue Streams
Identifying and building high-margin revenue lines that sit alongside your core product — payments, software resell, services, commercial add-ons. The dollars founders usually leave on the table.
GTM Strategy & Positioning
Defining ICP, positioning, pricing, and the early revenue model. Pressure-testing growth plans before they get expensive. Designing the right commercial motion — direct, channel, partner, or hybrid.
Pre-Exit Commercial Readiness
Building the commercial story, revenue mix, and traction that materially shifts valuation. The work that makes a buyer pay more, or pay at all.
Most engagements touch two or three of these — and sometimes none of them exactly. If you're working on a revenue or GTM problem that doesn't fit a tidy box, get in touch anyway.
Track record
Fifteen years building and operating — most recently a bootstrapped founder with an 8-figure exit.
Pooltrackr — Founder & CEO
I founded and bootstrapped Pooltrackr, a B2B SaaS platform serving the pool and wellness industry. We scaled to become the dominant market leader in ANZ, served customers across Australia, New Zealand, and the US, and derived the majority of our revenue from large enterprise agreements. The business was acquired by Fluidra, the global listed leader in the category, in an 8-figure exit.
- —Built a 100+ rep reseller channel that grew to 70% of company revenue with zero fixed sales cost
- —Closed a 7-year, 7-figure enterprise agreement against a multi-billion-dollar incumbent
- —Became the 7th largest Lightspeed reseller globally, driving hundreds of thousands in ARR
- —Built a vertically integrated platform spanning distributors, franchisors, retailers, and service networks
- —Led digital transformation across a 160-site network
Prior to Pooltrackr
Ten years as an equity partner at a global B2B strategy and technology firm, where I built and scaled the software division to ~60% of company revenue and led commercial work for enterprise and government clients.
- —Led enterprise and government strategy engagements across large-scale transformation programmes
- —Developed and executed RFP strategies with high win rates across multi-million and multi-billion-dollar tenders
- —Designed C-suite engagement platforms and executive briefing environments to support enterprise sales
This wasn't theoretical work. These were decisions made with real downside if they were wrong — financial, reputational, and personal.
Worked with
Contact
If you're working on a decision that matters, get in touch.