SAAS INSTITUTE CASE STUDYWhy David Robison joined the SaaS Institute
“Once you get a taste of what it's like to have people in your corner, it's really hard to go back to just working alone.”
After 25 years and with 0% churn, David Robison joined the SaaS Institute to ensure his software outlives him — and found the clarity and community to make that happen.
A 25-year-old business with 0% churn
With virtually zero competitors, David’s company, Design Master Software, is in a position most founders would kill for. The software helps electrical engineers design buildings — a niche large enough for multimillion-dollar ARR, but “too small a market for anyone else to care about,” David says.
If anything, Design Master competes against Excel spreadsheets and manual processes that engineers have used for decades. "Our competitor is ‘do nothing,’" David says.
While the onboarding learning curve can be steep, once new customers get acclimated, they never leave — because Design Master has become an irreplaceable part of their infrastructure.
"We have essentially 0% churn," David says. "So I know that I'm just slowly building that flywheel year after year."
The only time they lose customers is when those engineers retire (or, occasionally, when David receives a call from an engineer’s estate needing to close their account).
With no competition, no churn, and no burning problems to solve, David decided it was time to invest in his own growth — and joined the SaaS Institute.
Why this founder with 25 years of experience wanted coaching
At roughly $180,000 MRR and enjoying slow but steady growth, Design Master Software was in a perfectly healthy spot. But after spending years building in isolation, David knew that expertise doesn't eliminate the benefits of having a group of peers and mentors. "I need other business owners to talk business owner stuff," he says.
He’d already spent four years in another SaaS coaching program — which helped him double ARR from $1M to $2M — but he’d outgrown it.
“Now I'm looking for someone to help me continue to execute what I've learned as I grow from $2 to $10 million ARR."
Within months of joining, David got advice that reshaped his year
David is a longtime fan of Rob Walling and Startups for the Rest of Us. So when he heard TinySeed was launching the SaaS Institute, he “joined basically on Rob's name alone,” he says. “Rob's putting this together? Great, I'm in, whatever this looks like."
(During the initial discovery call, he was even more blunt with us: "I don't care, guys,” he remembers saying. “Just take my money.")
David suspected that the monthly SaaS Institute mastermind calls and one-on-ones with his coach, Jordan Gal, would be the sounding board he was looking for.
And he was right. Within a few months of joining the SaaS Institute, David got some advice that changed the plan for Design Master’s entire next year.
How the SaaS Institute is helping David level up
Paired with Coach Jordan Gal
With Jordan’s deep experience building and scaling CartHook and mentoring founders through multiple SaaS lifecycles, David had a coach who could cut straight to the root of his challenges.
Together, they mapped out when to prioritize product development versus sales — leading directly to his first SDR hire and a fully booked demo calendar.
Instant Access to Seasoned Mentors
From growth strategy to valuations, David could tap into a roster of founders who’ve been there before.
Within the SaaS Institute’s private network, he connected directly with Rob Walling for product guidance, Einar Vollset for valuation insights, and even past founders like Kevin Wagstaff for real-world exit advice.
Part of a Small, Ambitious Peer Group
Inside the Institute mastermind, David joined a curated circle of $1M+ SaaS founders who share openly, challenge assumptions, and hold each other accountable.
The monthly coaching sessions — and the private Slack — gave him the sounding board he’d been missing after decades of solo building.
Choosing to prioritize sales over building
Even without urgent problems, the SaaS Institute quickly proved its value. David had been planning to hire his first SDR, but kept pushing it off. He was knee-deep in developing new fire alarm design software, and didn't feel like he had the bandwidth to train someone.
During their coaching sessions, coach Jordan helped him see that sales was his biggest gridlock — and his biggest opportunity.
"In some conversations with Jordan, I realized I probably should move that up, because that was a big bottleneck and an opportunity to unlock some growth," David recalls.
Choosing to focus on sales meant slowing down product development, which was uncomfortable. "As technical founders, we avoid the sales and marketing side,” he observes. “We always want to write more software."
Relying on his existing rock-solid hiring process, David hired his new SDR in June. By October, his calendar was completely booked with demos.
The new hire is experienced with outreach, so he knows how to handle Design Master's list of warm leads. These leads are electrical engineers who’ve tried the products and see the potential — but who need months of patient follow-up before being ready to switch from their decades-old manual processes.
So far, these sales follow-ups have unlocked $4,700 additional MRR for the business: a pretty good tradeoff for splitting focus between product development and onboarding David’s new SDR.
Creating a braintrust both local and remote
Beyond coaching, the Institute helped David rediscover the power of community. Alongside his SaaS Institute peers, he’s also connecting locally in Raleigh, NC.
At Business of Software, where he gave a lightning talk on hiring, David met nearby founders. They now get together monthly. “Once you get a taste of what it's like to have people in your corner, it's really hard to go back to just working alone.”
He doesn’t have to leave his desk to stay connected, either — the SaaS Institute’s private Slack has become a daily source of insights and camaraderie.
On multiple different occasions, David has gone to the SaaS Institute for un-Googleable guidance:
Fast feedback from mentors and peers
When he posted a question about product development, he was quickly “going back and forth” with Rob.
Connections to in-house experts
Another time, he asked about SaaS company valuation. Within days, he was hopping on a call with Einar to talk specifics.
Deep dives with experienced founders
After hearing Kevin Wagstaff discuss his exit on Startups for the Rest of Us, David connected in Slack to dig deeper — and later joined a private SaaS Institute Q&A with him.
“The exit strategy is immortality.”
David has no plans to sell the business. While many successful founders dream of exiting, he’s planning for the long term (even past his own expiration date).
"My exit plan is: how do I grow enough that I can hire a CEO to come in to run the company when I want to retire or die?” he says.
Maintaining ownership isn’t an ego trip. It’s a way to make sure Design Master’s value lives on.
"In terms of my purpose, I feel like my goal is to provide the software for these people who otherwise would not be served because they are too small a market for anyone else to care about,” David says. “My dad did this work, so they're my people."
The challenge is ensuring that the software will continue to exist and evolve beyond him.
"This space needs someone doing this, and I'm the only one doing it,” he says. “So I need to figure out a way that this software exists without me."
That mindset — building for longevity, not exit — is exactly what defines the SaaS Institute community.
Are you a B2B SaaS founder with $1M+ ARR?
The TinySeed SaaS Institute is a program for founders at $1M+ ARR who want to grow strategically and sustainably. Members receive personalized coaching, access to seasoned mentors, and a curated mastermind of peers building for the long term.