Lessons in building BroadSoft to a $2 billion exit

This week, we’re running it back to one of our most popular episodes from 2023. Host Alex Theuma is joined by Mike Tessler, Managing Partner at True North Advisory and founding CEO at BroadSoft. Mike shares: - The BroadSoft journey: from its founding in 1998 , to going public on Nasdaq in 2010, and being acquired by Cisco in 2018 for +$1.8B - The process behind the decision to sell BroadSoft to Cisco - Three key lessons from scaling the business to +$500M ARR - How to build a realistic execution plan and hold teams accountable - Why senior leaders have to act as ambassadors as a company grows - BroadSoft’s secret to success with go-to-market partners - The biggest partner technology challenge the industry is facing - How he handled feelings of loneliness when at the top Guest links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltessler1/ Website: https://www.truenorthadvisory.us/ Check out the other ways SaaStock is helping SaaS founders move their business forward:  🇺🇸 SaaStock USA 2025: 13-15 May 2025 | Austin, Texas. Connect, learn and thrive at the leading conference for B2B SaaS Founders, Operators and Investors from Pre-Seed to Series C. https://saastock-usa.com/tickets/ 🇮🇪 SaaStock Europe 2025: 12-14 October 2025 | Dublin, Ireland. "The best SaaS conference for founders, execs & investors in Europe, period." - Christoph Janz, Partner, Point Nine. https://saastock-europe.com/tickets/ 🤝 SaaStock Founder Membership: A private members group of B2B SaaS founders between $100K - $10M ARR who are committed to growth and helping others (https://www.saastock.com/founder-membership/) 🌎 SaaStock Local: Monthly meet-ups in cities all around the world, bringing together SaaS enthusiasts and experts to discuss the most pressing topics in SaaS (https://local.saastock.com/home)