Richard Walker - Finding the Who, Not the How: Leadership Lessons from Scaling a SaaS

Forget "Grow at All Costs" — Here's How to Build a SaaS Company That Lasts | Richard Walker, CEO of Quik! 💡 Is chasing faster growth putting your business at risk? On this episode of SaaS Fuel, host Jeff Mains dives deep with Richard Walker, CEO and co-founder of Quik!, to explore why a scarcity mindset can destroy your company—and what it truly takes to build a profitable, sustainable, and values-driven SaaS business.Key Takeaways 00:00 – Why "grow at all costs" is a dangerous mindset 01:14 – How Richard Walker built a 99% recurring revenue business 02:05 – The reality behind scaling sustainably vs chasing fads 03:00 – Remote work: How it strengthened Quik!’s culture 04:00 – Shifting from product-led to sales-led: What it takes 05:00 – Building a customer-obsessed company culture 08:00 – Richard’s toughest lessons from bootstrapping and scaling 13:00 – The mindset shift from startup founder to organizational leader 17:00 – Hiring strategies: Why fractional teams are a hidden superpower 24:00 – Why customer experience is your ultimate competitive advantage 26:13 — Launching "The Customer Wins" Podcast to Build Relationships 27:45 — How Podcasting Has Created Unexpected Business Wins 29:00 — McKinsey and Microsoft on CX-Driven Growth 33:00 — Making Great UX Invisible (Until It's Missing) 36:00 — Employees Living the Mission, Not Just Reading It 39:30 — Why Constraints Boost Creativity and Innovation 41:00 — Shifting From Startup Founder to Organizational Leader 43:00 — Hiring Philosophy: Focus on "Who" Not "How" 45:00 — The Power of Fractional Teams in Growth 46:30 — Launching "The Customer Wins" Podcast 48:00 — How Podcasting Unexpectedly Drove Revenue GrowthTweetable Quotes "If you chase growth at all costs, you’re just feeding your fear of missing out." — Richard Walker "Profitability isn't optional—it's oxygen for your business." — Jeff Mains "Great culture isn't built—it's owned by your people." — Richard Walker "The biggest shift from founder to leader is asking 'Who?' not 'How?'" — Richard WalkerSaaS Leadership LessonsScarcity leads to chasing trends. Abundance builds companies that last.Focus on your core value and operational metrics, not just fast growth.Culture drives sustainable success—it’s not just a poster on the wall.Profitability is freedom. Growth without it is a trap.Who you hire is more important than how you do it. Guest Resources Email - rwalker@quikforms.com Website - https://www.quickforms.com/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/quikformsceo/Episode Sponsor Small Fish, Big Pond...