best path to liquid millionaire?

Author

Liam Dunne
June 27, 2025

In the last few weeks i’ve had two friends become liquid millionaires before they turned 30.

One sold his SaaS company for 7-figures cash, the other one sold his SaaS company for $35m cash.

Both were bootstrapped, solo and non-technical, so you know those cap tables were looking great. They’ve achieved what most entrepreneurs dream of: rapid wealth accumulation and freedom.

Outside of the SaaS industry, it’s very rare to hear of young people reaching liquid millionaire status, let alone the ‘fuck you money’ status that comes after netting $10m liquid upon exit.

So what makes the SaaS industry so different?

If we look at the agency model, which I’ve lived, you have to deal with thin margins which impact growth potential and exit multiples, not to mention the client headaches and your success being tethered entirely to whether your client has product-market fit or not.

Don’t get me wrong - the agency model is great for when you’re just getting started, but I know a lot of tired and stressed agency founders who when all expenses are accounted for, aren’t exactly living the dream. I’m sure that business model ages you in dog years.

E-commerce is another popular business model - one that i’ve also tried and was blessed with a few, expensive lessons. In this model you either have to deal with upfront inventory costs and worse margins than the agency model or you can do the dropshipping model which is brutal. The only people that make money with dropshipping are the ones using blackhat tactics (aka scams).

SaaS is fundamentally different. It’s a compound growth vehicle. Once you achieve solid traction at around $1 million ARR, your business becomes a cash-generating**, sellable asset which is attractive to investors and acquirers alike.

(** depending on whether you raise external investment)

The good news is that things have changed since the early 2000s. Today, you don’t need a computer science degree or to have insider connections to be successful in the SaaS industry. The founders I mentioned at the start didn’t, neither do the dozens of founder we’ve helped solve PMF.

With the craziness that’s happening in AI at the moment, the tech barrier has practically vanished. If you can think about an idea and communicate it in simple words, you can likely build it.

The real edge today is in distribution. If you know how to get attention, sell, or are willing to hustle until you can, you’re already ahead. It’s unbelievable how complacent incumbent companies have become. They’re still operating the old model and are sitting ducks.

2025 with AI is like 2008 for mobile apps - within a few years we had tech unicorns like Whatsapp (2009) and Instagram (2010) being born. By 2012 mobile apps had become the gold rush in Silicone Valley.

I was 13 in 2008 so I missed that gold rush.

Idk about you but I’m not missing this one. Once in a lifetime opportunities await.

Cheers,

Liam

P.S.

If you’re an early-stage B2B SaaS founder, we will guarantee your first 5 customers. Read more about this process here.