Episode 28
If Anyone Can Build Your SaaS, How Do You Still Win?
Andrew Davis
Chief Innovation Officer, Paddle
The conversation
Milan Savov talks with Andrew Davis, Chief Innovation Officer at Paddle, about how SaaS companies can win when AI makes software easy to copy. Andrew argues that distribution is becoming the real competitive advantage, and that product-market fit is now a moving target rather than a milestone. For companies going from $1M to $10M ARR, he recommends knowing exactly which accounts you want and building a message that matters to them.
He also shares how AI search has become a real acquisition channel for Paddle, helped by detailed, machine-readable documentation, and why events and genuine human connection matter more as marketing gets automated. His closing advice for founders: survive long enough to succeed and protect your energy.
What came up
If anyone can build software, where does competitive advantage come from?
Why distribution is the new SaaS battleground
Why product-market fit has become a treadmill
What faster-growing SaaS companies are doing differently
Why AI features alone won't create a moat
How to scale a SaaS company from $1M to $10M ARR
What enterprise SaaS companies should solve before choosing channels
Why SaaS messaging needs to focus on outcomes
What breaks as SaaS companies scale
How saying yes to customers creates a Frankenstein product
Finding vs. maintaining product-market fit
How AI is changing organic discovery
Can AI search become a real acquisition channel?
How Paddle measures AI search visibility
Why Paddle invests heavily in events
How Paddle's company values shape its people
What makes someone memorable at an event
Why Andrew wants to be the dumbest person in the room
How Paddle hires for company values
Would Andrew build a SaaS company again?
The hardest feedback Andrew has received
Why founders need to survive long enough to succeed
About the guest
Andrew Davis
Chief Innovation Officer at Paddle. He co-founded a SaaS company and built it through to acquisition, then moved into marketing leadership before his current innovation role.
Have a story like this one?
You don't need a huge company. You need a real story and the willingness to tell it honestly.