About this episode
In less than 12 months, Shahar went from an idea to a $30M Series A and a team of 40. He didn't sell another AI tool—he built an AI-first service that replaced expensive human consultants in the massive pen-testing market.In this episode, Shahar breaks down the "Service-as-Software" playbook that allowed him to hit $1M ARR in just three months. He reveals how to convert design partners into paying customers before the product is finished, why he refuses to sell to service providers, and how to achieve a 40% SQL-to-Close rate in the enterprise.Why You Should ListenHow to hit $1M ARR in a single quarter with zero marketing spend.Why asking "Would you use this?" is useless and the one question that actually validates demand.Why "Service-as-Software" is the single best business model for AI startupsHow to maintain a 100% win rate against competitors in live bake-offs.The ultimate litmus test for knowing if you have true Product-Market Fit.Keywordsstartup podcast, startup podcast for founders, product market fit, finding pmf, agentic AI, cybersecurity startup, B2B sales strategy, service as software, rapid scaling, Felicis00:00:00 Intro00:04:06 Why Manual Pen Testing is Broken00:15:42 Ideation and The Wallet Test00:22:38 How to Convert Design Partners to Paid00:28:05 40 Percent SQL to Close Rate00:33:14 The Service as Software Business Model00:46:06 Hitting 1M ARR in One Quarter00:48:50 Raising a 30M Series A from Felicis00:50:01 The Turn It Off PMF TestSend me a message to let me know what you think!
