The Software as a Service (SaaS) industry is dominated by headlines that are all for growth-at-all-costs narratives, venture rounds, and big-time funding announcements; however, Fareclock chose the route that rarely gets attention – slow but deliberate from day one.
Even after more than ten (10) years of service and product development, Fareclock continues to reliably serve its customers across the globe while many well-funded competitors have come and gone. Jacob, Fareclock’s founder, has proven that this steadiness is a result of choosing consistency and stability over hype and spectacle.
@heradigitalai on YouTube with Jacob Gur
In this episode of The SaaS Playbook, Jenny Vo sits down with Jacob to unpack what it really takes to build and sustain a bootstrapped SaaS business for over a decade without venture capital.
Watch it on YouTube | Bootstrapping a SaaS for 14 Years: How Fareclock Grew Without Venture Capital
Instant Growth vs. Longevity
In the modern culture of SaaS, many startups are quick and in a rush to optimize for growth charts and expansion plans rather than long-term stability in the market.
The result is that many of these startups that looked impressive during their second year have confused large funding support with progress and sustainability, thus never making it to year seven. Their chase for expansion has cost them the foundations needed to scale and build for the long-term.
Fareclock took a different approach.
Instead of forcing immediate and fast business growth, Fareclock frames every decision – product development, branding, customer support, and many more – around stability that allows them to grow and succeed amidst a very competitive market landscape.
Choosing Bootstrapping Over Venture Capital
In SaaS categories like time tracking and workforce management, venture capital often forces the brand to move faster than the market itself. Customers are constantly looking for reinvented features and functionalities, while investors demand rapid results that create pressure to scale fast. This is why Jacob made an intentional and practical decision to bootstrap Fareclock rather than pursue venture capital.
He enforced early discipline for Fareclock where he was not pressured to prematurely expand his market which allowed him to create product developments that increased brand value.
Sustainable Growth in Practice: Fareclock’s Approach
With a decade of operation, Fareclock learned that staying reliable is more important than hype – and it became their competitive advantage. Fareclock focused more on building value consistency than vanity metrics like user spikes or press mentions. In 10 years, they evolved their product not from trend-chasing, but by staying true and reliable to their base of loyal, long-term customers.
In the absence of pressure for exponential growth, Fareclock’s growth was purposive and controlled. A few key behaviours are:
- Relied almost entirely on organic discovery, with growth coming slowly through search visibility and customer referrals than aggressive paid acquisition or growth experiments
- Choosing to operate lean for long periods instead of investing ahead of growth and capacity
- Delegated slowly and conservatively, reflecting the purpose to avoid overextending the business
This approach allowed Fareclock to stay focused during industry shifts that wiped out competitors who couldn’t show up with slow and steady returns to its investors.
Final Takeaway: The Founder Evolution Over a Decade
Jacob’s role changed dramatically over ten years — from solo operator to a strategic leader. At first, he built everything himself, but over time, the work shifted towards trusting a growing team, letting go of direct control, and focusing on long-term direction. That evolution mirrors Fareclock itself: steady, resilient, and designed to last.
Fareclock’s origin and growth story is a perfect reminder that longevity is a competitive advantage. Bootstrapping may be slow, but it’s often safer because sustainable growth compounds. And in the highly competitive SaaS landscape, your time in the market matters more than your speed.
Contact Fareclock today to learn more!
