#412 – How Martin Payne turned a flatlined company from $7M to $20M

#412 – How Martin Payne turned a flatlined company from $7M to $20M

From The Remarkable SaaS Podcast by Ton Dobbe

August 12, 2026 · 47 min · Season 9 · Episode 412

About this episode

Martin Payne shares his experience turning around a flatlined company from $7M to $20M by focusing on internal strengths and making tough decisions.

A story about what he kept, and what he cut. For SaaS founders whose growth has stalled and who can't tell whether the problem is the company or the plan. Most new CEOs tear down what they inherit. Martin Payne, CEO of TextUs, took a different path. He replaced the founder CEO in April 2020. Growth had flatlined, cash was burning, and he laid off a third of the company in his first year. The business is now at $20M. He'll tell you most of what got it there was already in the building. And this inspired me to invite Martin to my podcast. We explore why a stalled company has more going for it than anyone inside can see. Martin shares what he found in his first months, the hardest call he had to make, and a culture his employees wrote. You'll discover the one thing he did twice, six years apart, for the same reason. We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies: Master the art of curiosity Offer something valuable AND desirable Martin's story proves that remarkable companies read the signs others stopped noticing. Here's one of Martin's quotes that captures how he sized up what he inherited: "I came into the company thinking this is not a…

People in this episode

Host: Ton Dobbe

Guest: Martin Payne

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Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: TextUs

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