Guest: Tim Schumacher, Co-Founder of saas.group
In the AI era, SaaS value is shifting away from code and toward what competitors cannot easily copy.
In this episode of SaaS Backwards, we talk with Tim Schumacher, co-founder of saas.group, about how AI is changing the way founders and acquirers think about value. We explore why code itself is becoming less defensible as AI makes it faster and cheaper to rebuild software, and why the assets that matter more now are sticky customers, unique data, product depth, and real market moats.
We also dig into the pressure this creates for founders who are trying to decide whether to keep building or consider an exit. AI has introduced a new layer of uncertainty into SaaS, especially for products that function more like an interface layer than a deeply defensible business. That uncertainty is showing up in how founders think about risk, timing, and whether they want to keep all their upside tied to one company.
We also get into what buyers are actually looking for right now, why timing the market is often the wrong place to start, and why the better first question is personal: why sell at all? From there, we look at how founders can align deal terms, buyer type, and post-sale expectations with what they actually want next.
Later in the conversation, we cover what founders can do to improve value before a sale. That includes making the business less founder-dependent, tightening operations, cleaning up inefficiencies, and looking closely at costs that often go unchecked. We also discuss examples from SaaS Group’s portfolio that show how AI can accelerate product rebuilds and operational improvements in ways that would have been much harder just a few years ago.
Key takeaways:
- Code is becoming less defensible as AI makes software easier to rebuild
- The most valuable SaaS assets now are customers, data, product strength, and moat
- AI is changing how founders think about risk, timing, and exits
- Acquirers want businesses with sticky customers, strong retention, and clear differentiation
- Founders can improve valuation by reducing founder dependence and operational inefficiency
Prefer to watch? Check out this episode's video here.
Other resources to check out:
Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.
The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.
And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting
