There is a limit to how far you can take your business selling your time by the hour. Whether you want recurring revenue from a support service, to launch a SaaS product, or sell physical goods, there are many compelling reasons to build a business outside of the professional services model.

But it is challenging! Managing product development costs, marketing, or inventory is more complex than finding new Drupal customers and billing more hours. During this session I will lead a focused presentation and discussion on how to make the leap from professional services to retail and SaaS recurring revenue.

We will cover these topics at a strategic level, and dive into the nuts and bolts as they apply to your day-to-day business:

• Product, marketing, positioning, and sales basics
• Managing co-founder relationships
• Managing towards cashflow and profitability
• Spinning out companies from corporate parents
• Balancing time across multiple simultaneous ventures
• Raising outside financing -- from friends and family and professional VCs
• Building and scaling teams

My background:

• Co-founded CivicSpace: First Drupal company
• Co-founded Chapter Three: Drupal Consultancy in San Francisco
• Co-founded Mission Bicycle: Custom city bicycle manufacturer in San Francisco
• Co-founded Pantheon: The Professional Website Platform for Drupal and WordPress