Selling a SaaS Business: Why He Left a 7-Figure Company

Stu McLaren built Wishlist Member into a 7-figure business powering 54,000 membership sites. Then he did something most founders would never consider - selling a SaaS business while it was still thriving.

In this episode, Stu reveals the 2 AM moment at a family camp that changed everything, how two books rewired his thinking about focus and essentialism, and why selling a SaaS business that ranked an 8 out of 10 was the hardest but most important decision of his career.

What makes this SaaS exit story compelling is the context. Wishlist Member was not failing. The business was profitable, growing, and Stu loved his partners and customers. But after reading Essentialism by Greg McKeown, he applied the 90% rule - anything below a 9 had to go. He validated his next move by partnering with Michael Hyatt to launch a membership site that hit 1,100 members at $20/month in the first week.

🔑 Key Lessons

• 🎯 Use the 90% rule before selling a SaaS business: Rank every project on a 1-to-10 scale against one criterion. Anything below a 9 must go, even an 8, because near-great drains energy from truly great work.
• 📉 Leaving a successful business is harder than leaving a failing one: Stu ranked Wishlist Member an 8. That score was harder to act on than a 5 because it felt close enough to justify staying.
• 🚀 Validate your next move before finalizing the sale: Stu partnered with Michael Hyatt and launched a membership site that hit 1,100 members in week one, proving demand before fully walking away.
• 🧠 Cure "idea diarrhea" by channeling creativity into one focus: Stu chased new ideas daily and made no meaningful progress. Wishlist Member only took off when he committed all creative energy to one product.
• 🔄 Separate your identity from your SaaS exit: Stu had to confront that Wishlist Member was how he answered "what do you do?" for years. Detaching self-worth from the company was essential to selling a SaaS business.
• 💰 Go all-in on Plan A instead of hedging across B, C, and D: Splitting effort across ventures means none reach potential. Full commitment and failing fast beats half-hearted attempts that drag on for years.

Chapters

• Introduction
• Recap of Wishlist Member and Rhino Support
• Stu announces selling a SaaS business
• Why sell when both businesses are thriving
• The 2 AM moment at family camp
• How Essentialism and The One Thing changed everything
• The 90% rule for making decisions
• Ranking projects on a scale of 1 to 10
• Wishlist Member scores an 8 out of 10
• Fear, doubt, and identity crisis
• Partnering with Michael Hyatt on a membership site
• 1,100 members in the first week at $20/month
• Growing the membership to seven figures
• Helping entrepreneurs redesign their businesses
• Advice for founders juggling multiple projects
• The disease of "idea diarrhea"
• Doubling down on one idea vs. scattered effort
• What if you pick the wrong idea
• Lightning round
• Building schools in Kenya

Resources

• Full show notes: https://saasclub.io/27
• Join 5,000+ SaaS founders: https://saasclub.io/email