BILLIONS The CEO who turned down VCs, bought back his company, and built a $1.7B SaaS empire - Ross Andrew Paquette
Feb 20, 2026
Ross Andrew Paquette, founder and CEO who bought back his company and built Maropost into a $1.7B profitable SaaS. He talks about prioritizing profit over growth, the $37M buyback and why founders should avoid dilution. He explains acquisition-led expansion, integration pains and why young, hungry teams beat veteran execs. He outlines IPO thinking, self-service product moves and the two metrics he obsesses over.
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Keep Significant Founder Equity
- Maintain founder ownership to preserve motivation and direction.
- Ross expects to keep ~75% ownership at IPO to retain control and drive.
Avoid VC If You Want To Stay Driven
- Avoid VC money unless you want diluted ownership and external pressure.
- Ross argues founders lose drive when they own under ~10% and face investor management work.
Multi-Product Strategy Drives Upsells
- Becoming multi-product unlocked customer expansion and higher growth for Maropost.
- Cross-selling e‑commerce, marketing automation, and helpdesk created a cohesive value stack.