How I went from sewing machines to building a global SaaS company

John Mitchell didn’t start in tech. He started with a sewing machine in his parents’ basement.

In this episode of Startup Theatre, the Arlo founder shares the full journey from bootstrapped beginnings in Wellington to building a global SaaS platform operating in 70 countries and processing over half a billion dollars in training transactions each year.

John talks openly about:

• Raising his first $1M and then closing just one deal in three months• Hiring mistakes that nearly stalled growth• How Arlo survived when COVID shut down face-to-face training overnight• Why “being found” beat outbound sales• Building a team strong enough to step out of the CEO seat• What AI and vibe coding mean for the next generation of founders

This is a practical, honest conversation about scaling SaaS from New Zealand to the world, navigating pressure after funding, and knowing when to evolve as a founder.

If you're building, raising, pivoting, or questioning your next move, this episode is for you.