Dirty Deeds From $0 to $40M
Mar 8, 2026
Jesse Burrell, founder who scaled real estate data and SaaS to a major exit. He recounts starting as an acquisition rep and flipping deals to fund a data-reselling side hustle. The story follows turning skip-tracing into Batch products, rapid growth to $40M, hiring and SOP systems for scale, and the emotional and personal costs of exiting and rebuilding purpose.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Spend To Hire Talent You're Not Good At
- Hire people more talented than you in specific areas and be willing to sacrifice short‑term margin for long‑term scale.
- Accept that founders must let go of control and spend to recruit domain experts.
Scale Hiring With Referrals And A Recruiter Pitch
- Use employee referrals and an energized company story to scale hiring rapidly.
- Build an internal recruiting arm with a pitch that sells culture and mission to prospective hires.
Hire For Curiosity Over Credentials
- Prioritize attitude and hunger over raw experience for mid and entry roles; ask what they read to gauge growth mindset.
- Promote those with learning habits into leadership rather than hiring externally for every role.