How Iris Grew From $500 a Month to $3,000,000 ARR with Drew Fallon

In this episode of The SAAS Operators Podcast, we sit down with Drew Fallon, founder of Iris, to unpack his story moving from brand side to building finance software. Drew shares how Iris grew from a scrappy $500 a month product to a multi-million ARR platform helping brands forecast working capital and scale with confidence. We dig into the real differences between e-commerce and SAAS, the people challenges behind scaling a go-to-market team, and why raising prices can actually reduce churn. Drew also opens up about his playbook for partnerships, inbound growth, and the wave of distressed SAAS acquisitions he sees on the horizon. The episode closes on how Iris plans to reach $10M ARR and why finance tools can win by being embedded directly into a company’s weekly decisions.

00:00 Transitioning from E-commerce to SaaS 02:41 The Challenges of Scaling Teams 05:32 Navigating Go-to-Market Strategies 08:33 Understanding Customer Needs and Pricing 11:29 Expanding Beyond CPG: New Market Opportunities 14:24 Leveraging AI in Financial Processes 22:31 Navigating Product Packaging and User Journey 26:01 Maintaining User Excitement and Engagement 28:43 Identifying Bottlenecks in Growth 30:43 Hiring the Right Sales Talent 33:11 Exploring M&A Opportunities in SaaS 38:12 Leveraging Acquisitions for Growth 42:09 Building a Customer-Centric SaaS Business