SaaS Scaling Secrets Unlocked

SaaS Dads S2/E13: FBI Raided His House, $10M NFL Lawsuitโ€ฆ He Built a Two-Time Gold SaaS Business Anyway

54 min ยท 4. juni 2026
episode SaaS Dads S2/E13: FBI Raided His House, $10M NFL Lawsuitโ€ฆ He Built a Two-Time Gold SaaS Business Anyway cover

Description

Most people have one rock bottom moment. Russ Ward had several. Got his girlfriend pregnant on the first date. Flew to Las Vegas and got married weeks later. Got kicked out of three colleges. Joined the Navy at 21 just to force himself into a job he couldn't quit. Then built a bootleg DVD empire from his basement that made him $2-3 million over 10 years. Then the FBI raided his house. The NFL sued him for $10 million. The IRS hit him with a $119,000 tax lien. His merchant accounts froze. His marriage fell apart. His kids went to live with their mum. And he spent a week lying on the floor with a gun to his head. He got up. And now he's a two-time consecutive Gold SaaSpreneur. Standing on stage in a gold sparkly jacket collecting awards he spent six years working toward. This is one of the most honest conversations we've ever had on SaaS Dads. In this episode Russ gets completely raw about: ๐Ÿ‘‰ Getting his girlfriend pregnant on the first date and flying to Las Vegas to get married ๐Ÿ‘‰ Running nuclear reactors in the Navy until they found out he was colour blind ๐Ÿ‘‰ Building a $2-3 million bootleg DVD empire from his basement while in the military ๐Ÿ‘‰ The FBI raid, the $10 million NFL lawsuit and the IRS tax lien that froze everything ๐Ÿ‘‰ Spending a week on the floor with a gun to his head and what pulled him back ๐Ÿ‘‰ Writing letters to his kids apologising for being a bad dad and how that rebuilt everything ๐Ÿ‘‰ Using a Cameo shout-out from Xzibit to break the ice with his estranged son ๐Ÿ‘‰ How he went from bankrupt and unemployable to two-time Gold SaaSpreneur ๐Ÿ‘‰ His 14-year-old daughter building an AI music business at farmers markets ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why it took him six years to get his first Gold award and what he'd tell anyone still grinding ๐Ÿ‘‰ The one piece of advice he gives to anyone hitting rock bottom right now This one is unlike anything we've shared before. Russ didn't just hit rock bottom. He built his rock bottom himself, brick by brick, bad decision by bad decision. And then he climbed out of it anyway. If you're in a tough spot right now, this episode is for you. ๐Ÿ™ ๐ŸŽง Watch this one. Then watch it again. ย  ๐Ÿ‘‰ This is where it starts. Join our community ย  ๐Ÿ”— Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/mycrmsim] ๐Ÿ”— myCRMSIM Community [https://portal.mycrmsim.com/communities/groups/mycrmsim/home?invite=68a352f7317a226d854f0196] ย  ๐Ÿ”— Explore more: Get myCRMSIM Unlimited text messaging without the need for A2P. ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/ [https://mycrmsim.com/] Get Your Free Trial of HighLevel and see why the top marketers swear by it: ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level [https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level] ย  Connect with Russ: ๐Ÿ”— https://qualifiedlivetransfers.com/ [https://qualifiedlivetransfers.com/] ๐Ÿ”— https://www.facebook.com/TheLeadKing [https://www.facebook.com/TheLeadKing] ๐Ÿ”— https://theleadking.com/ [https://theleadking.com/]

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episode SaaS Dads S2/E14: He Quit Amazon to Build With His Wifeโ€ฆ Now They're Raising Two Kids and Multiple SaaS Products artwork

SaaS Dads S2/E14: He Quit Amazon to Build With His Wifeโ€ฆ Now They're Raising Two Kids and Multiple SaaS Products

Most people dream about quitting their corporate job. Kunal actually did it. Senior software engineer at Amazon. Stable salary. Everything covered every month, and he walked away to build something with his wife Ruheene that most people told him was a risk not worth taking. His dad was the only one who said go, and now they're building Brandpod together, multiple SaaS products, a team, clients, and two kids aged eight and eleven who are already getting involved in the business in their own ways. But here's what made this conversation different, it wasn't really about the business at all, it was about what it actually looks like to build something alongside the person you love, raise kids in a country far from your family, figure out screen time and Roblox and AI and what the future even looks like for children growing up right now. ย  Raw, honest and surprisingly funny. ๐Ÿ˜… ย  In this episode Kunal gets refreshingly real about: ย  ๐Ÿ‘‰ Quitting Amazon to build full time with his wife and what his dad said that surprised everyone ๐Ÿ‘‰ Growing up in India, moving to Australia then the US and meeting Raheen on a dating website ๐Ÿ‘‰ Getting married twice in two months because her mum was given three months to live ๐Ÿ‘‰ What it's really like running multiple businesses with your life partner every single day ๐Ÿ‘‰ His daughter pulling people into their booth at the HighLevel Dallas summit from age eight ๐Ÿ‘‰ His son becoming their unofficial in house software tester for Brand Pod ๐Ÿ‘‰ The Roblox warning every parent needs to hear right now ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why he thinks critical thinking and resilience are the only skills that will matter for kids in an AI world ๐Ÿ‘‰ The one thing he and Raheen do every Wednesday that keeps everything in balance ๐Ÿ‘‰ His honest advice for any SaaS dad working alongside their partner ย  This one is warm, grounded and full of the kind of real talk you don't always hear from people building businesses in this space. ๐Ÿ™ ย  ๐ŸŽง This one's for the dads and mums building something together. ย  ๐Ÿ‘‰ This is where it starts. Join our community: ๐Ÿ”— โ Facebook groupโ  [https://www.facebook.com/groups/mycrmsim] ๐Ÿ”— โ myCRMSIM Communityโ  [https://portal.mycrmsim.com/communities/groups] ย  ๐Ÿ”— Explore more: Get myCRMSIM Unlimited text messaging without the need for A2P.๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/ ย  Get Your Free Trial of HighLevel and see why the top marketers swear by it: ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level ย  Connect with Kunal: ๐Ÿ”— Facebook: โ https://www.facebook.com/asskabanโ  [https://www.facebook.com/asskaban] ๐Ÿ”— Brand Pod: โ https://brandif.ai/โ  [https://brandif.ai/] ๐Ÿ”— โ https://heylevi.ai/ [https://heylevi.ai/]

Yesterday1 h 2 min
episode SaaS Dads S2/E13: FBI Raided His House, $10M NFL Lawsuitโ€ฆ He Built a Two-Time Gold SaaS Business Anyway artwork

SaaS Dads S2/E13: FBI Raided His House, $10M NFL Lawsuitโ€ฆ He Built a Two-Time Gold SaaS Business Anyway

Most people have one rock bottom moment. Russ Ward had several. Got his girlfriend pregnant on the first date. Flew to Las Vegas and got married weeks later. Got kicked out of three colleges. Joined the Navy at 21 just to force himself into a job he couldn't quit. Then built a bootleg DVD empire from his basement that made him $2-3 million over 10 years. Then the FBI raided his house. The NFL sued him for $10 million. The IRS hit him with a $119,000 tax lien. His merchant accounts froze. His marriage fell apart. His kids went to live with their mum. And he spent a week lying on the floor with a gun to his head. He got up. And now he's a two-time consecutive Gold SaaSpreneur. Standing on stage in a gold sparkly jacket collecting awards he spent six years working toward. This is one of the most honest conversations we've ever had on SaaS Dads. In this episode Russ gets completely raw about: ๐Ÿ‘‰ Getting his girlfriend pregnant on the first date and flying to Las Vegas to get married ๐Ÿ‘‰ Running nuclear reactors in the Navy until they found out he was colour blind ๐Ÿ‘‰ Building a $2-3 million bootleg DVD empire from his basement while in the military ๐Ÿ‘‰ The FBI raid, the $10 million NFL lawsuit and the IRS tax lien that froze everything ๐Ÿ‘‰ Spending a week on the floor with a gun to his head and what pulled him back ๐Ÿ‘‰ Writing letters to his kids apologising for being a bad dad and how that rebuilt everything ๐Ÿ‘‰ Using a Cameo shout-out from Xzibit to break the ice with his estranged son ๐Ÿ‘‰ How he went from bankrupt and unemployable to two-time Gold SaaSpreneur ๐Ÿ‘‰ His 14-year-old daughter building an AI music business at farmers markets ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why it took him six years to get his first Gold award and what he'd tell anyone still grinding ๐Ÿ‘‰ The one piece of advice he gives to anyone hitting rock bottom right now This one is unlike anything we've shared before. Russ didn't just hit rock bottom. He built his rock bottom himself, brick by brick, bad decision by bad decision. And then he climbed out of it anyway. If you're in a tough spot right now, this episode is for you. ๐Ÿ™ ๐ŸŽง Watch this one. Then watch it again. ย  ๐Ÿ‘‰ This is where it starts. Join our community ย  ๐Ÿ”— Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/mycrmsim] ๐Ÿ”— myCRMSIM Community [https://portal.mycrmsim.com/communities/groups/mycrmsim/home?invite=68a352f7317a226d854f0196] ย  ๐Ÿ”— Explore more: Get myCRMSIM Unlimited text messaging without the need for A2P. ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/ [https://mycrmsim.com/] Get Your Free Trial of HighLevel and see why the top marketers swear by it: ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level [https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level] ย  Connect with Russ: ๐Ÿ”— https://qualifiedlivetransfers.com/ [https://qualifiedlivetransfers.com/] ๐Ÿ”— https://www.facebook.com/TheLeadKing [https://www.facebook.com/TheLeadKing] ๐Ÿ”— https://theleadking.com/ [https://theleadking.com/]

4. juni 202654 min
episode SaaS Dads S2/E12: He's Leaving Australia After 16 Yearsโ€ฆ To Give His Son Something Money Can't Buy artwork

SaaS Dads S2/E12: He's Leaving Australia After 16 Yearsโ€ฆ To Give His Son Something Money Can't Buy

Most people build a business to afford a better life. Vit built one so he could actually live it. 16 years in Australia. Australian citizen. Thriving SaaS agency. The HighLevel Experience podcast. A life that most people in the HighLevel community would look at and goโ€ฆ that's it. That's the dream. And he's walking away from all of it. Not because things went wrong. Because something more important finally got loud enough to listen to, family. His parents. His wife's parents. His five year old son who's never really known what it feels like to grow up surrounded by people who love him unconditionally. The grandparents who are getting older. The date nights that never happen because there's nobody to watch the kid. So Vit made a decision. Pack up the house. Sell the stuff. Tell the son after Easter. And move back to Czech Republic in six weeks. And here's the part that makes this story different from most. the business is coming with him. ย  In this episode Vit gets refreshingly honest about: ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why he's leaving Australia after 16 years and what finally made the decision easy ๐Ÿ‘‰ How he tested running his business remotely by moving to Czech Republic for two and a half years ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why the stuff you accumulate means absolutely nothing when it comes to the crunch ๐Ÿ‘‰ The time zone strategy he's built to keep Australian clients and crack the US market from Europe ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why he's never run a single ad in five years and built his entire agency on referral partnerships ๐Ÿ‘‰ His honest take on HighLevel for beginners and why most people should go through an agency first ๐Ÿ‘‰ The HighLevel Experience podcast origin story and why it started with beers in Dallas ๐Ÿ‘‰ Three free tools every HighLevel agency owner should grab right now ๐Ÿ‘‰ The vomit in the car story that every parent will relate to way too much ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why being detail obsessed is both his superpower and his biggest weakness as a dad ย  This one is a little different from our usual episodes. ย  It's not a rags to riches story. It's not a comeback from rock bottom. It's something rarer than that. ย  It's a guy who built something great and then had the courage to ask himself what matters more, and chose family. ๐Ÿ™ ย  ๐ŸŽง This one will make you think about your own priorities. ย  ๐Ÿ‘‰ This is where it starts. Join our community: ย  ๐Ÿ”— โ Facebook groupโ  [https://www.facebook.com/groups/mycrmsim] ๐Ÿ”— โ myCRMSIM Communityโ  [https://portal.mycrmsim.com/communities/groups/mycrmsim/home] ย  ๐Ÿ”— Explore more:Get myCRMSIM Unlimited text messaging without the need for A2P: ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/ Get Your Free Trial of HighLevel and see why the top marketers swear by it: ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level ย  Connect with Vit: ๐Ÿ”— โ https://standoutfromthepack.com.au/โ  [https://standoutfromthepack.com.au/] ๐Ÿ”— โ https://vitmuller.com/resourcesโ  [https://vitmuller.com/resources] ๐Ÿ”— โ https://www.successinspiredpodcast.com/โ  [https://www.successinspiredpodcast.com/] ๐Ÿ”—โ  https://vitfit.com.au/ [https://vitfit.com.au/]

28. maj 202658 min
episode SaaS Dads S2/E11: She Nearly Had a Heart Attackโ€ฆ Then Built a Diamond SaaS Business in 12 Months artwork

SaaS Dads S2/E11: She Nearly Had a Heart Attackโ€ฆ Then Built a Diamond SaaS Business in 12 Months

In 2024 Jay-cee Tan nearly died. Not dramatically. Not suddenly. Just quietly burning out trying to hold everything together while her VA business was falling apart around her. 100 VAs. Down to 50. Down to 20. Then gone. Her doctor looked her in the eye and said if you don't stop you will drop dead. She had two little girls at home. A husband who believed in her. And absolutely nothing left in the tank. Most people would've stopped. Jay-cee got back up. She opened her laptop, started teaching Filipinos automation for free just to keep herself busy, and woke up the next morning to 4,000 people in her community. Twelve months later she was on stage at a HighLevel event collecting her Diamond SaaSpreneur award. ย  In this episode Jay-cee gets beautifully honest about: ๐Ÿ‘‰ 1,800 applications over six months just to land her very first client as a VA ๐Ÿ‘‰ Growing a real estate VA agency to 100 people in under a year then watching it fall apart ๐Ÿ‘‰ Nearly having a heart attack and what her doctor told her that changed everything ๐Ÿ‘‰ Building a Diamond SaaS business in 12 months while raising two girls aged four and six ๐Ÿ‘‰ How she pulled 1,600 people to an event in the Philippines with government ministers in the room ๐Ÿ‘‰ From mopping floors to mapping workflows โ€” the janitor she trained who became an automation specialist ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why she says being a mom didn't slow her down it made her better at business ๐Ÿ‘‰ The mission to show the world that Filipinos are not just Filipino lang ๐Ÿ‘‰ What she would whisper to herself during the darkest moment of her journey ย  This one is something special. Jay-cee isn't just building a business. She's changing how an entire country sees itself on the global stage. And she's doing it with two little girls at home who already know that mum helps Filipinos learn automation. ๐Ÿ™ ๐ŸŽง You will feel this one. ย  ๐Ÿ‘‰ This is where it starts. Join our community: ย  ๐Ÿ”— Facebook group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/mycrmsim] ๐Ÿ”— myCRMSIM Community [https://portal.mycrmsim.com/communities/groups/mycrmsim/home?invite=68a352f7317a226d854f0196] ย  ๐Ÿ”— Explore more: Get myCRMSIM โ€” unlimited text messaging without the need for A2P. ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/ [https://mycrmsim.com/] Get Your Free Trial of HighLevel and see why the top marketers swear by it: ๐Ÿ‘‰ https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level [https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level] ย  Connect with Jay-cee: ๐Ÿ”— Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/highlevelpilipinas [https://www.facebook.com/groups/highlevelpilipinas] ๐Ÿ”— YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@official.cecetan [https://www.youtube.com/@official.cecetan] ๐Ÿ”— Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/official.cecetan [https://www.facebook.com/official.cecetan] ๐Ÿ”— Website: https://ghl4beginners.com/ [https://ghl4beginners.com/begin?fbclid=IwY2xjawR7ZD9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFmNXp4bG5vbm1yMlYzc1M1c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHtU2W9ekCSMBpTaaStUJdfpq6ogH-Qo2XlGe1BXGzNbkQjWTsegm1iKCMInH_aem_REzSeqlnu0ZuZxWMWZubDQ] ย  Connect with more female SaaSPRENEURs ๐Ÿ”— https://www.facebook.com/groups/ghlwomen [https://www.facebook.com/groups/ghlwomen]

21. maj 202645 min
episode SaaS Dads S2/E10: He Built a $100M Businessโ€ฆ Then Lost It All to a Bad Partnership artwork

SaaS Dads S2/E10: He Built a $100M Businessโ€ฆ Then Lost It All to a Bad Partnership

Most people build a business to make money. Leon built one to never be trapped again. 12 and a half years in the military working on F-18 fighter jets and explosive ordnance. Then 17 years growing a paintball business to nearly $100 million in revenue across 57 locations worldwide. Then COVID hit. A business partnership fell apart. And a payout he was owed never came. Everything he'd built with people he considered brothers.. gone. Most people would've taken a job. Played it safe. Licked their wounds and moved on quietly. Leon did something different. He took every system, every lesson, every scar and started helping other business owners avoid the same pain. And somewhere along the way, he realised that everything he'd learned about building businesses was exactly the same as raising kids. In this episode Leon gets deeply honest about: ๐Ÿ‘‰ Growing a paintball business to nearly $100M across 57 locations worldwide ๐Ÿ‘‰ How working with bombs and bullets at 19 years old taught him everything about systems ๐Ÿ‘‰ Losing his mum at eight years old and how that shaped the man and father he became ๐Ÿ‘‰ Getting screwed out of a major payout by people he trusted like brothers ๐Ÿ‘‰ The five lessons from parenting that completely transformed how he runs his business ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why being the sage not the hero is the most powerful thing you can do for your kids and your clients ๐Ÿ‘‰ How he engineers his entire business around his life and not the other way around ๐Ÿ‘‰ Why presence is greater than productivity in business and at home ๐Ÿ‘‰ The social media catfishing story that every parent with a teenager needs to hear ๐Ÿ‘‰ What he'd tell 19-year-old Leon starting out in the military This one is different. Leon has lived more lives than most people could fit into three careers. Military. Global business. Entrepreneurship. And through all of it he has kept one thing constant. The business fits around the life. Not the other way around. ๐ŸŽง This conversation is packed. Watch it twice. ๐Ÿ‘‰ This is where it starts. Join our community: ๐Ÿ”— โ Facebook groupโ  [https://www.facebook.com/groups/mycrmsim] ๐Ÿ”— โ myCRMSIM Community [https://portal.mycrmsim.com/communities/groups/mycrmsim/home?invite=68a352f7317a226d854f0196] โ  [https://portal.mycrmsim.com/communities/groups/mycrmsim/home?invite=68a352f7317a226d854f0196] ๐Ÿ”— Explore more: Get myCRMSIM โ€” unlimited text messaging without the need for A2P. ๐Ÿ‘‰โ  https://mycrmsim.com/โ  [https://mycrmsim.com/] Get Your Free Trial of HighLevel and see why the top marketers swear by it: ๐Ÿ‘‰โ  https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-levelโ  [https://mycrmsim.com/get-high-level] Connect with Leon: ๐Ÿ”— โ https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonbubenicek/โ  [https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonbubenicek/] ๐Ÿ”— โ https://connectwithleon.comโ  [https://connectwithleon.com] ๐Ÿ”— โ https://www.facebook.com/leon.bubenicekโ  [https://www.facebook.com/leon.bubenicek] ๐Ÿ”— โ https://www.tacticaldynamics.com.au/ [https://www.tacticaldynamics.com.au/] ๐Ÿ”— https://www.instagram.com/leonbubenicek/ [https://www.instagram.com/leonbubenicek/]

14. maj 20261 h 5 min