This is from a recent interview with Bobby Abdullah, founder of Lobster Money and the first full-time IT hire at Gorillas, in which he shares how SaaS management and automation helped him scale IT processes and solve big challenges. Discover why his journey from IT to entrepreneurship offers valuable insights for anyone looking to drive growth and innovation. Don’t miss this conversation packed with actionable takeaways!

The Gartner®️ Magic Quadrant™️ for SaaS Management Platforms

Get a complimentary copy today
Get Report

Transcript

John Baker:
“Alright. Well, I’m here today with Bobby Abdullah. Bobby is the founder of Lobster Money. They’re on a mission to create the financial infrastructure for creators. He’s based out of Berlin, and we actually have worked together in the past where Bobby was the first full-time IT hire and governance projects for Gorillas. But, Bobby, I wanted to have you on today, first of all, because you’re a really interesting guy. You’re really thoughtful, but also because there’s been some recent changes within the SaaS management landscape. Gartner® just released their Magic Quadrant™. And in light of that, you’re someone who has better context on SaaS management platforms. You’ve dealt with them and worked with them in the past with some previous companies. So I’m wondering if you can tell us a little bit about yourself, and some of the trends that you’ve seen with both SaaS management and IT more broadly.”

Early Adoption of SaaS Management Platforms

Bobby Abdullah:
“Yeah, sure. Firstly, thank you so much for having me on board, John. Yeah, a bit about me. Bulgarian by nature, based out of Berlin, worked for several different startups, with most recently crossing over with Torii and yourself and the rest of the team at Gorillas, where I led special projects and governance within the IT department.”

“I would like to think I was an early adopter of SaaS management platforms. It was a very interesting time when I stumbled upon it, probably around mid-2020. At that time, I worked for a health tech company in the growth stage, also based out of Berlin. I was really on the IT support side of the operation, so level one, level two types of tickets. The first process of automation for us was actually using Zapier for a lot of license provisioning and information transfer. And that was the click for me and, at that time, my manager, to look into further tools and processes that we could utilize for automating a lot of repetitive and mundane tasks. That’s how we came into Torii and a lot of the other players in the space. I think that was around the end of 2020 when we started discussing adopting this type of technology. We ended up adopting it specifically for shadow IT and really finding out what our employees and colleagues were using daily that we didn’t have an overview of. We realized the power of that.”

💡 Key Insights:

  • Manage shadow IT: Bobby used SaaS management to see all unauthorized software, reduce security risks, and control software costs.
  • Automate tasks: Use tools like Zapier to handle license provisioning and data transfers, cutting manual work and freeing up your IT team.
  • Stay ahead with SaaS: Adopt SaaS management early to control software sprawl, improve governance, cut costs, and boost security.

Scaling Challenges at Gorillas and the Role of SaaS Management

Bobby Abdullah:
“Over the period when I joined Gorillas, from 2021 through the end of 2022, that really showed its true power. It was during the pandemic, money was cheap, and scaling for growth was the top priority. We knew we were hiring at a very fast pace. I was the first full-time IT hire there at around number 150 or 200 in HQ, and we scaled it to a total of 15,000 employees in a year and a half, maybe. It was a very interesting period that required the right infrastructure to grow. That’s when I knew we needed SaaS management way before the scale really hit us. It’s what saved us over time when it came to costs and resources.”

💡 Key Insights:

  • Scaling fast: During the pandemic, Gorillas scaled from 150 to 15,000 employees in just 18 months, driven by rapid growth and “cheap money.”
  • Early SaaS management: Bobby saw the need for SaaS management early, knowing it was essential to handle the fast pace of growth.
  • Cost savings: SaaS management became crucial, saving money and resources as the company scaled quickly.

Evolution of SaaS Management and AI’s Influence

Bobby Abdullah:
“So that’s what really got me into SaaS management. I understood the absolute positive implications it brings to a business. After I moved away from my IT life, I’m still very much involved, dipping my fingers in different pies, but I’m more into the entrepreneurship side of things nowadays. I’ve realized that it’s evolved. The way it’s evolved is everyone’s taking a different bet on where they sit in the value chain. You see a lot of consolidations in the space, where there’s a SaaS management aspect to a specific platform, but maybe they’ve paired with mobile device management or device issuing and leasing, or even outsourcing combined with AI. With the AI boom, it hasn’t destabilized the market, but it has changed the playing field for SaaS management. I think it slowed down pure SaaS management as a market, as more AI-integrated solutions emerged for niche projects and products.”

💡 Key Insights:

  • Entry into SaaS management: Bobby got into SaaS management by seeing its clear business benefits and its positive impact on operations.
  • Shift to entrepreneurship: Though no longer in IT, Bobby remains involved, now focusing on the evolving SaaS landscape as an entrepreneur.
  • AI impact: AI has changed the SaaS management market, slowing pure SaaS growth but driving innovation with AI-integrated solutions for specific needs.

The Role of Data in SaaS Management

John Baker:
“Yeah, that’s really interesting. I know we were talking a little bit previously about the role of data, and I think that comes up a lot, especially with SaaS management platforms. Every organization is full of data, but it’s about the aggregation, uncovering, centralization, and normalization of all that data. We’ve found that one of the really valuable things an SMP platform can offer is a place where all that data can actually be housed, specifically related to SaaS. But you’re talking about this AI and how we’ve had these issues with adoption. It’s definitely something we’ve seen, where some early estimates expected massive growth, but it’s just now in 2024 that we’re getting this magic quadrant. Why do you think there was that slowdown? Why has it taken this much time to get to this point?”

Bobby Abdullah:
“I think it’s a combination of things. Right? And I’m no economist or AI engineer by any means, either. So take everything with a grain of salt. But I would definitely say it’s, one, the lack of funding after the bubble burst created a very big budget restriction globally. A lot of large enterprises had layoffs, startups took down valuations, and some went bankrupt, which caused everyone to hold their cash and gave themselves time to recover as a business before they could go out and spend again, only prioritizing the most important expenditures. As more and more money accumulated back into the market, the AI boom came around. AI has been around for a very long time, but now it’s the trendy thing. Every second product out there is at least integrated with AI, understandably so. That just threw a whole new wrench into the system, flipping the whole market upside down, because now people had to not only follow the trend and implement this new technology but also do it in a useful manner. You can’t just implement AI and say, ‘Yeah, it works now.’ No, you have to really implement it where it provides direct value. I think that’s why it slowed down, because, one, the budget constraints from some years ago, and now with the implementation of this technology and the severe growth of it, it caused a lot of companies to rethink their business model or their main product proposition.”

Bobby Abdullah:
“I think the data aspect of SaaS management is always valuable. What I find interesting is who finds what value in it, right? Some SaaS management platforms like Torii also focus a bit on the finance aspect. You also have the little things of counting how many times a workflow has been executed successfully. That was actually my favorite data, personally, because I got to report internally on how easy it was to deduce the ROI from that platform. Everything else we benefited from, from discovery to security to finance, having a nice little monthly expense report automatically sent and the automated communications, was just like a bonus on top. I think that is going to stay, but it’s going to be magnified by utilizing AI technology. And the ones that hold the most data or have a lot of data to sift through and really understand will benefit from it.”

💡 Key Insights:

  • A slowdown in SaaS growth: Bobby attributes the slowdown in SaaS growth to budget cuts after the bubble burst and the recent AI boom, which forced companies to rethink how they integrate AI effectively.
  • Role of data in SaaS management: Data centralization and reporting are key in SaaS management, particularly for showing ROI, automating finance reports, and tracking workflow success.
  • AI’s future impact: Bobby believes AI will magnify the value of data in SaaS management, benefiting companies that can effectively sift through and utilize large amounts of data.

Communicating ROI and Overcoming Challenges

John Baker:
“Yeah. I think you keyed in on something there that’s really important. I know it’s something that you’ve been talking about for years, and that’s about communicating the value of something. So being able to actually demonstrate that ROI. And I think for a long time, with conventional software buying, a lot of times people don’t adopt a new tool because they don’t want to stick their neck out and advocate for a tool without a clear way of being able to demonstrate value on the other side. Even if they know intellectually, they’ll say, ‘I know that this is valuable. I know this is critical.’ Why do you think for a lot of IT professionals there’s that struggle? Maybe it’s about whether they have the instincts to try to prove ROI, or it’s a lack of confidence. Where do you think that breakdown occurs?”

Bobby Abdullah:
“It could be a lack of confidence. For me, it wasn’t confidence as much as understanding your key stakeholders, the person you’re pitching this to. When I wanted to bring Torii into Gorillas, I didn’t have one stakeholder; I had around six. You had a C-level executive, finance, IT, ops, HR, and a few others. I made sure to find the data that they cared most about. Finance would care about money—how much we’re spending and why we’re saving it. IT might care about resources and focusing on different projects. So what I really doubled down on was segregating data to the right person I was pitching to. That usually resulted in a resounding answer. It doesn’t have to be a yes; it could be a yes or a no, but you really get them to understand your point, and they give you a solid answer rather than, ‘Let’s revisit this in X amount of weeks, months, or a year.'”

Bobby Abdullah:
“So that’s something I think is very important to look at. But also, maybe this is my bias speaking, I think SaaS management platforms are one of the few types of software products where it’s very easy to communicate the value. It’s also very easy to see the lack of value. I wouldn’t recommend a SaaS management platform to a ten-person startup, for example. It just doesn’t make sense. But if you see hypergrowth, if you see management of cost, if you see all these different things being an issue, then yeah, start looking into adopting it. So I would say it’s a much easier pitch than, say, a project management tool to replace the current one.”

💡 Key Insights:

  • Understanding stakeholders: Bobby emphasized the importance of tailoring data to key stakeholders when pitching SaaS management, focusing on what each decision-maker cares about, like finance focusing on cost savings and IT on resources.
  • Easier to communicate value: SaaS management platforms offer clear and measurable ROI, making them easier to justify than other tools. However, they may not be suitable for very small startups.
  • Confidence vs. strategy: The challenge in pitching new tools isn’t just about confidence; it’s about strategically communicating value to different stakeholders to ensure understanding and quicker decision-making.

The Diversity of SaaS Management Solutions

John Baker:
“Definitely. And I think what you’re talking about there, that’s the blessing and the curse that we’ve found with SaaS management. If you look at old industry reports or market guides that talked about what a SaaS management platform should do, it’s really a couple of core things: governance and some visibility stuff. And now, if you look at the latest Gartner research, the number of things has absolutely exploded.”

Bobby Abdullah:
“Yeah, there’s so many different takes on SaaS management. I think one thing that—or two things that stuck to most products is shadow IT discovery, like discovery of apps that you wouldn’t otherwise know about, and just an overview of license management. I think those two things have been key throughout the market, but everything else has shifted all the time. Some take care of MDM and leasing, as I mentioned. Some take care of a very different part of the product, which could be outsourcing IT powered by AI, and you also get to manage your licenses on top of that. So I think that does create some confusion in the market for companies looking to employ that type of tool in the near or foreseeable future. I’d say find your top two problems that most SaaS management platforms can solve and then drill down onto just those problems that those different companies can provide a solution for, rather than looking at the whole market space. I think it’s oversaturated right now, and not in a negative way, but rather just people trying to take market share. We’ve also seen some successful and unsuccessful consolidations of these types of companies, which I think is a very good signal for the market. It shows that, okay, we don’t need that many players, but some of them that are doing it very well are getting eaten up by totally different value propositions, but they want to integrate this part of SaaS management overview. I don’t know if I should name someone, but Deal, for example, acquired a company. What do they have to do with IT per se? But it really fits well within their product stack.”

💡 Key Insights:

  • Core SaaS management focus: Bobby notes that shadow IT discovery and license management have remained key features of SaaS management platforms, while other functions continue to evolve, such as mobile device management (MDM) and AI-powered outsourcing.
  • Market complexity: The SaaS management market is becoming crowded with varied solutions, which can create confusion for companies. Bobby advises focusing on solving your top two problems rather than navigating the entire market.
  • Consolidation trend: The market is seeing successful and unsuccessful consolidations, with companies integrating SaaS management features into broader product offerings, as seen with Deal’s acquisition of a SaaS management company.

Personal Journey and Entrepreneurial Pursuits

John Baker:
“Yeah, absolutely. So I’m gonna shift here and talk more about your personal journey. Like I said, you’re a thoughtful guy. You were doing IT, and then you decided to move on, pursue these entrepreneurial pursuits. What kind of brought you to that place? Why did you make that decision?”

Bobby Abdullah:
“Great question. Over the period of me working for different startups, from series B to pre-seed to late series C and D, I realized that to a certain degree, everyone doesn’t know what they’re doing. And I thought there was a magic behind that. I had my own problem that I faced over time, moving across several countries, which was that a financial footprint does not translate from one country to another. And I decided to solve that problem. I think also in IT, on the operational aspect—because that was something I really focused on—was the project and operational aspect. I’m not gonna lie; I saw it diminish over time. Not in terms of jobs per se, although that could happen, but more on the efficiency side of things. So if you’re not utilizing the right tools, you’re not as efficient. And eventually, in the future, what I could predict is one person can now manage two people’s jobs when it comes to, let’s say, L1 and L2 support because of the technology available. So I took all my great learnings in IT and everything I know, and now I try to apply that to my own ventures.”

💡 Key Insights:

  • Shift to entrepreneurship: Bobby moved from IT to entrepreneurship after realizing that many startups, regardless of stage, often operate with uncertainty, which he found intriguing and motivating.
  • Solving a personal problem: His entrepreneurial pursuit was driven by a personal challenge—solving the issue of a financial footprint not transferring across countries due to his frequent relocations.
  • Efficiency in IT: Bobby observed that IT operations were becoming more efficient over time, predicting that technology would enable one person to handle the tasks of two, which influenced his decision to apply his IT learnings to his ventures.

Advice for IT Professionals

John Baker:
“Well, if you’re talking to other people, maybe someone else in IT who is not sure if they want to continue with it, what would you say to them, or what would you ask them?”

Bobby Abdullah:
“Are you getting challenged? That was the question I asked myself all the time. Are you getting challenged in a good way? Are you enjoying the challenge of different processes, projects, or problems that you face daily, weekly, or yearly in your career? If so, I would say absolutely continue, but always make sure to stay on top of the game by keeping up with technology, new tools, and processes. I think the one industry that’s so outdated, at least in the space I try to work around, is IT because it’s so decentralized. Recently, we’ve seen so much innovation in the space, especially with SaaS management over the last five years, but it’s not yet globalized. So those who truly want to stay in IT should be aware of all upcoming trends and be early adopters. That’s what I think. It doesn’t hurt to be an early adopter.”

John Baker:
“And being an early adopter, part of that comes with a necessity for a level of excitement about the space, right? There’s that balance. You want to be challenged by the work and find some level of joy, but you also want to have excitement about what’s happening in the industry.”

Bobby Abdullah:
“Absolutely. Look, by nature, I’m a lazy person. I’m not gonna lie. The last thing I want to do is solve the same type of ticket ten times in a row. So that’s the reason I went into Zapier from the very start. I thought, ‘Okay, I can make a flow that automatically gives away this license for sure.’ And then SaaS management came, and I was like, ‘Great. We can just eradicate thirty percent of the most repetitive tasks that we have in our day-to-day operations.’ That was my real motivator because the more you release in terms of repetitive mundane tasks from your team and yourself, the more you can focus on the cool stuff, the large-scale projects that provide proper impact rather than just keeping the boat afloat.”

John Baker:
“Yeah, I love that. Being the strategic lazy guy—lazy not being the one without initiative, but being the guy who’s looking for how to get more done with less effort. That’s efficient at the end of the day.”

Bobby Abdullah:
“Exactly. And you just have to iterate. How do you keep getting that person, that individual, that guy, that gal, whoever it is, continuously challenged? Just stick them on something else and be like, ‘Okay, make this more efficient now.'”

John Baker:
“Definitely. I think that’s why I also have a bias towards startups, to be honest, because you get to wear many hats and figure out which problem you want to tackle at any given moment.”

Bobby Abdullah:
“Definitely.”

💡 Key Insights:

  • Challenge and growth: Bobby advises IT professionals to ask themselves if they are feeling challenged in a positive way. If they enjoy problem-solving and overcoming challenges, they should stay in the field while continuously learning new technologies and trends.
  • Embrace efficiency: Bobby encourages IT professionals to adopt tools like Zapier and SaaS management to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time to focus on impactful, large-scale projects that drive growth.
  • Be an early adopter: Staying ahead of the curve in IT means being an early adopter of new tools and innovations. This approach not only increases efficiency but also keeps work interesting and engaging.

Closing Remarks

John Baker:
“There’s so much there, Bobby. Thank you so much for taking a few minutes. I really appreciate your time. Is there anything else, if anyone’s interested in Lobster Money, where they can learn more about you and your projects?”

Bobby Abdullah:
“Well, firstly, John, thank you for having me. It was an absolute pleasure. And yes, if you’re interested, lobstermoney.com. I’m not gonna plug anymore. I think that’s more than enough. If you’re interested, you’ll see the website. Everything is linked there. And thank you again for having me.”

John Baker:
“Yeah, absolutely. Take care.”

Bobby Abdullah:
“You too.”