DiscoverA Product Market Fit Show | Startup Podcast for FoundersHe walked away from $5M ARR—then built a $50M company. | Russ Fradin, Founder of Larridin
He walked away from $5M ARR—then built a $50M company. | Russ Fradin, Founder of Larridin

He walked away from $5M ARR—then built a $50M company. | Russ Fradin, Founder of Larridin

Update: 2025-11-10
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Russ has started and sold multiple companies over 30 years, but his Dynamic Signal journey will change how you think about product-market fit. They had $5M ARR selling influencer marketing software. 

Then Russ told investors to pretend the $5M didn't exist and bet on a $200K pipeline instead. That pivot led to 600 Fortune 2000 customers and an exit at $50M ARR. 

Now building his AI measurement startup Larridin, Russ shares why being a repeat founder creates a different problem—everyone tells you your idea is great even when it's not. His solution? Don't believe anything until someone writes a check.


Why You Should Listen:

  • Why he walked away from $5M ARR to pursue a $200K pipeline.
  • How emergent user behavior revealed a $50M business.
  • Why "everyone loving your idea" means nothing.
  • Why finding product-market fit is only step 1.

Keywords:

startup podcast, startup podcast for founders, Dynamic Signal, Russ Glass, product-market fit, enterprise sales, employee advocacy, pivot strategy, B2B SaaS, influencer marketing

00:00:00 Intro

00:01:36 30 years of Silicon Valley startups

00:03:05 Dynamic Signal's original idea

00:07:29 The emergent behavior that changed everything

00:15:38 Walking away from $5M ARR to pursue a $200K opportunity

00:18:23 Why product-market fit is never final

00:22:14 Selling Dynamic Signal 

00:24:30 Starting Laridin

00:36:34 Raising $17M as a repeat founder—why everyone says yes

Send me a message to let me know what you think!

Comments 
In Channel
At 21 he made his 1st million. At 23, he grew his startup to $8M ARR in 6 months. | Matt Espinoza, Founder of Clover

At 21 he made his 1st million. At 23, he grew his startup to $8M ARR in 6 months. | Matt Espinoza, Founder of Clover

2025-11-1351:57

He walked away from $5M ARR—then built a $50M company. | Russ Fradin, Founder of Larridin

He walked away from $5M ARR—then built a $50M company. | Russ Fradin, Founder of Larridin

2025-11-1046:44

He made 2 key changes —then grew to $100M ARR in 2 years & exited for $2B. | Harish Abbott, Founder of Deliverr & Augment

He made 2 key changes —then grew to $100M ARR in 2 years & exited for $2B. | Harish Abbott, Founder of Deliverr & Augment

2025-11-0652:12

He built a $20B public company, left—then raised a $100M Series A. | Dheeraj Pandey, Founder of Nutanix & DevRev

He built a $20B public company, left—then raised a $100M Series A. | Dheeraj Pandey, Founder of Nutanix & DevRev

2025-11-0349:07

5x founder asked Ford for a contract so large—they acquired his company instead. | Amar Varma, Founder of Mantle

5x founder asked Ford for a contract so large—they acquired his company instead. | Amar Varma, Founder of Mantle

2025-10-2342:18

He "kind of" had PMF for 8 years—until, after a rebuild, he raised $100M | Ben Alarie, Founder of Blue J

He "kind of" had PMF for 8 years—until, after a rebuild, he raised $100M | Ben Alarie, Founder of Blue J

2025-10-2040:43

They failed every POC—then grew their cybersecurity platform to $100M ARR in 5 years. | Dean Sysman, co-founder of Axonius

They failed every POC—then grew their cybersecurity platform to $100M ARR in 5 years. | Dean Sysman, co-founder of Axonius

2025-10-1648:37

He tested his pitch on Uber drivers—then built a cybersecurity platform to $180M raised. | Casey Ellis, Founder of Bugcrowd

He tested his pitch on Uber drivers—then built a cybersecurity platform to $180M raised. | Casey Ellis, Founder of Bugcrowd

2025-10-1349:19

He quit Google & his 1st startup failed—but his 2nd grows at $1M ARR every 10 days. | Zach Llyod, Founder of Warp.dev

He quit Google & his 1st startup failed—but his 2nd grows at $1M ARR every 10 days. | Zach Llyod, Founder of Warp.dev

2025-10-0949:14

He tried to return $200K to investors 30 days in—then exited to Microsoft 5 years later. | Alex Sherman, Founder of Bluefish AI

He tried to return $200K to investors 30 days in—then exited to Microsoft 5 years later. | Alex Sherman, Founder of Bluefish AI

2025-10-0644:39

A drug dealer threatened to kill him—then he grew 50x in 3 Years to $50M ARR. | Brett Carlson, Found of ServiceUp

A drug dealer threatened to kill him—then he grew 50x in 3 Years to $50M ARR. | Brett Carlson, Found of ServiceUp

2025-10-0233:28

He pitched 100 VC and spent 3 years building— then grew to $7B AUM. | Doug Scott, Founder of Ethic

He pitched 100 VC and spent 3 years building— then grew to $7B AUM. | Doug Scott, Founder of Ethic

2025-09-2945:14

PMF Observations: Speed is the only startup moat—& why most founders lose it.

PMF Observations: Speed is the only startup moat—& why most founders lose it.

2025-09-2511:01

He spent 5 months working with customers before building—then grew to $10s of millions ARR. | Aviv Leibovici, co-founder of Buildots

He spent 5 months working with customers before building—then grew to $10s of millions ARR. | Aviv Leibovici, co-founder of Buildots

2025-09-2248:10

She cold messaged 50,000 engineers—then grew to $10M+ ARR. | Shensi Ding, Founder of Merge

She cold messaged 50,000 engineers—then grew to $10M+ ARR. | Shensi Ding, Founder of Merge

2025-09-1840:16

He bet his house on a startup—took 7 years to $1M, then hockey stick to $100M+ ARR. | Eldon Sprickerhoff, Co-Founder of eSentire

He bet his house on a startup—took 7 years to $1M, then hockey stick to $100M+ ARR. | Eldon Sprickerhoff, Co-Founder of eSentire

2025-09-1540:58

He quit his job, went all-in on AI agents—then grew to 100K users & a $30M Series A in a year. | Soham Ganatra, Founder of Composio

He quit his job, went all-in on AI agents—then grew to 100K users & a $30M Series A in a year. | Soham Ganatra, Founder of Composio

2025-09-1058:20

TechCrunch called this YC founder a fraud at 18—then he built a $10M ARR fintech. | Sahil Phadnis, Founder of Affiniti

TechCrunch called this YC founder a fraud at 18—then he built a $10M ARR fintech. | Sahil Phadnis, Founder of Affiniti

2025-09-0859:59

Paul Graham Said His Startup Was Worthless—2 Months Later He Hit $1M ARR. | Jon Noronha, Co-Founder of Gamma

Paul Graham Said His Startup Was Worthless—2 Months Later He Hit $1M ARR. | Jon Noronha, Co-Founder of Gamma

2025-09-0401:00:08

He quit Google, launched Rubrik—then grew to $1B ARR & a $16B market cap. | Soham Mazumdar, Co-Founder Rubrik & Wisdom AI

He quit Google, launched Rubrik—then grew to $1B ARR & a $16B market cap. | Soham Mazumdar, Co-Founder Rubrik & Wisdom AI

2025-09-0253:55

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He walked away from $5M ARR—then built a $50M company. | Russ Fradin, Founder of Larridin

He walked away from $5M ARR—then built a $50M company. | Russ Fradin, Founder of Larridin

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