RVNU #031: The RVNU Startup MBA
Your systematic roadmap from idea validation to $100M ARR starts next week
Hey there,
Next week, we're launching something I've been working on for the past year—The RVNU Startup MBA. It's an informal executive education program specifically designed for B2B SaaS founders, CEOs, investors, and revenue leaders who want to build fast-growth companies sustainably.
It will be delivered exclusively via this substack, and form the basis of the RVNU community.
But first, let me tell you why this exists.
The Problem with SaaS Education Today
Over the past three years at RVNU, I've worked directly with 100+ B2B SaaS founders. From pre-seed companies validating their first hypothesis to Series C companies scaling to $50M+ ARR and even later stage spinning up new lines of business. And I keep seeing the same pattern.
Founders are drowning in tactics but starving for strategy.
There's no shortage of content about how to optimize conversion rates, run Facebook ads, or implement specific sales methodologies. But there's almost nothing that helps founders understand when to focus on what, why certain challenges emerge at predictable points in the journey, and how to make strategic decisions that compound rather than conflict.
Most SaaS education treats growth like a collection of independent optimization problems. The reality is that building a sustainable B2B SaaS company is a systematic progression through predictable phases, each with specific challenges that must be solved in sequence.
What Makes This Different
The RVNU Startup MBA isn't built around generic business principles or B2C growth tactics adapted for B2B. It's constructed entirely around the realities of building B2B SaaS companies through a go-to-market lens.
Here's what that means:
Instead of starting with product development, we start with commercial validation. Instead of focusing on user acquisition, we focus on customer economics. Instead of celebrating vanity metrics, we measure the specific indicators that predict scalable revenue growth.
Every concept, framework, and diagnostic tool is designed around one central question: How do you build predictable, scalable revenue engines that justify premium SaaS valuations?
This isn't academic theory. It's distilled from 40+ years of combined revenue leadership experience across companies from pre-seed through IPO, plus deep engagement with our portfolio of B2B SaaS companies facing real growth challenges in real market conditions.
The Journey We'll Take Together
Over the coming months, we'll systematically examine every critical transition successful B2B SaaS companies navigate:
IDEA MARKET FIT (Months 1-4) From hypothesis validation through MVP development—but through a commercial lens that most technical founders miss
PRODUCT MARKET FIT (Months 5-8)
The real definition of PMF for B2B SaaS: acquiring ideal customers, proving usage, demonstrating value, and realizing fair contracts
GO-TO-MARKET FIT (Months 9-12) Building repeatable, scalable sales and marketing engines that can 3x ARR responsibly
SCALE (Months 13-16) Locking in all aspects of the business to reach $100M ARR with sustainable unit economics
Each month focuses on a specific growth stage. Every two weeks, paid subscribers get comprehensive deep-dive lectures with diagnostics, and strategic insights. Free subscribers get weekly short-form content with practical tips and tactical guidance.
Why This Matters Now
The B2B SaaS landscape has fundamentally changed over the past 24 months. Capital efficiency matters more than growth-at-all-costs. Investors scrutinize unit economics and retention metrics with unprecedented rigor. Companies that seemed unstoppable 18 months ago are struggling to raise follow-on funding.
The companies thriving in this environment aren't just the ones with the best products—they're the ones with the most predictable, efficient revenue engines. They understand their customer economics, can forecast growth with precision, and have built sustainable competitive advantages through systematic execution.
These companies didn't accidentally stumble into success. They followed predictable patterns, made strategic decisions at specific inflection points, and built systematic approaches to common challenges that most founders handle reactively.
What You'll Actually Get
This isn't motivational content or high-level strategy without implementation guidance. Every lecture includes:
Specific diagnostic questions to assess exactly where your company stands.
Common failure patterns and how to recognize them before they become critical Stage-specific priorities so you focus time and capital on what matters most
Real-world case studies from companies that have successfully navigated each transition
Bonus content:
From time to time we will release free data-driven frameworks for making strategic decisions with confidence.
Industry leaders: I’ll speak and co-write with industry leaders from time to time
Q&A: I’ll make myself available in the Substack chat to answer burning questions
Discounts: We’re launching our vault soon, which houses all of frameworks, those of you on this course will be offered a discounted access.
By the end of this program, you'll have a systematic understanding of the entire B2B SaaS growth journey and practical tools to execute each stage effectively.
How to start
1️⃣ Activate a paid subscription to this newsletter
2️⃣ Complete your $20M Roadmap
How to graduate
3️⃣ Show up
4️⃣ Do the work
A Personal Note
I've spent the last 20 years building and scaling B2B SaaS companies. From Maxymiser (acquired by Oracle) to Wonderschool from London to Silicon Valley, through full time CRO to advisory and investment roles with dozens of early-stage companies. I've seen what works, what doesn't, and—most importantly—why the same challenges emerge at predictable points in every company's journey.
The RVNU Startup MBA represents everything I wish I'd understood when I started in my first early-stage startup. Not just the tactics that work in specific situations, but the strategic framework for thinking about growth systematically, making decisions with confidence, and avoiding the expensive mistakes that derail promising companies.
Getting Started
Next week, we kick off with Lecture 1: The Problem Hypothesis Challenge—why 73% of startup failures trace back to fundamental flaws in the initial problem validation, and how this early misstep undermines the entire revenue journey.
If you want full access to the deep-dive lectures, frameworks, and assessments, you can subscribe for $199/year. Free subscribers will continue receiving weekly short-form content and previews of premium insights.
But honestly, the most important thing is that you're thinking systematically about growth rather than tactically. Whether you subscribe or not, I hope this program helps you build something sustainable.
The RVNU Startup MBA starts next Tuesday.
Ready to build something that lasts?
Onwards,
Wayne
Founder & CEO, RVNU
P.S. If you're wondering whether this program is right for your stage, here's a simple test:
Can you clearly articulate which of the 16 growth stages your company is currently in, what specific challenge you need to solve to progress to the next stage, and what success looks like? If not, this program will give you that clarity.
P.P.S: Got questions? Hit me up in the chat…
About RVNU RVNU provides B2B SaaS founders with the commercial expertise needed to build sustainable growth engines. Our insights are grounded in real-world revenue leadership experience and deep engagement with companies across every stage of the growth journey.