In this episode of Growth Unlocked, Kieran Krohn speaks with John-Daniel Trask, founder of Raygun and AutoHive. JD shares his journey of bootstrapping Raygun over 12 years into a global SaaS leader and why patience can often outperform hypergrowth. He also unpacks how to build in the age of AI, why too much capital can kill discipline, and what it really means to create a sustainable company in 2025.

Key Takeaways:

Patience can beat VC-fuelled hypergrowth

Capital enables focus, not success

AI should empower teams, not replace them

Sustainable businesses prioritise culture and profitability

Future leaders must celebrate innovation, not fear it

Chapters:

00:00 Teaser – Patience vs Hypergrowth

01:09 Bootstrapping Raygun into a SaaS Leader

03:22 The Power of Focus Over Capital

07:01 Lessons from the VC Model

11:05 Common Mistakes in Scaling with Capital

15:12 Automating with AI Agents

19:54 The Birth of AutoHive

24:03 Building an AI-First Company

28:13 Are We Seeing the End of Big Business?

33:43 What Makes a Great Company in 2025

37:27 Advice for Leaders Adopting AI

41:37 Where to Connect with JD

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ABOUT KIERAN

Kieran Krohn is a renowned GTM professional, entrepreneur, investor and business growth expert.

His background is growing and scaling HubSpot’s business in Australia and New Zealand by developing their partner ecosystem. Over the last decade, he has held a number of roles in channel and direct sales as well as leadership where he built a high performing sales team. He has been awarded key accolades as the top performer 4x in the region and achieved Presidents Club 7x consecutively.

His mission is to help business founders achieve the freedom they set out to when they left the corporate world, and build valuable businesses that will create financial certainty for generations to come.

Connect with Kieran on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kierankrohn/

keywords:

business growth, patience, venture capital, automation, AI, company culture, sustainable growth, entrepreneurship, software development, tech industry

#PatienceOverHype #SaaSLeadership #GrowthUnlocked #JohnDanielTrask #AIandBusiness