Cracking the B2B Marketplace Code with Brett Farmiloe
July 1, 2025
The SaaS platform,Featured revolutionized expert-to-publisher connections by turning manual PR processes into scalable software solutions. In this episode of SaaS That App: Building B2B Web Applications, Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards are joined by Brett Farmiloe, Founder and CEO of Featured, to explore his journey of transforming a service-based business into a successful SaaS platform.
The SaaS platform Featured revolutionized expert-to-publisher connections by turning manual PR processes into scalable software solutions. In this episode of SaaS That App: Building B2B Web Applications, Aaron Marchbanks and Justin Edwards are joined by Brett Farmiloe, Founder and CEO of Featured, to explore his journey of transforming a service-based business into a successful SaaS platform.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to identify when your service business should transition to a SaaS model
- The "Magic Moments" framework for tracking key metrics that truly matter in B2B SaaS
- Why marketplace equilibrium is crucial and how to balance both sides effectively
- The "Manual First, Automate Second" principle for building sustainable SaaS solutions
- Why real human knowledge remains the key differentiator
Brett is the Founder and CEO of Featured, a pioneering platform that connects experts with publishing opportunities and has facilitated over one million expert answers. With a background in accounting and digital marketing, Brett transformed his experience running a successful SEO agency serving 500+ small businesses into an innovative SaaS solution. He previously founded the companies Markitors and Pursue The Passion, led digital marketing initiatives for Laughing Man Coffee (later acquired by Keurig), and recently acquired and revived the renowned HARO (Help A Reporter Out) platform.
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts. Instructions on how to do so are here.
Highlights:
- [00:00] Introduction
- [01:10] The Hot Pocket Hustle
- [04:37] Early Lessons From Pursue The Passion
- [05:48] From Agency to SaaS
- [09:05] What Is Featured?
- [11:08] The Marketplace Balancing Act
- [13:11] Building with AI
- [19:52] Why This Founder Created 300 Niche Media Sites
- [22:18] Dogfooding and Community Feedback
- [25:44] Giving Rejected Answers a Second Life
- [29:04] Why “Magic Moments” Matter More Than Metrics
- [31:50] Brett’s Advice for Aspiring SaaS Founders