E29: Growth Hacking Your First SAAS with Oliver Brocato

Episode notes

In this episode of the SaaS Operators Podcast, we talked to Oliver Brocato, founder of Bustem.com and former founder of Tabs Chocolate, to unpack how he turned a pain point from his ecommerce days into a fast-growing SaaS business, protecting brands from copycats, counterfeiters, and scammers. Oliver breaks down how Bustem detects and removes bad actors across the internet, how most brands lose 5–15% of revenue to copycats, and how his platform recovers that value without expensive lawyers or lawsuits. We talk about building software as a non-technical founder, the slow grind of product iteration, and the transition from DTC storytelling to high-ticket B2B sales. Oliver shares how having 50,000 followers on X became a growth engine, how one tweet drove 400 signups in a day, and how he Bustem on authenticity and proof. He explains Bustem’s performance-based pricing model, how showing real ROI closes deals, and why transparency isn't the same as vanity metrics. The conversation dives into ecommerce versus SaaS economics, predictable inputs versus hits-driven luck, and the mindset shift from hype to value driven retention.