First Customer: Living in His Customer's Basement to $100M | Qualia

Nate Baker, co-founder and CEO of Qualia, shares the story of building a software platform for title companies. He recounts Qualia's early days, marked by an "academic" approach to market selection and initial mistakes in product development due to lack of customer interaction. A pivotal moment arrived with their first customer, Barry Feingold, who provided industry insights and access, though his existing vendor retaliated. Baker emphasizes the importance of finding a "Barry" in any market—someone deeply invested in improving the industry. He also discusses Qualia's early focus on Massachusetts, the transition to national expansion, and the challenges of adapting to different state regulations. A key strategy was offering multi-year upfront contracts to secure early customers and funding.